Sheffield boxing centre’s knockout fundraising

Glyn Rhodes and John McCormack with Ben O'Brien who's charity was one of those helped by the latest donations

Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity has received a £500 boost from Sheffield Boxing Centre – which has now raised more than £40,000 through their charity fight nights.

Sheffield Boxing Centre, set up by well known boxing coach, manager and promoter Glyn ‘Showboat’ Rhodes MBE, has been putting on Charity boxing matches annually since 2007 to support three local causes, including the Children’s hospital.

Glyn Rhodes and John McCormack with Ben O'Brien and Rebecca Staden of the Children's Hospital

Rebecca Staden, fundraising manager for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, was delighted to receive the donation from the gym – who she described as ‘fantastic ambassadors’ for the charity.

She said: “What they do is absolutely vital.

“Without them and our other fundraisers we simply couldn’t exist.”

She added: “We’d like to say a big thank you to them.”

This year’s event was the ninth Charity Fight Night, an event which gives amateur ‘keep-fit’ boxers who do not usually compete a chance to get six weeks intensive training and have their time in the spotlight in front of around 400 spectators.

The annual event began in 2007 when Sheffield Boxing Centre coach John McCormack, aged 59, saw a poster for Ella’s Fund, a charity named after 11-year-old Sheffield girl Ella Frith who is living with an incurable brain tumour, and decided to lend some support.

And in 2010, after reading a Star article about 13-year-old Sheffield boy Ben O’Brien’s fight against bone cancer, the boxing centre expanded its support to him and the children’s hospital.

Ben now trains at the gym and competes at the event .

John described both the youngsters as ‘inspirational’.

“Whenever one of our boxers has their head down I remind them that Ben never feels sorry for himself,” he said.

Fighters looking to enter the charity bouts sell a minimum of 15 tickets to earn their fight for a winner’s belt, which John said ‘meant the world’ to the competitors who felt ‘like it was a world title fight’.

All donations from the events are split among the three causes and Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity are putting the cash towards the ‘Make it Better’ campaign aimed at renovating the hospital.