Gareth Piper trains in a historic boxing gym above a Cardiff pub

WELSH professional boxer Gareth Piper has been training in a Cardiff pub since last year, having kitted out the historic gym hidden upstairs.

In early 2010, Gareth moved into the Royal Oak, Adamsdown, which carries the heritage of legendary Welsh boxer Jim Driscoll.
 
And Gareth, nephew of Welsh boxer Nicky Piper MBE, started boxing in Penarth as a boy and feels moving into the disused gym is a great boost after struggling to find a place to train with mentor Gareth Seward.

"It was hard to find a gym anywhere," said Gareth. "It was hard to find a place to call our home.

"There was nowhere for us to train. I wanted to work with Gareth and the only way to do that was to get our own place."

The pub is still fully functioning, but the gym has been out of action for some time, after being used intermittently in the 1980s.

Gareth added: "We chose this place because we had not heard of it being used for a number of years. Finally we had something we could move into."

Gareth had previously been training at the Coleg Glan Hafren sports hall in Roath, sometimes setting up a makeshift ring using tape and tennis nets. The Royal Oak had no facilities when the 25-year-old welterweight moved into the gym. "It was absolutely bare," said Gareth.
"It was just a bit of a damp room with the plaster falling down. The prospect of filling it with equipment was daunting. The actual ring itself was missing.

"Everything we have done has been off our own back. We have got to do our best to keep building this place up."

In the early 1900s the gym was the proud home of Jim Driscoll, nicknamed "Peerless Jim", one of the true boxing greats.

Despite some use for amateur boxing training, the historic gym has been neglected and forgotten for years.

But Gareth's trainer, Gareth Seward, wants to restore the gym to its former glory.

He said: "It is something to be immensely proud of. It is inspiring. We are inspired by past greats, and hopefully, we can inspire other people.

"We are hoping this is just the start."

The pair have spent several thousand pounds refurbishing the gym, bringing some life back to the legendary room.

And some parallels can be drawn between Gareth Piper, and former Welsh boxing world champion Joe Calzaghe, who also started out his professional career in a basic gym.

Gareth expressed how he would relish developing a legacy like Calzaghe's in his home country.

"I would love to be a name in Wales," he said. "I am very proud to be Welsh, and I would be very proud for people to come and watch me because of that. Calzaghe’s work ethic was phenomenal."

Gareth was held to a disappointing draw in his first professional bout against Matt Seawright, last October.

But with his next fight scheduled for May, Gareth has the opportunity to fire up what has the potential to be a promising boxing career.

"Ultimately I am going to go as far as my ability can take me," he said.

"I want to go all the way."