To mark the 20th anniversary of his son Kiyan’s tragic murder, former boxer Mark Prince has launched The Champions’ Club, which aims to “inspire Britain’s young people” and includes a blueprint for “how young people can feel like winners again”.
Hannad Hasan intervened in a mock fight outside the London Academy in Edgware on 18 May 2006, stabbing teenager Kiyan, then a promising youth player for QPR, to death.
Despite his son’s tragic death, Mark is working harder than ever to tackle the epidemic of heinous crime that continues to plague the UK.
“The fire is burning because you can see that I have talked about the vision from the beginning. It was about having something for Kiyan. It was about delivering a blueprint so that the government could see the solution here,” he said. sky sports.
“We don’t need to keep policing the problem. It’s a prevention issue. Hurt people are hurting people. If we can reach people who are hurt, we can start to reduce all the people they hurt.
“We can bridge that gap by reaching out to families and children who have been through trauma and have had unhelpful upbringings that haven’t put them on the right path, so they don’t end up in prison and don’t continue to do bad things.
“We host great gatherings with young people to share how they can change their mindset and take control of their lives.”
Despite struggling with his sometimes overwhelming grief, Prince is determined to make sure others don’t repeat the mistakes of his son’s killer.
It’s now been 20 years since Dr. Mark Prince lost his son, Kiyan.
He even talks about trying to meet him in prison: “I wasn’t hurting Hanad by not forgiving him, I was hurting myself. I was putting myself in the same space where I couldn’t reach out to others and help them because of my bitterness and unforgiveness. I didn’t want to be imprisoned by my bitterness and unforgiveness anymore.”
To mark the 20th anniversary of his son’s death, the Prince launched The Champions’ Club and created a 20-point blueprint to improve the lives of young people in Britain. One point will apply for each year following Kiyan’s death.
Among the takeaways are 10 demands from policymakers: These include better pay and recognition for youth workers, a longer-term focus, and greater importance on community voices.
The 57-year-old explained what he hopes to achieve: “The Champions Club is an extension of what we already do. We need the public’s help to support each child and give them the opportunity to make this progress. The Champions Club is really about securing the resources to support these children.
“We want to expand now. For the past 20 years, we’ve been dedicated to changing lives and making a difference. There are so many young people with great stories. How can we continue to expand and scale if we don’t have the resources to do so?
“We want businesses to partner and partner with us to deliver results for these kids. We want the public to feel they are part of this journey. People want to make a difference, so we want to create an organization where people feel welcome and can work with us to help make these young people’s dreams come true.”
The campaign includes an ambition to raise £400,000 in donations to help the charity build a new youth space celebrating Kiyan’s legacy.
The foundation also conducted research among 16 to 24-year-olds highlighting the challenges they face, with 75% admitting that it is difficult to be a young person in Britain today.
Dr. Mark Prince continues to speak out on behalf of young people.
Prince highlights what needs to change in government, arguing: “They are trying to get out by police, and some of the policy is to dictate how we can deal with this problem in terms of prevention.
“They don’t prepare kids for the outside world. Just preparing them for tests isn’t enough. We find that kids are lost, they’re finishing school, they don’t know what they’re doing because they don’t know who they are.
“They have no self-identity. They have no purpose. You can get test results, but if you have no purpose, no self-identity and no resilience, how are you going to live your life and be joyful and happy?”
“These are some of the areas we are discussing with young people to try to change government and policy. You can read all about this on our website. If we focused more on the future of young people, they would be excited about their future. But I don’t think that is the case.”
The only loss of his boxing career came to Dariusz Michalczewski.
Before beginning his tireless campaigning, Prince distinguished himself in the boxing ring. Of his 23 wins, 18 were by knockout, with his only loss coming at the hands of WBO world champion Dariusz Michalczewski.
Despite retiring at age 30 due to injury, he is satisfied with his career.
“I look back with great joy. You have to understand that I started late at the age of 21. I went on to a career of 18 undefeated fights before fighting for a world title in his backyard. That was good. You need to pat yourself on the back,” he said.
“I got injured when I was 30 and felt like I was in my prime, so I wasn’t able to reach my full potential as a boxer. That loss made me a fighter. I thought it was important to have zero, but that wasn’t the case. It was growth.”
“It helped me understand myself as a fighter and how I can get better as a fighter. That loss taught me a lot, especially when I was in the ring with the best light heavyweight in the world.”
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From dance and pose to ring gymnastics, take a look at some of Ben Whittaker’s best showboating.
Britain’s latest light heavyweight hopeful is the enigmatic Ben Whittaker, who has impressed in the early stages of his professional career.
Whittaker, who has knocked out his last two opponents in the first round, is being urged to step up to world level.
Prince was impressed with the Olympic silver medalist, but urged him to avoid the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, who have recently dominated the 175-pound division.
“Don’t go near those guys! Those guys will end your career. It will be his undoing. All the flashy moves, these guys are elite fighters. You won’t get away with it with these guys,” he said.
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There was an incredible scene in Riyadh where Whittaker and Liam Cameron fell over the ropes in dramatic scenes and a technical draw was declared.
“I think he needs to continue his journey. Sometimes we rush fighters too quickly, but take your time because he’s a great talent. He’s a good young fighter. If you develop him at the right time instead of throwing him out there, he can be a champion.
“He hasn’t passed the level yet. I think this is lacking in modern boxing because so much money is involved. It’s more about the enjoyment of the fight rather than advancing the fighter’s career.
“When I was boxing, that was the most important thing. Let’s develop this fighter and let him become a champion. He remains a champion.”
More information about the work done by the Kiyan Prince Foundation can be found at https://www.thekpf.com/.
