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Bermuda's battery of talented fighters could soon have a dedicated boxing gym to help them prepare for bouts.

Sports minister Dale Butler confirmed that a facility had been identified as a possible home for boxing.

The island currently has just three gyms with boxing facilities available for a few hours a week.

One of the key goals of the new-look Boxing Association, headed by Gladwyn Bean, was to find a permanent home, where boxers could train seven days a week.

In an interview with the Sun after taking the job in November, Bean said: “We know it's a dream, but it is a daydream. We've got our eyes open. We are wide awake and we know what we want to achieve.”

That ambition moved a step closer this weekend after Minister Butler, speaking at the annual sports conference, revealed that a building had been identified for the project.

He said there were many issues, such as the requirements of the association and consultation with neighbours, to be sorted out before he could reveal the location.

But he said progress was being made in the lengthy bid to find a boxing gym.

“Every issue that has been presented to us - the motorsports park, the national sports centre, the boxing, we've been able to resolve. This one is taking a bit more time but we'll get there.

“The guys who are out there with gyms in their yards and their garages are doing a fantastic job but we are asking a lot of them.”

He said the agreement for the building had to be finalized with the boxing association and then a way forward would be worked out following the Budget.

Nelson Bascome, vice president of the Bermuda Boxing Association, said getting a permanent gym was part of its plans to develop a national programme for the sport.

He said: “We are a little closer than we were. It's getting there, slowly.”

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