MOSS SIDE STORY

@BigDaddyBunce

Voice of boxing

THERE was a bulletproof vest on one of the hangers in the changing room at the gym Phil Martin built in Moss Side. It was 1993 and the streets outside were the bloodiest in Britain.

Martin had found the building after the burning and destruction of the riots in 1981. It was a smouldering ruin when Martin found it. He made the impossible happen and shaped a world-class gym from the debris. It was his place; those were his streets.

He had the vision for change, he was a respected man, a dreamer in many ways. He had been an amateur boxer, a professional fighter, a car mechanic, union