Photos by Angela Truong.

The community came together to celebrate the grand opening of Guv’nors Boxing Club in east Long Beach on Saturday.

Guv’nors Boxing Club owner and head coach Liz Q. Parr has been involved with boxing for nearly 20 years. Parr said that opening her own gym is a natural progression after almost two decades in the field.

“I’ve always wanted my own gym and to be the sole owner—female Latina no less—of a predominantly male-dominated sport,” Parr, a four-time US Nationals gold medalist and silver medalist at the PanAm Games, said in a statement. “I moved to Long Beach in 2012 and I knew this is where I would do it.”

One of the reasons Parr chose Long Beach to open a boxing club was finding support among its community of strong women and men. She said the women in the area are all very helpful, a vibe she hasn’t been able to find anywhere else.

One of Parr’s goals for Guv’nors Boxing Club is to foster a thriving amateur team. She was involved in a successful amateur program when she was starting out, which helped her make the Women’s USA Boxing team for four years. However in 2008, it was announced that the Olympics would not be accepting women that year.

Parr speaks on her desire to train others in an adidas Women profile prior to opening the club. She said she wants to start training kids at the age of seven so they’re ready to enter amateur programs where they’re allowed to fight at the age of eight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHFhdMI2WuE

“I feel that it’s almost my duty to give back because I experienced that and it changed my life,” said Parr. “I want to help kids to change their life […] and their perspective that it’s not just punching people in the face.”

Parr’s family and friends came to check out the different rooms and some even tested out the equipment. Other residents stopped by to get more information on the boxing club.

Guv’nors Boxing Club offers a $60 a month membership for children and $80 per month for adults with a one-year contract, which include unlimited classes (with three classes offered a day) and open gym time. Guv’nors Boxing Club also serves as a fitness gym for people to work out or for those who want to learn how to box. The gym opens at 9:00AM and closes at 8:30PM.

For more information on the boxing club, visit the link here.

Guv’nors Boxing Club is located upstairs at 1630 East Anaheim Street.