WITH a new Sports Minister installed after the December 18 PLP election victory, former professional boxer Troy Darrell has made a fresh plea for Government to make good on their long-standing promise to set up a boxing centre at Admiralty House.

El James is now Bermuda's Sports Minister taking over from Randy Horton who in turn took over from Dale Butler. But with successive Sports Ministers, Darrell said he has yet to see the improvements which must be made if Admiralty House is to become a proper boxing centre. "We have been promised that Admiralty House would become a centre for boxing with a proper ring but nothing has ever happened. Bermuda needs a proper centre for boxing ¿ we have a lot of talent here and also boxing can keep a lot of young guys off the street," said the Hall of Fame boxer who became one of the best middleweights in the world two decades ago.

And with this week's shootings and a spate of gang activity in recent years, Darrell said: "Way back in 1984 I said that what we needed was a place for the youth to go and something for them to do to get them off the streets. In 1984 we didn't have gangs. Here in 2007 we have gangs. I not saying that boxing is the complete cure for all of that but it will certainly help.

"The public in Bermuda loves boxing. And the sport helps to build character for youngsters. We need somewhere where we can put in a ring, heavy bags, mirrors along with showers and a changing room. It doesn't have to be anything fancy but it needs to be central and permanent. And that is what we have been hoping for Admiralty House for all these years. A lot of guys like me and Clarence (Olympic bronze menallist Clarence Hill) are willing to work with young boxers. There is so much raw talent in Bermuda but we need an outlet for them ¿ somewhere they can go to work on that talent so they can channel it properly.

"People come to me every day and ask if we are going to get a facility and gym. Not everyone wants to become a top boxer ¿ many just want to keep in shape and have a regular workout. Not everyone is going to make a career out of boxing like I did ¿ they want to do it for exercise. But we do have some here who can make a career out of it. A number of boxers would like to represent Bermuda at the Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games and perhaps the Olympics and we have to give them the opportunities."

And Darrell said one would be hard-pushed to find a sport which grabs the attention of people right across the social spectrum like boxing does. "Just look at the people who come out when they have fight nights here. People come out of the woodwork ¿ people you have never seen before. Boxing brings out everyone ¿ black, white, rich and poor. The people pack out these fight nights ¿ they are hungry for it. The Bermudians and expats all love the sport. You can have a top company boss standing next to a construction guy both enjoying the bouts and talking to each other about it. It has been like that for years even when I was coming along as an amateur. Just ask anyone who used to go to the fights at BAA. It was packed out. We entertained people for many years."

When Darrell was coming along ¿ he had his first fight in the ring at seven years old ¿ many of Bermuda's boxers came out of the Pembroke Youth Centre. "I came up with Sammy Wilson who was in charge of Pembroke Youth Centre. The Youth Centre was our outlet. They had a lot of programmes for the youth. We also had the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association with people like Clevelyn Crichlow and Vic Richmond helping out a great deal. They spent a lot of their time organising the sport. At BAA we had the amateur bouts and then the professional fights ¿ a lot of very good pros fought here and of course you had Clarence Hill. I had my first professional fight when I was 13 years old. That shows how I came through and then of course I ended up as a professional fighter. I am not saying that is going to happen to everybody. PYC took a lot of kids who may have ended up on the streets getting up to no good."

And Darrell said he has seen what being around boxing has done to many people. "I know many guys who boxed and who now have gone on to other things but one thing about them is that the sport made them better people. Boxing teaches you discipline and makes you confident in your own ability. That is something many young people lack today. I look at the people who used to box years ago and I know that the sport made them better people. And then you had guys who stayed with it like Quinn Paynter who fought for Bermuda in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

"There is a lot of talent in Bermuda ¿ raw talent ¿ and they need an outlet. Boxing is the only sport that has won an Olympic medal when Clarence won the bronze in Montreal (in 1976). That put Bermuda on the map. We have the talent here ¿ we always had the talent."

And that talent needs to be nurtured in a permanent facility. "We need a place to put up a ring, bags, mirrors and shower facilities and changing rooms. We do not need anything fancy but somewhere which is permanent."

Of the new Sports Minister El James, Darrell said: "I heard the new Sports Minister on the news the other day but it sounded like they were going to be concentrating on cricket and soccer. We just want some consideration.

"We don't need that huge amount of money. If it is operated properly and organised right a boxing facility will be beneficial to the community. If we had a place which was a proper training facility we could also put on bouts and help the facility to pay for itself."