Telford boxing legend Richie Woodhall's selling off memorabilia in tribute to father

The former world super-middleweight champion today revealed he has donated a collection of boxing gloves, promotional materials and photographs signed by some of the biggest names in fight history to raise money for cancer charities.

The 47-year-old, who grew up in Woodside and now lives in Lightmoor, has joined forces with the Shropshire Star and auctioneers Halls.

He will create a fund and hopes to sell items from his collection each month through the Shrewsbury auction house, allowing people to bid in person or online.

The sale will start next week, when a signed Mike Tyson boxing glove will be sold, raising money for the Lingen Davies Cancer Relief Fund that provided valuable help to Len in his final months.

Len, who was 75, died at his home in Woodside in July following an eight-year battle with cancer.

Richie said: "I have been at so many events when I have seen so many of these items going for thousands of pounds.

"I thought it was time to do something in memory of my dad and to help raise money for cancer charities.

"These are all items I have personally got from the fighters themselves.

" I do a lot of commentating work these days, and I meet a lot of these people.

"There are a lot of forgeries out there, but every one of these items has 100 per cent provenance because I have got the signatures myself."

Richie said Len, who had been an amateur boxer in his youth, was a huge influence on his son's career.

Len was a qualified coach at Woodside Amateur Boxing Club in the mid-1970s where Richie and his older brothers Lawrence and Stephen learned their craft.

"He always emphasised the importance of using my height and range," said Richie, speaking to the Shropshire Star.

"I was a tall skinny kid for my weight, and he was always an influence on me using the physical attributes I had."

Richie handed over the items during a visit to the Shropshire Star's head office in Ketley. Shrewsbury-based Halls auctioneers will put the items under the hammer over the coming months.

Few boxers have attracted more controversy than 'Iron' Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight world champion whose behaviour both in and out of the ring provided meat and drink to the tabloid press for much of the 1980s and 90s.

But Richie Woodhall says that despite his fearsome reputation, Tyson was the perfect gentleman when he met him at a sportsman's dinner at Birmingham's International Convention Centre seven years ago.

The first of Richie's auctions will be for a glove which Tyson signed for him during the event.

He said: "I interviewed Tyson three or four times. He was a bit wary to begin with because he doesn't know what you are going to ask him, and he didn't really know me. He knew of me, and knew I had been a world champion, and that sort of broke the ice."

Shropshire-based Halls will handle the auction. The company has waived its normal seller's commission rate. The glove, signed by Mike Tyson, will be sold at the auction on Wednesday, starting at 10am. It has been assigned lot number 100, and is expected to sell at approximately 11am.

It is easy to bid:

• Turn up on Wednesday at Halls, in Bowmen Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park from 9.30am. Register at the cash office on arrival and obtain a paddle number to bid.

• Make an absentee bid. Simply call Halls on (01743) 450700. Indicate the maximum you are willing to pay and the auctioneer will bid on your behalf.

• Bid live over the internet. Simply register online at www.the-saleroom.com/halls, ideally at least one day before the auction begins. All bids are subject to a premium of 20 per cent plus the hammer price.[/breakout]

The Mike Tyson glove was given to Richie during an appearance at a sporting dinner in Birmingham. Other items in the collection, which will be sold in future months, include a 6ft 6in vinyl roller blind poster signed by WBC International and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

A print of a fight between Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy, which has been signed by Calzaghe, will also go up for sale.

A poster for last year's second fight between Carl Froch and George Jones, which has been signed by Froch, will also be going under the hammer.

The fight, which took place at London's O2 Arena, was watched by 80,000 fans, the biggest attendance for a fight in Britain since the Second World War.

A print of the semi-final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics print, between Richie and Roy Jones Junior, which has been signed by both fighters, will also go under the hammer, as well as a glove signed by legendary former world middleweight champion Jake LaMotta, who is remembered for his six fights against Sugar Ray Robinson in the 1940s and 1950s.

A glove signed by Roberto 'Hands of Stone' Duran, regarded by many as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and a pair of gloves signed by Thomas 'The Hitman' Hearns and his trainer Emanuel Steward – who also trained Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko – will also be auctioned.