Dale will be competing in the Manchester Marathon in April this year
05:51, 05 Feb 2026Updated 06:43, 05 Feb 2026
Dale Arrowsmith and his grandad, Roy Richardson
A professional boxer will run in his grandad’s footsteps as he raises money for a beloved boxing gym in need of cash.
Dale Arrowsmith, 31, will take part in the Manchester Marathon, representing Roy Richardson’s Academy in Stockport.
The gym, named after Dale’s granddad and boxing legend Roy Richardson needs new equipment, with running costs soaring.
A non-profit organisation, the gym relies on the work of volunteers, who train dozens of members aged between 11 and 40-years-old.
Professional fighter Dale said: “We do it for nothing, just for the love of helping the kids really. We survive on whatever the kids give us, which is around £3 per session and fundraising.
“It’s difficult, it’s very difficult. Equipment costs have gone up, everything has skyrocketed. My grandad ran the Manchester Marathon back in the 80s, when he was 50-years-old. He ran it for the club and I thought it would be fitting to do the same.”
Roy Richardson(Image: Family handout)
Born in Ancoats in 1933, Roy got into boxing in the 1950s by fighting punters for money in the carnival boxing booths of Longford Park in Chorlton.
At 21, he was called up for national service and joined the Royal Engineers. After being discharged, he went on to marry his wife Pat. The couple moved to New Zealand, where Roy began training young fighters at a local club.
When Roy and Pat moved back to the UK he began training at the former Bredbury Steelworks gym in Stockport in the early 1970s. Now based in Compstall, the club was renamed the Roy Richardson Boxing Academy in his honour in 2018.
In 2021, Roy died at 88-years-old after suffering with Alzheimer’. Dale has been in charge of operations ever since.
You can find Dale’s fundraiser here.