Detroit boxing champion aims to turn boxing gym into a community center
(CBS DETROIT) - A Detroit boxer is determined to turn his gym into a community center, but the road to rebuilding what was once an abandoned building on the city's northwest side hasn't been easy.
"[This is important] because nobody will put money in our area," Tony Harrison said.
Champion boxer, Tony "Superbad" Harrison is not only determined to put Detroit boxing back on the map, he also wants to leave a positive mark on the city too.
"I think this is a diamond in the rough for us," he said.
Harrison's referring to his boxing gym, Superbad Fitness, on Puritan Street and Indiana Avenue. He says he wanted to invest in an area starved for resources.
"There's nothing up and down Puritan," Harrison said. "It's literally nothing. But you see kids all day running outside, running up and down the street."
Harrison bought the building back in 2015 and has since rehabbed most of it despite three different contractors taking off with money and failing to complete work on the building's roof. According to Harrison, it's been a frustrating feat, but he isn't deterred.
"We've actually progressed, to be honest. I've probably got like half of the building done, but like I said, the third guy that was fixing it just never came back," Harrison said.
Harrison's lost nearly $100,000 paying contractors for work they never completed, but he considers it all a learning lesson as he maintains his commitment to Detroit, Puritan, and bringing boxing back to the city.
"In the 80s and 90s it was Detroit. It was no other place but Detroit. My whole dream was to bring good boxing back to Detroit. So, that's why I never left," he said.
Harrison says the building that houses his gym is still a work in progress, but the gym is up and running it's there he and other local boxers train and host fitness classes.
