MANAGERS of Bury's British boxing champion Ady Lewis have challenged councillors to get in the ring.

Stuart Andrews, coach of flyweight Lewis, has launched a flurry of blows on the council for refusing to make up their minds whether to allow professional boxing in Bury.

Local authority leaders say they are too busy scrapping over the General Election, and will debate the matter in July.

But Mr Andrews, frustrated that a decision was not made this week, says politicians should stay out of the sport and get on with their own jobs.

"Three times I've been down to the town hall, and still there's no firm decision," he said.

"Why don't they get on with their council work, the job they're supposed to be doing, instead of interfering with the sport?"

Ady (21), known as the Mighty Atom, won the title in January to become Bury's first holder of a Lonsdale Belt.

Because he wanted to defend his title in Bury, the council agreed to lift its ban on professional boxing just for that fight. The ban was imposed in 1995 after the death of boxer James Murray in Glasgow.

But councillors on Monday said the issue is too important for the policy committee to decide, deferring the matter for a full debate by the council on July 23.

Mr Andrews pointed out that martial arts were still allowed in council premises.

"Kick boxing is more dangerous than professional boxing. We're doing nothing illegal, we've never had a problem with the leisure centre.

"I don't like cricket but I don't want it banned."

Mr Andrews added: "They don't have to come and watch if they don't want to. Let's keep politics out of it." Ironically, new developments mean Ady is defending his British crown in Merseyside on May 15 against Commonwealth champ Peter Culshaw.

Mr Andrews said Ady will definitely fight in Bury if he wins next month's bout.

Deputy council leader Derek Boden Boden, who proposed the July summit, said it wasn't just about morality.

And he made a clear distinction between pro boxing and other sports like judo. "We're dealing with a sport where the rules encourage people to hit one another to disable them, with a knockout the ideal way to end a fight.

If someone is disabled in that way, this means there's been a trauma to the brain with a serious risk of damage or even death.

"It's quite legitimate for the council to decide this.

"We cannot expect to impose morals on the whole community, but we have a responsibility for safety and setting standards on violence in sport generally."

Coun Boden agreed there were risks in many activities, including things such as mountain climbing, but these were not an essential part of the sport.

"Rugby is a tough game, but I would hope that people don't go onto the pitch with the intention of disabling someone - that's not part of the game."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.