Holly Heffron: "Being a role model is a massive motivation for me"
One of Britain's most exciting young boxing prospects, Holly Heffron, is hoping to prove a knockout by following in the footsteps of England's 2018 Commonwealth Games squad. Holly, 19, was born in Sussex but currently resides in next year's host city of Birmingham, splitting her time between studying Sports Science and training at Hall Green Boxing Club.
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Holly started boxing, aged 12, when the season came to an end at Brighton & Hove Albion WFC's academy, but Holly didn't put down her gloves once football returned, and now she'll turn her attention to attaining Commonwealth glory.
"I don't think there's pressure," said Holly. "It's all down to you at the end of the day but being surrounded by people who have been there and done it - and had success in the past - shows that you've got just as good a chance as anybody. It's very exciting because I'm at the University of Birmingham now and some of the events venues will be taking place here. There are advertisements all over campus and it's just so exciting because there's a chance I could be in with a shot"
"It's even more special because it's a home Games, so to have friends and family be able to come to watch, even if I don't get to go, it's still a massive event, and I'd love to just be there to watch everyone. I watch a lot of sport anyway, like boxing and football. I'm at university, so I do a lot of studying, and I think that's helped because when you're only training, you can get a bit too focused on your sport."
Holly is an avid sports fan and looks to heroes from numerous disciplines for inspiration. She added: "I think my main inspiration is Katie Taylor, but that's probably similar for every female boxer, but I do take inspiration from other people. I look at people like Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson because they have to master so many different disciplines, and it's such a hard competition. KJT's story is inspiring. Being a role model is a massive motivation for me. I think to be one of the next female boxers, and for there to be more role models for younger girls, that would be great for the sport."
After taking up the sweet science at a sports fair as a child, the young star fell in love with its different training techniques.
"Boxing was something different - I hadn't really done it before," added Holly. "I liked that there were different aspects of the training, and I liked that it was individual because you weren't dependent on everyone else showing up.
"I'd done sport from a young age, I'd done a lot of different sports, and you sort of pick up a good base of skills and things like that, so potentially I had a bit of natural ability, but you definitely need to put the work in.
"I probably didn't have much fear during my first fight because I was only like 12-years-old and that's probably a good thing, to be fair, but once I had that first experience, I wanted to keep going."
The England Women's boxing squad that travelled to Australia's Gold Coast for the 2018 Commonwealth Games picked up two golds and a silver, but Holly has had great success of her own over the years.
She said: "I wasn't entered into nationals until I was a junior, so my first big competition was the championships I entered when I was in my second year as a junior.
"My biggest achievement was probably winning my first national title. I think it's part of the process, and you always want to focus on the next step, but I think getting those wins gives you confidence.
"When we got back into the gyms after lockdown, it made a big difference, but it is what it is. Lockdown was quite difficult, to be honest. I was just training at home really with my dad.
"I had a little makeshift boxing gym set-up at home and did lots of strength training which wasn't too bad; I made some gains there.”
Holly is now dreaming about a big future in the sport and pursuing a career in boxing with the help of SportsAid – and she won’t be setting any limits on the heights she could potentially reach.
She added: “My main goal is to get on GB as a senior next year and then just win as many titles as possible. I want to win Worlds, Europeans, Commonwealths, Olympics…everything."
Commonwealth Games England has appointed SportsAid to lead on the development, management and operational delivery of Team England Futures at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The programme, supported by Sport England, will reinforce the importance of the Commonwealth Games, particularly one hosted on home soil, as a developmental opportunity within the talent and performance pathway!
