HENRY WHARTON believes that his new professional boxer Rafal Benka has “a really bright future” ahead of him.

Benka is one of four professional boxer under the guidance of York boxing legend Wharton, who fought three times for a world title in his own boxing career.

The 25-year-old joins Henry’s Gym stable-mates George Davey, Mitchell Barton and Hughie Wilson in the paid ranks, the latter duo having yet to make their pro debuts, like Benka.

“Rafal is a fighter that I’ve taken all over the world as an amateur,” said Wharton.

‘“He’s come through our system and he’s boxed some of the best fighters in the world. He’s a really good boxer and he’s more of a boxer than a fighter, I would say.

“He’s clinical and clean with his shots, he’s very, very fit and he’s a nice, little stylist. He’s got a great future ahead of him.

“He’s very evasive and he’s difficult to hit, which is something that we put a lot of emphasis on in our training programmes.

“And I think that because he’s a really fit kid, those longer amount of rounds are really going to suit him.

“He’s got a really bright future, because he’s a really dedicated person, which you need to be if you’re going to turn professional like he has done.”

The quartet of pros in Wharton’s stable have all turned to the paid ranks in a short space of time.

2-0 Davey only debuted in October, while Barton, Wilson and Benka are due to make their bows as soon as is possible.

Wharton insisted that all of the fighters now coming through have come from a long-term project at the gym.

“He’s got his good stable-mates around him and Henry’s Gym is becoming a really bright stable at the moment,” Wharton added.

“We’ve waited long enough, because it does feel like a long time. But one of the things that we’ve emphasised is, teach it right.

“We haven’t just boxed for a result. We’ve emphasised about looking towards the future.

“When I’ve taken these lads around the world, I’ve put them in against opponents who they maybe shouldn’t have been in against at that time.

“But I’ve let them see what those fights are like and been able to say ‘That’s where we need to be and those are the areas that we need to work on’.

“We haven’t just accepted the results at the time, we’ve always been looking at the long-term.”

Wharton also called on the public in York to get behind his young crop of fighters and show their support for them as they make the step up in the paid ranks.

“To have the support like I did, it’s just fantastic,” he said. “It’s like you’ve got another arm in that ring with you.

“Once you’ve got that support and there are people out there that genuinely want you to win, it’s unbelievable. It gives you a feeling that’s hard to describe, it’s more than self-worth.

“The people that are supporting these young guys right now can be a part of the team and we’ll all get there together.

“When we go forward and win, which these guys are, and they’re going to bring things back to the city which have never been done before.

“We can all enjoy that at the same time because you can say that you’ve supported these guys and had such an input because you supported these guys from the word go. These guys are going to be the stars of the future.”