Bourke pays a visit as DiSE Spotlight ends year on a high

A visit from current WBC International Super Bantamweight champion and former student Chris Bourke was the perfect end to the year for the Spotlight DiSE centre in London.

Bourke attended was on the programme from 2011 to 2013 before going on to box for GB from 2015 to 2017.

He dropped by to spend a few hours helping out with a session and passing on his knowledge and experiences of life in the pro ranks, his years spent with GB and his time as a DISE student.

“What with all the disruption to training and school, it has been a challenging year, so it was fantastic and a real lift for everyone to see Chris with his championship belt.” said Mark Collings, DiSE coach for Spotlight, London.

“Chris was such a level-headed and hard-working lad when he was with us on DISE, so it’s great to see him doing so well despite the obvious difficulties everyone has had this year with COVID-19.

“The DiSE students and myself really got a lot out of his visit. He’s a top lad.”

Current European junior champion and Rainham Boxing Club member, Sacha Hickey, who attends the DiSE course in the capital echoed those comments.

She added: “It’s great to get that sort of advice and information from someone like Chris who has gained loads of experience while on GB – boxing in WSB fights all over the world – and now boxing in the pros.

“He was telling us all how important it is to do the simple things well and how it pays off just to keep working hard and staying calm and patient.

“It was good advice, especially at the moment because we all have to keep a cool head until things are back up and running again.”

England and West Ham BC boxer Frankie Wood was also impressed with Chris’ tips and advice.

“It was great to have him in for the session,” he said. “We worked on a few technical points in the gym and then he talked with us after about what it takes to make it onto the GB squad.

“I’m looking to go for the Olympics in the coming years, so it was a really valuable few hours with Chris and, like Sacha said, he talked about patience being an important skill and I think that’s good to have in mind at the moment until we are back in the ring.”

The DiSE Programme

Find out more about the DiSE Programme – which operates from six centres across the country – by clicking here.