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AuthorsLydia Edgar
5 min read

We've strengthened our commitment to Liverpool and elite sport in the UK by becoming an official partner of the inaugural World Boxing Championships, which will take place in the city this September.
The championships will be held at the M&S Bank Arena from 4 to 14 September 2025. It's the first elite-level global competition to be hosted by World Boxing, the new international federation that has been established to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement.
The commercial partnership will be led by our specialist sports team, which is recognised nationally and internationally as one of the largest and most experienced multidisciplinary legal practices in the industry.
Our extensive client base includes leading sports clubs as well as national governing bodies, which range from the Lawn Tennis Association, British Swimming and the English Cricket Board to the Commonwealth Games Federation.
We also advise a number of elite athletes and high-profile individuals, including Wayne and Coleen Rooney, who we successfully represented throughout the now infamous 'Wagatha Christie' libel case. We're also deeply embedded in the regeneration of Liverpool’s waterfront, including supporting the development of Everton FC’s soon-to-open Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
The World Boxing Championships — which are supported by Liverpool City Council, England Boxing & GB Boxing and UK Sport — will see more than 500 boxers hailing from 60 nations compete in front of 20,000 spectators for the title of world champion across ten weight classes.
The championships will be the first time ever that male and female boxers have competed in Olympic-style boxing for the title of world champion at the same event. The format is known for launching the careers of some of the world’s most famous boxers, including Nicola Adams and Anthony Joshua.
As part of our partnership, we'll sponsor the championships’ Social Impacts Programme. The programme will engage with communities across Merseyside and the wider North West to deliver careers programmes, a boxing-led social mobility scheme and volunteering initiatives.
In-line with our commitment to making the difference in the communities we serve — and as a certified B Corp — our sponsorship will ensure that tickets for the event remain affordable for local communities, encouraging engagement with boxing and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
This represents our latest sporting partnership having previously been the official legal partner to the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester.
We've also supported a number of Liverpool-based community initiatives in recent months and were proud to be recognised with the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award at the Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards in 2024. These initiatives include providing support to local charities such as Rotunda and Liverpool in Arms through our independent charity The Brabners Foundation, as well as advising baby hospice Zoe’s Place as it successfully sought rescue funding.
We've recently invested in upgrading our 30,000 sq ft Liverpool office at Exchange Flags and are the founding and driving force behind the True North network — a 400-strong collective of the region’s most influential and purpose-driven voices, brought together to shape and unlock the true economic potential of the North.
Lydia Edgar — our Partner and Head of Sport — said: “We take great pride not only in our ability to support the development of UK sport, but also in connecting with the communities we operate in and using sport as a vehicle to support inclusive opportunities. With this in mind, our partnership with the World Boxing Championships represents an ideal match.
Aside from the great things happening in the ring — like equality through gender parity — the event will ripple much further, with an extensive community impact programme billed for implementation across Merseyside.
We’re excited to see how this develops in the coming months as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that business brings about positive and lasting change".
Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Frazer Clarke — who spent more than a decade as part of the GB Boxing squad and is an Athlete Representative on the event Steering Group — said: “Like me, a huge number of Britain’s best boxers have risen to fame through the Olympic boxing circuit, so it’s great to be playing a part in this event which is showcasing the best of the sport.
The positive consequences of boxing are far reaching but the World Boxing Championships are making that connection crystal clear and pushing to be the championships of purpose and social impact.
This wouldn’t be possible without our commercial partners and we’re grateful to be able to partner with a firm like Brabners, which understands the positive potential of sport in the community.”
Lydia Edgar
Lydia is a Partner in our employment and pensions team and leads our sport sector team.
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