Our History

St Mary’s Amateur Boxing Club is one of the oldest Amateur Boxing Clubs in the county of Kent and also nationally . The club has been providing people from Medway and other areas of the region with a friendly, safe and welcoming place to box for 90 years.

We were originally established in 1926 from our old premises behind Chatham Town Hall, but moved to our current home in Street End Road, Chatham in 1948. As the initiative was explored in more detail it soon became apparent the club would need to be made available to the wider community in the Medway area.

Since then, we have seen many of our boxers become professional, including former Commonwealth, European and WBU Bantamweight champion Johnny Armour, heavyweight Tom Dallas and boxing referee Ian John-Lewis. Ian John-Lewis  was a British welterweight title contender before his pro career was cut short. All three of the above boxed out of St Mary's, with Tom Dallas still putting in the odd appearance.

The premises were put under the hammer at auction on Monday, July 25 2011 as part of the sale involving several commercial units in Street End Road. St Mary's had previously rented the property for a peppercorn rent of just £26 a year, but following the death of its landlady, the future of the club was put in doubt.

In the later part of 2011, work was soon underway to get the club established in a new way and a suitable site for a new gymnasium was made. A club committee was formed and in early 2012 Charity Status was granted on the grounds that the club would be a non profit making organisation. An application was made in early 2012 to the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) to have the club formally recognised as a ClubMark Club. This application was successfully completed in the later part of 2012 and now St Mary’s Amateur Boxing club is a recognised ClubMark Club.