The passion outside the ring

Liz Parr instructs her students with knowledge and authority. Her years of training have made her one of the most respectable boxing figures in the area. Photograph by Noah Quezada

While driving down Anaheim Street in Long Beach, you might pass a hidden gem. It is not an influencer restaurant or a trendy store with bright lights. Rather, it is Guv’nors Boxing Club, an old-school-style gym filled with the passion and determination of its owner, Elizabeth Parr. A Latina from the city of South Gate, California, she explained that her earliest memories of boxing came as a child, with her father being a heavy influence. 

Describing her journey, Parr wanted to be more than just a professional boxer; she wanted to fight at the Olympic level. However, at the time there was no women’s category for Olympic boxing. “I did boxing for a while, and I did go pro… Once I stopped, I had to make something out of it. I couldn’t just let it go to waste, all the years,” Parr explained. 

She elaborated on how she went into personal training and then transitioned into boxing training. After a short stint of personal training at a kickboxing gym in New York City, her colleagues suggested she instruct an average person to box. “I moved back to L.A., and then I started learning how to teach classes a little bit more with a better idea of how to do that,” Parr said. After a few years of friends suggesting the idea of opening her own gym, she finally found her ideal location in Long Beach.

Liz Parr is more than just a fighter and trainer. Here, she is featured with her daughter, looking at the city below. Photograph by Noah Quezada

“When I moved to the city of Long Beach, I did create a base of people who wanted to train with me a lot,” Parr said.

However, it was not long after she opened Guv’nors that she was hit with the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Nothing could prepare you for COVID,” she explained. “And gyms were the last ones to be allowed to open, so we were closed for an entire year.”

Parr described that she sat during the majority of the pandemic in a state of shock and desperation as she saw business decline. There was nothing to be done except wait for restrictions to lift and hope business returned to normal. Unfortunately, any growth her business had since COVID was interrupted by the immigration raids conducted by ICE and federal agents in recent months. 

Gloves are to be seen in every corner of the gym, varying in sizes and colors. Photograph by Noah Quezada

“When it was all over the television and they were, like, super swarming, it was kind of a ghost town in here, a little bit,” she explained. Coming from a Latino household and having the Latino community be a large part of her business, Parr understood the fear that people had during this time. She described how she could not tell her clients that they would be okay if they came to her gym. 

Through the tough times, however, she does find the good in her work. Whether it be through training her students with special needs or taking fighters across the country for national tournaments, she has a sense of pride in each achievement made. “Definitely the kids that compete; when they win or when they lose but do really well, it is extremely rewarding, or training a teenager with special needs,” she said. 

One of the most notable traits about Parr is she is running a successful gym in a sport that is predominantly men. She has had male colleagues in the sport on both ends of the spectrum.  “I have had men who have been in the sport for a long time be extremely supportive and help me,” she said. None of the negativity, however, has gotten in the way of her goals of being a trainer who is appreciated by her fighters and students. 

After speaking to one of her students, Abraham Mendoza, he walked away from each session feeling better about himself and his fitness. “I really like coming here because it not only helps with my self-confidence and defense, but it’s like a really good way to get in shape and better fitness,” Mendoza explained.  

Another fighter who Parr takes pride in is Keanu Albano, a 20-year-old fighter who is going to travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a national tournament. “I’m really excited. I’ve got six matches, so it’s going to be pretty hard, but I think I’m ready for it,” he said. 

Parr says her gym is open to everyone and invites them to come experience a free boxing lesson.