Leah Reuben goes from troubled teen to national boxing champion
Less than three years after stepping into a boxing ring for the first time, Cairns teenager Leah Reuben is an Australian boxing champion.
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Leah Reuben had no direction in her life.
As a young teenager, she would run riot on the streets of Townsville and became locked in a cycle of juvenile crime that included stints at Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.
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“I guess I was a bit of a troubled kid,” Reuben said.
“I got in a lot of trouble and it wasn’t working out in Townsville, so my mum moved me to Cairns.”
It was the move north that helped Reuben turn her life around, with the teenager taking up boxing soon after as a stress reliever.
Less than three years after putting a pair of gloves on for the first time, Reuben is a national champion in the sport.
The 18-year-old secured the Australian under-19 women’s bantamweight (54kg) title with a dominant unanimous points decision over South Australian Cooper Racic-Mills at Boxing Australia’s U19/17/15 Men’s and Women’s Championships on the Gold Coast last month.
The Far North fighter looked comfortable as she cruised her way to victory, winning every round on all five of the judges’ scorecards.
“I’m still trying to find words to describe the feeling,” Reuben said.
“It’s been a long road to get there and I’ve had a lot of bumps and hiccups on the way, but it’s all finally paid off. There’s a lot of sacrifices you have to make, especially being a young teenager.”
After taking the silver medals at last year’s state and national titles, Reuben outdid herself by claiming gold at both events in 2019.
She said her long-term goal in boxing was to represent Australia at the Olympics.
Reuben hopes a two-week training camp she will attend in the Philippines this month can act as a stepping stone to her Olympic dream.
“It’s going to be the best experience yet,” she said.
“I’ll get to travel with the best in Australia, including one of my idols. To be alongside her, doing what she’s doing – I’m so excited.”
Reuben said she was proud to be a role model for the younger boxers in her gym, but it went both ways.
“I look up to a lot of people here, too,” she said. “We all look up to each other.”
Her recent achievements are not limited to the boxing ring.
“I’ve just completed my traineeship with Wuchopperen and just got a full-time position there,” she said.
“I completed my Cert III in Business and I’m the dental receptionist.”
Do It Boxing head trainer Zap De Jong said Reuben had come a long way in just three years in the ring.
“She’s had 15 fights in and she’s already an Australian champion,” he said.
“Our goal is to take her as far as she wants to go.
“If we can get there to the Olympics that would be great.”
Originally published as Leah Reuben goes from troubled teen to national boxing champion
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