The Morehouse Boxing Club Guala partnership puts an Atlanta fintech startup in the corner of a current Morehouse student who is preparing to make his professional boxing debut. The campaign carries a simple message: “Guala’s Always in Your Corner.” Behind it is a network of Morehouse alumni investing in the next generation of athletes and entrepreneurs.
A Morehouse Network Behind the Campaign
The collaboration started at Hit Fitness Boxing, the gym where the Morehouse Boxing Club trains. According to the announcement, the gym was founded by Morehouse alumnus Wade Medford III. It’s in Marietta, Georgia, and two of its coaches come straight from the club. The gym also lists a pro fighter and a 2012 Olympic Trials athlete on its staff, so the pro path isn’t theoretical there. Jacobey Bell founded the Morehouse and AUC Boxing Club, and Kaleb Hudson coaches there too.
Guala is stepping in as the event’s leading partner. Guala is an Atlanta-based merchant wallet built for small business owners, creators, and entrepreneurs. Sencere Smith, a Morehouse alumnus, is its chief marketing officer and co-founder, while Austin Evans is the CEO. The company was previously called Catch It, and it joined the inaugural Pinnacle Atlanta Innovation Accelerator cohort. So the Morehouse thread runs from the gym to the sponsor, but the business roots stay local too.
What Guala Is Putting In
Guala says its role goes well beyond a logo on a banner. The company helped facilitate the musical talent and provided the boxing ring. It also integrated its payment technology and branding throughout the event, and it collaborated on the boxer’s professional debut presentation.
Fashion plays a part too. Desyree Nicole, Guala’s creative strategist and the founder of the fashion label Todd Patrick, designed the boxer’s walkout attire. Black Enterprise reported recently that she joined Guala in that role, after building a name across fashion, sports, and culture. A walkout is its own kind of storytelling. The outfit is the first thing a crowd sees, and here it came from someone on the sponsor’s own team. Fashion, sports, and culture meet in that moment, and the campaign leans into it.
The Club Behind the Fighter
The student at the center of this is part of a program that has made real history in a short time. Bell started the Morehouse Boxing Club in September 2021, when he was a sophomore looking for community after the pandemic. It’s open to students across the Atlanta University Center, though most members come from Morehouse. By 2025 it had grown past 200 members and nearly a dozen competing fighters. Andscape describes a club that has grown into a place for discipline, stress relief, and brotherhood.
The results back that up. In March 2025, Morehouse became the first HBCU to compete in the U.S. Intercollegiate Boxing Association National Tournament, according to Atlanta News First. Elijah McLean won the 168-pound Men’s Open title, and Hudson took the 140-pound Beginner B crown. Then, for SpelHouse Homecoming in October 2025, the club announced its first amateur sanctioned show at Forbes Arena, a 15-bout card. The club has also drawn star power, since champion Claressa Shields held a public workout with members at Morehouse in January 2025. Its story even inspired an Emmy-winning documentary.
Why the Morehouse Boxing Club Guala Partnership Matters
The announcement frames the project as a challenge to an old assumption. Aspiring athletes, the thinking goes, have to choose between a degree and a pro career. Here, a student is preparing to turn pro while still enrolled.
That’s rare in boxing, and the history is worth knowing. James “Bonecrusher” Smith, a Shaw University graduate, is often cited as one of the few pro champions with a college degree. He won the WBA heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Tim Witherspoon in the first round. The Morehouse student is trying to prove it doesn’t have to be an exception.
There’s also a business angle, and it fits closely. A fighter turning pro is, in practical terms, running a small business: managing pay, sponsors, and image. Guala was built for exactly that world. AfroTech reported that the platform turns everyday payments into financial records, which can help founders reach capital and housing. It was built to help independent sellers get paid and track revenue. Backing a young fighter lets the company show what that mission looks like in practice: alumni who’ve built something turning around to open doors for someone coming up. As the announcement puts it, this is about mentorship, entrepreneurship, and institutional legacy, not only boxing.
What to Watch Next
The next step is the debut itself, and Guala says more details are coming as the event approaches. The club’s own track record suggests the people around this fighter know how to deliver on a big night. Still, the Morehouse Boxing Club Guala partnership will be judged by what happens in the ring. Whether the debut turns into another first for the program is what the Atlanta HBCU boxing scene will be watching, and Atlanta has a way of turning local nights into national stories.
