CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Australia’s entire boxing scene is completely reliant on middle aged mothers, it can be confirmed.
This may come as a surprise to actual boxing fans, who thought boxing gyms were able to stay afloat with a percentage of the winnings that get brought home by the fighters they train.
But that isn’t necessarily the case. While the competitive side of boxing continues to spit out the traditional bikie-affiliated young fighters who are covered in tattoos – there is a completely different demographic that keeps the lights on.
Their names are Amelia, Kylie, Connie and Shona. They are the the fee-paying lifeblood that keeps this sport alive.
A new membership drive at ‘Flight Path Boxing’ in Betoota’s light industrial Flight Path District, has found that the sport’s core clientele is either at-risk young men who need combat sport to keep them out of jail, and suburban mums who get one hour to themselves a day.
This scenario is the same in in boxing gyms right around the country, following the rise of ‘boxercise’ as a mainstream form of cardio for middle class Australians in the mid-2000s.
While new competitors in this space like F45 and spin-classes have provided urban Australians with alternative modes of exercise – it seems that the sweet science of boxing has remained just as popular with the young women who bought their first pair of gloves after watching Hilary Swank braid her hair and break a sweat in Clint Eastwood’s 2004 epic sports-drama Million Dollar Baby.
“It’s just what works for me” says local Betoota mum, Kerri-Anne (44).
“I’m in at 5:15 and out 6. It’s between school pick up and dinner. I can do mornings too before school drop off. I don’t need activewear, I don’t need personal trainers. I just skip, punch and sweat and then go home to check the oven”
However, while highlighting the convenience of training at Flight Path Boxing, Kerri-Anne is neglecting to mention the unconventional but lifelong friendships she has made over the years, namely with the type of young men that can find her any form of illegal contraband she asks for within 24 hours.
“Yeah I’ve been to a few of the fight nights.” she reluctantly admits.
“It’s always fun to hit the town with Zed, Shotgun and the boys.”
