Hall of Fame boxer Clarence Hill believes the money Government will spend to erect a statue in his honour can be put to better use.Outlined in Government’s Throne Speech was their intention to erect a bronze statue of Bermuda’s only Olympic medal winner.Hill took the bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Games where he competed as a heavyweight.Yet while the 61-year-old Bermudian is moved by Government’s touching gesture, he believes the money could be better spent on a centrally based state-of-the-art boxing gym to help groom future generations of boxers.“I’m not being disrespectful or unappreciative but I think securing a boxing gym would be a better option than a statue which is a good gesture and long overdue,” Hill told The Royal Gazette.“We have lots of boxing potential in Bermuda but the reason why the sport is slowly going along is because we don’t have a decent, centrally located gym with proper trainers.“I have been calling for a boxing gym to be secured for the longest while simply because of how the some youths are today. I think a boxing gym with a good programme would give the youth something positive to go after rather than being involved in anti-social behaviour.”Hill recalled how boxing influenced his own life in a positive way growing up in Newark, New Jersey.“I was a troublesome child in my family and was on my way to juvenile home,” he said. “I was on my way to school one day and I walked into a YMCA and saw boxing and that changed me. I believe boxing can help the youth in Bermuda also because they are looking for somewhere to let off some steam.”Government’s intention to erect a statue in Hill’s honour has sparked controversy because of the former boxer’s criminal record and well-publicised bout with drug addiction.Many feel Hill should not be honoured because of his previous convictions and drug use while others disagree, noting he remains the only Bermudian ever to have medalled in the Island’s long Olympic history.In response to those who feel Hill should not be honoured because of his past run-ins with the law and drug addiction, the former southpaw said: “It’s been years since I was last in jail and those things happened years ago. No man walking this earth is perfect but it seems some people can’t let my past die.”Hill claims he hasn’t used drugs in more than a decade and has helped inspire others afflicted with addiction simply by staying clean.“I’ve had people congratulate me for kicking the habit and others battling with addiction have been inspired by me,” he said. “It’s hard to kick that habit but when an addict finds someone that has kicked drugs they become an inspiration to them. To be honest, kicking my habit of drugs is bigger to me than winning an Olympic medal.“Nothing else could be bigger and it was my faith in God that allowed me to get cleaned. All things can be achieved through Christ.”