Warley ABC receives King’s Award for its top community work

Helping the kids…Warley junior session with Craig pictured top, right

WARLEY – one of the Midlands most famous amateur boxing clubs – has received the prestigious King’s Award for its voluntary work in the community.

It’s a worthy gong for a gym which has a list of professional champs that includes Pat Cowdell, Olympian, former professional British and European titleholder and two-time world title challenger.

In more recent years it has produced world class operators Sam Eggington and Jason Welborn.

On a personal note, it’s pleasing to report former Warley old boy Craig Cunningham, a class act and one of my favourite fighters back in the day, is still a force in the game.

He took over at the helm of the Black Country outfit, although amateur legend John Nash is still very much a part of the gym.

Warley has an active boxing squad with around 20 carded boxers, but also provides children’s session. For the last two years, it has run a successful recovery programme, aided by Sandwell Council and support organisation Cranstone, for those battling addictions.

Craig, aged 36 and a former Midlands and WBC international middleweight champ, said: “The award is an honour and recognition for the entire team here. We have eight coaches involved in the gym and we all do our bit. We all bring our own thing and offer something different. We’re all trying to help the community as much as we can.

“We have around 20 amateur boxers, but in the last year around 100 have come through the door. Not all of them stay – boxing isn’t for everyone.”

Of the recovery sessions, Craig added: “We are grateful to have got the funding from Sandwell Council for a second year.

“We’ve had around 50 people fighting addictions come through and we want to help as many people as we can. We have a great team helping them. We have seen massive improvements in those that come to us regularly, they become much more confident.”

Warley ABC has, for decades, made a big impression inside the ropes. It’s now making a big impression outside them.