This coming Sunday, August 31, Bridges Beyond Boxing is taking twelve kids from Ireland over to the United States and Canada for a nine-day tour.
Departing from Dublin, the group heads for Cincinnati, Ohio and have two days training before the first of three fight nights on Wednesday, September 3.
The full squad of 16, including athletes and coaches, then move north to Detroit for their second event on Friday the 5th and two days later over the border into Canada for their last night of fights in Sarnia, Ontario.
Each boxer will fight three times, once at each venue, in a three round bout.
Founded in 2016, Bridges Beyond Boxing is the brainchild of Alan Martin, Brendan Lowe and Joe Lowe.
Each man knows their way around the ring having enjoyed successful amateur boxing careers and fighting across the world. Now their combined focus is imparting that wisdom through coaching young boxing talent and providing life-changing experiences to kids from Ireland and America.
Bridges Beyond Boxing has taken over one hundred kids across the Atlantic for similar tours over the past ten years. The not-for-profit project has recently become a registered charity and is keen to secure funding to make future trips possible and keep this amazing initiative going from strength to strength.
Crucially, it is open to all young talented boxers, regardless of background and circumstance.
Ahead of the tour coaches from Ireland and the U.S. work together to ensure fair match-ups and guarantee good competitive fights for their athletes.
This allows young fighters to get a glimpse of the talents across the pond and gain first hand experience of different boxing styles – a useful lesson for those who may enter the professional game later in their boxing careers.
But this is as much about cross-community relations as it is about boxing. The kids stay with host families, offering a cultural experience that money simply cannot buy.
Bridges Beyond Boxing has built lasting connections with a number of boxing clubs in Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Cincinnati and more. This year they added Sarnia to that list. Young boxers from the U.S. and Canada are due to make the return journey to Ireland in May 2026.
