Floyd Sanders says he would like to start a boxing club in Seymour.

“I want to start a boxing club to give the kids something to do to keep them away from drugs,” Sanders said.

He said the club would be open to both males and females, ages 10 and up.

Sanders said he feels like there is a lot of interest in boxing in this area and encourages people from Jackson and surrounding counties to contact him about joining the club.

Sanders said he needs boxing equipment such as headgear, gloves and boxing shoes. He also said he is looking for a building that would be suitable to hold a boxing ring.

Sanders, 65, began boxing in the 1970s and fought several amateur and professional matches. He fought Marvin Johnson in a fight televised on ESPN. He also fought on Joe Frazier’s card.

He also wants to pay tribute to Columbus native Dale Spears, who died Nov. 4, 2016.

Sanders, who was inducted into the Brownstown Boxing Hall of Fame, said he never would have had the success if it wasn’t for Spears working with him.

“I worked with a lot of good trainers,” Sanders said. “Dale Spears was one of the best. We had one good relationship. He was a good man, and he helped me get to where I am today.”

Sanders trained every day with Spears for five or six hours. Spears taught Sanders everything he didn’t already know about boxing to that point, Sanders said.

Their relationship also expanded outside the boxing ring.

Sanders would hang out at the Bartholomew County Fair where Spears would sit and talk with Sanders, mostly bout boxing, for several hours at a time.

Spears traveled as far as West Virginia with Sanders and other boxers he trained to compete in fights. Sanders was recognized by an Olympic boxing trainer after beating five boxers during a trip on which Spears took him.

“He took me a lot of places,” Sanders said. “He took time out for those kids. The kids that would come in and work out.”

Spears lost part of his arm in a factory accident, but not before he had a fight against Cassius Clay (later becoming knows as Muhammad Ali) in 1955.

Anyone interested who meets the age requirements can contact Sanders via phone number at 812-341-5690.