Paige Howarth: “I want to leave my mark and be a fighter that people can look up to.”

Paige Howarth: “I want to leave my mark and be a fighter that people can look up to.” 

Paige Howarth is a decorated amateur. A young Lancashire talent with the ambition and the potential to go far in her sport. Two national titles, a multi-time Tri-Nations champion, and the winner of the 2025 Manchester Box Cup. An extensive resume with the promise of more to come.

The 21-year-old, who trains at Oliver’s Gym in Salford, is now back on the comeback trail after a lengthy period away from boxing. She needed that time. It has helped her in many ways, and there is now a plan to help and inspire others, and to satisfy her own ambitions inside a boxing ring.

The boxing story started in her teenage years. There was aggression that needed to be controlled, and her confidence levels needed to be elevated. “I started boxing just before I turned 15,” Howarth told me over Zoom. “I was fighting in school. I had a couple of fights while I was in school. I wasn’t very confident. I was very shy. Some people were quite confrontational, and I didn’t know how to handle those situations, so I ended up fighting. I quite enjoyed it, actually, so I went to a boxing gym. Boxing changed my life. Confidence-wise, it changed me as a person.”

“Boxing changed my whole life,” Howarth added. “I have met so many amazing people through boxing. My career path, the work I do, everything has been through boxing. The places that I have travelled to because of boxing, I have been to so many great places that I probably would never have seen if it weren’t for boxing. My whole life revolves around fitness now, so having that passion is a big thing for me. It’s just great having something to get up for every day.”

There have been just a handful of fights over the last two years while Howarth dealt with several issues in her personal life. During her extended absence, Howarth realised boxing was a vital component in her life.

“I stopped boxing for a while,” Howarth relayed to me. “I didn’t stop training, just competing, and it’s really surprising how much your mentality shifts when you have got that goal in front of you, either a fight coming up or you have got training to go to. The mind shift is unreal, and I would never go back to where I was.

“I haven’t boxed regularly since 2024, but I had a bout back last year in the Manchester Box Cup, which I won. I then took another break. I suffered mentally with eating disorders. I was at a place where I wasn’t ready to fully commit to boxing. I had gone through so many different things, especially in my personal life. I just needed a break and to find myself. To see who I was as a person. I then realised boxing was what I wanted to do. But it’s such a big sacrifice, and I had to make sure it was what I wanted.”

But Paige Howarth has now returned to her passion, healthy, invigorated and excited about what lies ahead for her. “I am back now, it’s my first full season back. I have had two fights this year since I came back. I have come back wanting it more now than before I left. Having that break was the best thing I could have done, even though I’m coming back at the deep end and fighting elite-level girls. But it’s all part of the journey. I am taking every fight I can get, and I am trying to learn on the job. Learn as I go along. It’s about building that pedigree and ironing out those mistakes.”

Despite that lengthy time away from boxing, Howarth has still amassed thirty-two fights in her stop-start career. 2026 will be about getting as many fights as she possibly can.

“I want to have a really active year,” Howarth says. “This year is about activity and getting out there and fighting whoever I can. I want to get all the experience that I can, and keep on fighting different styles. I have a couple of Box Cups planned, and also the Haringey Box Cup. Within the next two years, depending on what my coaches say, I would like to turn professional. But I want to make sure I am ready. I don’t want to rush anything.”

“It took me a while to get my love back for the sport, and I want to make sure I am still enjoying it,” a reflective fighter adds. “I want to make sure it’s something I want to do. But at the moment I am putting everything into it that I can.”

Paige Howarth has achieved plenty in a short space of time. “I am proud of everything I have done in the sport,” Howarth proudly says. But she wants more, not only for herself, but for the next generation as well.

“I will say this on a daily basis: I want to inspire people. My biggest goal is to inspire young girls. I work a lot with young people, especially in schools. I just want to show them that anything you set your mind to, you can physically do. I have struggled so much with the mental side of the sport. But I have shown that you can go again and achieve things, no matter what the setback is. Obviously, I want to win titles as a pro, and I want to be a household name. But I want to be one of those fighters that people look back on and say she was class. I want to leave my mark and be a fighter that people can look up to.”