Lee Starks’ unlikely boxing journey from teenage troubles to Saudi royal backing

From a New Jersey teenage detention center to raising a boxing daughter to opening a boxing gym in Riyadh and training Saudi female boxers with the support of Princess Nouf, coach Lee Starks has come a long way in the last two decades.

Boxing, as a spectator sport and activity, in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council continues to grow at pace, as shown by last month’s Rage on the Red Sea in Jeddah.

While such high a profile event, which saw Oleksandr Usyk beat Anthony Joshua in the headline bout, no doubt grabbed the world’s attention, perhaps less attention is given to the work being done at the grassroots level.

And few are working as hard as Newark-born Starks is behind the scenes.

He has been coaching for over 20 years, first in his native US, then in Dubai and now in Riyadh, where his new boxing gym, TKO Fighters, will open this month.

In that time, he has won a number of titles and been honored by the city of Plainfield and the state for his achievements in amateur boxing, which include developing 29 champions who came out of his Plainfield Boxing Academy.

Though boxing came relatively late for Starks, it proved to be his salvation. After getting into trouble as a teenager, he was in and out of detention centers until the age of 19.

“Joining my local boxing gym changed the direction of my life,” said Starks. “It was difficult to catch up with all the talent in the gym having started the sport later than most of the fighters.

“I progressed fast, having quite a few fights before I had to stop boxing when my little girl was born in 1998,” he said. “The amount of time I had to dedicate to training was limited, so I started coaching instead, helping the next generation.”

Those benefitting