Nicolas Ciminiello, Contributing Photographer

In 2008, New Haven native Devonne Canady was looking forward to becoming an Olympic boxer. 

Canady, the only American to win a gold medal in the first Women’s World Boxing Amateur Championships in 2001, hoped to again be one of the first to bring women’s boxing to the global stage. However, women’s boxing was rejected from the 2008 Olympics, and was only named an official Olympic sport in 2012. By that time, Canady had a different goal. 

“I had already made up my mind that I was going to open a gym with the hopes of going to the Olympics one day with one of my students,” Canady told the News.

Canady’s Elephant in the Room Boxing Gym had its grand opening in 2012. A registered nonprofit, Canady raised $50,000, including some of her own money, to renovate an old gas station in Dixwell into a gym. In 2022, they moved to a new 5,500-square-foot gym in the neighborhood of The Hill, in New Haven. 

Elephant in the Room offers after-school programs, including with kids as young as 8 years old. Canady spoke about the life skills that these kids learn, alongside boxing and exercise techniques, at the gym. 

“We don’t only just teach them boxing. We mentor them,” Canady said. “We teach them about being respectful and following instructions, listening to their parents and doing well in school.”

Canady said that the program requires its participants to be in good academic standing in school to join and continue to participate in the program. 

Coach Christian Lopez, who came to the gym last August, discussed the unique aspects of the after-school program, which include more time in the gym and expansive coaching strategies.

“It’s a two-hour program. I don’t know any other gyms that do two hours anywhere else I’ve been,” said Lopez, who mentioned past experiences in Canada and Mexico. “So we have the luxury to invest equal time in skill work and conditioning work … so these kids, I would say, are pretty advanced.” 

Lopez also mentioned the experience of introducing sparring — informal one-on-one training competition — to younger kids, which he stated is an incredibly important part of any boxer’s journey. 

Troyveon Allen has been with the program since he was 17. Now 24, he has been competing for around four years, most recently at Mohegan Sun Casino. He appreciates the community he found at Elephant in the Room. 

“We’re just one big family. Everybody knows everybody. And if we don’t know you, then we get to know you,” said Allen, who was born and raised in New Haven. “This gym is everything to me. Elephant in the Room will always be home for me.”

Along with coaching boxers, Elephant in the Room also has exercise programs for older people with Parkinson’s disease. This program is affiliated with Hartford-based nonprofit Beat Parkinson’s Today and with Yale’s Movement Disorders Division — a treatment program held out of the Yale School of Medicine — from which they receive patients who they train twice a week.

For Canady, it is especially important that those who are suffering from Parkinson’s in her community learn about the program and the benefits of exercise for people with Parkinson’s. 

“There’s an issue that African American patients that are diagnosed with Parkinson’s aren’t being reached,” Canady said. “They’re not being given the same information in regards to treatment and things like this exercise program to help them.”

As a nonprofit, Elephant in the Room relies on grants and support from the city as well as partners such as United Way and Yale. In the future, Canady hopes to use a grant to buy the current location, as leasing can become hard for a non-profit.

She is also looking forward to expanding the programs at Elephant in the Room, including competitive MMA training.

Elephant in the Room Boxing Gym is located at 540 Ella T. Grasso Blvd.