The heavy bags at Old Market Boxing Club are patched with tape, the ring ropes were replaced only last winter, and in the late afternoon dust hangs in the light from the high windows. Yet the small gym behind Riverton’s old market hall has become the most successful youth boxing club in the country.
In the past two years, its fighters have won three national youth titles and seven medals at national championships. Two of them were called up to the junior national team this season.
A gym built on routine
The club trains six days a week. Children start at ten with skipping, footwork and pad work; sparring comes only after a year, and only with headguards and a coach in the ring. “Discipline first, punches later,” says the hand-written sign by the door.
Most kids come in thinking boxing is about fighting. After a month they understand it is about breathing, patience and turning up on time.
Viktor Ilić, head coach
Ilić, a former national featherweight champion, took over the gym 12 years ago, when it had eight members and a leaking roof. Today it has 140, about a third of them girls, and a waiting list of 60.
Champions and schoolwork
Among the club’s success stories is 17-year-old Sara Begović, the national youth champion in the lightweight division. She trains before school and after, and says her grades improved once boxing gave her a fixed schedule. “If I skip homework, I don’t spar. Coach checks,” she said.
Fees are kept at 15 euros a month, and children from families who cannot afford them train for free. The club survives on membership, a modest grant from the city and an annual charity evening organized by former members.
Looking for space
Success has created a problem: there is no room. The city has offered the club part of a disused warehouse in the old town, but the building needs new heating and a floor that can carry a ring. The club estimates the work at around 180,000 euros and has started a fundraising campaign.
“We will train here as long as the walls stand,” Ilić said. “But these kids deserve showers that work.”
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