Boxing in Rotterdam

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Introduction

History of this sport

Crooswijk and the boxing school. Rotterdam's boxing history is closely connected to Crooswijk. Boxing schools brought generations of athletes together there. A report by Gers! Rotterdam shows how respect, discipline, and encounters between people from different backgrounds are part of that boxing culture.

Bep van Klaveren. The Rotterdam-born boxer won Olympic gold in the featherweight division at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. His name and Crooswijk's boxing history give the city a distinctive place in Dutch boxing history.

A living club tradition. RBV Crooswijk and RBV van 't Hof are both connected to the city's boxing scene. Local boxing therefore represents not only famous matches, but also the people who continue to train together.

Local connections

The club as a meeting place. Boxing brings people of different ages and backgrounds together in Rotterdam. In Gers! Rotterdam’s story about boxing schools in Crooswijk, mutual respect and appreciation for what someone learns in the ring are central. A boxing school is therefore more than a place to practise combinations.

From club to elite sport. In 2022, the National Combat Sports Centre in Rotterdam was announced as a shared training facility for the national boxing programme and other combat sports. This development shows how the city makes room for both club sports and high-level training.

Martial arts facts

Olympic boxing champion: Bep van Klaveren
Historical boxing culture: Crooswijk

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Clubs and training locations

Training in this city

Technique and coaching. Rotterdam offers several ways to take up boxing. If you want to learn boxing, you’ll work on footwork, defense, and combinations. Leon's Boxing Gym offers group and personal training; Bokslokaal focuses on technique and coaching for different levels.

For recreation or competition. TYR Boxing in Ommoord offers boxing training for a range of levels. Mesa Sport offers both recreational boxing and competition training for youth and adults. Ask each club about the differences between a bag class, a technique class, and sparring training.

More than one discipline. Want to combine boxing with other martial arts? Alongside boxing, Ruthless Fight Company offers MMA, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Pendekar Rotterdam brings together Western boxing, heavy bag training, Muay Thai, and kickboxing.

Choose a club

Start with your goal. Do you want to learn boxing technique, get some recreational exercise, or eventually compete in boxing? Ask a club which classes are intended for beginners, when sparring takes place, and whether you can train without sparren.

Choose a convenient location. Regular training is easier if the club fits into your daily routine. So compare not only the atmosphere, but also the location and current class schedule. A club and a studio can feel very different, even when they both offer boxing.

Try a training session yourself. Ask if you can try a class. Pay attention to the trainer’s instructions, how members treat one another, the supervision during contact training, and the condition of the equipment. Choose an environment where you can learn safely and will enjoy coming back.

Discover the clubs

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Athletes with a connection to this city

Bep van Klaveren. The boxer, born in Rotterdam, won Olympic gold in the featherweight category in Amsterdam in 1928. His achievement connects the city's boxing heritage with one of the best-known moments in Dutch Olympic history.

More than champions. Different generations of athletes came together in the boxing gyms of Crooswijk. Their stories about training, competitions, and mutual respect show why Rotterdam boxing cannot be reduced to a single famous figure.

Discover the profiles

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Trainers with a connection to this city

The boxing school as a place of learning. Rotterdam trainers pass on knowledge not only during competitions, but especially in daily training. Names like Crooswijk, Van 't Hof and Hoboken recur in the careers of coaches who later took charge of their own groups. This keeps technique, discipline and care for new boxers alive in the gym from one generation to the next.

Historic mentors. Bep van Klaveren's career is linked to trainer Theo Huizenaar. Van 't Hof is also associated with the story of the Dunk family: Ton senior and Ton junior represent successive generations in Rotterdam's boxing tradition. Their significance lies not only in competition results, but also in training new athletes.

A new generation of coaches. Marichelle de Jong, founder of TYR Boxing, brought her elite sports experience to a boxing school in Rotterdam-Ommoord. Alongside boxing technique, her approach also emphasizes personal growth. This gives Rotterdam's coaching culture a form that appeals to both competitive athletes and recreationalists.

The connection to today's clubs. Leon Jansen, Roy Vielvoye and Herman Veenendaal are examples of trainers with ties to older Rotterdam clubs and a place in today's boxing schools. Their profiles below each tell a different part of that history.