BRADFORD East MP Imran Hussain has been joined by Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn and Ricky Hatton in calling for financial support for boxing gyms from Government.

Mr Hussain sits on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Boxing, and has co-signed a latter along with some of British boxing's biggest names to the Government asking for more help for grassroots boxing club which have been hit hard by Covid-19.

In the Government's latest Sport Winter Survival Package, £300 million was handed to spectator sports such as football, both rugby codes, tennis and motorsport to help them through the pandemic, however boxing and boxing gyms were omitted from support.

In the letter, it states boxing gyms have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic to support their local communities, but are facing financial ruin as they have been unable to open due to Covid-19 restrictions.

While grassroots clubs in all sports have suffered, Mr Hussain said boxing has been particularly hard hit, with 40 per cent of boxing clubs in the UK based in areas that are in the top 20 per cent most deprived places in the country.

He said they have limited access to alternative funding putting the clubs, and the crucial work they do taking young people off the streets providing them focused, rewarding training, improving people's physical and mental health, and even sculpting Olympians, is at risk unless financial support is given.

Imran Hussain said: “Bradford’s grassroots boxing gyms are an important part of our local communities, not just as sporting venues but as vital community and social hubs, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds with few other opportunities.

"Yet like many businesses and other groups during this pandemic, they have sadly been neglected and forgotten by this Government.

“Unlike many other elite sports, boxing, particularly amongst gyms at the grassroots level, does not have huge finances to fall back on, leaving them particularly vulnerable during this crisis whilst restrictions are in place.

"I am therefore extremely concerned that if the Government do not provide adequate support over this period, we will lose these gyms and the positive role they play in our communities for good.

“Ministers, therefore, need to recognise the immense importance of our grassroots boxing gyms in not just developing a new generation of sporting champions, but in keeping many young people out of trouble and off the streets, and ensure that these gyms receive the support that they need to survive this crisis.”

As well as members of the APPG on Boxing, the letter to Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston was signed by the leading figures in British boxing's regulatory bodies, World Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, fellow boxers Joe Joyce and Terri Harper, former world champions Ricky Hatton, Natasha Jonas, Jane Couch and Stefy Bull, as well as leading boxing promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren.