The Champs Camp Archive Project 

The Champs Camp Archive Project 

Preserving the legacy of UK’s first black boxing gym and telling its story. 

Champs Camp boxing gym was established in Moss Side by Phil Martin in the 1980s, as a response to social depravation and unrest in the area. Phil wanted to create a safe space where young people could find safety, discipline and a new passion. Starting in a derelict building which was formerly a Co-op, the gym was turned into a purpose-built professional boxing gym, transformed by Phil himself and his community of young boxers. Champs Camp was the UK’s first Black-led boxing gym and at one time was home to four current British boxing champions. The gym still runs today, training young people as well as professional fighters, and carrying on Phil Martin’s legacy. This project aims to reveal this significant chapter in Black British history.  

In 2025, Manchester Histories and the Champs Camp Archive Project was awarded £131,247 by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, with additional support from the School of Languages, Arts and Culture in The University of Manchester. This funding will facilitate the creation of a permanent Champs Camp archive, to preserve this important piece of history and open it up to young people and the community of Moss Side and beyond. 

The project started in September 2025 and will run until early 2027. The projects activities and aims include: 

• Curate and digitise a Champs Camp Archive: Hundreds of VHS tapes, photos and posters from the gym’s history will be digitised and catalogued to make them searchable and accessible to the public. The material spans the 1980s and 90s and tells the story of the gym, Phil Martin, and the many fighters he trained and inspired. It will be stored on the University of Manchester’s Figshare data repository to ensure its long-term sustainability. 

• Oral Histories Collection: Stories will be collected and recorded from key figures in Champs Camp’s history including former British Boxing Champions, boxing journalists, and friends and family of Phil Martin and Champs Camp. 

• Public Engagement: Community engagement events and an open weekend at the gym will raise awareness of the project and give the public an opportunity to interact with the archive material. A short film about Champs Camp will be created by young people from Rekindle supplementary school, working with Northern Light Films, and a digital teaching pack will be created to make use of the archive in schools teaching, particularly during Black History Month. 

• Launch a new Champs Camp website: A new website will be created featuring highlighted material from the archive and engaging, informative content. From this website, users will be able to access and search the full digital archive collection. 

Please contact: rachel@manchesterhistories.co.uk if you would like further information or have an enquiry about the project