When thinking of a boxer, people’s first thought probably wouldn’t be a 15 year old girl, but Leigha Griswold defies stereotypes every day. 

Griswold started boxing at Whaling City Athletic Club in New London in spring of 2018, in 4th grade. After doing football for six years, her old coach suggested to her dad that she try boxing. She started taking a class once a week.  “Every Saturday my dad would just wake me up for it, and I would hate him every day, and then I would go and just have so much fun there.” 

Since she loved it so much, she started going during the week, which soon led to her now training four hours a day/ five days a week gym training. 

Griswold says her dad is definitely the person who has helped most in her boxing career: “He drives me everywhere, he pays for everything, he researches stuff, he’s close with my coaches, he’s like my manager.” 

Griswold says boxing has helped a lot with her resilience. She says it has helped her come back from being “punched in the face” in everyday life because she has to physically come back from getting punched in the boxing gym. 

Her first fight ever took place on October 30, 2021, at her home gym. She won by unanimous decision. 

After almost nine months without a fight, she had a knockout 30 seconds into the second round on June 11, 2022, against a boxer who was nine years older than her. An injury of her lower back led to a three month recovery process, which was supposed to be four  weeks, but Leigha continued to train regardless, lengthening the injury. 

Once recovered enough to fight, she fought again April 15, 2023 in Danbury. She says, “That was scary because that was my first fight ever not at my home gym, and I knew I would’ve had a disadvantage if it was a close fight, but I won that one too.” 

Leigha described her most recent fight this past summer as, “absolutely crazy” and the most serious she’s ever taken boxing. To prepare, she would often go to the gym in the morning and evening. In addition, she saw a nutritionist and went on an intense diet in order to ensure she would perform her best. She says, “I couldn’t sleep for like 2 weeks before because I was so nervous.” After she won the fight, her record became 4-0 and she got a belt. 

Leigha’s twin sister Taylor said one of the moments that made her most proud was when Leigha won the belt. Taylor says, “She put so much pressure on herself to get the belt, and then she won, and when she got it, I was just so happy for her and she finally reached her goal as a boxer.” 

With an undefeated record of 4-0, Griswold continues to train.

Although Leigha has had a lot of success in her career, there were many struggles she dealt with. When she first started boxing, she had two  coaches, both female. They both left her gym at around the same time, leaving her with no coach. She said she had to coach herself for about a year and a half. She now has male coaches, which is a much different dynamic considering how much boxing is a male-dominated sport, because she cannot relate to her coaches as much. 

Leigha is looking to make boxing into a career, but that comes with commitment and a lot of sacrifice. She says she does not have much of a social life like a normal teenage girl does: “Normal teenage girl things, like you go to football games, you do homework, you hang out with friends, you go to the mall, you go get coffee on a random Tuesday after school, I can’t do that. People who want to be doctors don’t skip school, so since I want to be a boxer why would I skip the gym.” 

Regardless of all of the struggles, hard work, and bloody noses, Leigha truly loves boxing and it is always her #1 priority.