Gains Inside and Outside the Ring at The Phoenix Boxing Gym
By Caroline Nordheim
It was a typical Florida summer day. The air held heat and dust from swept-up dirt and torn-down drywall just blocks away from Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. A new building owner, Michael Hockton, had made the purchase with a dream of opening his own boxing gym. That day, he took a break from renovating the place and went out to buy supplies. When he returned, he was greeted by eager students.
“I remember going to Home Depot, and when I came back, my dad had six kids here from nowhere, and we hadn’t even put wet paint on the building walls,” Michael said. “We had some gloves lying around but didn’t have a ring or anything.”
Michael’s boxing journey began long before that moment. About 20 years ago, he moved from England, where he had coached boxing. When he came to South Florida, he continued coaching at other gyms until six years ago, when he opened The Phoenix Boxing Gym.
“I’ve trained many people over the years,” Michael said. “I train the Olympians, world champions, and European champions, predominantly in the UK. Now, here in Florida, I’ve seen incredible talent. One of the boys I told you about is a Florida State Champion with no previous boxing experience. He just won another fight, and I am very proud of him.”
When Michael bought the building on Northwest Fifth Avenue, he took the time to meet people in the area and he was able to spread his message to the community.
“When I first came here, I went to every church around the area,” Michael recalled. “And now a man who is a Baptist minister is my coach here with me because he loves boxing. I call him ‘holy hands.’”
Michael recognized early on that it was the people who made Phoenix Boxing special, and he saw the gym’s impact firsthand, not just in the lives of the kids who come to box, but also in the neighborhood.
“The police told us crime has gone down since we opened, and the kids have come because they’ve got somewhere to go,” Michael said. “I have them cleaning up the streets, too, so you’ll see them walking up and down the street picking up liquor bottles and bits and pieces like that. But I wouldn’t tell them to do anything I wouldn’t do either.”
This support inspired Michael to launch his nonprofit, We Box For Life. The nonprofit empowers underprivileged individuals and communities through boxing, fostering resilience, life skills, and unity.
“I see its impact because you get results out of [the kids]. Many of these children, even the late teens and early 20s, are so used to them saying ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ be regarded as a sign of weakness,” Michael said. “We have kids with anger issues coming here, and that often dissipates over time when they learn how to respect other people and themselves. It’s important to teach.”
One way that Phoenix Boxing is able to support its community efforts is through its membership fees. These fees help cover operational costs like utilities and taxes, ensuring the gym stays afloat. More importantly, it provides access for underprivileged individuals, making the gym a vital resource for those who need it most.
If you are interested in boxing or personal train- ing, give them a call.
103 NW Fifth Ave., Delray Beach
@thephoenixboxinggym
