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By Ben White
She was a teenage tearaway whose life was heading in the wrong direction. Her mum even considered putting her into care at the age of 13 because she could not cope any more.
But as her mum reached her wits’ end, she reached out for help and through her good friend’s suggestion she found the answer she was looking for... ‘Louise, why don’t you try kickboxing?’
And the rest as they say... is history.
Now a professional boxer with her stars aligned, Louise Orton has opened up about her days as ‘The Devil Child’, and how graduating in psychology and criminology and mental health nursing has helped her gain a better understanding of herself and her life experiences.
“I had a disrupted childhood and experienced things no child should ever have to go through,” said Louise, who was raised in Chatham.
“I was affected psychologically and found it difficult to cope to the point I struggled to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“I knew I was troubled and this filled me with anger which made me very wayward and mischievous.
“Having no regard for anyone, I found myself always getting in trouble at school and with the police. My mum even considered putting me in to care at the age of 13 because she could not cope any more.
“I would describe my younger self as ‘The Devil Child’. I was an absolute nightmare. I was very boisterous and got pleasure out of being naughty. I was adventurous and pushed boundaries.”
You could be forgiven for thinking that at this point, Louise’s mum was dealt a bad hand but at the same time, just as good can become bad, bad can become good so you need to pursue all avenues, and know that there is good in everyone before succumbing to your last resort.
Like a ticking time bomb, young Louise was both predictable and unpredictable, in that you knew she was going to snap but knowing when was anyone’s guess.
What was clear is that Louise was in need of self-control before causing any further self-destruction. Keen on the idea of kickboxing, she took to it like a duck to water.
She not only had the opportunity to relieve her inner ferocity, she also had the opportunity to expend her endless energy, but all in a more controlled environment and in a positive way.
She explained: “Kickboxing gave me an opportunity to let off steam and release my pent-up aggression that had consumed me for so long. I felt like I had a purpose and had found something I was good at, it saved me.”
Kickboxing cannot provide the window of opportunities that are available in other sports and it’s for that reason Louise made the transition to boxing when it became a recognised Olympic sport for females in 2009, when she was aged 18.
With her feet now on the ground having been given the kick she so badly needed, she has since punched herself into contention as one of the best boxers in the country.
Voted best boxer at St Mary’s ABC in 2019 she was also elite national and southern counties lightweight champion - she’d been an elite national finalist in 2016 and 2017.
Then there was the 2018 Haringey Box Cup Elite gold at 60kg, beating a Commonwealth bronze medallist in the final and a world and European gold medallist in the semi-final.
Louise’s achievements have not come without a setback or two, some setbacks so great she even questioned her future in the sport. But like boxing is for so many, it’s an addiction and a drug you cannot live without.
“I had to pull out of the national championships a few years ago,” she said.
“I was struggling to juggle studying at university, working full time as a mental health nurse, training full time, trying to cut weight, maintaining the upkeep of a home, and maintaining a relationship with my friends and family.
“I was doing too much and I was struggling to perform at my best in all areas of life. I became physically unwell due to stress and ended up being hospitalised.
“I did have some time off and the thought did cross my mind as to whether I wanted to go back to boxing, however, after a few weeks off, I was back in the gym. It’s like an addiction and it makes me who I am. I am lost without boxing and I love it. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
Much to Louise’s credit she has turned her life around. A far cry from the loose cannon of her youth, she’s different now. She has her goals set in stone and her final destination in sight. Her eyes are fixated on the mountain top, it has been quite a climb, it remains quite a climb but she’s no longer slipping.
“My aim is to become a world champion in multiple weight divisions and I would love the opportunity to box in Vegas,” said the 29-year-old, who lives in Rochester.
“After boxing I would like to start a family with my boyfriend. We have spoken about setting up our own boxing gym as well, however, I am focusing more on the present rather than the future at the moment.
“But I would like to give back to boxing and would like to merge it with my day job as a mental health nurse working in the prison system, so I have also considered setting up an organisation for boxing and mental health.”
