Fighting chance

A FORMER professional boxer from Shaw wants to use the sport to get kids off the street and open his doors to people who were excluded in the past.

Darren Stubbs, holder of three belts and a prizefighter finalist, has quit his job to focus all his energies on getting Stubby’s boxing and training centre off the ground.

The former truck driver holds mixed-sex classes for children and adults throughout the week at the Trent House gym on Duchess Street industrial estate. Darren said he has seen a surge in interest in women’s boxing, leading him to launch and additional women’s boxercise class on Tuesday and Thursday between 5.15 and 6.15pm.

He said: “After Nicola Adams won the Olympics it was brilliant for women’s boxing. Why would you not want to do that too?

“We normally have a good group of women here and if they’re committed to training I’ll train them.”

Working alongside Shaun Slicker, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged 23, Darren also wants to hold classes for people with autism and aspergers and to give them focus.

Darren said: “Helping people with these conditions is something we are really interested in doing. Having this kind of focus can change people’s lives.”
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