CHAMPS CAMP
The thriving gym is again a prominent name in the North West, writes John Evans
FORMED in the aftermath of the 1981 Moss Side riots in a derelict space above a shop, Champs Camp became one of the most recognisable names in British boxing. Under Phil Martin’s watch, the Manchester gym developed from a bare bones amateur club designed to provide the area with a positive focal point into one of the country’s most successful gyms. At one point in 1993 Champs Camp was home to four reigning British champions.
The biggest beneficiaries of Martin’s vision weren’t the champions whose names graced these very pages but the hundreds of nameless characters who made the intimidating climb up the famous steps and escaped the temptations and hazards of life on the streets of inner city Manchester. Champs Camp became a conveyor belt for talented amateur and professional fighters and a haven from the gang wars which tore apart Moss Side during the 1980s and ‘90s. Haroon Headley grew up in the troubled area and was one of the impressionable youngsters who found his way into the gym. Earlier this year, Headley once again climbed the steps only this time he was walking into Champs Camp to take up residence as a trainer.
“It was a good feeling. It’s exciting,” Headley told Boxing News. “I’ve got Daniel Murray helping me and on our first day at the gym I looked at Dan and said, ‘We were amateur kids in here waiting to train. Look at us now. We’re leading the way for our own fighters.’ I grew up around here and my eyes were open to what was going on. The gym was a sanctuary for me because a lot of my friends got caught up in the gangs. One of my best friends from school, Benji Stanley, got shot dead in a takeaway and I didn’t want that. A lot of lads swerved the gym or went in once and didn’t go back. I stayed. I met grown men in there from different walks of life who were father figures. I was one of six boys that my mum brought up alone. The gym saved a lot. It might have saved a lots who never boxed but did the circuits. I see some of those guys today and although they never boxed you can see the stature of them.”
Despite the recent proliferation of boxing gyms in and around Manchester, gym stalwarts and former British champions Maurice Core and Ensley Bingham have worked tirelessly to ensure that Champs Camp remained a prominent name on the North West scene. Over the course of the past 18 months Headley has been forced to move his stable of fighters around the city so when the opportunity to return home and put down some deeper roots at such a well-established gym presented itself, he grabbed it with both hands.
“The gym is ran by committee nowadays and Maurice did a lot of negotiating for me and was instrumental in the decision to get me a slot in the gym. Maurice and Ensley possess so much knowledge and are in mentoring positions. I feel like I have a lot of strength pillars around me now. I’ve been on my own in little dusty container units with a ring and a few bags. Put me in a real gym with history, this level of support, and where my heart is and I’ll go high. It’s a perfect area to work from. It’s rough and ready and there is raw natural talent around.”
Headley has already guided Jack Catterall to a British title and with John Telford set to challenge Matthew Wigglesworth for the Central Area middleweight belt in March, and fighters like Atif Shafiq and Jake James in the ranks, it may not be long before one of Britain’s most famous institutions is back competing for titles on a regular basis. As well as achieving his professional targets, Headley is also keen on providing the areas youngsters with the same opportunity he had.
“I was having this conversation with Maurice the other day. There’s no junior session at the moment. I’m a pro trainer but I want to give back to the area and nurture through the youngsters. I’ve put my hat in the ring and said that if there’s any chance of getting a junior session going I’m up for doing it. Nowadays, kids are picking up knives rather than throwing their hands at each other if theres a problem. If I can get some backing from local knife campaign outfits, I’ll push things as hard as I can.”
‘IT’S ROUGH AND READY, THERE IS NATURAL TALENT HERE’