Boxers William Crolla and Rhiannon Dixon talk about life skills learned in the gym
AROUND 75 kids and teenagers from East Manchester attended a boxing taster event at Co-op Live on Monday night where they got a chance to try their hand at games such as VR boxing matches and a punch machine challenge.
Organised by boxing promoter Matchroom, Co-op Live, and charity StreetGames, the event was designed to get young people interested in boxing as a sport. On hand to inspire and guide them were pro boxing coaches and some of Manchester’s big name fighters including Harpurhey’s Zelfa Barrett and Warrington’s Rhiannon Dixon.
Boxing teaches you so many things without you even realising.
Another Manchester name boxing fans will recognise is Will Crolla, younger brother of former world champion Anthony Crolla. Along with Zelfa Barrett and Michael Gomez Jnr, he’s one of several local fighters who’ll be on the card at Chorley-born Jack Catterall's fight against Arnold Barboza Jnr this Saturday night.
I ask Crolla about the difference boxing made in his life when he was a similar age to the kids at this event, and what he thinks the benefits of boxing are for young people.
Says Crolla, “I learned my discipline through boxing. I was quite naughty at school but I was never naughty at boxing; I'd never speak back to one of the coaches there. It teaches you so many things without you even realising.
“It isn't just fighting. It’s discipline, it’s listening, it's working in pairs, it's working in a group, it's following instructions. You can go to keep fit, lose weight, socialise. I think boxing should be taught in schools.
He adds, “There's no race in boxing. When you're in the gym, you're one community. And you're mixing with different crowds as well. It makes it all normal which I think helps later on in life.”
Crolla’s first memory of the sport is going to his brother Anthony’s gym when he was about nine-years-old. “Like any other younger brother, I just wanted to go where he went,” he says.
He trains at Fox Amateur Boxing Club in Oldham, the gym owned by his brother. Also training there is former world title holder Rhiannon Dixon. Unlike Crolla who started boxing as a kid, she got into the sport in her 20s, after seeing UFC fighter Ronda Rousey on TV.
Says Dixon, “She was just the coolest person. I remember her saying, ‘Every muscle in my body serves a purpose’ and I thought, no muscle in my body serves any purpose at this moment.
“I wanted to get into a sport where I didn’t realise that I was exercising” as opposed to feeling every drawn-out second of running on a treadmill or grinding out reps in a gym. She describes herself as quite a shy person, and initially was apprehensive about joining a boxing class.
“I thought, this is really daunting. I don't know what people are going to be like. You think they're just going to be big, brute men. But I went and everyone was the nicest person.”
She talks about the confidence she’s gained from boxing and her surprise that it blossomed into a professional career. (She was training to be a pharmacist when she first took up the sport.) She doesn’t appear shy at all now, though she says she still finds press conferences unnerving. “They’re the worst bit for me because I feel like I'm being judged on everything I say.
“Big fight nights are easy compared to that because once you're in the ring, it's you and them. Everything else is background noise.”
Dixon’s next fight will be on the Matchroom NXTGEN card at Planet Ice in Altrincham on Friday 28 March. This Saturday she’ll be cheering on teammate Crolla.
I ask him how he’s feeling ahead of his fight. He says, “I can't wait. I feel good. I've got a nice step up. The lad's never been stopped. And yeah, I'm looking to be the person to stop him.”
As the community event draws to a close, the kids get goody bags full of Everlast boxing kit to take home. And Matchroom’s Head of Community Development Alex Le Guével has another bit of good news for them - they’ll all be sorted out with tickets for Saturday night.
Who knows, in five years' time, some of them might be making their boxing debut in the ring in Manchester - and telling the next generation of youngsters about the community event that got them started.
Buy tickets for Saturday’s fight or watch it on DAZN.
Matchroom and Co-op Live are hosting a public 5k run around Phillips Park on Saturday morning alongside some of the boxers who will be fighting that night. Register here if you want to take part - it's free and open to all. Meet at Co-op Live at 9.30am, arriving through Entrance C for a warmup.
Read more: 8 of the best boxing gyms in Manchester
Read again: What's on in Manchester: February Half Term 2025
