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Best of Toronto

The Best Boxing Gym in Toronto

Posted by Robyn Urback / December 9, 2011

Best Boxing Gym TorontoThe best boxing gym in Toronto doesn't have misting baths waiting for you in its locker room once you break a sweat. These are the old-school fighting hubs--the concrete arenas of sparring, if you will--and the only thing pretty here is the angle of a perfect right hook. Many of the best boxing gyms and clubs in Toronto have bred (or, at least, hosted at one point or another) some great names in national and international boxing, all while accommodating pint-sized punchers and mommies fitting fitness into their lunch breaks.

Here is the list of the best boxing gyms in Toronto.

See also:

The best martial arts in Toronto
The best spinning classes in Toronto

Sully's Boxing Gym

Sully's Boxing Gym

Sully's Boxing Gym is the foremost name in Toronto boxing, not just because of list of venerable fighters who have trained in its ring. (OK, well since I mentioned it, there's Lennox Lewis, Clyde Gray, Muhammad Ali, but I digress.) Sully's trainers include Richard Reittie, Tony Morrison, and owner Joe Manteiga, all of whom are masters in seducing out a sweat (or vomit, or tears). Don't expect an organic soy smoothie after a workout at Sully's. More »

Cabbagetown Boxing Club

Cabbagetown Boxing Club

Cabbagetown Boxing Club opened with a youth focus back in 1972, but has since grown to train fighters of all ages and skill levels to bout with the best. Its facility offers recreational and competitive programs, along with fitness-focused (boxercise) activities. First-times generally start with the no-contact TechBox course. More »

Toronto Newsgirls

Toronto Newsgirls

Toronto Newsgirls is a women and trans-only gym (though there are co-ed classes twice a week) that first opened back in 1996. While the club offers traditional competitive and recreational programs, it also hosts a variety of community-focused activities and events aimed at improving the lives of survivors of violence as well as at-risk youth. More »

Kingsway Boxing Club

Kingsway Boxing Club

It sort of looks like an abandoned warehouse, which, I suppose, is spot on for a west-end boxing gym. Operated by senior coaches Jennifer Huggins and Virgil Barrow, Kingsway has sparring, open, and technical classes, as well as free 1-on-1 demos for potential world champions-in-the-making. And, uh, classes for kids aged five to 12. Two locations. More »

Xtreme Couture

Xtreme Couture

Xtreme Couture is boxing and martial arts, with Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, wresting, boxing, and MMA all on the program roster. That may sound like a lot, but with 33,000 square feet of available space, you don't really have to worry about being too close to a Kao Loi. Unless, of course, you're in the ring. More »

Atlas Boxing Club

Atlas Boxing Club

Atlas Boxing Club at Oakwood and St. Clair boasts that it is the only Toronto club to produce an Olympic gold medalist, along with two silver medalist. And perhaps it is so, in that specific combination. The club has taken lately to hosting live amateur events, which are followed by PPV viewings of slightly less amateur events. The gym offers recreational, amateur, and professional boxing programs. More »

Grant Brothers MMA

Grant Brothers MMA

With a provincial champion judo black belt, a UFC welterweight fighter, and a USSR national wrestling champion among its trainers, you known you're not going to get a simple cheerleader as your instructor at Grant Brothers. While the gym offers a variety of programs, boxing is its heavyweight (no pun intended), offering a lunch-hour boxercise class for those in the North York area, as well as its regular boxing classes. More »

Florida Jacks

Florida Jacks

Florida Jacks has pretty much equal parts boxing-based fitness classes and technical boxing instruction. Right at Yonge and Bloor, you can count on breaking a pretty good sweat through its conditioning or basic classes, or else work on 1-on-1 sparring techniques or the fundamental elements of Thai boxing. All to indulge in the many Bloor Street temptations afterwards. More »

Revolution MMA

Revolution MMA

Revolution MMA might look a little sleeker than the other boxing gyms on this list, but don't let the black lacquer finishes fool you. This gym offers rigorous advanced boxing training, as well as beginner and intro classes running all the time. Noel Clubb, boxing coach to the pros, is at the Revolution MMA helm. More »

Discussion

7 Comments

Inferno / December 9, 2011 at 12:15 pm
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Also want to throw in Undisputed Martial Arts. The amount of attention you get for improving your technique is phenomenal, which is really good for beginners so you dont start with any bad habit. And Archie is an awesome instructor. Its right on O'Connor. Worth checking out.
geg / December 11, 2011 at 09:48 pm
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How did you miss Bloor Boxing @ Dundas/Bloor?

http://www.blogto.com/fitness/bloorboxing
John / December 12, 2011 at 09:07 pm
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Hi, Great article. Check out http://www.industryandinterest.com as I will be showcasing different businesses around Nth America soon
James / December 13, 2011 at 03:15 pm
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Revolution is by far the worst one, I have been to that place , all I can say is 'money grab', they don't care about teaching you anything, the owner only looks at you when is time to sign u up, once he gets your money he will never look at you again.
NK replying to a comment from geg / May 8, 2012 at 07:24 pm
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Because this recreational fitness place is not exactly a boxing club, nevermind they have gloves at the entrance.
NK replying to a comment from geg / May 8, 2012 at 07:25 pm
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Atlas is really good and can take you to almost any level.
Rick / May 14, 2012 at 11:38 am
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Check this place out: Since opening its doors in Sept.2011 Stockyards Boxing and Fitness has hosted 7 amateur boxing events. The head trainers are ex pro fighters and currently active pro fighters. They are also certified coaches by Boxing Ontario. The gym is also home to several competative amateur boxers. The gym offers classes for beginers (just boxing for fun and fitness)and experienced boxers. On any day of the week you will see competative sparring sessions taking place between Canada's top professional and amateur boxers. The gym also offers Kung Fu, Mauy Thai and Kick-boxing classes. It is located in the west end of Toronto inside the George Bell Arena (Keele and St.Clair)with plenty of free parking.

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