Shropshire slap fighter hopes to train boxing champions in new gym

“Boxing, growing up, saved me – and I could save a lot more children now, get them off the streets.”

Although Darren Godfrey, from Annscroft, is mainly known for his success in the sport of slap fighting, he has big dreams of making a difference to young children in the world of boxing.

Using his prize money from power slap competitions – which literally see competitors slap each other as hard as they can across the face – he has bought and taken over a former boxing club and gym, now called Strettonia Boxing Club and Godfrey’s Gym, in Church Stretton.

“This is my opportunity to give a little bit back and give a bit to the community, bring these youngsters up and breed my own champions,” he told the BBC.

But it is not just power slapping that Darren is well-versed in – he has also competed in boxing, bareknuckle fighting and kickboxing over a 20-year career.

Although he had retired from boxing, Darren said taking over the gym and injecting new life into it had “lit a fire” inside him.

“A friend of mine owned the gym [and boxing club] and just didn’t have the time for it anymore, and obviously my dream was to always open a gym – so as soon as this opportunity came along I took it with both hands,” he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

Aside from gym and boxing facilities, there is also a tattooist, a masseuse, and talks of a sauna being put in.

“We’re doing classes from five years of age.”

“The classes are full, we’re getting 25 people per class, one after another, that’s on a quiet day.

“We’re actually running out of space, we’re thinking now of extending the gym.”

“This is home now, this is our church… I’ve been a fighter all my life, I’ve spent my life in gyms, my family are doing the same, everyone who walks through these doors will all be family to us now,” he said.

“You leave these youths in the street they’re going to be out there causing havoc.

“They’ve got a place now where they can release their energy… it’s perfect.”

As well as the gym, he is in talks to headline an unannounced boxing event in London in November, and will compete for a world title in power slap in the coming months.

His power slap name is “Darren ‘Tarantula’ Godfrey”, and he took part in US reality TV show Power Slap: Road to the Title in 2023.

The sport, booming in popularity and watched by millions online, involves taking turns to deliver open-handed and undefended strikes to the cheek.