13-year-old Kanien'kehá:ka boxer trains with her grandfather, aiming for Olympics
CBC
Beth Harris-Smoke, 13, has almost 3,000 hours of boxing training under her belt and recently won a national boxing championship.
She said her drive is to be "stronger."
"I don't want to be like those people who just do nothing all day," said Smoke.
Her grandfather Billy Logan and her former trainer Anthony Lenk describe her as compassionate, not someone for whom throwing punches comes naturally but who still has great instincts for combat sports.
Harris-Smoke is Kanien'kehá:ka (Wolf Clan) from Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ont., but now lives in Sanborn, N.Y., close to the Niagara Falls border.
Harris-Smoke and her younger sister Brooklynn have been raised by their grandparents since they were toddlers. Logan also doubles as her coach.
He has her aiming for 10,000 hours of training before she competes for an Olympic spot in her late teens. She trains two and half hours a day, five days a week.
"You need that person pushing you, no matter who you are. There are very few people that can do it themselves," said Logan.
Harris-Smoke started training in taekwondo at age seven, then a year later started boxing. A tournament in Toledo, Ohio, in July was her first.
"I was nervous at first and then I got the hang of it," said Harris-Smoke.
She walked away as the intermediate female champion in the 80 kilogram and up division, winning all of her three matches in the tourney.
Logan said he first got her involved in combat sports for self defence and to deal with bullies. Harris-Smoke said she gets to see new people through boxing.
She's also training to be a setter for her school's volleyball team and likes to listening to music, scrolling TikTok, hanging out with friends and playing video games.
She describes her boxing style as counter puncher and likes to trap her opponents by dropping her hands and baiting them in. When Harris-Smoke needs an extra push in the ring, her grandfather yells out "wolf," meaning to "basically be a beast."
