I popped into Merry Hill Shopping Centre on Saturday to support the Team Pumpkin boxing gym.
The gym from Brierley Hill set up a boxing ring in the centre of the shopping centre to encourage more young people to try the sport and understand the health and mental benefits.
Lots of children queued up to get in the ring and have a go at boxing. The aim of the day was to also signpost people to their local boxing gyms.
Team Pumpkin - run by Carl and Ben Collins - is working with Suzanne and other organisations to tackle knife crime in the region and it attended the MP’s first knife crime summit last year.
I also met Tyler Denny, the current EBU European champion and Kirstie Bavington, who is in the top four boxers in England and the Midlands female boxer of the year 2022.
I was really happy to pop into Merry Hill and support Team Pumpkin.
Boxing gyms like this one undertake tremendous work across the West Midlands giving young people focus, discipline and a great work ethic while teaching them respect for others and the knowledge that hard work pays off.
It proved a popular attraction on the day. Many thanks to Carl and Ben for what they do and for their continued support on tackling knife crime in the West Midlands.
