WITH successive gold medals, national selections, and continental fights, two brothers have helped to cement Team Leigh Boxing Club's status on an international stage.
Joining Leigh Boxing & Fitness Gym at eight years old, Paddy and Will Hewitt are just two success stories from a club that has had countless championship wins and produced 14 professional athletes.
Representing Team Leigh, the twins have won seven national boxing titles between them, with Will fighting for England in the European Youth Games and earning another 11 North West championships.
Fighting for Team GB, Paddy has also won three international Golds and was named the Best GB Academy boxer for 2023. The 21-year-old won a further gold in the Algarve Cup in Portugal last year, which put Team Leigh in third place behind the Cuban and Italian national teams.
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With Paddy and Will training at the Scott Street gym for the best part of 13 years, they put the main factor in their success down to their "no nonsense" coach Adrian Fleming, who took over as the club’s head coach 23 years ago.
Paddy said: "Adrian is what has made the club so successful and he is the main factor in my success.
"He's put the hard work in every year for 20 years off his own back, and he doesn't get anything back from it apart from our success.
"We always have a laugh before and after training, but Adrian has made it a competitive environment. He's no nonsense when it comes to training and we're always trying to better ourselves in the gym."
While the twins both have their sights on the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and making it professional, they are not the only ones who have helped to make Team Leigh a respected and feared competitor.
Fighters like Eloise Edwards, Cain Morris, Ethyn Weaver, Olivia Mills, Emily Monks, Jack Catterall, Zak Adams, Kyle Parr, Matty Burgess and John Dugdale have all flied the flag for their country, with many more impressive athletes coming through the ranks.
And while there are boundless success stories from a club that punches far above its weight, its main aim is to be a community club that provides opportunities to kids from a range of ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
Speaking previously to the Journal, Adrian said: "That's how the club was founded, as a true community club that provides opportunities for young people and helps the community where we can.
"We have a tried and tested progression that has been proven over the years, which is only going to get better now we are getting more coaches on board.
"Success breeds success and with everyone training and pushing each other on, that is how we have made so many winners.
"It is amazing to think that we are regarded as one of the most successful amateur boxing clubs that have come out of a small gym, from a rugby town in Leigh."
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