Boxing Is Love has joined forces with Future Champs to launch a new flagship facility in Cape Town, South Africa this August.

Built out of repurposed shipping containers, the new HQ will offer an inclusive, safe and secure, youth friendly space that will create positive change to Philippi, one of 10 hotspots for murder in the Western Cape Province.

Boxing Is Love is a BOXRAW foundation establishing and rebuilding a culture of independence, greatness and courage throughout the developing world. Through the creation of boxing programs and gyms, we use boxing as a mechanism to help children overcome social epidemics.

Our goal is to change the world; nation by nation, glove by glove. In the latest move to take this mission global, Boxing Is Love and Future Champs have come together to scale our social impact programs, ahead of the facility launch in Cape Town.

Boxing is Love, a BOXRAW foundation initiative, has been operating as a US-based boxing charity with operations in Liberia. We have used boxing training and mentorship programs as key psycho-social tools in working with youth at risk in Monrovia, with the goal of inspiring, engaging and empowering young people desperate for opportunity.

Changing The World

BOXRAW Founder and CEO, Ben Amanna, originally set up the foundation after being inspired by the positive impact boxing had in his own life and how training provided the discipline and resilience needed to be successful both inside and outside of the ring.

“Boxing is Love was built off the belief that boxing has the ability to change the world. By partnering with Future Champs, we have aligned efforts to amplify our collective mission.” said Ben.

Future Champs was founded by Jeremy Bean in 2009 as a boxing program run in Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa, working with Youth Offenders and Parolees. The project eventually expanded beyond the prison walls into a network of grassroots boxing gyms, where it delivered training and youth mentorship programs for those in need.

This has since grew further and into a program working on gym construction, using repurposed shipping containers, and pairing facilities with community coaches to set them up as social enterprises.

"For us this was an easy decision. This is a strategic partnership that will allow both initiatives to pool networks, IP and resources. Through the power of collaboration, so much more is possible as a global social enterprise. We cannot wait to get moving on this exciting journey," said Jeremy.

Partnership Work Underway

Work has already begun for the partnership’s first major project, with the construction of the new Boxing is Love HQ in Philippi, Cape Town. This is being built using a steel frame structure and innovative (up-cycled) shipping container architecture.

The new double volume flagship building will function as a training facility, office and youth hub, including a micro arena functionality for staging tournaments and events.

Container construction experts Wolf Pack Modular have officially been appointed at the build team, with oversight from London based architecture firm Leonard Architects.

"This is an exciting project that will impact the lives of the youth in the area, we as Wolf Pack Modular are  thrilled to be onboard," stated Justin Anley of Wolf Pack Modular.

All organisations involved in the project have already been working tirelessly to get construction underway, ahead of the proposed August 20th launch date. With the Boxing Is Love and Future Champs partnership, BOXRAW aims to continue inspiring perseverance, determination and the necessary hope to empower progress through boxing.