Highland Boxing Academy athlete Emma Miller becomes third female boxer to take Golden Gloves title back to Inverness club
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Emma Miller has become the latest Highland Boxing Club athlete to win the prestigious Golden Gloves.
The highest honour an amateur boxer can win in Scotland, Miller is the third boxer from HBA to win the title in the last 12 months.
She achieved the feat by stopping Lawren McGowan in the second round of their bout last weekend, bringing the accolade back home to Inverness.
Miller, a hairdresser by trade, was still euphoric over her success days later – admitting memories of her time in the ring last weekend are somewhat hazy.
“It’s amazing, I’m over the moon – I still have a massive smile on my face,” she enthused.
“I told everybody at the start of the year that I was going to be a Scottish champion in 2024, and I was totally determined to bring the belt home.
“I had been targeting the Golden Gloves for a while. It’s really the only Scottish title I can go for because of my previous experience in kickboxing.
“The Golden Gloves was the number one thing I wanted to go for, and I did it.
“I felt so good during the fight. I don’t really know how to explain it. I was very nervous, so when I got into the ring I was speaking to Liam (Foy) and he was giving me a pep talk.
“I just tried to remember to breathe, because I knew I could do it. Once the fight started, all the nerves went away and I did it. It was all a bit of a blur to be honest.
“It was brilliant to get the win. I think it was because I haven’t really had the opportunity to fight for a title before with the lack of females in Scotland.
“When this opportunity came up, I grabbed it and trained so hard for it, so when my hand got raised at the end I even started crying it was so amazing.”
Miller has spent the last five years training with Highland Boxing Academy, making the switch after eight years in kickboxing.
There the 25-year-old also reached a high level, competing for Scotland before deciding the time was right for a change.
In both disciplines, people have been taken by surprise at Miller’s involvement as the combat sports would seem to be in contrast to her quiet personality.
Despite various reactions to her boxing, though, Miller does think that having the background in kickboxing helped make her transition into a new sport smoother.
“Some people are very shocked that I do boxing, because I’m usually very quiet,” Miller explained.
“I talk to the girls at work about it a lot, but I haven’t managed to convince any of them to give it a go!
“I’ve been with Highland Boxing Academy for about five years, and this was the first chance I had to fight for a Scottish title in my fifth fight.
“I just quite fancied trying out boxing as something different. I did kickboxing for so long, I just wanted a change.
“I was 12 years old when I started kickboxing, but I didn’t really have much confidence as a child. My mum asked me if I would like to go to kickboxing, and I went and that was it.
“I totally came out of my shell, I built up loads of confidence. I never actually intended to compete, but I ended up competing and it really built up my confidence.
“For example, I wouldn’t have fought in front of a massive crowd like I did last weekend as a youngster. I would have hated that and turned down the opportunity, I wouldn’t have even tried.”
“It was quite difficult at first when I moved over to boxing. They do have some similarities, but they are very different.
“(Head coach Liam) Foy worked with me on a lot of things, and I actually got the hang of boxing very quickly.
“Now I feel like I’m at a good level. I did actually fight for Scotland in kickboxing, and the aim really is to box for Scotland, so I will keep working hard to get that.”
While five fights on her record may seem quick for Miller to win such a high-level title, she has put in plenty of work over the last five years to reach this standard.
She would have loved to have boxed competitively more often, too, but there is still a lack of female boxers that make it difficult to find opponents.
That makes what is happening at Highland Boxing Academy all the more impressive.
All three of the HBA Golden Gloves winners in the last year have been women, with Lindsay Fulton setting the scene last year before Isabella Fioretti added to the club’s collection last month.
There are more talents representing women in boxing at HBA too, and Miller says it is helpful to have such a strong contingent together that can support each other.
“There were probably actually a lot more women in kickboxing than there are in boxing,” Miller mused.
“I don’t really know why, but there were a lot more.
“It’s really hard in boxing, you can go months – even a year – without getting a single fight because of the lack of females.
“We’ve just got to keep our heads up and keep training, and hope that we get the opportunity to fight again.
“It’s quite hard to keep up the training all the time without really getting the chance to fight, but you have to try to stay in the gym and keep fit so that you can take the opportunity straight away when it comes up.
“The girls at HBA are just amazing. We all look after each other and we all inspire each other, so it’s really good.
“It’s nice to have them all there, because it’s a bit easier sometimes to talk to a woman.
“Obviously the men are good to talk to as well, but it’s different speaking to a woman because they maybe understand what you’re going through a bit more.
“Lindsay winning the Golden Gloves last year was a massive boost for all of us. When I saw her win it, I really wanted to get the opportunity to do that as well.
“Isabella won it too recently, and when I saw her win it I couldn’t wait to get into the ring and do it myself. I just wanted to be one of the three girls to win the Golden Gloves, and I have.
“I think having the three of us really should inspire women to get into boxing, and show them that it’s a good thing to do.
“We need more women, and I think it’s nice for us locals to go far and win competitions like this. Hopefully it does inspire other females to take up the sport, because the more of us there are the better it’s going to be.”
There is no rest for the weary, as on top of hoping to box for Scotland one day Miller is already planning for her next tournament – the William Wallace Box Cup in Stirling at the start of July.
“I’m hoping to go there and win that,” Miller added.
“After that, I don’t know. We’ll see what the future holds.
“Liam lets us enjoy it when we win, but I’m the sort of person who fights at the weekend and then goes back into the weekend on Monday.
“I just can’t stay away! I like being there, and if I ever have a bad day it always cheers me up to go into the gym and see everyone.”
