A Sheffield boxing trainer is to be inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame.
Glyn Rhodes MBE began his career in the ring aged 19 under the tutelage of legendary coach Brendan Ingle and now runs Sheffield Boxing Centre, which has produced numerous champions.
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Rhodes will be honoured at a ceremony next year which celebrates figures in the boxing world who have made a lasting contribution to the sport.
The 66-year-old described the news as both “tremendous” and “surreal”, adding: “This is voted for by people in boxing, your peers in the game. That makes it special.”
Rhodes trained alongside the likes of Herol “Bomber” Graham and “Prince” Naseem Hamed in what he said was a “golden era” for the world famous Ingle Gym in Wincobank.
Looking back on his 14-year career in the ring, he described it as “the best thing I ever did”.
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“I left school with no qualifications, I got to see places. Boxing’s been good to me,” he said.
However, Rhodes admitted there were times when he was tempted to walk away from the sport.
In 2018, one of his fighters, Scott Westgarth, died after falling ill following a fight in Doncaster and Rhodes had been in the boxer’s corner on the night.
“But walk away and do what?,” asked Rhodes, who was appointed MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to boxing and young people in Sheffield.
“I’d go to the gym and see the kids, some of them proper little scallies, and I’d think, I was one [of them] once,” he said.
Glyn Rhodes at his gym, Sheffield Boxing Centre, near Hillsborough [BBC]
The British Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2015 by former amateur boxer, trainer, manager and promoter Dave Harris, who is also the founder of the Ringside Charitable Trust, which supports ex-boxers with pugilistic dementia.
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Nominations for the Hall of Fame are made and voted for by the 18 ex-boxers associations across the UK.
Rhodes is expected to be inducted at a gala ceremony in Leeds with high-profile guests from the sport.
He will join the likes of Barry McGuigan, Frank Bruno, Joe Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis in being recognised for their contributions to boxing.
Harris said Rhodes had received “a lot” of votes, adding: “He is very well-liked and respected, as well as being an outstanding boxer with clever moves.”
“He’s something special, very caring: a credit to boxing,” Harris said.
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