S.F.'s Miller Travels to China for Women's World Championships

By Ryan Maquiñana
Norcalboxing.net

Miller (front row, second from left) and Team USA are ready for the World Championships. (Delilah Rico)

San Francisco's Raquel Miller, the national amateur champion at 152 pounds, is on the next plane to China as Team USA will compete in the 2012 AIBA Women's World Championships from May 9-20.

After a lengthy stay at the USA Boxing Training Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., Miller is eager to make history in Qinhuangdao as the first female fighter from The City to come home with a gold medal in international competition.

"I'm a little nervous about this 16-hour flight, but I'm excited to do this for my city," she said.  "Camp was really good because it gave me an opportunity to really work on my speed and upping my punch count.  I'm in a good place and I'm ready to take it."

Following a domestic run the past few months that included a win over the world's No. 2-ranked middleweight, Andrecia Wasson, Miller is hoping to bounce back from a brief stay in the Continental Championships in Canada.

In the welterweight quarterfinals, "Ms. Pretty Beast," as the Bayview native is known around the SFC Boxing Gym, dropped a controversial 19-18 decision to Myriam da Silva where she bloodied the Canadian's nose in the final round to no avail.

"I learned that there can't be close decisions," Miller said.  "You have to go get it from front to end.  But anyway, I'm here now, and Canada prepared me for this moment." 

Although she will not be competing for a spot in the Olympics (the only three weight classes heading to London are 112, 132, and 165 pounds), Miller has found plenty of motivation from other sources.

"I've been away from home for two weeks now, and its been tough," she said.  "My family and friends have sent me a lot of flowers and messages.  I hope they 'Gchat' me so I don't miss home too much.  It just reminds me how far I've come.  You've got to make sacrifices if what you want is greatness later."

With fellow SFC Boxing fighters Denis Madriz (May 12) and Karim Mayfield (May 18) in action while she competes half a world away in Asia, Miller had one final message before boarding the plane.

"To everyone at at the gym, like Denis and Karim and Coach Ben [Bautista], it's time to get busy," she said, before declaring the gym's slogan.  "They all gotta go!"

Norcalboxing.net's 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 weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.

*This is a legal waiver. By copying and using the material from this article, you agree to give full credit to Norcalboxing.net or provide a link to the original article.