Boxing is not every youth worker's cup of tea. To many it symbolises man's inhumanity to man, a brutal punch-up in the ring. It is a view shared by Susie Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Principal Youth and Community Officers. "As an ex-PE teacher, I'm completely opposed to boxing," she says. "I can't call it a 'sport' when its sole aim is to knock someone unconscious."
Yet boxing is fighting back against conventional wisdom. Its supporters say it is an activity that speaks to hard-to-reach young men who might not be interested in traditional youth work.
In London, boxing has always been part of the youth scene. And its influence is likely to grow with the election of the city's mayor Boris Johnson who made a campaign pledge to bring back youth boxing.
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