A BOXING club in Abingdon had a successful open day to launch the re-opening of the club.

Paul Blair launched the Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club at Abingdon United Football Club last week before its official opening this week.

The club first started in 1932 but closed in 2017. However, Mr Blair decided to take it on as boxing helped him “turn my life around”.

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He said: “The open day was a great success and shows how much Abingdon is in need of a boxing club.

“The afternoon kicked off with a lifelong member of the club, Dave Jeffreys, who proudly cut the ribbon to officially open the gates in memory of the late John Joyce, both Dave and John worked closely over many years, with blood, sweat and tears to ensure Abingdon was able to provide the community with a boxing club.

“The afternoon brought the community together and was enjoyed by all, with a special guest appearance from Abingdon's Deputy Mayor, Gabby Barody, who was really impressed with the set up and is happily supporting the club in its journey to long term success.”

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Mr Blair’s vision is to provide the community a “place to go to get fit, channel emotion and apply discipline.”

If you are interested in joining Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club, e-mail ATABC2022@outlook.com or find them on social media.

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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