EDDIE HEARN claims Anthony Joshua could have ended up dead without boxing as he slammed the Government’s ‘disgusting’ decision to leave boxing out of their £300million bail-out.
Rugby and horse racing are among the 11 sports that will receive emergency funding.
Matchroom promoter Hearn, 41, is furious that grassroots boxing has been left off the list.
At the launch of The National Lottery and ITV’s Miss Out to Help Out project, he said: “It’s so disgusting that the government are not supporting grassroots boxing.
“A huge amount of money is going into rugby and horse racing, yet nothing into a sport that’s saving people’s lives and that’s because they’re so far removed from those communities.
“They have no idea what boxing does in the community. They’ve never been to an ABC boxing club.
“You would only have to walk in to one to see the kind of kids who are in there.
“It’s keeping kids off the street, it’s keeping them physically in shape, mentally focused, it’s keeping them driven.
“Yet you want to put money into horse racing. These kids aren’t going to gravitate towards horse racing or rugby. There’s too many barriers to entry.
“You can walk into a boxing club around the corner in your community and change your life.
“Go and talk to Anthony Joshua about what boxing did for him and where he’d be without boxing – in prison, dead, anything.
“They can help so many community clubs survive.”
AJ previously told SunSport how he would have been behind bars without his beloved boxing to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston outlined the ‘winter survival package’ in a Commons statement this week.
The injection of cash will provide much-needed security for sports facing financial difficulty as a result of the Covid crisis.
Rugby union was granted the biggest share of the loans made available, with a £135m fund.
Horse racing gets the next biggest share, with courses splitting £40m between them.
