SuperBad Boxing Gym in Detroit is seeking help with the expansion of their building, which would accommodate the gym’s growing number of athletes.
Co-owned by former world champion Tony Harrison and his brother, L.J., the siblings want to put an unfinished part of the facility to use.
Recommended Videos
L.J. Harrison says he wants to install a new roof and ceiling, expand the weight room and implement a basketball court.
“As far as expanding, when we first got it, it didn’t look nothing like this,” said L.J. “Me and Tony constantly put our own money into the gym for the kids, which is no problem.
“We’re growing tremendously, said L.J. ”We get hundreds of new kids every month. So we just need to expand. We need more space. We need better equipment. We need updated equipment."
Renovations would allow the gym to continue training its world-class level athletes while also providing a space for sports other than boxing to train there.
“We train a lot of other athletes as well, said L.J. ”We train athletes that go to Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, NFL players, we had the Pistons in here. So I mean, realistically, we just have to keep up with the times.”
Boxing runs in the Harrison’s blood as their father and grandfather were professional boxers.
Tony was trained by his late father, Ali Salaam, who died in 2020. Teachings of professionalism and philanthropy by their parents are what drove the brothers to open the gym on the west side of Detroit and be a positive outlet for kids in the community.
“I just made a promise to my dad that if anything ever happened to him I would take over his gym and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since 2020,” said L.J. “We’ve been doing this boxing thing for years and now I’m proud to say we’ve become like a powerhouse.”
“I took my knowledge I got from my dad and put it to the kids,” said L.J. “The last five years to see them grow and become national champions, every kid I have in the gym that I travel with is now ranked in the country. 11 of them are national champions. So it’s been amazing, they’ve been responding to me and it’s a good feeling to see the kid that you put all this work into raise their hand at a national and be the best fighter in the country.”
Tony Harrison put on an exciting show for the hometown fans during his recent return to the ring on Aug. 7 at Little Caesars Arena.
Tony made his entrance with Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo before soundly defeating Edward Diaz as the co-main event on the Claressa Shields vs. Lani Daniels fight card.
As L.J directly teaches the ‘sweet science’ to kids, Tony represents Detroit boxing and inspires them in the ring.
If you want to support SuperBad’s expansion efforts visit the gym’s official GoFundMe page.
The gym is open to members of all skill levels.
If you’re interested in boxing training, fitness classes, or just getting a great workout, reach out to the owners via Instagram @SuperBadAcademy.