In 2004, the club’s Fazeley Street premises were gutted by fire. The club lost everything and was forced to close.
However, with the help of friends, family, and support from local businesses, Pat took on new premises in Adderley Street. Over the following decade, he built the club back up and in 2010 he won the BBC WM “Unsung Hero” award for his work.
In 2011 Small Heath Boxing Club became The Pat Benson Boxing Academy, in honour of its most famous coach. Pat may have stepped back from the day-to-day running of the club, but his grandson Paddy Benson continues to build on its strong history of social value and community cohesion. Not only does the club continue to attract the country’s brightest boxing talents to its state-of-the-art facilities, it’s now a hugely valuable community sports foundation with an even brighter future ahead.