Six years and counting: The Story behind Ciara’s incredible unbeaten run

Meet the 17-year-old Dysart boxer who hasn’t lost a fight in six years, claiming plenty of titles along the way. Read her incredible story.

Ciara Storch (red) in the ring in her youth.

Ciara Storch and losing don’t mix well.

Fortunately for her, it doesn’t happen often.

The 17-year-old Dysart boxer has a 29-2 record, her last loss coming a staggering six years ago, in May, 2017.

“I always thought I was gonna be the best,” Ciara said.

“I just hated losing, like everyone hates losing, but I hated it, couldn’t do it, refused to do it.

“You go in there with the thought that you’re gonna lose and chances are that you’re gonna lose, but I don’t know how to think that, I’ve just gotta win.”

That mindset has worked wonders for Ciara, as she’s now an Oceania champion, two-time Australian champion, five-time Golden Gloves champion, and six-time State champion.

That list has been enhanced significantly in recent months too.

In May, Ciara travelled to Samoa for the Oceania Youth Championships, winning her two bouts to claim gold, and just days later she was fighting at the Queensland state titles, winning gold again.

Ciara Storch (middle) conquering Oceania. Picture: DIG DEEP competitive Boxing Facebook

Earlier this month, she touched down in Adelaide for the Australian titles, not only claiming gold in her 57kg division, but also crowned Women’s Youth Boxer of the Tournament.

“I’m so proud, I always have the biggest smile as soon as I talk about boxing,” Ciara said.

“It’s given me a reason in life, it’s given me something to be proud of. Especially being from such a small town, it’s pretty hard, no one really does anything like that.”

Dysart, with a population of under 3000, is located around 240km south of Mackay - almost a three-hour drive.

It’s isolation certainly makes life difficult for Ciara, who is a member of Queensland’s Futures squad.

“What (kids from the city) do, their Saturday training session, for me just to get sparring I have to fly to Brisbane,” she said.

“I’ve put in double, triple the amount of work they all have, just to get to the place. It’s crazy.”

Ciara (left) hopes to follow in the footsteps of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Skye Nicholson (right).

But that struggle has also moulded her into the boxer she is, and Ciara believes it gives her a significant advantage, as she understands both ‘north’ and ‘south’ style boxing.

“Boxing in Brisbane (south) has more development so they are quite technical boxers… they’re happy to just stand there, box you, pick you off,” she said.

“Whereas boxing up here (north), we’ll stand there, we’ll punch on, we’ll brawl, we’ll go to war if we have to - that’s just how it is.

“But I can do both being around both scenes.”

Outside of boxing and travelling, Ciara doesn’t have much down time.

She’s still in school, completing year 12, and also working two jobs - at a bistro and as a gym receptionist.

Ciara hails from the Dig Deep Competitive Boxing Club which was founded by her father and coach, Craig Storch, in 2018, and has made a habit of punching well above its weight.

Take the Queensland State Titles in May, where the club walked away with five gold medallists and a silver medallist.

And while only two were given fights, four of Dig Deep’s fighters qualified for the Australian titles this month.

Ciara Storch (left) and Kyle Rodgers (right) representing Dig Deep on the national stage. Picture: DIG DEEP competitive Boxing Facebook

The club’s done 17,000km of driving since February alone.

But it’s the impact outside of the ring that Craig believes is equally important.

“Even take the fighters out of it, we’ve got a lot of kids that come and train and just be with us, and we’re mentoring them, and the older kids are mentoring them, it’s all about the big circle you know,” Craig said.

“We’ve got some misled kids that come in and they’re like our role models now.

“My thing is keep the kids off the street.”

The Isaac Regional Council has taken notice of Dig Deep’s efforts too, approving their bid to move into a bigger facility in the form of the old tennis courts on Seashore Street.

The move lifts the ceiling currently imposed on the club’s capabilities, as they now have the space to take in more kids, and host their own sparring tournaments and development camps.

Craig, who’s also the North Queensland development coach, even plans to host the Central Queensland Championships in mid-2024.

“What it does for our club is unbelievable… we’re gonna take on heaps of kids,” he said.

And Dig Deep’s next step?

“We can start fundraising to buy a proper boxing ring,” Craig said.

“We’ve just got a little one on the ground that’s not even a proper size - just four posts and a bit of rope to develop the kids in there so they’re used to being around the ropes.”

As the club continues its upwards trajectory, it’s showpiece fighter Ciara is aiming to do the same.

A young Ciara (middle) with her father Craig (right).

Craig couldn’t be prouder of what his daughter’s achieved to date.

“She‘s well on her way to representing this little town where we are,” he said.

“From a 10-year-old girl (when Ciara had her first fight)... you go back and watch through her clips, to her winning an Australian title. It’s just crazy mate.

“The development, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the kilometres of road running, early mornings by herself.

“She holds the longest win streak for any amateur girl under 18 at the moment, she’s six years undefeated.

Craig also revealed Ciara’s been invited to the AIS to spar Australia’s next batch of Olympians at the end of the year - and she could very well find herself in their shoes in the not too distant future.

“That’s not from me, that’s from her, she’s gotta wake up, she’s gotta do the hard runs, she’s gotta cut the weight… she’s wanted it for a long time so it’s something you gotta do,” he said.

“She’s on her way to the Olympics.”

If you’d like to donate to help the club buy a boxing ring, reach out to the DIG DEEP competitive Boxing Facebook page.