Book Launch – Migrants, Minorities, and the History of British Boxing explores how migration, race and minority communities have helped shape one of Britain’s most popular sports.
Taking place at De Montfort University during Black History Month, the event draws on research examining the experiences and contribution of Black British boxers alongside other migrant and minority communities whose stories form an important part of Britain’s boxing history.
For generations, boxing gyms have provided spaces where working-class and migrant communities could build confidence, discipline and opportunity. At the same time, the sport has reflected many of the wider inequalities and prejudices present within British society.
Black British fighters have played a particularly significant role in the development of boxing in Britain, producing champions, role models and sporting pioneers while frequently having to overcome racial discrimination inside and outside the ring.
The discussion will explore boxing as a site of both opportunity and prejudice, resistance and identity, considering what the sport can reveal about wider British social history.
The event provides an opportunity for boxing enthusiasts, historians, students and anyone interested in Black British history to examine familiar sporting stories from a broader social and historical perspective.
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