BoxWise began in 2020 in a single gym in Brixton, South London. Childhood friends Nick Maughan and Rick Ogden founded it, and NMF met its costs alone in the early years. It now works in towns and cities across England and Wales, and abroad from Uganda to Brazil. It has since built a broad and sustainable base of generous donors, including a gift of one million pounds from the boxing promoter Frank Warren.
The programme
BoxWise runs a free ten-week, non-contact programme taught by England Boxing coaches. Every session includes a hot meal. Young people work on purpose, adaptability, imagination, discipline, emotional control and teamwork. Graduates are mentored into further education, training and work. Many have gone on to qualify as personal trainers and boxing coaches, or into a range of trades and professions.
Its syllabus has been refined over the years with advice from experts in sport, psychology and youth work. It has been taken up by boxing and youth clubs around the world, and that global reach is among the charity's proudest achievements.
Partners
Every BoxWise programme runs through a local England Boxing club, so its funding strengthens grassroots boxing as well as reaching young people. BoxWise works with StreetDoctors, Centrepoint and Queensberry Promotions. It is a delivery partner to Violence Reduction Units, Youth Justice Services, local authorities and police forces. Since August 2026 it has had a national apprenticeship partnership with Coach Core, and it works closely with the Bahamas Boxing Academy.
Inclusion
BoxWise runs adapted boxing for young people with disabilities, working with Great Britain Disability Boxing. This includes programmes at the largest specialist disability school in Wales. It has offered free courses to Ukrainian refugee children, army veterans and young people experiencing homelessness. BoxWise has also run programmes in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt and Brazil.
Leadership
Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice, chairs BoxWise. Rick Ogden MBE DL is co-founder and Chief Executive. Nick Maughan is founder and a trustee. Ambassadors include the professional boxers Lawrence Okolie, Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Crolla. Many of the great names in boxing have visited BoxWise, including Tyson Fury and David Haye.
What partners say
“That investment has enabled clubs to reach thousands of young people who may otherwise never have experienced the positive impact that boxing can have.”
“Their unwavering support, belief in inclusion and willingness to embrace innovation have enabled us to grow, reach more people and demonstrate the truly life-changing impact that inclusive boxing can have.”
“Sport has a unique ability to reach young people that other routes can't.”
“BoxWise changes lives, it's that simple. If you take young people who have fallen through the cracks and invite them in for some boxing training, many come. Once they are in, you give them free meals and help them to move in a positive direction. It's a winning formula that Nick has rolled out across the UK. I've been to see BoxWise in action and it works. It makes young people happier and behave better. Add boxing to mentoring and the results are very strong. This is about inner city kids that no one is doing enough about. They are left alone to learn from local gangs and we wonder why they get into trouble. BoxWise uses boxing to interest them and then helps them to turn their lives around.”