THE Richard Dunn Leisure Centre is now ready to rumble after a change in its licence means boxing and wrestling matches can be held there.

And the first event under the new licence has just been announced - a major British wrestling event next month.

Bradford Council applied to alter the licence last summer to allow the sports to be held at the centre in Odsal, saying there had been interest from several promoters about staging events.

Although Richard Dunn is earmarked for future demolition under a major shake up of the district’s leisure facilities, that is not expected to happen until its replacement is built on nearby Sedbergh Playing Fields site which is still likely to be several years away.

BWE - British Wrestling Entertainment - will hold the first event at the centre under the new licence.

On Saturday, November 25, it will bring its Unstoppable event to Bradford - the first time the Leeds-based company has come to the city.

It will follow the format of the company’s Reloaded show which will be held in Halifax on Saturday, October 14.

BWE has other events planned for 2018, and hopes that the Bradford shows could even lead to the company having its shows televised. November’s show will be recorded by students on the media course at the University of Bradford.

Stars of the company who could appear at the event include Liam Slater, Ace Matthews, The Sexy Gents, seven foot tall Big T, the Lion Kings and Rampage, as well as female grapplers Xia Brookside, daughter of English wrestling legend Robbie Brookside, and Little Miss Roxxy.

Promoter Tony Warnes, who is also a mature media student at the University of Bradford, told the Telegraph & Argus the group had been hoping to run shows in the centre for a long time.

He added: “We have other events planned for March and May, and hopefully every six to eight weeks after that.

"It is a great venue for wrestling, it is the largest public leisure space in the city, but Bradford is one of the biggest cities without regular wrestling shows.

"It is a great location in terms of logistics. It is a shame there are plans to knock it down, because it has a potential to be one of the best venues in West Yorkshire. We’re going to make use of it while we can.

“We run family-friendly shows, events like this are a lot more interactive and social than going to the cinema.

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“We are working with the university to live stream this show - students will be there with the live broadcast truck. It will help with their degrees and give them some great experience.”

Although the full line-up has yet to be announced, Mr Warnes said there would be a mix of singles, tag team and women’s wrestling.