Kronk gym hosts Irish boxers ahead of fight night at Eastern Market

Boxers from Ireland visit Detroit's Kronk Gym

Boxers all the way from Ireland paid a visit to the world-famous Kronk Gym in Detroit Thursday. Members of the Bridges Beyond Boxing program, the competitors are participating in a bit of cultural exchange while they practice throwing jabs and juking.

WESTLAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - Boxers all the way from Ireland paid a visit to the world-famous Kronk Gym in Detroit Thursday. 

Members of the Bridges Beyond Boxing program, the competitors are participating in a bit of cultural exchange while they practice throwing jabs and juking.

"It’s a fantastic experience for them not just as a sport exchange but just as much a cultural exchange," Alan Martan, coach at Bridges Beyond Boxing Program.

Ahead of an amateur boxing event on Saturday at Bert's Warehouse, the athletes will face off against the Kronk Gym Boxers.

"It’s gonna be a fire event, gonna put it all on the line, whoever gets the victory, we’re gonna shake hands after it too," said one attendee. 

Erskine Wade, the head coach at the Kronk Boxing League said there was a mix of taking the competition to the next level but maintaining respect for one another.

"We’re here to take the kids to another level, it’s not a war Ireland against Americans, have fun, know that it’s ok to be friends and make things happen," he said.

That includes boxers swapping gloves, emblematic of the larger interchange between the two groups.

"One of the things you learn right away is that boxing is universal, it’s the same language, their weights are in kilograms and ours are in pounds," said Jeff Styer, the owner of Kronk Gym.