Rushden boxing club's bid to make town safer for all and stop kids ...

Bosses at Titan Fitness Boxing Academy have taken significant strides to support the local community in recent months, showing immense dedication to improving safety, tackling anti-social behaviour and bringing people together by using the sport to make a positive impact.

Todd Tompkins is the owner of the gym and an increasingly decorated boxer in his own right, recently celebrating a pair of wins. When we caught up with him, he was at a Northamptonshire Children’s Trust event at Northampton Town Football Club.

He said: “There was a stabbing in Rushden last year and it feels like it’s starting to become a regular thing, so me running a boxing gym I felt like I needed to do something about it.

“I work a lot with children anyway, but I wanted to aim in the direction of giving them a bit of awareness about what’s going on outside of the gym as well, and the distractions and pathways people can easily walk down. I wanted to do something to stand out and get in people’s faces about it and understand that isn’t the right path to go down and instead promote health, fitness, and giving kids a good start.

"What better way to do it than to give them a set of boxing gloves and start them on their tracks.”

‘Boxingbola’ is a new charity by the gym which, in March, provided 100 free pairs of boxing gloves to local kids and young people, hoping to help them channel their energy in the gym and encouraging a reduction in knife crime and bothersome behaviour. Todd notes that ‘60 or 70’ of those who received gloves have come back to continue their journey with the sport.

Alongside this, Titan Fitness has carried on with its charitable deeds by way of free pop-up sessions, raffles, workshops and installing bleed kits around the town. Bosses are also planning a fun run in Hall Park on July 20, and are encouraging those attending to dress in bright colours and costumes and complete the 3km distance at their own pace.

"A young amateur boxer at the time had a vision to ask kids to stop carrying knives and put their energy into boxing so gave out boxing gloves for free. He then had his first professional fight and with his winnings bought bleed kits for places around Rushden.”

Plans for the future are big, with Todd recently purchasing a new truck and modifying it in the hope of providing mobile sessions to people who are unable to get to the gym. Local businesses will begin sponsoring the truck, which will in turn mean that Titan Fitness can provide free sessions on the move for ‘people who might not necessarily be able to afford coming to the gym.”

Todd added: “I want to interact with these guys and encourage health and fitness through boxing. I want to get the whole of Rushden and Higham boxing, that’s my goal.

“You put good karma in, good karma comes back to you, it’s just about trying to form a positive circle and reach out to as many people as possible, because when I was a young lad I had support of multiple coaches, and it’s turned me into the person I am today.”

Titan Fitness’ Boxingbola will be the beneficiary of a dad’s charity football match by Finedon Volta Juniors, taking place at Finedon Recreational Ground. It starts at 3pm on June 9, and a JustGiving link can be found here.

A Finedon Volta spokesman said: "Boxingbola is an amazing charity which is aimed at the youth of our society, in which it aims to help educate and prevent against knife crime, but also offering a space where they can train and learn in a safe environment.

“At Finedon Volta Juniors we feel this is a huge positive and we really want to get behind this and support it the best we can."