He and his right hand man Alex Palfreyman - formerly members of Sheffield Boxing Centre in Hillsborough - have won the National Lottery on two occasions, scooping a massive windfall of £456,000.
It came in the form of grants over the past four years, and it is all going into running their Dinnington Community Boxing Club (DC Boxing,) which helps children and adults.
Ian has the Midas touch when it comes to securing funding.He has successfully applied for National Lottery and other funding pots to aid his mission to help children, some of whom are from deprived backgrounds or are behaviourally challenged, in Dinnington and Maltby.
He hopes eventually to expand his boxing and social interaction into Sheffield.
He and Alex seek to grow their operation and recruit more people to run their six day (and night) operation.
Dinnington Community Boxing Club (DC Boxing,) was launched in 2019, and has helped around 9,000 youngsters since.His first Lottery application in 2021, for £120,000, was rubber stamped by administrators, paving the way for work at Dinnington and then Maltby, based at the two main high schools serving those districts.
The small team reached out to youngsters, some with problems, providing them with healthy lifestyle choices, and free access to coaching and boxing rings and paraphernalia.
Various grants kept the club ticking over but were never going to last forever, with wages, rent and equipment to finance...alongside an ever-growing number of people wanting to use their facilities.
Ian went back to the National Lottery's Reaching Communities and last month it was revealed that they had secured £336,000 over two years, meaning they can expand their service, while employing four people, one of them part-time, until April 2027.
The DC Boxing leadership has come across many cases where children have behaved badly in class - and in some cases been isolated from them - but have learned to accept the disciplines of boxing training and the importance of being part of a team.
"We use boxing as a vehicle to build trust. We build friendship groups, talk to children and feedback to the schools" said father of two Ian, (45) from Whiston.
"We've got busier and busier with classes through the week for children, disabled groups, women and girls.
"So getting the last Lottery grant was a massive weight off our shoulders. It was a really good grant, a relief because we want to continue building on our good work in Rotherham and eventually, hopefully, in Sheffield, too.
"We are making a difference, trying to get people fit, healthy and active.
"One kid we worked with, for example, had been really struggling.
"When it came to thinking about leaving school, he didn't know what he was going to do and hadn't seem interested in anything. But he managed to get an engineering apprenticeship, which is great."
Another used to hide under the stairs because of social.
"The money has given us breathing space to help more young people and explore potential new avenues over the next two years and push on and expand. There is no time to rest!"
Coach Alex, 33, from Carlton in Lindrick, who is also Ian's project delivery co-ordinator, was a one-time amateur at Glyn Rhodes' Hillsborough gym.
But a severe injury to his arm stopped him competing.He loves his job, now, though.
"Not many people get a living out of the boxing, so it is fantastic for me" he says.He said the second grant payment to the club had been "life changing" - he felt like he'd won the lottery himself.
More importantly, he said, the money and what it provided would help level the playing field for members of the public.
Local MP Jake Richards describes the club as "an invaluable asset to Dinnington and the wider community."
He also said: "DC Boxing also played a huge role after the horrendous scenes in Wath over the summer. They organised events to show unity and solidarity in the face of division.
Well done Ian and the whole team."
