Sikh boxing club aims to help vulnerable children

Bhupinder Singh, known as Pops, runs The MLSS Boxing Academy in Walsall

A boxing club which helps to get vulnerable young people away from gangs is the subject of a documentary.

The Midland Langar Seva Society [MLSS] Boxing Academy in Walsall features in Sikh Boxing Warriors on BBC One on Wednesday.

The community hub, run by Bhupinder Singh, also known as Pops, offers a state-of-the-art gym, a boxing gym, an onsite cafe and a music studio.

Since it opened in 2021, Mr Singh has used the facilities to train 14 amateur fighters and three pros and has also offered fitness and training to hundreds of others.

'Really humbling'

Mr Singh said the hub, which was was opened by John Fury, boxer Tyson Fury's father, on 10 July 2021, had helped to bring vulnerable kids off the street.

"The place that we're living in, Walsall, it's a very vulnerable area, there's a lot of gangs crime, there's a lot of knife crime so we try to get these kids off the street, bring them into our gym so they got a focus," he explained.

The hub is part of the Midlands Langar Seva Society, a non-profit organisation that serves hot meals to the homeless across the UK.

Mr Singh said it was "really humbling" to see the facilities, which included equipment for children with SEND and holiday projects for children whose parents were struggling, was helping the community.

"I'm a devoted Sikh and this is part of seva [selfless service] anyway, so seva comes in all ways, from teaching boxing, to serving hot meals, to the less fortunate," he said.

The documentary, which was filmed in February, is also set to follow the journey of one of his protégés, Junior Foster, 24, as he trains for his first professional fight.

Sikh Boxing Warriors will be shown on BBC One at 22:40 BST on 1 May.