Three Female Boxers Who Trained at Gleason's Gym, Manhattan
March 15, 2024

Since its inception back in 1993, women’s boxing has been growing more popular. In 2022, the fight between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall was watched by over two million people, making it not only the biggest women’s boxing audience in history but the most-watched women’s sports event ever.

The growth of the sport is not only down to growing fan and sponsor interest, however. A strong sporting industry is only as strong as its amenities, and one gym, in particular, has had a heavy impact on the prospering women's game.

Gleason’s Gym, Manhattan

Founded by Peter Gagliardi, Gleason’s Gym opened its doors eighty-seven years ago, in 1937. After the depression, it began to flourish throughout the 1940s and 50s and soon became known as the spiritual home of boxing giants like Muhammad Ali, Jake LaMotta, and Mike Tyson.

Women, however, were barred from the premises. It wasn’t until 1983 that Bruce Silverglade, then a new partner of Ira Becker, the second owner of Gleason’s Gym, suggested they close the gym early twice a week to allow women to train. From that point on, the women’s program has flourished along with the sport itself, with over 400 women now using Gleason’s Gym to train, develop their skills, and form a crucial part of the new community.

Ronica Jeffrey as a Gleason’s Legend

One of these women is Ronica Jeffrey, who initially came to the gym as ‘an affordable option’ to lose weight. While she was not touted to be successful in the world of boxing at the time, she has since become a boxing legend, inspiring women from Manhattan to Queens, to Brooklyn, all the way over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey. Akin to this, she is now a regular pick for the top sportsbooks in New Jersey and the rest of New York, as she sparks excitement across the city every time she steps in the ring. According to Jeffrey, it was Gleason’s Gym that showed her characteristics she didn’t know she had, ‘creating a different kind of love’ for the sport.

Heather Hardy as a History Maker

Another woman who can demonstrate the power of Gleason’s Gym is Heather Hardy, who currently holds the WBC international female super-bantamweight title. Finding other boxing gyms intimidating, Hardy immediately fell into the rhythm of Gleason’s Gym, learning from the community to find her own way in the sport and move away from the aggressive, thug-like boxing era of the 1990s and 00s. In her words, Gleason’s Gym is the ‘best place to learn boxing’, as it harbours confidence in its female constituents, asking them to make history and become the best, strongest athletes they can be.

Sonya Lamonakis as a Symbol of Strength

The story of Sonya Lamonakis is unlike anyone else's. Having been the victim of an armed robbery, she moved to New York and made her home Gleason’s Gym. Just three months later, she won her first boxing match. Now ranked at Number Four in the women’s heavyweight division, she is the living, breathing embodiment of the gym itself, and what it can do to lift people's spirits and transform them into legends. It’s probably worth mentioning that she’s also an elementary school teacher!

Gleason’s Gym as an Empowering Boxing Hub

Gleason’s Gym is full of inspiring signs and messages hidden amongst the maze of punch bags and rings. One of the most iconic, however, is the sign that reads: ‘Now, whoever has courage and a strong and collected spirit in his breast let him come forward, place on the gloves and put up his hands’.

This is a lingering, empowering message that has inspired generations of boxers in the past. In the present, however, the pronouns can easily be swapped. Because whether it’s Lamonakis, Hardy, Jeffrey, or all the other women who have become champions since 1983, Gleason’s Gym has clearly become the go-to hub for every boxer.