Mikiah Kreps: “I want my name to be cemented next to the greats of women’s boxing.”

Mikiah Kreps: “I want my name to be cemented next to the greats of women’s boxing.”

After seventy-five fights as a highly decorated amateur, Mikiah Kreps made the perhaps inevitable decision to turn professional in 2020. It was always a move that was likely to come at some stage. Those thoughts had been there for quite some time. After nine fights, all wins, it’s fair to say the former number-one amateur in America is well on her way to matching her amateur success in the professional ranks.

“I was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York,” Kreps told me of her early years. “I was fortunate to have a great support system growing up. Although my peers around me, a lot of them took a bad route, I chose to always stay on a straight path. I had a good upbringing with supportive parents and was raised in the gym at a very young age.”

The entry into boxing came by way of her mother’s involvement in the sport. “My mom used to box,” Kreps relayed to FightPost. “That’s how I got into it. She started boxing in her 30s when my brother and I were younger, and I was always around the gym. She was a registered nurse and originally started just to get in shape with no intentions of competing. When the coaches started to see her natural skills and strength, they asked her if she would be interested in fighting. She then went on to win a few Golden Gloves and the Empire State Games back when they had them in New York. Although she never turned professional, she was always in the gym and ended up training me and she has been in my corner all through my amateur career and now as a 9-0 pro.

“I was first introduced to the gym at 5 years old, having my first amateur fight at 9. Growing up playing sports with all the boys, I think the intensity of boxing is what attracted me to it. Also, the fact that it was an individual sport, I liked that.”

Kreps came to the sport at a very early age. A sport that gives her so much. “Boxing has given me a lot. I thrive off of structure and routine. It takes discipline and a lot of hard work. I’ve always been a confident person, but I feel the confidence of achieving my goals in the ring from hard work and dedication. I carry that with me in areas of my life.”

After those seventy-fights as an amateur, the resume of Mikiah Kreps was beyond impressive. The accolades listed below demonstrate just how deep her achievements are:

2014 National Golden Gloves Champion
2017 Ringside World Champion
2017 Eastern Qualifier Champion
2018 USA National Champion
2018 Solidified spot on TEAM USA
2019 NYS Golden Gloves Champion
2019 National Golden Gloves Champion
2019 World Championship Bronze medallist
2019 Amateur Boxer of the Year
2019 Olympic Trails Qualifier Champion

“I have no regrets from my amateur career,” Kreps says. “I think I went pro at the perfect time. I knew from very early on that I wanted to be a professional boxer. I always had more of a pro-style, and I knew I had what it took to be the next star in boxing.”

“It’s been great,” Kreps says of how that professional career has gone so far. “I feel this is going to be my breakout year. I know that everything is going to change for me in the best way very soon. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am right now, and I believe that the best is still to come.”

Next month, Kreps goes for win number ten against her fellow American Danielle Bennett at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, Niagara Falls. A hometown gig and a fight that Kreps is keen to show her ever-improving skills. “My goal is to always improve from my last performance. We’re training hard as always and looking forward to putting on a great show.

“My opponent is a taller southpaw, I don’t know too much about her, but I know my team will come up with a good game plan. All respect to Danielle Bennett for coming to my hometown to fight. It’s gonna be an electric night.”

Kreps is edging ever closer to a shot at the world title. An opportunity that Kreps is clearly relishing. “I’m hoping a world title fight is next,” Kreps told me. I’ve been ready. I’ve been passing all my tests with flying colours, and I’m ready to show the world what I’m capable of.”

“I respect everyone,” Kreps says of the current world super-bantamweight champions. “Those who are the champions have earned their spot. I don’t have any particular fighter in mind that I’d like to fight, but I’m willing and ready to fight any of them. Whoever I have to fight to bring me to that next level, I’m ready for it.”

Mikiah Kreps has big ambitions. A desire to win world titles at several weights and also to inspire others to follow in her footsteps.

“I want my name to be cemented next to the greats of women’s boxing. My goal is to become undisputed in multiple different weight classes. I want to show the younger generation that if you work hard towards something and believe in yourself, anything is possible. I want to be that exemplary role model that shows you can do things the right and honest way, and that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or what your background is. All things are possible with hard work, dedication, and self-belief.”