BoxingScene last week reported that Dave Harris, the head of Ringside Charitable Trust (RCT), was losing faith in the boxing industry rallying to help the charity in its bid to open a care home for retired boxers. Five days on, Harris has confirmed that Anthony Joshua, one of the most influential figures in the entire sport, has expressed an interest in being of significant assistance.
Joshua, the former heavyweight champion, remains in contact with his old amateur trainers, and one of them, John Oliver, is a trustee of the charity. It is understood that Oliver broached the subject with Joshua, who he is keen to help.
“I spoke today with John Oliver, who has confirmed that he has been in discussions with Anthony Joshua, and he’s expressed an interest in collaborating with Ringside Charitable Trust to build a care home for ex-boxers,” Harris said Monday.
Joshua himself confirmed that such talks with Oliver were indeed underway during an appearance on BBC’s Desert Island Discs on Sunday night.
“They suffer themselves, so we’ve been speaking about opening up a care home,” Joshua said. “That would be part of my boxing legacy – that I gave something back to the sport that made me.”
The registered charity, which has been in existence for six years, is designed purely to help ex-boxers in need with the care home long overdue when one considers the number of fighters who fall on hard times for a variety of reasons in retirement.
Though Harris and his team in the U.K. have raised more than £200,000, they are yet to receive any real help from those who can make a difference and implement a sustainable future for the charity and the home.
Until now.
“We would like to express our immense gratitude to Anthony Joshua for acknowledging the real unmet need for specialist support for ex-boxers following their retirement from the sport,” Harris continued.
“Anthony Joshua is the first elite boxer to publicly acknowledge this need and we hope more from the boxing community will follow his lead.
“Anthony Joshua has conveyed his desire to work with his friend and RCT trustee, John Oliver, alongside RCT in building the care home.
“We at Ringside look forward to working with him in the future.”
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