The ring at Forest Fighting Fit has taken its last punch.
After more than a decade of being patched, propped up and pounded by the local community, the boxing ring at the Parkend gym in Gloucestershire has been condemned by its own head coach as unsafe and “diabolical”.
What used to be the heart of the gym is now a hazard. The posts stand bare without padding. The boards wobble underfoot. The ropes slacken quickly and refuse to stay tight. For a sport built on precision and discipline, the platform itself is no longer trustworthy.
“It’s at the end of its life,” said head coach Michelle Gardiner, who has watched the ring slowly deteriorate under relentless use and brutal weather. Years of wear and tear were bad enough. Then came the floods.
Storm Bert, which hit the Forest of Dean in November 2024, landed a heavy blow. Twice the gym has flooded, and both times the water gathered around the ring. Elevated or not, the structure soaked it up. Damp crept in, unseen but relentless, weakening what little resilience remained.
Now the gym faces a stark choice: replace the ring or watch progression stall for a generation of young fighters.
The solution has a price tag. A new ring, one that meets modern safety standards and opens the doors to a wider range of programmes, will cost £3,500. For Forest Fighting Fit, which has recently secured charity status, that figure is the difference between standing still and moving forward.
A new set-up would not just benefit aspiring boxers chasing medals. Gardiner and her team want a ring that can cater for all ages and abilities, with better accessibility and improved safety for disabled participants. It is about more than competition; it is about inclusion.
The impact of the missing ring is already being felt.
Emma Morgan knows that better than most. Her 10-year-old daughter, Lily, walked into Forest Fighting Fit at the age of four, clinging to her mother’s leg. Now she walks into arenas, not just gyms, competing in front of thousands.
From a nervous beginner to a WKO World Championship Gold medallist, Lily’s rise has been forged on that worn-out canvas. She has competed at national and international level, taken part in two Grand Prix events and tested herself on the European stage. The old ring helped build a world champion.
But while Lily’s path is already laid, others are stuck at the ropes.
Without a functioning boxing ring, Morgan says children cannot make the crucial step from kickboxing into boxing. They can train. They can learn. They cannot fully progress.
For many of them, that transition is not simply technical. It is psychological.
“A new ring would bring their confidence up; it’s all about confidence,” Morgan said. The gym, she added, thrives on its “really good team atmosphere” when everyone is together around the ring, pushing one another on.
That atmosphere spans generations. Forest Fighting Fit is not a boutique fight club; it is a community hub. Gardiner says the youngest member is four, the oldest 69. Under the same roof, beginners and champions share the same space, the same encouragement, the same battered boards.
To keep that spirit alive, the gym has turned to the community it serves.
After “no luck” with grant applications, Gardiner and her team launched a crowdfunder. Local firm Suntory Beverage and Food in Coleford has stepped in with a crucial pledge: it will match every donation. Every pound given by a parent, a member or a supporter instantly doubles in value.
The old ring, soaked by storms and scarred by years of hard rounds, is almost done. The question now is whether the Forest of Dean can help pay for the next one — and with it, the next wave of fighters waiting for their chance to climb through the ropes.
