Manchester fighter Lyndon Arthur says boxing saved him after brother Zennen Blackburn murdered
Boxing champion Lyndon Arthur says the sport saved his life after his brother was brutally murdered in Manchester 20 years ago.
Zennen Blackburn, 27, was shot three times in the chest on 23 May 2002 in Moston.
His untimely death has had a lasting affect on Lyndon, who was 10-years-old when the shooting happened.
"I was a kid", he told ITV News. "It happened just 20 seconds away. When you are 10 you have trauma that stays with you from that age.
"You hear about the shootings, you hear about the stabbings. Knife crime has risen, it's crazy. I honestly don't think the kids know what they're doing.
"They're stabbing people thinking they are going to hurt them. But kids are dying. It's a scary place to be as a teenager."
Zennen, a father-of-two, had been house-hunting with his partner earlier in the day and was with a friend when a car pulled up and a gunman opened fire.
In the weeks and months following his death detectives struggled to find his killer - or a motive for his murder. His case is now with Greater Manchester Police's cold case unit.
Carrying pain and anger through his teens, Lyndon believes he could easily have strayed down the wrong path had he not set foot in Collyhurst and Moston Boxing Club.
The club, which was founded by the legendary boxing trainer Brian Hughes in the 1960s, opens its doors to everyone, and has changed the lives of many.
Hughes, who died in January 2022, trained several British, European and World boxing champions, working with the likes of Tyson Fury, Scott Quigg and Robin Reid.
Lyndon explained: "Brian is sadly missed and I owe him a lot for having belief in me. I definitely wasn't on the path to do something good.
"I might have been selling drugs. I might have got killed. I don't know. But I've seen a lot. It's definitely had a positive impact on my life."
Lyndon, who is better known as King Arthur in the boxing world, intends to become a World Champion when he takes on Argentina's Braian Suarez in Bolton on Friday, 24 March.
It could change his life yet again. Though King Arthur would use his reign as a platform to inspire even more young people.
"We get one life. It's pointless wasting it on one mistake that might change your life forever.
"Put your energy into something positive. Put your anger you have for your enemies into something positive. A boxing gym is the perfect place."
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