Miranda Reyes trains during a Wednesday media workout in London ahead of her IBO World Lightweight title fight against Caroline Dubois.
IBO World Lightweight champ Caroline Dubois, left, and Miranda Reyes pose Wednesday in advance of their Saturday title fight in London.
Says Houston boxer Miranda Reyes: “I like getting hit. I like hitting people. I don’t know if that makes sense. It doesn’t, right? But I just like fighting.”
Houston boxer Miranda Reyes works out in London on Wednesday in advance of her Saturday title fight against Caroline Dubois.
Miranda Reyes admits she wasn’t the best student in high school.
“Well, I slept through most of my classes,” she said with a laugh.
That is not ideal. And then there was the time she skipped school for a fight.
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That sounds worse than it was.
While most of her classmates were just hanging out or playing video games or making TikTok videos, Reyes didn’t go to school one Friday in 2018 because she had to be in Laredo for a professional boxing match.
Yep, the then-17-year-old senior at Yes Prep North Central stepped into the ring for her professional debut that night against Larizza Martinez at Sames Auto Arena.
Reyes had three years of prep but zero amateur bouts to her credit. Yet she dominated the fight, earning $800 and the win by unanimous decision over Martinez, a 19-year-old who had graduated from Laredo United High School that year.
What Reyes remembers most from that “Fight Fest 17” promotion is how her mind was racing as she entered the ring.
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“I was really nervous, so nervous that I even tripped going up the stairs into the ring,” Martinez said. “To this day, that has been in my mind: ‘Don't trip before you walk up the stairs getting into the ring.’ ”
Now, after nine fights, the 22-year-old Reyes is 7-1-1, with one of her wins coming against International Women’s Boxing Hall of Famer Jaime “Hurricane” Clampitt.
Reyes says she isn’t nervous anymore, just excited. In a phone interview from London, she was relaxed and joking, though she is about to face her toughest test to date.
Reyes is in London to take on unbeaten, four-time European youth champion Caroline Dubois in a bout that will be streamed live on Peacock in a card that begins at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Dubois (8-0 with five KOs) is a talented southpaw who turned pro after finishing one point away from the medal stand at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She holds the IBO World Lightweight title and is ranked No. 1 in the world with the IBF and WBC.
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In a twist similar to Reyes’ first fight, when she took on Martinez in the latter’s hometown, London is Dubois’ base. She is a local star, having even been named the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2019.
“I know she's a tough one, but we were almost the same age, and I think we're both rising stars,” Reyes said. “Hopefully on Saturday, everybody's going to see I’ve actually worked my ass off and who really wants it.”
Reyes credits her brother, Jorge Miraz, with getting her into boxing in a roundabout way. He was a huge boxing fan, which led to her watching big fights. Because he used to playfully bully her, she figured boxing training might be a good way to put a halt to that.
“He was a fighter, not a boxer,” Reyes said. “We used to wrestle a lot, playing around, and since he was bigger than me, I think I had to figure out where to go take out my anger.
“He never missed a big fight. That’s how I became interested and decided to join a boxing team.”
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Of course, as you might imagine, her brother and father told her boxing isn’t a girls sport.
So wrong they are.
The sport grew in popularity enough that it was introduced in the London Olympics in 2012. Pasadena native Marlen Esparza became the first American woman to win an Olympic Medal there.
Now Reyes, who admires and has sparred with Esparza, hopes to win a championship at the iconic 90-year-old OVO Arena Wembley.
“What I love about boxing is that I get to be myself and just work with myself and be by myself,” she said. “I liked soccer, and I was a good teammate, but you know, other people are not necessarily good teammates.
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“In soccer, (winning and losing) depends on the whole team. For me in boxing, it’s just me. If I lose, I know why I lost. If I win, I know I worked my butt off.”
She was sleepy at school in large part due to the roadwork, miles and miles of it, that began at 5 a.m. School lunchroom fare didn’t meet a fighter’s diet, so she brought her own and dined on homemade smoothies.
Doubters didn’t believe Reyes could make it in a brutal sport, but she has persevered. She’s a fighter.
From early training with the late Hector Rocha, a local boxing legend who mentored hundreds of kids for decades on the north side of Houston, Reyes moved to working with James Prince, better known as J. Prince, the founder and CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records, who has worked with champions Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward and Shakur Stevenson, among others.
Now she is on her first trip abroad, hoping to become a world champion.
“Some people used to look at me like I was crazy, but I was like, ‘Look, I’m trying to do something here,’ ” she said. “I like getting hit. I like hitting people. I don’t know if that makes sense. It doesn’t, right? But I just like fighting.
“I feel I've always been a fighter on the inside. Everything that I set my mind to do, I always do it. That's me in every fight. I’m like, ‘I'm gonna go get this girl.’ I see them like prey.
“For me, this is already a win in a way. I’m in London. I never thought I would make it this far even. Coming to London is a dream I never had.”
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