Wayne Pilgrim wants to put Haverhill back on the boxing map when Chalkstone Amateur Boxing Club hosts its first show next month

Wayne Pilgrim is hoping to put Haverhill back on the boxing map when Chalkstone Amateur Boxing Club (ABC) hosts their first show in the town next month.

The club, based at the Defence and Fitness Rooms, at Strasbourg Square, in Haverhill, will be putting on a night of amateur boxing at the Haverhill Arts Centre on Saturday, April 15.

Last November, Chalkstone ABC celebrated having a first ever national champion in their ranks, when Frank Pett was victorious in the Amateur Boxing Alliance Junior Novice Championships.

And now with a debut show only a month away, Pilgrim, one of the coaches at Chalkstone, is excited to take another step forward in their progression as a club.

“Between the coaches we’ve been talking about putting on a show for a while,” he said.

“A lot of clubs in amateur boxing host shows but it’s just finding a suitable venue really and also getting boxers from other clubs to turn up.

“It’s not a profitable thing. Hiring a venue isn’t cheap, but for us we just want to get the boys boxing and get boxing noticed in the town again.

“For amateur boxers it’s been a very long time I would have thought since the last show in Haverhill, if ever.

“I know there’s been a couple of white collar boxing charity events five or six years ago but that’s about it.”

Pilgrim is anticipating the card to feature between 15 and 20 bouts, mostly featuring home boxers including the likes of Bray Holder, Bailey Hobbs, Sree Dandamudt, Mackenzie Akehurst, Louis Harrison, Daniel Pepper, Ben Warren, Mitchell Forshaw and Michael Pulman.

Meanwhile, boxers from visiting clubs including Colchester, Doncaster and Swindon will also be involved in the action.

“In terms of our own club we’ve got three seniors, one in their early 30s, one in their late 20s and the other is 19,” Pilgrim said.

“The rest of our boxers on the card range from between 11 and 16. At the moment it hasn’t quite sunk in, they’re just training as normal.

“I think the closer it gets and the families will start to buy tickets then it will get a little bit more nerve racking. They’re excited for it.

“All our coaches are volunteers and it’s brilliant to see a kid who is shy and quiet come into the gym and develop, not just as a boxer, but as a person, and they come out of their shell.

“On the flip side there’s also those who are a little bit more boisterous and need taming down a little bit.

“Within a few months you can see their behaviour shift. For us coaches, it’s about having a place where these kids can come out of their shell and grow into good young lads.”

Tickets for Chalkstone’s first show are available to purchase online at: www.haverhillartscentre.co.uk

Elsewhere, Pilgrim stepped in the ring at the weekend as part of a Prospect Boxing Promotions card at Trinity Park, in Ipswich.

The Chalkstone coach, who lost to Leon Cowell, from Mamba Martial Arts, said: “I had a month to prepare for it, so it wasn’t like it was overnight.

“At the last minute my coach had to pull out, so I just want to thank Wayne Stevenson, a friend of mine who did my corner for me.

“He was completely out of his depth as he knows nothing about boxing, but he did me a massive favour and I just want to thank him publicly.”