Sheffield boxing legend Glyn Rhodes receives major honour after 50 years in boxing
Glyn Rhodes will pick up a well-earned honour at a ceremony in Leeds next month
Glyn Rhodes is set to add another major honour to a remarkable life in boxing when he is inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame next month.
The 66-year-old owner and chief trainer of Sheffield Boxing Centre has been selected in the Hall of Fame's Modern Era category and will receive the honour at a ceremony in Leeds.
For Rhodes, the recognition is a fitting acknowledgement of a contribution to boxing which, in recent years, has extended far beyond what happens inside the ropes.
"I have been voted in by my peers, so I am very honoured," he told The Star today.
His work with young people, his commitment to his Sheffield community and the generations of fighters he has helped develop have become more important to his legacy than his own career as a boxer and trainer.
Rhodes was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to boxing and young people in Sheffield.
He established Sheffield Boxing Centre in 1994 and over the years the gym has become much more than a place to learn the sport.
It has provided a focus, discipline and direction for countless young people, while also producing fighters who have competed at the highest levels.
The centre has also been involved in a wide range of community and charitable work, including anti-bullying initiatives and fundraising.
And that work has not gone unnoticed by the British Boxing Hall of Fame.
The organisation celebrates people who have made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the nation's boxing.
Its annual induction ceremonies bring together some of the most respected names in the sport, including former world champions, trainers, promoters and other influential figures.
Previous inductees have included Sheffield's Johnny Nelson, Joe Calzaghe, Sir Henry Cooper and Ken Buchanan.
Rhodes' own journey began in 1976, when, aged 16, he walked into Brendan Ingle's Wincobank gym.
He went on to have a professional career spanning 65 fights before retiring from the ring in 1993.
A year later he established Sheffield Boxing Centre and began the next chapter of his career, becoming a trainer, manager and mentor.
The timing of the Hall of Fame induction is also appropriate.
This year marks 50 years since Rhodes, now a Stannington father of two, first entered the sport.