TOMMY’S FIGHT Vs KNIFE CRIME
BOXER’S TRIBUTE TO STABBING VICTIM
TOMMY Coyle has paid tribute to stabbing victim Abdullah Balouchi by taking his boxing bus on the road and engaging young people in the area in a fight against knife crime.
He set up the outdoor ring at the Peel Street scene from around 6pm on Tuesday to help promote the sport of boxing as an alternative to spending time on the streets. Speaking with the young people who had d
i gathered outside the ring, he said: “This is about getting out and doing something positive.
“Some of you may end up liking this game, e, going to a gym, launching a career out of it and earning a living from it.
“I know for a fact that if I hadn’t been in n the gym at 6.30pm every night, I’d have e probably been on the street getting up to o no good because when you’re bored, that’s ’s what happens.”
The Hull boxer’s Box Clever Bus scheme e launched last year following antisocial al behaviour in north Hull.
The bus featured a boxing ring and d equipment, games consoles and gym equipment. It was designed to get youths off ff the streets and doing something positive.
Before Tuesday’s event, he said Hull City Council had given them permission to take the boxing bus to Peel Street in an attempt to tackle antisocial behaviour in the area.
Paying tribute to Abdullah ahead of the event, he said: “It’s so sad because a young man has lost his life, the full life that he had ahead of him.”
Tommy said he knew of Abdullah’s family from St Paul’s Amateur Boxing Club where Abdullah went to train.
He said: “It’s tragic. It really is. I see young boys growing up in this city. I used to get into trouble when I was younger, but never once did I leave the house and feel I had to put a knife in my pocket.
“There is no need for knives. Carrying one does not prove how tough or strong you are.
“You hear a lot about gangs around the city and things like that and we just need to get to these kids and tell them there are other ways of earning.
“They can come and spend time with us and and speak withspeak with us us and seeand see there is something different. You can spend time studying and get a good job and a good career and that can get you a good life. Quick gains are never forever, they don’t last.
“I just want to see change.”
Abdul Al-amudyi, 32, of Cambridge Street in Hull, Khalid Aadan, 18, Mohamed Aadan, 19, both of Pendrill Street and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been charged with Abdullah’s murder.
They will all appear at Hull Crown Court on February 5.