The Fight Back x SHWDWN: a bigger stage for women’s boxing

For a long time, a woman who wanted to fight had two options. Go pro, or box on a charity night where she was the novelty on the poster. There was not much in between for the women who had put in years of training and wanted a real stage to show it.

The Fight Back is that stage. On Saturday 28 November it puts a card of women in front of a full room at Ladbroke Hall in West London, and I am proud to say SHWDWN is the official ticketing partner.

Who is behind The Fight Back?

Lesley Sackey is a former Team GB boxer and gold medallist, and an entrepreneur. She founded Fight Forward, the organisation The Fight Back sits inside. In her words: “I’m building the fight nights women have always deserved. The moment is now.”

Shelly Sweeney is a three time national champion who boxed for England, and now coaches. She is the one who can tell you exactly what a fighter at that level is missing: “Not amateur, not pro, but still ready for a real stage. That’s why we built Fight Back.”

Poppy Mason-Watts is an impact storyteller and brand leader, and the reason the night will look and feel the way it does. “Boxing showed me what I’m capable of. I want more women to feel that confidence and possibility.”

I met Lesley at their launch event this week. What stood out was how little of the conversation was about the night itself. It was about the women who will walk out, and the women they are fighting for.

What is Fight Forward?

Fight Forward is a community interest company that uses boxing to help women who have survived domestic abuse find their way back to themselves. It runs free boxing sessions for women rebuilding their lives, including with refuges across London.

That is where the money from The Fight Back goes. Every ticket and every partnership puts another woman through a session she could not have got to on her own. The founders put it simply: the night is the hook, the mission is the whole point.

But do not mistake it for a charity night with gloves on. The women on this card are not the supporting act. They earned their spot, and the room is there for them.

What happens on fight night?

The card is split into two tiers. Open bouts are for first timers, boxing class regulars and women stepping up to find out exactly what they are capable of. Competitive bouts are for trained fighters and retired amateurs, and they headline.

Former world champion Natasha Jonas is the event’s ambassador, and award winning artist and activist Madame Gandhi is performing. The weigh-in is the night before at All Stars Boxing Gym, one of London’s boxing institutions.

The plan is two nights a year, with the next pencilled in for spring 2027.

How SHWDWN is helping

We are running the ticketing, and we have built it around the fighters. Every woman on the card gets her own ticket link to share with her friends, family and community, and she can see every ticket sold through it as it happens. The people who come to watch her are hers, and she can see them coming.

That matters more on a card like this than anywhere else. A lot of these women have never sold a ticket to anything. Seeing that their people are showing up for them, weeks before they walk out, is part of the confidence the whole night is about.

We will also be putting The Fight Back in front of fight fans across the SHWDWN app and our socials between now and November.

Honestly, I want this to work. SHWDWN exists to help the people running fight nights get them in front of a full room, and I cannot think of a night I would rather help do that for.

How to get tickets

The Fight Back is on Saturday 28 November 2026 at Ladbroke Hall, 79 Barlby Road, London W10 6AZ. Get your tickets on SHWDWN, and if you know someone on the card, buy through their link. You can follow The Fight Back on SHWDWN to hear about the spring show first.