Sheffield boxing: Brendan Ingle tributes continue to '˜blossom'

Treeton's Lee Potter paid tribute to the passing of Brendan Ingle by doing a job that Brendan performed almost on a weekly basis, cutting the grass in the grounds of St Thomas Church in Sheffield.
Kevin Balmforth and Lee PotterKevin Balmforth and Lee Potter
Kevin Balmforth and Lee Potter

Lee, head gardener at the Magna Centre, had been alerted that the Wincobank grounds had become overgrown over the last few months. due to Brendan’s ill health.

Lee said: “I lost my own father at 59 and thought it a fitting tribute to Brendan to do something in his memory for the community, so I brought my uncle, Kevin Balmforth, up from Nottingham and we got cracking.”

The fruits of Kevin Balmforth and Lee Potter's labourThe fruits of Kevin Balmforth and Lee Potter's labour
The fruits of Kevin Balmforth and Lee Potter's labour
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It was a common sight over the years seeing Brendan and his boxers tidying the grounds of the church which the famous gym was named after. Lee aims to keep on top off it through the Summer.

Meanwhile, boxing legend Barry McGuigan has spoken highly of Brendan’s work with generations of fighters.

“He sprinkled his fighters with a bit of that old Dublin brio” he told the Mirror. “They could be cocky but as fighters you need that. Kell Brook carries the Ingle stamp, trained by Brendan’s son Dominic in Sheffield.

“Brendan and I were never close. But as an Irishman and a boxer I was a huge admirer of his work and am proud of his achievements.”