Video: Notts Tonight’s Sharon Walia meets Frank Bruno in Nottingham
Boxing legend Frank Bruno visited Nottingham’s School of Boxing to support them in their search for a permanent home.
Frank Bruno is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996 and faced multiple world champions including Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.
The School of Boxing, launched by Switch Up’s founder Marcellus Baz, is hoping to raise £450,000 to buy the Pakistan Centre in St Ann’s with Frank Bruno set to visit on Thursday (March 9).
The school currently resides in the centre’s basement on a six month lease after being forced out of its original home at the Sycamore Millennium Centre, also in St Ann’s, over tenancy issues.
Frank Bruno visited today (Thursday March 9) to show his support for the school.
He said: “It’s very good for people to get involved, especially the girls; I didn’t have long enough to see them properly but what I saw was very good.
“It’s very important today that youngsters get involved in boxing and learn some discipline especially as youngsters can run riot around the world.
“I’m going to sit down with Baz and have a chat and we’re going to run through some different ideas.
Marcellus Baz was ‘excited to have one of his childhood role models coming to the gym’.
He said: “For him to see us and to see what we’re doing and to look at ways of working in partnership with him for me is like a dream come true.
“He wants to help us to secure funds to make this building our permanent home as well as coming here and looking at ways of working together.
“He will have a massive impact as Frank is a household name – he is a fantastic professional and even outside the ring now he’s doing fantastic work to support those with mental health issues.”
Baz was rewarded for his hard work within Nottingham at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards 2016 where he was given the Unsung Hero award.
He was also awarded a British Empire Medal for his services to Youth Boxing and the community in Nottingham.
He was rewarded locally too with the Community Champion of the Year award at this year’s Nottinghamshire Sport Awards.
