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Kids in Southeast Georgia left without a place to box after building condemned

World Class Boxing is a boxing club that was designed to keep young people off the street and involved in their community.

ST. MARYS, Ga. — A Southeast Georgia youth boxing club is now in the fight of its life after the building it uses was condemned this week.

World Class Boxing is a boxing club that was designed to keep young people off the street and involved in their community. It's so popular, there's a waiting list to join.

"Our program isn't just about boxing. Our program is to teach our kids respect, leadership, and keeping up their grades because we check their grades," said Bobby Davis, Assistant Program Director for World Class Boxing. 

Sadly, the program is now without a place to call home. 

"They didn't call us at all. They didn't contact me or nothing. They just called me on Monday to tell me we can't go to practice," said Steve Bell, Program Director at World Class Boxing. 

The trailer the program uses is owned by the Camden County Public Service Authority. 

Public Service Authority Executive Director Joey Cason says the condemnation was ordered by city inspectors.

"We went and had the City of St. Mary's building inspector come and inspect the building," Cason said. "They are actually the entity that condemned the building, not the Public Service Authority."

The club says the PSA was behind the teardown.

Bell requested the PSA director's emails and provided them to First Coast News. In an e-mail, Cason wrote, "They don't pay for it, and the trailer is getting pretty bad. I'd like to have it inspected because we might be able to condemn that." In a second e-mail, Cason added, "We want the trailer condemned at the soccer complex."

Cason agrees he reached out to inspectors first. "I felt like I was in a position for safety reasons that I needed to take action," Cason said.

Cason said another issue is Georgia law requires organizations to pay for the space they are using, which the boxing club had not been.

"They haven't come to see me yet, but if they had come to see me and said, 'Hey, we need you to start paying something,' we wouldn't have had any problem with that,'" Bell said. 

The PSA Board is meeting Thursday evening and is expected to discuss if and how to keep the boxing program on its feet. 

"It's not that I have it out for them," Cason said. "If my board determines tonight that they would like for us to provide a facility for them, we'll find a way to facilitate that."

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