Olympian Tony Jeffries spars with Sugar Ray Leonard and supermodel Adriana Lima in quarantine workouts

Jaffa’s Box ‘N’ Burn gyms in LA can’t welcome their usual clients through the doors due to restrictions in place to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Like many business owners, Tony had to adapt so he can still offer a service in line with social distancing measures and has been ploughing his efforts into how he can help people workout at home with online sessions.

His workout sessions on the Box ‘N’ Burn Youtube page have been been viewed by thousands of people all over the world and boxing hero Sugar Ray Leonard asked if he could have a personal online session with Tony.

“I couldn’t believe that one of the greatest fighters of all time wanted to do a one-on-one workout with me,” said Tony, who now lives in LA with wife Sarah and their children Jayde, five, Jessie, four, and Jodie, two.

“I’ve been boxing since I was 10 and there’s been pictures of him up in every gym I’ve been in, which is hundreds of gyms all over the world,” he added. “So to be able to do a session with him was amazing.”

World title holder Sugar Ray had visited Tony’s gyms prior to quarantine, but always in a group, so this is the first time Tony had worked with him one-on-one.

Speaking about the workout with the 63-year-old sporting hero, Tony said: “We did virtual mat work and sparring. He’s really fast and is in great shape, considering his age. He’s had some hard fights in his life, but he’s still so switched on and it was a brilliant experience, something I’ll never forget.”

Not only has Tony been working out online with a boxing legend, he’s also done a fitness session with supermodel Adriana Lima for Michelob Ultra who are providing free workouts with the option of donations for fitness businesses, which are matched by the low calorie beer brand.

“Adriana is super successful at what she does, so it was amazing to do a live workout with her, whilst also raising awareness to help fitness studios,” he said. “With the gym closed we’re barely making any revenue and we have more than 40 employees, so for the brand to match donations is a big help to keep us going.

“I’m hoping that all the online presence will help grow the gym brand for when we can reopen.”

As well as Tony’s substantial following, the workout was shared with Victoria’s Secret model Adriana’s millions of followers.

Tony, who won bronze at the Beijing Olympics, says it’s satisfying to be able to help people keep fit, active and healthy at home whilst they’re unable to visit gyms.

Wife Sarah, meanwhile, is working hard at the frontline of the healthcare crisis as lead nurse educator of the emergency department at Saint John hospital in Santa Monica.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you.

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.