Levin boxing coach needs help so youngsters can shine in the ring

A top Levin boxing coach needs help to form a club committee so that a promising stable of young fighters get a chance to shine on the New Zealand stage.

Perry Rackley, who is from New Zealand boxing royalty, said the formation of a club would also open up the prospect of Levin Boxing Club hosting tournaments in Levin.

Rackley had coached more than 1000 people in the last 14 years from an old classroom in Hinemoa Street, ranging from young people learning the discipline of hard training, to women learning the art of self-defence.

While it wasn't just about boxing, occasionally there were youngsters showing raw talent and potential that deserved a chance to compete.

Rackley currently had a group of young boxers ready to take the next step. He believed they had a bright future and deserved the chance to reach their potential.

"There's 16 on the books and there's eight boys that could be ready to go soon," he said.

But a staged bout is a step that Rackley, a hard taskmaster, did not take lightly with any young boxer.

"I am very thorough. If you are not ready for the ring I am not going to put you in there. I am not going to put you in there to lose," he said.

"You have to be ready. It can take years...hundreds or rounds of sparring...hundreds of kilometres of running."

It took almost 10 years before Rackley finally entered a young boxer for competition. It's not that he hadn't had promising young fighters, he was just staunch in that they had to be ready and have done the hard work.

"You don't go into the ring to get beaten," he said.

Rackley said he needs to form a Levin Boxing Club committee to affiliate with New Zealand Boxing-sanctioned tournaments.

"If we want these boys to progress I have to have a committee," he said.

Rackley had more than a thousand people through the gym. It wasn't all about going to competition though, as it had helped families with children with anger problems to people wanting to use boxing as a fitness tool or self-defence.

"Even though they haven't gone to the ring they have still learnt to control their emotions and control themselves or defend themselves if they have to, and their fitness has always improved."

"Now we are asking for help," he said.

Two people had already come forward to volunteer for committee roles from the board at Hinemoa House and ideally he would like at least six more people to help fundraise and organise tournaments.

"We've had huge support from Hinemoa House. They have provided the gear and a facility to train," he said.

He said the Levin club had support from the Palmerston North Boxing Club, from the likes of Billy Meehan and Malcolm Nichols, old boxing friends he had met in the ring who were always keen to help.

"Once you get back into it they all want to help," he said.

Rackley was from a famous boxing family in Nelson. Les Rackley trained him and his three brothers Jeff, Dean and Les Jnr and numerous others to countless national titles.

All four brothers represented New Zealand, while Rackley sisters Margaret and Tish were both national volleyball representatives.

Jeff Rackley from Haven Realty Sourced with permission from http://www.havenrealty.co.nz/staff/jeff-rackley/ NZH 16Jul16 -

His brother Jeff was awarded a QSM in 2008 for services to sport and the community, and Les Jnr won a bronze medal for boxing in the middleweight division at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.

Rackley has trained boxers from a gym with no ring. It was a never a hindrance for his famous father to preparing champions.

But should they host a competition, they would secure a venue and transport a ring for the event.

"That's not a problem," he said.