Women in Coaching: Michelle Nelson
November 25, 2025 | by Nabillah Akhtar
England Boxing is proud to team up with UK Coaching to address a drop in the number of female coaches in the UK, we have partnered with the leading charitable organisation in the UK for sport and physical activity coaches to tell the inspirational stories of six female boxing coaches who have recently completed qualifications with us.
First up in our ‘Women in Coaching’ series is Michelle Nelson, a 41-year-old boxing gym owner from Luton. Michelle has transformed the sport locally, helping young boxers grow in a deprived area, whilst also supporting them in finding purpose and direction in life.
Michelle’s background is in aeronautical engineering but she made the bold decision to switch paths and pursue a career as a boxing coach. First, the aim was to lose weight and get in shape, but after loving her first session, she turned to coaching. Eight years into her journey, and she is now a driving force in her community.
Last year, she took her career a step further and started her own boxing gym, called Bellator Boxing Academy in Luton. Despite encountering challenges, Michelle has found it incredibly fulfilling.
She explains: “What pushed me was the drive to make a difference and help young people break free from the cycle (of crime). I’m based in one of the tougher areas of Luton, but that makes it even more fulfilling. They could be anywhere else doing anything, but we’ve created that safe space for them.
“If you create a family, you create that safe space.”
Boxing can play a powerful role in transforming underprivileged communities, and Michelle has seen that impact first-hand since stepping into coaching.
She added: “I use boxing as a tool to help young people’s mental health. I also work in schools, using the sport to reach vulnerable young people and keep them off the streets.”
When Michelle first started coaching, entering a stereotypically male-dominated sport was daunting. New data from UK Coaching’s Coaching in the UK Report revealed a decline in the number of female coaches across all levels – from 44% in 2022 to 38% in 2024, despite women making up 51% of the UK population.
Coming from an engineering background, Michelle was used to male-dominated fields, but she admits she had a lot of different experiences – positive and negative – when she first stepped into the ring as a coach.
