Five Local Boxing Gyms for Mastering Your One-Two Punch

Illustration by Jeannie Phan

For the easily bored
EverybodyFights

Battling monotony in your gym routine? Kick things up a notch at this anything-but-ordinary boxing gym. The brainchild of former pro boxer George Foreman III, EverybodyFights offers five styles of classes, including boot camp, featuring strength training and high-intensity intervals; a heavy-bags primer that’ll teach you how to throw a punch; treadmill sessions to work on endurance; and yoga for recovery and stretching.

15 Channel Center, Boston, 857-250-4140; and other locations; everybodyfights.com.

For all-purpose athletes
Peter Welch’s Gym

This no-nonsense, hands-on boxing gym steeped in Southie’s old-Irish past began as a place for fighters to train but has evolved over time into a destination for all kinds of athletes. Here, classes teach functional movements and strength training to improve stamina and speed, so even if you never hop into the ring, you’ll be conditioned like a real fighter.

371 Dorchester Ave., Boston, 617-942-1974, peterwelchsgym.com.

For fancy fighters
Knockout North End

Hey, we get it—sometimes the perfect workout is less about the actual workout and more about the ambiance and amenities, and this North End gym has plenty of both. Flashing purple and red lights get your adrenaline going for heavy-bags classes, boot camp, or the signature KO jump-rope class. Afterward, resist the siren call of nearby cannoli and instead indulge in a strawberry smoothie at the in-house juice bar.

89 Salem St., Boston, 617-894-4463, konorthend.com.

For the motivated
Back Bay Boxing

If the first 30 minutes of former professional boxer John Murray’s boxing-technique class don’t kill you, consider yourself in good health. His training method will whip you into shape with jump-rope work, pushups, and burpees, all before you even put your mitts on. When it’s finally time to swing a punch, you’ll partner off and wait for Murray to call out sequences of hits like one-two-one-two (jab, right cross, jab, right cross). Don’t worry if you don’t know what the numbers are—he’ll work with you until you get the rhythm down and it becomes second nature.

350 Newbury St., Boston, backbayboxing.com.

For old-school attitude
The Ring Boxing Club

“Our gym kicks your gym’s ass.” That’s the mantra of this Allston club, where tough, battle-tested pro and amateur boxers lead wannabe fighters (including lawyers, nurses, and Tiffany Ortiz) through 60-plus challenging classes a week. Sparring may be 100 percent optional here, but hard work and grit are not.

971 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 617-782-6946, ringboxingclub.com.