Sport Walthamstow

Walthamstow teacher wins British boxing title

Myrtille Gamain, 35, uppercutted her way to success in a welterweight boxing bout in Bethnal Green on Saturday

By Marco Marcelline

Myrtille Gamain

A semi-professional boxer and full-time teacher is celebrating after becoming the British female welterweight champion last weekend. 

Myrtille Gamain, 35, upper-cutted her way to success in a winning sparring match at the Super Series Boxing event in Bethnal Green on Saturday (12th October).

Originally from northern France, Myrtille has lived in Walthamstow with her teenage daughter for 14 years. 

Weighing 65kg, Myrtille won in the welterweight category, after facing four rounds against a formidable opponent. 

Myrtille first took up boxing in 2017, and within a year she was already competing. In her semi-professional boxing career thus far, she has managed to give her opponents several broken noses, as well as suffer one herself. She however jokes that she’s actually a “very calm” and non-violent person outside the boxing ring.

Myrtille with coach Derrick Wynter (far left) and ex professional boxers Maurice Hope, Jason Matthews and Ian Napa on Saturday 12th October

Myrtille began a rigorous training regime for the fight, which she balanced alongside her full-time job as a French teacher. 

Aside from boxing every day, this involved running three to four times a week, swimming, and weight training.

She relishes the challenge that every competitive boxing fight presents, stating: “Training for a fight means I just live, breathe, eat and sleep boxing. Every decision you make can impact your boxing performance. In the run-up to this match I had to lose 7kg, train every day for two hours, and make sure I had good quality sleep every night.”

This all meant Myrtille had to be “super organised” – she would wake up at 5.45am every morning, make it to school to run the breakfast club at 7am, before managing to fit in at least two hours of training after work.

She says: “I like the intensity of training, and I like that boxing means I have to be more organised and ‘on job’ per se.”

Myrtille in the boxing ring

Her dream is to become a full-time professional boxer, though admits she’s not sure if she would represent Team GB or France if they called.

Despite now having boxed for close to a decade, Myrtille says the feeling of nervousness before a fight hasn’t gone away. “It can be nerve-wracking. Before this match I was nervous even though my preparation for the fight was very good.”

Her nerves worked in her favour; Myrtille managed to secure the votes of two of the three judges at the fight on Saturday. 

On winning the welterweight (65kg) fight, she says: “I feel proud of myself, and that the work that I put in has paid off. It wasn’t in vain.” 

Her family, friends and colleagues from work were in the stands cheering her on. “My family are very supportive. Loads of people came and watched the fight,” she said.

One of her friends who came to watch was Linda Jackson-Holmes who told the Echo: “Myrtille trains at my local gym, and is a formidable fighter.  She’s been in a number of fights where she has always won, but this was a serious match with a very tough opponent with a serious boxing pedigree.”

What would Myrtille say to anyone who was thinking about starting boxing for the first time? “Do it. It’s good for your mental health, you get to meet people you would never otherwise get to meet, and you never know – you could end up sparring and winning a match.”


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