Let’s get right to the point. The belts are changing.

before I start I want to thank Clare Lynch, Vicky woodhouse. Rebecca van der Westhuizen, Mark Ritchi. Jamal Khan and Paul smith for all the feedback and input into this decision and backing my proposal. 

From this point forward, every boy and every girl who wins a championship belt in the East Midlands will receive the same belt. Same design. Same colour. Same dignity. Not close. Not similar. The same.

There will be no pink belts. No camo. No belts engraved with the prefix female in flowery font. No belts at all that distinguish the winner by gender. Because a champion is a champion or the word is meaningless.

The only variation will be by age. Juniors one colour, youths another, seniors another still. That’s it. Gender doesn’t come into it. Weight category doesn’t either. These belts are universal. They move across divisions, across genders, across bouts. And that matters.

Why? Because it means these belts can be used more often. They won’t be shelved after a single show or boxed up because the wrong weight class came through. They’re built to last, and they’re built to circulate. One champion hands it back, another earns it. Again and again.

Yes, they cost more. These new belts aren’t cheap. They weren’t meant to be. But they’re a better investment not just ethically, but practically. No gender distinctions. No weight-specific customisation. That means more reuse, less waste, more visibility. A by-product of progressive thinking: we spend more up front and get more value back.

I’ve spoken with coaches women who train fighters every week. Their lanyards don’t say female coach. They don’t want special recognition. They want the same recognition. Officials aren’t wearing female official tags. Why would they? Either you know the rules or you don’t. The title doesn’t need a prefix.

And credit to England Boxing. Their belts, their medals, their Golden Gloves. No ornaments. No nods to gender. Just the same standard, applied without hesitation. That’s how you show respect. That’s how you define a champion.

And now, the East Midlands region will meet that standard.

Because here’s the truth: girls are still the minority in this sport. And when you single out the minority, you mark them. Maybe you mean it kindly. It doesn’t matter. The effect is the same. A belt that says female champion carries a second meaning: not quite the same. Different rules. Different stage. And no young boxer who’s gone the distance deserves that message.

If the fight was judged by the same standard, under the same lights, with the same risk, then the win is the same. So the belt should be too.

This isn’t fashion. It’s correction.

So yes—the belts are changing. No more gendered tags. No colour codes that pander to outdated assumptions. Just one belt that says one thing.

Champion.

And now, that’s all it will say.