Boxing club set 'for 100 years' after £1m raised

Guernsey's boxing club has had it future secured "for 100 years" after raising £1m, leaders say.

The Guernsey Amalgamated Boxing Club has been based in its St Martin's building since 1935, but members said the site was now "essentially falling down".

Members set out to raise the mammoth amount a year ago and, through the efforts of volunteers and donations from the community, they now had enough money to refurbish the facility into a state-of-the-art club building, leaders said.

The club said "elated was an understatement" after it reached the target, and it was predicting work on the site would begin in 2027.

The Guernsey Amalgamated Boxing Club has been credited with helping boost the profile of the sport on the island.

Former English super-flyweight champion Brad Watson and Billy le Poullain are among many fighters to come through the ranks.

"We have punched well above our weight in terms of going to international boxing cups," Liam Doherty, a member of the club's board, told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"Now we have got a club which matches the state of what Guernsey boxing is and we have something which will see us through for 100 years instead of it being an uncertain future."

He said when the board first mulled over the £1m target they felt it was "a moon shot", but that the building needed to be refurbished.

He said: "The building is essentially falling down because it is more than 100 years old.

"From next year, it will be renovated into a safe, state-of-the-art club, and boxing will continue during that time."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.