Obituary: Alma Ingle, boxing promoter
Alma Ingle, who has died at 81, carved a name for herself in the male-dominated world of boxing, becoming a judge and a promoter, as well as helping to run the family gym in Sheffield alongside her late husband, the former world champion trainer Brendan Ingle.
It was he who ignited her passion for the sport, as she accompanied him to boxing shows. In 1975, she qualified as an amateur judge – the first female in the North East region and one of only three in the country at the time.
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Hide AdAs her career began to flourish, she became in 1981 only the second woman in the country to hold a professional boxing promoter’s licence.
Her work was more widely recognised when became the first woman to be elected to a divisional committee of the British Boxing Board of Control.
Meanwhile, the Ingle Gym in Wincobank gained a reputation for producing such champions as Johnny Nelson, Naseem “Prince” Hamed, Junior Witter and Kell Brook.
Mrs Ingle had been a metallurgist at Hadfields steelworks in Sheffield before marrying Brendan in 1961 and raising her five children. The couple created a family-like atmosphere at their gym, which continues under their sons, Dominic and John. In the next few months, its boxers will compete for British and world titles.
Mrs Ingle is survived by her children and 14 grandchildren.
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