Lynsey Lockey: “I don’t want other women to walk into a room and feel like an outsider. I don’t want people to feel alone or that it is not possible, and I want to make sure the opportunities are there.”
Lynsey Lockey began her boxing journey when she was only 17. From what started as training in a women’s boxing-based fitness class getting more women into the sport and creating a safe environment for them, six years later, it started to morph into something more. Lynsey got into the business side of the sport, setting up her own promotional company, and looking to change the way the sport was marketed. She progressed, worked her way up, and had spells in football before going back into boxing, performing numerous roles in the sport, including being the International Events Manager for England Boxing. After the Covid pandemic, Lynsey set up Steel Sports Management which included contracts with Boxxer and FightZone.
Lynsey is incredibly passionate about the sport, but it is the passion to get more women involved in the sport, which is the driving force behind her next big venture.
Women in Boxing was launched last week, and for thirty minutes or so over Zoom, the passion for her new project was obvious. Women in Boxing was, in many ways, born out of her experiences in the sport. Often feeling like an outsider in a sport that was once considered a man’s world. Things are changing, and not before time. But not every part of the sport has reached full equality yet, and that change, while wanted and much-needed, isn’t coming fast enough. Lynsey Lockey wants to turbocharge that change.
The aim of Women in Boxing is a simple one. But an important one. “Change and a level playing field,” Lynsey told me when I asked what she wants out of her latest, but probably her most important chapter in the sport. She knows change won’t come quickly or easily. There is work to be done, despite the boom period that women’s boxing is currently enjoying after so many years in the wilderness. Lynsey talks about how one voice won’t be enough and the need for a thousand voices to force that change through.
Lynsey told FightPost that the project is two years in the making.
“I’ve been planning it for around two years now. Basically, I have been in the sport for around twenty years and I have always been treated differently because I am a woman and that has been accepted as it has in any other sport or life in general. It is alright just sitting back and thinking that things will change, but they won’t. Until somebody gets hold of the reigns and takes the lead, then things will never change. I’m not saying I can change things on my own. because I can’t. But what I am going to do is create a platform for everyone to come on. I’ve got ambassadors, I’ve got a board of twelve, I’ve got a team, and every one of them brings years and vast experience mainly in the boxing world. But we have also got a doctor on there. We’ve got other companies that work in boxing like Matchroom and England Boxing. We’ve taken all the best bits and put them all together.”
Women in Boxing isn’t just exclusive to female boxers. It is about getting as many women involved in the sport as possible and giving them as many opportunities as possible.
“It’s every area as well. When people ask what are you going to cover, it’s everything. I am not going to say it is one topic, women or boxing. It’s about gender equality, empowerment, representation, and availability. Women are not doing roles because they haven’t got the pathway to do it. If you went for a specific job, like a leadership role, you would be dismissed just because you are a woman. So what we are going to do is give women the tools and education to get them into those roles. We will do many courses, online education and our board will do different subjects. It will be around female participation, health, and well-being for females. So things like the menopause, periods, and making weight while you are on your period. Every issue that doesn’t get talked about and isn’t an issue for a man. We are going to do a female officials course so we can get more females on the pathway with the British Boxing Board of Control. It happens in the amateurs anyway, but I am already talking with the Central Area. They want to encourage female participation in boxing. People slate them, but they are not against it.
“We are going to work with all the federations. We already have a liaison officer in place who will work with all the governing bodies across the world, not just in the UK. We want to tie all those things up so we all work together, and we can eradicate all these questions and issues.
“It’s not just about female boxers. It’s about every woman and making every role accessible and acceptable. I have specified that on the website. It’s about fitness, amateurs, professionals, security, and coaches, including life after boxing for the fighters. To try and give them the tools to get back into boxing, things like mentoring, leadership, officials courses, or business courses. We are putting training and education on so you have a career after boxing. We are also doing courses for non-boxers like cuts and handwrapping courses. We are working with people that has already been agreed. We also want it to be more acceptable for women to be spectators. We have already seen that change in football, but we need to see that change in every sport, especially in boxing.”
The desire for change is the motivation to launch Women in Boxing, and one born out of personal experience Lynsey told me.
“I have a few personal things. Like the lack of career opportunities and being paid differently for roles when I am more senior than some men. Being treated differently and the behaviours towards me. So it is all my personal experiences. I have always known that change needs to happen, and it is not okay how things are, but you just carry on regardless. No matter how strong I am, no matter how independent I am and how good at my job I am just carrying on doesn’t change things. I will always continue to hit these barriers.”
“Twenty-six years ago, you literally got looked at, and what are you doing here? Why are you here? Put the kettle on. I worked on Ricky Hatton fights in Vegas, and at the weigh-in, you have to go to a rules meeting. You have to send representation, and I went. It was full of middle-aged white men. I was twenty-six, mixed-race, and female. Literally, they thought I was bringing the tea tray in they looked at me and dismissed me. Nobody shook my hand, nobody talked to me and nobody acknowledged me. You had to stand up and introduce yourself. I stood up and said I was Lynsey Lockey, representing Ricky Hatton, and their jaws hit the table, and they were my best friends at the end of it. I don’t want other women to walk into a room and feel like an outsider. I don’t want them to feel alone or that it is not possible, and I want to make sure the opportunities are there that aren’t there at the moment.”
It’s not hard to be inspired by the words and passion of Lynsey Lockey. It is a project that is obviously close to her heart. The recent and much-needed progress in women’s boxing shouldn’t mean that further progress and true equality shouldn’t follow.
Full details of Women in Boxing can be found at:
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