Lennox Lewis fights for youth development

Three-times world heavyweight British boxing champion Lennox Lewis is using boxing to help turn young children into model citizens.

"For me, the reason why I'm doing it is that I want to be focused on the youth because when people say the crime rate is high in Jamaica, it is because they don't have a lot to do. I know boxing, and this is what I can do," said Lewis.

The former boxing champion and his wife, Violet, are co-founders of the Lennox Lewis League of Champions (LOC) Foundation, which staged a seven-day camp for just under 100 children. The participants were between ages 9 and 17, and drawn from more than 20 schools in western Jamaica.

"I know this works to help build young kids, and I know what helps to make them successful," said the former professional boxer, who has a villa at the Tryall Golf Club in Montego Bay.

"There is a lot of things that I want to do, but first is the kids. Develop the programme, perfect the programme, have it running, then take it from there," he added.

His wife, Violet, said the camp is used to help develop social skills.

"We look at how we can fuse boxing with changing lives. So, this boxing camp is a fusion of boxing, life skills and conflict-resolution skills," she said.

"We are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of champions, in the ring of boxing if we find some talent, and in the ring of life. We aim to strengthen their innate physical and mental abilities so that they are more confident and self-assured so that they have a recipe to become successful," she added.