Our story

Empire Fighting Chance boasts a rich and storied history that spans more than five decades. It all began in 1972 with the establishment of the Empire Amateur Boxing Club on Newfoundland Road in St Pauls, Bristol. This groundbreaking club was one of the first places in the city where people of different races came together to train, forging new and lasting bonds between communities.

Under the guidance of our ambassador Chris Sanigar, the club went on to produce a long line of champions, including British, Commonwealth, European, and World titleholders. Building on the club's rich heritage and social capital within the community we are proud to carry on this legacy through Empire Fighting Chance, a leading sport for development charity with an inspiring team of coaches, therapists, and mentors.

Where it all began

Empire Fighting Chance's journey started back in 2006, when Martin Bisp and Jamie Sanigar, the founders, witnessed two youths selling drugs in a park adjacent to the Empire Boxing Gym located in inner-city Bristol. Martin, who was managing and coaching at the amateur boxing club voluntarily, and Jamie, who was running the professional boxing management and promotions business, felt compelled to address the issue.

Determined to make a change, they approached the young men and invited them into the gym for a training session and a discussion about the challenges they were facing. The two young men enjoyed the experience and brought their friends along the following week. In just six weeks, their small initiative had grown into a movement, with fifty young people attending sessions five nights a week.

As word of their work spread, schools began to approach them to work with pupils who were at risk of being excluded. The small team's success with these groups led to collaborations with Pupil Referral Units and Avon and Somerset Police, further expanding their reach and impact and thoughts turned to whether this all could become something much greater.

Building an 'empire'

Over time, we evolved from a small boxing project into running the UK’s largest non-contact boxing school engagement programme. Shortly after reaching this milestone, we asked ourselves what we wanted to do next, and it became clear we needed to “give as many people as possible a fighting chance to succeed”. So, in 2013 we created the boxing charity, Empire Fighting Chance, to help us achieve our ambition.

In 2015, with the support of Bristol City Council and Sport England, we moved into our new home at The Mill on Lower Ashley Road in Easton, providing us with the modern space and resources we needed to continue to grow and thrive. We have since won several awards and welcomed visits from royalty, all while expanding our reach into South Wales and throughout England via a growing network of amateur boxing clubs.

Today, we are proud to deliver four psychologically informed non-contact boxing programmes, empowering and inspiring over 5,000 young people every year.

We invite you to explore our timeline below and join us on our journey.

Timeline

  • Billy Walker And Chris Sanigar

    1968

    Bristol & District Amateur Boxing Club formed by Les Bus and head coach Billy Walker at Docklands, St Pauls

  • 1972 Move To Empire Sports Bw

    1972

    Boxing club moved to Empire Sports Club in St Pauls and renamed Empire Amateur Boxing Club

  • Empire Team Photo 1975

    1975

    The Empire ABC Team

  • 1977 Chris Sanigar England Rep

    1977

    Chris Sanigar becomes the first boxer from Empire ABC to represent England

  • 1982 Darren Thompson ABA Champion

    1982

    Darren Thompson becomes ABA Champion

  • Paul Macnamee 1983 England Rep

    1983

    Paul McNamee is International Representative for England

  • Old Empire Boxing

    1984

    Mike Graham is ABA Champion

  • 1988 Empire Team Photo

    1988

    The Empire ABC Team

  • 1989 Austria Tour Team Pic

    1988

    Empire ABC tour to Austria

  • Download

    1989

    Chris Sanigar established Bristol Boxing Gym

  • 1990 Adrian Stone England Rep

    1990

    Adrian Stone is International Representative for England

  • Ross Hale Champion

    1994

    Ross Hale is British and Commonwealth Champion

  • Dean Francis Champion

    1997

    Dean Francis is British and European Super Middleweight Champion

  • Glenn Catley WBC Champion

    2000

    Glenn Catley is WBC Super Middleweight World Champion

  • Adrian Stone Champ

    2000

    Adrian Stone is IBO World Light Middleweight Champion

  • Scott Dann Champion (1)

    2004

    Scott Dann is British and Commonwealth Middleweight Champion

  • 2005 Empire ABC Team

    2005

    The Empire ABC team

  • 2006 After Schools Class

    2006

    Empire Fighting Chance starts first after-school boxing class

  • 2007 Empire Schools

    2007

    Empire starts working in local Bristol schools

  • 2008 Lisa Perryman

    2008

    Lisa Perryman is the first female boxer from the South West to represent England

  • 2009 Summer Programme

    2009

    Empire launches first ever school holiday programme

  • 2011 Empire ABC Team

    2011

    The Empire ABC team

  • 2012 Jimmy Rowbotham Award

    2012

    Coach Jimmy Rowbotham wins Wesport ‘Services to Sport’ Award

  • Darren Hamilton Champ

    2012

    Darren Hamilton is British Light Welterweight Champion

  • Rio Fight For Peace Visit 2012

    2012

    Empire visits Fight for Peace in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro

  • 2013 Frank Bruno Visit

    2013

    Frank Bruno visits Empire to see how boxing benefits mental health

  • Empire Logo White Background

    2013

    Empire Fighting Chance charity formed

  • 2014 Martin Bisp And Prince Edward

    2014

    Empire Fighting Chance wins the ‘School Link’ Award at the Sport and Recreation Alliance Community Awards

  • 2014 Mill Facility Before 1

    2014

    Empire Fighting Chance successful in Community Asset Transfer of The Mill and raises £480,000 from Sport England and Bristol City Council to redevelop the facility

  • 2015 Farewell To Empire

    2014

    Farewell to Empire Sports Club, St Pauls

  • 2015 Mill Facility After 3

    2015

    Empire Fighting Chance moves into The Mill

  • 2015 Haskins Sanigar Post Award

    2015

    Lee Haskins wins Bristol Post ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ Award Chris Sanigar wins Bristol Post ‘Outstanding Services to Sport’ Award

  • Sanigar Haskins Selby

    2015

    Lee Selby is IBH Featherweight World Champion and IBF Bantamweight World Champion

  • Welsh Flag

    2016

    Empire Fighting Chance starts working in South Wales

  • Bristol Life Award 2017

    2017

    Empire Fighting Chance wins Bristol Life Awards ‘Charity of the Year’

  • Ashley Lane Champion

    2017

    Ashley Lane is Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Champion

  • 2017 Alan Thompson Outstanding Services To Sport

    2017

    Coach Alan Thompson wins Bristol Post Awards ‘Outstanding Services to Sport’

  • Harry And Meaghan

    2019

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Empire Fighting Chance

  • SHIREN 1

    2019

    Coach Shiren wins ‘Positive Role Model for Gender’ at the Bristol Diversity Awards

  • Untitled Design 19 789X403

    2019

    Empire wins the Health and Wellbeing Award at the Bristol Life Awards

  • 3O0a7296photoshop Reedit Courtney (1)

    2019

    Launch of Box Therapy programme

  • Keynsham10k 46

    2019

    776 runners at the Keynsham 10K raise over £12,000 for Empire

  • GSK Impac

    2020

    Empire wins the 2020 GSK IMPACT Award, presented by The King’s Fund

  • Heather

    2020

    Empire continues support for young people during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE CELEBRITY SPECIAL EP2 31 1536X1024

    2021

    Presenter Alex Beresford wins £16,000 for Empire on Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire

  • Wrexham Youth Justic

    2021

    Wrexham Youth Justice open their own boxing gym in partnership with Empire Fighting Chance

  • Gavin Gwynne

    2021

    Gavin Gwynne is Commonwealth Lightweight Champion

  • England Boxing 1 1 E1630579263979

    2021

    Partnership with England Boxing begins, to give free training to amateur boxing clubs

  • Serena BYHA 2022 5

    2022

    Coach Serena wins the Bristol Young Heroes Sporting Hero Award

  • Octoberclubefc22 336 2000X1333

    2022

    The October Club Savoy Dinner raises £820,000 for Empire Fighting Chance in one evening

  • IMG 20230129 WA0032

    2023

    Empire visits Medellin, Colombia for a knowledge exchange on tackling youth violence

  • Bristol Life Awards 2023

    2023

    Empire wins the Charity of the Year Award at the Bristol Life Awards