Boxing Is Love: A Year In Review 2025
- contact283249
- Dec 24, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 31, 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, Boxing is Love reflects on a landmark year of growth made possible through the continued support of BOXRAW, other partners and the wider boxing community.
As we grew rapidly in the past few years, we saw the appointment of a new leadership team in March 2025. Under the leadership of our new CEO Spencer Lee Boya and Director of Programmes Shelly Lee, Boxing is Love entered a bold new chapter centering around the question: boxing can take young people off the streets, but where to? While boxing has transformed countless lives by offering safety, confidence, discipline, role models, and resilience, it cannot alone dismantle the deep and often hidden structural inequalities faced by many young people. Boxing is Love exists to address this gap, setting out from the outset to challenge and redefine the sports for development landscape.
At the heart of this renewed direction sit three pillars: programmes, campaigns, and research.
1 in 4 disengage in the first year of Secondary School. That's why, 2025 saw the launch of our new flagship programme, where we use boxing to reach those hardest to reach, then teach national curricula directly through the lens of boxing, offering young people an alternative perspective of what education can look like, helping them reconnect with school in ways that are relevant and empowering. Over 60 lessons were delivered to disadvantaged young people aged 11 to 25 across the UK. By teaching history, sociology, politics, and culture through the sport’s stories, figures, and traditions, the programme aimed to equip young people with tools to better understand the world around them. 90% of participants reported increased interest in at least one academic subject covered.
Alongside programme delivery, we put boxing at the center stage of discussions on social issues through issue-led campaigns and storytelling that mobilise action and raise awareness on what matters.
We launched five major campaigns across the year. These included the Fighting for the Futures tour across the United States, delivered in partnership with Ring Magazine, which distributed more than £100,000 worth of BOXRAW equipment to young athletes. Another highlight was Fuel the Fight, a collaborative nutrition education initiative delivering locally tailored resources to over two hundred young boxers in Lagos and Accra. Together, these campaigns reflected a commitment to supporting young people both inside and beyond the ring.
Finally, we hope that everyone who loves boxing can discover the same thrill in learning about the world as they do in the sport itself. Through the lens of boxing, we turn complex ideas tangible, relatable, and accessible. Our end goal is to inspire more people who has been told that learning is not for them, and to challenge this narrative. Our dedicated research team has therefore transformed these insights into accessible content that the boxing community can learn from.
Beyond programmes and campaigns, Boxing is Love embarked on the following projects:
1. Leading in Policy Discussions at a Parliament Level
Boxing is Love is now part of the All Party Parliamentary Group in Boxing, where we actively participate in Policy Discussions at a parliamentary level. Most recently, we were honoured to join a delegation of leading stakeholders in Boxing to meet the Minister for Sport, Stephanie Peacock MP at the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport.
2. “Lessons for Britain from a Boxing Gym” Campaign
Created with photographer Gray Lee Brame at London Community Boxing titled:’Lessons for Britain from a Boxing Club’, this campaign uses portraits and first-hand quotes from young people to show how one small South London club models the values national conversations keep circling: care, discipline, solidarity, and genuine multicultural coexistence.
3. “Fuel to Fight” Campaign
Fuel the Fight is a collaborative project raising awareness of nutrition in boxing communities across Nigeria and Ghana. Developed with African.box and Dr. Yaw Ansong Snr, a PhD researcher at Cambridge University. The campaign delivered locally tailored nutrition posters to more than 200 young boxers in Lagos and Accra, including national teams, supporting informed, sustainable choices for health and performance.
4. BiL Inaugural Equipment Fund
Our first ever round of Boxing is Love Equipment fund saw 127 high quality applications and selected 5 grand winners. We are truly humbled by the work that all these incredible clubs are doing for their community, and we look forward to working alongside them and to the next round of our equipment fund!
5. Community Highlights
From supporting young boxers at Peterborough Police ABC with gear to compete at the in the 47th Annual International PAL Boxing Championships in Oxnard, California, to featuring the story of Coach Lewis Kahraman and his boxers, to featuring Sarah Lotus Asare’s curated exhibition in Ghana about the ghanaian boxing heritage, our community inspires us and keeps us going. Thank you for all the great work that you do.
6. Event Highlight: BiL x Charan Dhesi x KCL ABC
We partnered with King’s College London Amateur Boxing Club and King’s Sikhs Society to host Charan Kaur Dhesi, the first British-born Sikh woman to turn professional in boxing. The event combined a hands-on training session led by Charan with an intimate discussion on her journey, barriers, and commitment to mentoring young women in the sport.
7. Boxing is Love: Homegrown (Short Film)
In partnership with Emmy-nominated Creative Director and Boxing is Love Fellow Yasir Masood, this film follows M’Baye Kante as he trains in Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympic Games, reflecting on how boxing has shaped his outlook on life and sense of purpose. Alongside his training, he reconnects with his Senegalese heritage through professional drumming and by teaching young people in South LA traditional West African rhythms, finding community and cultural grounding through the sport.
8. “Mental Health Awareness Week” Campaign
In June 2025, Boxing is Love spotlighted boxing’s role in supporting mental wellbeing and advocating for mental health. We sought advice from our friends Leon Mckenzie, George Kamboso Jr, Sandy Ryan, Khalid Twaiti and Blayne Williams, shared 3 research papers on boxing & mental wellbeing, captured community interviews with amateur boxers and coaches, and spotlighted legendary athletes who have spoken out.
9. Launch of the BiL Fellows Programme
Launched this year, BiL Fellows is a curated community of practitioners and boxers from diverse fields, creating space for dialogue, collaboration, and mentorship, and engaging directly with young people through workshops, mentoring, and creative or research projects.
BiL Fellows include: Derrick Osaze, Dr. Anthea Moys, Dr. Ella Harris, Dr. Ella Gilbert, Dr. Sarah Crews, Dr. Solomon Lennox, Elena Sobol, Oscar McCracken, Rachel Bower, Rakim Sajero
10. New Advisory Board
They bring diverse expertise to guide and strengthen our work.
Andy Clarke: One of boxing's most respected and credible voices worldwide, serving as the lead commentator for Sky Sports Boxing.
Sarah Crews: Associate Professor of Performance and Physical Culture at the University of South Wales. With Focus on marginalised narratives in boxing, social perceptions of women’s boxing, and the portrayal of female boxers in visual culture
Adam Haniver: England Boxing Level 3 coach and the Director of the DiSE Programme at Brighton Metropolitan College.
Hugo Ricca: A current trustee of the Bates Wells Foundation, Hugo is an expert in Charity Law
11. Partners and Supporters
Our partners make our work possible, enabling us to deliver lasting impact where it matters most. We would like to give a big shoutout to everyone that supported us and we look forward to growing our impact together.
In no particular order:
This work has been sustained by an extraordinary community of supporters. In 2025, 1,007 people donated regularly to Boxing is Love, helping ensure that programmes could continue to reach those who need them most. None of this impact would have been possible without their commitment.
As Boxing is Love looks ahead to 2026, the organisation is focused on building upon this momentum, deepening partnerships, expanding education delivery, and creating new opportunities for young people through boxing. Those interested in getting involved or exploring partnership opportunities are invited to visit our partnerships page. Please also follow us on Instagram to keep up to date with everything that we are doing!
From everyone at Boxing is Love, and on behalf of the communities served throughout the year, thank you for your support. We wish all our partners, supporters, and readers a joyful Christmas and a hopeful start to the new year.
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