About lionboxingacademy.com
The Early Years
The club was founded in 1934 by Dicky Pates who became Chairman then followed by Jarvis Astaire, Vanni Treves CBE, Tony Evans, Alan Parry BEM. The latter spent nearly 50 years with the club and 25 years as Chairman. Alan was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2012 in her late Majesty's birthday honours and also London Y
The Early Years
The club was founded in 1934 by Dicky Pates who became Chairman then followed by Jarvis Astaire, Vanni Treves CBE, Tony Evans, Alan Parry BEM. The latter spent nearly 50 years with the club and 25 years as Chairman. Alan was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2012 in her late Majesty's birthday honours and also London Youth Gold Medal for services to youth and Amateur boxing. Our current Chairman Paul Morant is Alan's nephew and took over in March 2022 has been with the Lion for 40 years.
The club's original location was at the nearby St Moncia's School in Hoxton Square and moved to its current premises in Pitfield Street in 1961 & in 1963 the club became a registered charity.
in 2017 the premises was redeveloped under the vision of Alan Parry to bring the club into the 21st century with a state of the art boxing gym funded by the project.
The club originally was a boys club offering many sports & activities but in the 1990's changed its name and welcomed girls/females for the first time in its history with a focus on boxing. In January 2024 a new crest and a new name Lion Boxing Academy was born.
The club motto is "The Lion Roars" however during the early days and to this day the objectives for the club is to help educate young people resident in the area of benefit through their leisure time activities so to develop their physical, mental & spiritual capacities that they may grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society and that their conditions of life may be improved.
Previous Coaches
The club have had many notable coaches/volunteers and helpers over the years but one man who was associated with Lion for over 70 years was Roy MacDonald (pictured above). Roy was born in the area and first boxed for the club in 1948 going on to hold the record for number of appearances (492 bouts with just 9 loses) an
Previous Coaches
The club have had many notable coaches/volunteers and helpers over the years but one man who was associated with Lion for over 70 years was Roy MacDonald (pictured above). Roy was born in the area and first boxed for the club in 1948 going on to hold the record for number of appearances (492 bouts with just 9 loses) and was head coach for more than 40 years. Roy sadly passed in 2020 and was well known to the London boxing community. A true Lion legend.
Other coaches over the years include Stan Ewens who spent >25 years with the club before also passing in 2020, Charlie Magri (Former World Flyweight Champion), Bill Howard, John Dearing, Albert Joyce, Ronnie Philpson, Mark Collings, Robbie England, Joe Taylor, Dominic Bergonzi, Steve Walters, Stevie Walters, Billy Stewart, Julian Borg, Jay Singh, Rob Brown, Dave Crikmar, Dougie John, Roy Andre, Zara-Pennet-Harris, Lee Wilson & a special mention for Danny Linger also who spent >20 years as a matchmaker for the club.
The Home of Champions
The Academy has helped produce top quality boxers for decades who wore the yellow vest and won titles at amateurs & professional levels. Notable boxers include Lawrence Okolie (Former World Cruiserweight Champion), Francis Ampofo (Former British Flyweight Champion), George Hillyard (Former WBU Intl Super Middlewei
The Home of Champions
The Academy has helped produce top quality boxers for decades who wore the yellow vest and won titles at amateurs & professional levels. Notable boxers include Lawrence Okolie (Former World Cruiserweight Champion), Francis Ampofo (Former British Flyweight Champion), George Hillyard (Former WBU Intl Super Middleweight Champion), Frankie Arnold, Dominic Bergonzi, Louis Issacs, Jesse Keough, Charles Shodiya, Haithem Laamouz, Billy Underwood, Kerstin Brown, Justin Menzie & top amateurs Dominic Bergonzi, Julian Borg, Richard Sheehan, Zak Farrugia, Amo Singh, Joe Boy Taylor, Joe Franczek, Krishan Singh, Steve Johnson, Tony Farmer, Ram Singh, Billy Stewart & former Grange Hill star of the 1980's Lee "Zammo" MacDonald.
The Lion held many proud nights both at Pitfield Street and Bethnal Green's York Hall but one of the most memorable nights was in 1987 when Heavyweight legend Iron Mike Tyson arrived in Pitfield Street to present trophies at the end of year awards night. A night that many in Hoxton will never forget. (Mike Tyson pictured above awarding trophies)