Ruby White is poised for Commonwealth Games success as 19-year-old targets boxing gold | Debate News
Rising British boxing star Ruby White is focused on one thing: winning.
At just 19, the 5ft1in boxer’s list of honors has grown dramatically. White is a four-time European champion and a seven-time national champion, and in 2024, he made history, becoming the 48kg world champion at the first U19 boxing tournament in Colorado at the age of 17.
Amazingly, White is also undefeated in over 60 rookie fights.
It seems the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old, who will make his debut at the 2026 Commonwealth Games this year, after being named in the England boxing team, along with a long list of other impressive talents.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the 2026 Commonwealth Games, and that’s on me,” White said. Sky Sports News.
But he doesn’t slow down there.
“After hoping to bring back the gold, I want to go to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, and maybe I will do another Olympic cycle, maybe not.
White is eyeing a spot in the 2028 Olympics
“I want to keep winning and keep performing. The ultimate goal is to be professional and undisputed.”
White, who hails from Sturminster Newton in Dorset, has incredible speed and strength, earning him the nicknames ‘Pocket Rocket’ and ‘Big Violent’ from his friends and coaches.
White has a great and impressive career as he is crowned U19 world champion in 2024
“Because I’m small and fast, everyone always says: ‘You’re like a little rocket, aren’t you?’
“It just stuck and everyone loves it. I have to write that name.”
White showed his explosive power Sky Sports News during practice on Wednesday, but he is not afraid of taller opponents, adding that he uses his height to his advantage.
“Obviously, I am very short so my style depends on my opponent. But most of the time, they are much taller than me,” he said.
“I’m very strong and fast, and I can use my height to my advantage, because I know it’s hard for them to take down, and I’m always used to punching.
“I would describe myself as aggressive, strong, and a little bit hateful.
“I think you need that in the ring; that will be wanting to keep wanting to be better than your opponent.”
In January, White flew to Sweden, where she faced Jade Delgado, Katie O’Keefe and Georgiana Diana Podaru, and defeated all three for the 2026 Golden Girl Championship.
More than 500 female fighters attended the event, but White was chosen as the overall champion, once again showing her fighting skills.
White first discovered the game from a family he was friends with in his hometown of Stalbridge. After meeting them when they sang together in a local pantomime, he was taught boxing at their gym, which they owned and ran.
“I started walking [to the gym] and he really got into it. Having been able to box since I was 10 years old, I went on to win everything, I got into the England team and the world was my oyster. I just went up.”
White, who is 5ft1in, is an impressive fighter with plenty of speed and power
White is striving to follow in the footsteps of many of the sport’s greats, including the likes of Karriss Artingstall, Nicola Adams, Katie Taylor and Lauren Price.
The 19-year-old previously told Sky Sports that he looks up to 2020 Olympic gold medalist and unified world welterweight champion Price, and sees “similarities in their styles”.
But in Team England, there are many other role models to look up to, including 2024 Olympic athlete Chantelle Reid, who retired from the sport after the Paris Games, but is now set to make her Commonwealth Games debut.
Sacha Hickey, 22, also joins the team, having won bronze at the Boxing World Cup in Brazil, while decorated fighters, Elise Glynn and Lucy Kings-Wheatley, have already won World Cup titles.
“On the team, we’re a big family,” White said. “There are big names in British boxing, and I look up to them all.
“I’m no stranger to the big stages, but they’ve done it at a high level. I may have done a couple, but I haven’t done many of them.”
This 19-year-old player also wants that one day there will be nothing
All eyes will be on the Commonwealth Games when they start in Glasgow on July 23, and promising talent, White will be a hero to watch.
While some young athletes may shy away from the pressure of competing on the big stage, White wants to embrace it.
“To be honest, at first it was very difficult,” he said when asked what it’s like to be mentioned as one of the most promising stars in boxing. “I couldn’t handle the amount of attention all the time.
“I have to be very careful in my life. I have to be positive and ignore the hate a little bit. But now I’m older and more mature, and with GB and England and media training, I just take everything because I know that any attention is more focused on me and it means that my work is getting better.
“I know I’m good enough, I know I can win it and play,” White added.
“I think I need to take the pressure off myself and do and do what I can do and hopefully it will fall into place.”
