The inaugural World Boxing Championships in September 2025 boosted the global profile of Olympic-style boxing and generated multiple benefits to the host city, Liverpool, according to an evaluation report by Quantum Consultancy HERE.
The report, which analysed a range of factors covering visibility and reach; the spectator experience; and impacts on the city and local communities, found that the World Boxing Championships generated a huge global audience on television and social media, and delivered a series of economic, social and reputational benefits to the host city.
The report states that following an agreement between World Boxing and the European Broadcast Union, 955 hours of action from the Championships were broadcast globally and watched by a cumulative audience of 5.32 million.
On social media, the Championships had a huge reach with 27 million views that generated 831 million impressions around the world.
The President of World Boxing, Gennadiy Golovkin, said: “The World Boxing Championships 2025 was great event for Olympic style boxing and a fantastic platform for our male and female boxers to showcase their skills and abilities to a huge global audience.
“I know from speaking personally to many of the boxers at the Championships that they were very impressed with the staging and organisation of the competition and I would like to thank the Local Organising Committee and all of their partners for hosting and delivering a world class event that has delivered a wide-range of benefits to both the sport of boxing and the host city of Liverpool.”
For the city of Liverpool, the report found that hosting the World Boxing Championships delivered a range of benefits covering the local economy, tourism and social impact. These included:
Economic:
The Championships delivered an overall economic impact of £4.03 million with many of the prime beneficiaries being local hotels shops and businesses in the hospitality sector, with visitors spending £1.83 million over the course of the competition
Tourism:
55 per cent of tickets were purchased by spectators from outside of the Liverpool City Region, with 43 per cent coming from other parts of Great Britain, four per cent from Ireland and eight per cent from the rest of the world
94 per cent of out-of-town spectators said they would recommend visiting Liverpool to friends and family
96 per cent of spectators rated Liverpool as a good or very good host city
Social impact:
More than £50,000 worth of boxing equipment was distributed post-event to local clubs
More than 1,000 tickets were distributed to schools and clubs
127 volunteers took part in the Championships and delivered 3,142 hours of volunteering
A sport-themed literacy programme, ‘Literacy Kicks’, created learning opportunities for more than 1,200 Primary School children in Liverpool
More than 2,700 people in the boxing community participated in a series of Mental Health Fitness workshops, delivered in partnership with the charity, Movember.
An ‘Unsung Heroes’ project recognised 19 people from boxing clubs for their contributions to the grassroots of the sport with a series of portraits, photographs and stories that were exhibited during the Championships.
Liverpool’s City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, added: “As a city, we are well-known for delivering huge, world-class events and we are always delighted to host prestigious competitions like the World Boxing Championships.
“Not only did it generate a £4m boost to our economy, it also supported local businesses and our hospitality sector, and created lasting benefits for our people and our communities. As this report shows, the Championships brought multiple economic and social benefits to thousands of people across our city through wrap-around cultural activities, social impact programmes, and volunteering opportunities.”
Jason Harborow, Chair of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Event Steering Group, commented: “The World Boxing Championships was a fantastic occasion for the sport and the city of Liverpool and I would like to thank World Boxing for choosing Liverpool and all of the LOC stakeholders and partners that did such a great job of making the event happen from the initial bid process to the delivery of the 10-days of competition at the M&S Bank Arena.
“The boxers produced a world class competition, and it is fantastic to see that the Championships have delivered so many wider benefits to both the sport and the city, which once again demonstrated to a worldwide audience that Liverpool is a brilliant place to host major sporting events.”
The World Boxing Championships also broke new ground in terms of sustainability and minimising environmental impact through a comprehensive programme delivered in partnership with the venue owners, ACC Liverpool. 100 per cent of energy used in the venue came from renewable sources and all branding was fully recycled or donated to local boxing clubs post-event.
Liverpool hosted the World Boxing Championships, 4-14 September 2025, following a successful bid that was developed by a group of partners which comprised England Boxing, GB Boxing, Liverpool City Council and the M&S Bank Arena, with the support of the National Lottery and UK Sport. Event partners included Sting, Nike Boxing, Brabners, the Liverpool Bid Company and Visit Liverpool.