Cornwall’s Touchgloves gym, which breeds world champions, is closing for good

A gym that bred Thai boxing champions has closed for good. Touchgloves in Penzance has closed for good with no reason and just a handwritten sign on the door saying it’s closed.

Over the years, Touchgloves, founded by Nathan Kitchen, has been home to Muay Thai queen, 14-time world champion Julie Kitchen, Vicky Church and Britain’s ‘most feared woman’, Lucy Payne. They all had matches in Las Vegas and Dubai or Los Angeles and went on to forge international careers in the sport.

It’s also where Nathan’s daughter Amber honed her own champion skills, later taking over the gym as well. The young WBC Muay Thai champion has competed in some of the biggest Muay Thai events in the history of the sport over the years, including Singapore in 2022, which was even streamed live on Amazon Prime. He also had fights in Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, America and the Philippines.

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In June, Amber joined the commentary team at Ronin Fighting Championship, being booked for her antics in the ring. Nathan himself is no stranger to winning titles. He was named British Martial Arts Trainer of the Year in 2014 and 2016.

However, the gym where it all started is no more. A sign in the window of Touchgloves in Alverton Street warns members: “Sunday 21st July 2024 This gym is now permanently closed. If you are a member, please ensure that your direct debits are canceled before they expire on 1 August 2024. Thank you. you.”

The windows have all been blacked out, while the Touchgloves website is now down, along with its social media presence including Facebook and Instagram.

We called Amber to see if she could tell us what happened, but she said she would not comment at this time and asked that we call her father. We tried calling Nathan and emailed the gym as well but no luck.

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