ANTHONY JOSHUA made a generous donation to a famous amateur boxing gym in exchange for a THIRTY YEAR OLD punchbag.
The 35-year-old London 2012 legend spotted Sheffield trainer Dominic Ingle – son of legendary boxing teacher Brendan – recently sharing a video of an ancient heavy bag his dad had installed three decades ago.
GettyAnthony Joshua has made a generous donation to a famous boxing club[/caption]
YouTubeIn return, AJ was given a historic punchbag[/caption]
After a member of Team AJ reached out, Ingle agreed to supply Joshua with one of the old-school punch targets that had been lying underneath his Wincobank ring.
And, in return, Joshua made a substantial contribution to the St Thomas’ Boxing Club that has helped make world champions and improve the lives of many local children.
The specially made Ingle bags are infamously heavy, with the one two-time heavyweight boss AJ snapped up weighing a whopping 96.5kg.
And the green version that still hangs in the Yorkshire school has to be held up by a rolled steel joist in the ceiling that is shorter than the others that prop up the roof and can handle more weight.
That very bag would have been whacked by British boxing heroes like Prince Naseem Hamed, Herol Graham, Ryan Rhodes, Johnny Nelson and Kell Brook.
And now AJ has landed one for himself and ordered four more that will be shipped out to a Dubai gym.
Ingle told Boxing King Media: “They are historical.
“I even have a photo of Anthony Joshua, from when he came here to spar Richard Towers, many many years ago and he probably hit that very bag and just doesn’t realise.
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“This old-school way has served us well for 40-odd years.
“Brendan had those bags up specially, from his own design, because all the other bags kept splitting, because of the weight in them and the wear and tear, so he had them specially made.
YouTubeThe bag weighs a meaty 96.5kg[/caption]
“That bag has stood the test of time and now it is in the hands of Anthony Joshua and hopefully he looks after it, because it is a bit of boxing history. It’s in very good hands.”
It’s not the first time Joshua has dug deep to help the amateur code that helped him turn his life around as a wayward teen.
In 2020, at the height of lockdown, when the British government dished out £300million to help certain sports – like badminton and horse racing but turned its back on boxing – Joshua personally saved hundreds of clubs.
The Watford giant handed out cash from his own pocket, and crucial kit through his sponsors, to keep the sport alive in some of the country’s most deprived areas.
But AJ will not be using his new equipment to prepare for a circus showdown with YouTuber Jake Paul.
The 6ft 1in heavyweight – who claims to be a future world champion – has signed to box 5ft 5in lightweight Gervonta Davis in a ludicrous exhibition bout.
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