Miller Heads to Canada for Women's Continental Championships

By Ryan Maquiñana
Norcalboxing.net

Miller (second from right) and her teammates are ready for Canada. (Gloria Peek)

San Francisco's Raquel Miller has completed a week of training with Team USA in Colorado Springs and now heads to Cornwall, Canada, for the 2012 Women's Continental Championships, which take place Wednesday through Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be able to fight different countries and to find out different looks," she told Norcalboxing.net last month (VIDEO here).  "I just want to be able to go out there and win, and represent for my country."

Miller, who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Trials this year despite limited experience at middleweight (165 lbs.), will compete at welterweight (152 lbs.), where she recently won the USA Boxing National Championships.  Training with Ben Bautista at SFC Boxing Gym, Miller described her progress heading into the tournament.

"Now my coach has been sharpening me up to make sure I'm an overall fighter, that I'm going to the body, that my punches are crispy, that my angles are together, and that nothing is sloppy," she said.  "I'm keeping my hands up and making sure my combinations are flowing."

Miller will be in a field of four fighters that includes Myriam Da Sylva (Canada), Kimberly Gittens (Barbados), and Carolina Quevedo (Venezuela).  The Bayview native had a parting shot for her fans back home in the Bay Area.

"Thank you for all the love, for all the support, for your prayers...it keeps me pushing when I'm exhausted, and I'm ready to win for the USA," Miller said.

All the action can be seen live online at www.gfl.tv starting at 4:00 p.m. each day of the competition.

Boxing correspondent Ryan Maquiñana is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.

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