All photos by Tone Hudson of T1 Visuals
Raquel “Pretty Beast” Miller (3-0, 2 KOs), of San Francisco, has an impressive resume of boxing accomplishments as both an amateur and as a recent professional.
Miller was the 2012 Women’s World Championship Silver Medalist, the 2012 USA Boxing Women’s National Champion, the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Bronze Medalist and went to the 2012 Olympic games, in London, as an Olympic alternate.
Miller made her professional debut in May 2016, scoring a TKO victory just 1:14 into the first round. Since turning professional and coming out with a bang, Miller has not let up, as she has continued to push herself to new heights in attempting to make a name for herself.
Miller made boxing history in just her second fight as a professional, as she partook in the first ever Roc Nation Sports bout to feature a female fighter. The bout took place on the undercard of Andre Ward vs. Alexander Brand at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA on August 6, 2016, where Miller earned herself an impressive unanimous-decision victory.
Throughout her many accomplishments, Miller has been a beacon of light to the Bayview-Hunters Point area in her hometown of San Francisco. She has proven that with hard work, dedication and self belief, dreams can come true.
Miller has not kept her powerful drive to herself, but rather she has used it to promote female empowerment throughout her community. Miller, along with other members of her family, run an organization called “Ladies in Power,” which was created to promote community and empowerment through positive interaction and support.
This past Saturday, Miller, under her banner of Ladies in Power, hosted the second annual female youth boxing camp for young girls ages four to 17, called “Fight Like a Girl.”
Fight Like a Girl 2 took place at Hit Fit Gym in the Nob Hill area of San Francisco and provided a place for nearly 20 young girls to learn about boxing for a day, as well as gain lifelong empowerment to accomplish their own dreams.
“Fight Like a Girl is just all about encouragement, for the girls to have fun, be confident, to love any type of sport and of course boxing,” said Miller. “We just have a workout day where we talk to them, workout with them, we share our stories about why we box and we just hope the girls leave feeling empowered and encouraged to accomplish whatever they want to do.”
Miller recruited two other local professional boxers, Dahlia “La Padera” Gomez and Troy King as well as Round By Round Boxing‘s staff writer and boxing coach, Sarah Gruber, to volunteer their time to help teach the girls.
The camp’s itinerary featured warms ups, boxing fundamentals, boxing drills, bag work and of course, lots of fun games.
The focus of the day was the message given to the girls; empowerment.
The girls were told stories by each mentor about following their own dreams against all odds, with a recurring theme of self-belief, self-worth, good health and hard-work.
The girls were provided with a message of power to know that they can accomplish their own individual dreams, and like Miller, they too can be a beacon of hope in their own area.
“I pray that they took a sense of self-worth, a sense of being able to be strong, [and to] defend themselves and that they can achieve anything,” said Miller after the event.
“For me to do it here [in San Francisco] means that I am paying it forward, they have so much love and support for me here,” said Miller. “They come to my fights, the kids wear my t-shirts and I just feel like this is what I am supposed to do. God gave me this gift, and ability; I am supposed to pay it forward and encourage the next generation,” said Miller.
Miller wrapped up the camp by giving each girl a personalized certificate of accomplishment, as well a bag filled with school supplies, decorative writing journals and healthy snacks.
Miller has a lot to focus on as she hopes to gain a world title in the near future. Respectfully, Miller keeps her dreams big and her focus laser sharp, but never forgets about her duty as a role model and community leader.
In a sport full of egos, Miller has chosen to use her voice in a more humble fashion to uplift and empower those around her, knowing that this world needs more positive influences.
Check out the full video interview with Raquel “Pretty Beast” Miller as she discusses more about her organization, her thoughts on the current state of women’s boxing and who she wants plans to fight in the near future.
