On Point Boxing, which is based at the Ivy Business Centre, took over Billy’s Bar on Thursday (September 25) for a boxing show to help raise money for the club.
All the participants were aged 10 to 18 and, for some, it was their first time boxing in public.
Head coach Steve Scullion, 43, said that the event was their “most successful” night in the club’s five-year history, with 10 boxers taking part along with members of other clubs from the North West.
He said that the young boxers at On Point were “very grateful” for the opportunity.
Billy’s Bar manager Vanessa said there were spectators watching through the windows.(Image: On Point Boxing)
Mr Scullion said: “They’re buzzing, that’s the best word I’ve heard off a couple of them. They can’t wait for the next one.
“It’s all that anticipation. We can tell them and train them as much as we can, but that experience on fight night is something else. When you get in that ring and then you see them breathing, that euphoria is unmatched. They’re absolutely buzzing.”
He added that many of the club’s younger members, who are not old enough to take part yet, were eagerly watching from the sidelines and cannot wait for their turn in the ring in the future.
Apart from being an important milestone for the club, it was also an opportunity for the community to come together.
Billy’s Bar owner Mark Cooney and his daughter Vanessa who manages the bar have supported the club since it was founded and offered the space rent free.
For some of the boxers, it was their first time in the ring.(Image: On Point Boxing)
Mr Scullion wanted to also be able to give back and help the Cooney’s in their mission of turning the pub into a thriving community hub.
He said: “Tying it all in with what I do for the community, and what Mark does for the community in Failsworth, to be able to host in the bar was just brilliant.”
In the audience were members of the wider community, not just the boxing community.
Billy’s Bar manager Vannessa, 39, described the evening as “amazing”
She added: “It was a real, real, big success. They even had people stood outside the pub watching through the windows.”
More information about On Point Boxing and Fitness can be found on its Facebook page.