BARNSLEY’S own European champion Callum Simpson’s event - which aimed to inspire more young girls in the town to follow in his footsteps - has been deemed a success.

The 28-year-old boxer won the European super-middleweight title at his hometown stadium, recovering from two early knockdowns to stop Italian Ivan Zucco in the tenth round back in June.

He used to train at the Barnsley Star boxing gym, just outside the town centre, and when he returned a few weeks ago there were no girls training.

And that’s something he’s hoping to change - starting with a special event for women’s boxing which took place on Sunday.

Callum said: “The Box-Her event was a huge success - the energy in the gym was unbelievable from start to finish.

“It was amazing to see so many women and girls stepping through the ropes, giving it their all and showing what this sport is all about.

“It was great to host this event alongside Ellie at Elite Coaching and Madelaine Roystone.

“A big thank you as well to Sylwia Doligala and Aisha Khan for making sure everyone got time on the pads and learned the correct technique.

“Special thanks to Trev Schofield and Margaret Schofield for allowing us to use Barnsley Star Boxing Club to host this event, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it as much as we did.”