For three-and-a-half years Louise Mitchell has been slugging it out in a gym in Edinburgh. In a brutal training regime, she has stood toe-to-toe with male boxers at the Holyrood Club, unsure of what the future held.

Working as a chef, the lightweight is managing to train five days a week literally punching above her weight, guided by former professional Brad Welsh.

Suddenly, there is a new spring in the step of the 24 year-old. Last month’s decision that women’s boxing will be included in the 2012 Olympic Games in London has opened up a new vista of possibilities.

Mitchell admits she is still a novice, having managed only four fights to her name – won two, lost two – but does not believe the Olympics are coming around too soon for her.

“No, I’ve been boxing for three-and-a-half years and I just need to get some more fights,” she reasons.

“It is difficult to get fights in Scotland as there are not that many girls boxing competitively.

“When I went to this year’s Scottish Championships in Fife, where the women’s competition took place alongside the men, there were only around six or seven female boxers.

“It is frustrating and I will now need to look outside Scotland for fights. I am just back from a five-day training camp in Bradford where there were around 50 boxers and some of the English girls have had 30-35 fights already.

“We are a bit behind up here but I’m confident that if I can get more experience then I have the potential to get to the Olympics.

“Hopefully, there will now be some money to help put a competitive programme in place and maybe even travel abroad to get fights.

“It is long overdue that women should be able to box and I’m hopeful that the same thing will now happen with the Commonwealth Games.

“I’ve been sparring with the guys at the club and they have been really brilliant with me and helped me come on.

“I’d been going to a gym since I was 12 but just got a bit bored with it. I thought boxing would offer something different and a good overall fitness for me but, at first, I just wanted to do the training.

“I had no thought of going into the ring and fighting but Brad saw my potential and told me I should give it a shot.” 

Mitchell is confident in her own ability and now just needs the opportunity to show what she can do in the months ahead.

She knows the recent Olympic decision may lead to an influx of girls wanting to “try their hand” and even athletes crossing over from other sports.

“The media exposure it has received in the last week or so should lead to more interest in women’s boxing and that can only be good,” she continues.

“It may mean that competition for places in a British team but that can only help the standard improve.”

Welsh knows that women’s boxing in Scotland still has some way to go but knows that increased financial support can go a long way to building bridges.

 “The problem in Scotland is that it is a very small pool so getting fights is always going to be difficult,” he assesses.

“We’re quite a bit behind England and Wales who have some boxers who have had 30-40 fights.

“But, hopefully, with the Olympic decision, money will now filter down to Scottish boxers.”

Welsh’s Holyrood gym, opened by Ken Buchanan, has been hugely successful with children coming from all over Edinburgh.

“It’s not about fulfilling dreams, it’s about giving them the chance to dream. We’re not setting out to create champions but to make boxing accessible to everyone,” he concludes.

“Sport is becoming white collar and 90 per cent of the Olympic sports are white collar now and many kids can’t get access to the likes of rowing or cycling.”

RM
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