It is a sport with a fearsome reputation for bone crunching brawlers, powerful punching and devastating knockouts.

But a Southampton boxing coach is proving that pulling on the gloves is a hard-hitting way for people from all walks of life to knuckle-up for a fitter lifestyle.

Inner City Boxing Gym owner Gino Piccinino threw his weight behind our Staying Alive campaign after we visited his club in St Mary’s Street.

Our initiative – urging people to take up new sports and activities – was launched after revealing that 13,000 people in Hampshire died prematurely from the four deadly killers of cancer, heart disease and stroke, and lung disease and liver disease between 2009 and 2011.

Backing our campaign, Gino said: “Anything that improves the fitness and wellbeing of the general population is fantastic and the media is a powerful tool to achieve that.

“Exercise is vital and the time you give to sport is time that you are giving to yourself in the long run.”

The club offers a packed schedule of training sessions tailored for men and women and youngsters from 14 upwards – ranging from beginners to amateur fighters.

Classes include cardiovascular, strength and medicine ball training before using punchbags and sparring pads to improve technique – with people only stepping into the ring when they are comfortable.

Gino, 54, was a former amateur judo fighter until his career was cut short by a dislocated his shoulder when he was 21.

He said: “Boxing is aerobic, anaerobic exercise and is a highly demanding sport and it’s all about your body functioning in harmony “It’s good for mental discipline and pre-planning and it helps people learn discipline and self control.

“But we don’t expect people to get into the ring until about six months to a year so that they can gain the skills.

More than 150 people train at the club, with typical sessions burning from 800-1,000 calories an hour and he added: “We have people from so many backgrounds such as teachers, students and barristers.”

Meanwhile, the Inner City Fitness scheme features group exercise classes in Hoglands Park with activities to improve stamina, strength agility and team-building, and challenges such as flipping a giant tyres and running with a parachutes. See innercityboxing.com or innercityfitness.com or contact 023 8067 8910 for a full calendar of events.