Former World Champion boxer James Degale hosts fundraising event in Chatham

KentOnline / KMTV

The 2008 gold medalist held the masterclass for youngsters in Chatham as part of fundraising for Leilani Aisthorp. Finn MacDiarmid reports

Transcript

00:00While some Olympians are celebrating their achievements in France, one former gold medalist is giving something back to the boxing community.

00:07Back in 2008, James DeGaulle represented Great Britain in the middleweight boxing event beating Cuba's Emilio Bayo,

00:1416-14.

00:16Now DeGaulle is teaching his sport to eager youngsters and those wanting to break into the boxing scene.

00:22I was a bit lost because after I retired, you're thinking, right, what can I do now? I retired at 32.

00:28And you just revert back to what you know. That's boxing. I've boxed my whole life. I left school when I was 15.

00:35I got exposed. So I was very, very

00:39lucky and privileged that I had something that I was good at. And boxing's not just all physical. A majority of it's up there.

00:46So you're exhausted

00:48by thinking of the combinations, by thinking about, oh my god, a punch is coming. Let me slip, let me get out of the way.

00:54So it's all mental. A majority of it is.

00:58One, time. Lovely work.

01:00DeGaulle, also an MBE, gave the young boxers advice on their footwork, guard placement and the tactics of the sport,

01:06such as when to throw a jab, a cross or a body shot.

01:10The class, which saw the boxer give one-on-one advice as well as answer questions in a Q&A session and give out photos,

01:16was all to help raise money for Leilani.

01:19Leilani was born with a rare heart and lung condition. She needs surgery to correct her arteries and some of her lung removed.

01:25Her condition means she's in and out of the hospital and needs to be fed every two hours around the clock.

01:31Yeah, so we're fundraising for my daughter Leilani. She's got a rare heart and lung condition.

01:36We've had James DeGaulle down here today, obviously supporting, doing boxing with the children and also adult classes. So people coming together,

01:45contributing and fundraising for a surgery that she needs. Oh, no, it's been fantastic. The local community have got behind us on various events.

01:53Yeah, so they're here today supporting,

01:55contributing towards the fundraising cause.

01:58Their GoFundMe page is halfway to the

02:01£250,000 needed to be raised in order to fly the family out to Boston, Massachusetts for the surgery.

02:06For more fundraising, Kent Gloves and Ultimate Masterclass are putting on a raffle,

02:10with the main prize being a signed Tyson Fury boxing glove and runner-up prizes of vouchers for local restaurants.

02:16Two-time former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua also donated a signed glove for Leilani's cause.

02:22It's fair to say that the boxing community are all in her corner.

02:26Finn McDermott for KMTV in Medway.

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