When Ellah Demesi steps into the boxing ring, two fighters occupy a special place in her mind.
One is Kenya’s Veronica Mbithe from the Kenya Defence Forces, whose boxing style has captivated the 16-year-old. The other is decorated American professional boxer Claressa Shields, whom Demesi admires not only for her ability in the ring, but also for the difficult journey she overcame to reach the top.
Shields’ story particularly resonates with Demesi. She started boxing young, persevered through hardship and, at a time when few girls were involved in the sport, found a way to pursue her dream. For Demesi, that resilience is a reminder that obstacles do not have to define her future.
“I like her boxing style,” Demesi says of Mbithe.
Of Shields, she adds that she admires how she “has grown into the game from hardship.”
Those two role models now form part of the inspiration driving the teenager towards her own ambitious destination, the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
But Demesi’s journey into boxing was not born from an early obsession with the sport. In fact, it began almost by accident.
The student from Shadrack Kimalel Senior School in Nairobi started boxing in 2024 after repeatedly watching her younger brother, Ramsey Wakhu, compete. Ramsey, 14, was already a boxer, and his bouts gradually sparked her curiosity.
“At first, I just went to watch his boxing bouts. My intention was just to pass time,” Demesi recalls.
Her father had actually wanted her to start boxing even earlier, but she was not interested. Tennis was the sport she liked most, although she had never played it.
Then boxing pulled her in.
Two years after her introduction to boxing, Demesi is already an international competitor and one of the promising young boxers at Kibra Youth Boxing Club.
Her progress has been rapid. She won the Nairobi Junior Championships before representing Kenya at the African Youth Games in Angola in 2025. She later travelled to Bangkok, Thailand, for the World Boxing Under-19 Futures Cup in March 2026, a competition that served as a qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games.
Although she lost her opening bout in the round of 16 against Canadian Mehreen Khakh on March 10, 2026, the experience proved valuable.
“It was a good tournament for me,” she observes.
Her first trip outside Kenya had come at the African Youth Games. Rather than being overwhelmed by the experience, Demesi embraced it.
“I was not afraid to travel outside Kenya for the first time. In fact, it looked like something normal. I was excited, but not afraid.”
In Angola, she reached the quarter-final stage. She sees the result less as a setback than another chapter in her development.
“It was God's plan. I think it was part of my learning process,” she says.
Now, the 51kg boxer has her eyes firmly fixed on Dakar.
“It feels great,” she notes of qualifying for the Youth Olympics.
“I am training hard for the Games. I want to better my performance. I believe, I will make it in Dakar.”
Her coach, Edward Ogweno, shares the confidence.
Ogweno, the head coach of Kibra Youth Boxing Club in Kibera slums describes Demesi as a dedicated boxer who respects the sport and has steadily progressed through each stage of her development.
“Demesi is a good boxer. She is dedicated. She has respect for boxing,” observes Ogweno.
He believes her determination and discipline can take her far and predicts that she can win a medal at the Youth Olympics.
At Kibra Youth, where Demesi trains, discipline and consistency are considered essential ingredients for success. Ogweno reveals that the club also places emphasis on mentorship, with mentors brought in to guide the young boxers.
For Demesi, boxing has become about more than winning bouts. It has shaped her character.
She discloses that the sport has given her a stronger mindset and taught her respect, including respect for younger boxers. It has also taught her that success demands hard work.
“There is nothing that comes easy,” she explains.
Her parents have played their part too. They are proud of her and continue to encourage her, reminding her that she is capable of succeeding. That support has become an important source of motivation.
At the club, however, Demesi is something of a minority. There are only about four girls among the many boxers, with boys making up the majority.
She believes fear is one reason more girls have not taken up the sport. Some worry that boxing will give them a masculine physique, while others fear injuries, bruises and the physical demands of the sport.
Demesi knows those concerns are not entirely unfounded. She has injured a finger and bitten her lip during training. But the injuries have not convinced her to quit.
When school is in session, her routine begins after classes. She heads home, changes into her boxing attire and makes her way to the gym. During school holidays, the workload increases to morning and evening sessions, sometimes preceded by an early morning run.
Her school does not offer boxing, so Demesi pursues the sport outside the school programme. However, school authorities know about her career and granted her permission to travel to Bangkok while school was still in session. Even though she did not win a bout, they were happy for her.
Her classmates have also taken notice.
“Because I am a girl playing boxing, boys in the school are like, ‘That is the girl that does boxing,’” she explains.
For now, that distinction does not bother her. If anything, it underlines how unusual her path is.
Demesi comes from Mumias in Kakamega County and is one of four siblings. Only she and Ramsey currently pursue sport, although two older siblings once tried boxing before dropping it. Their father also boxed, albeit mainly for self-defence.
Demesi, however, is not interested in taking her skills outside the ring.
“I don't train boxing to beat people outside the ring,” she says when asked if she also uses the skills for self-defence.
Her ambitions extend much further. She wants to remain in boxing after completing school and eventually turn professional, inspired by fighters such as Shields and British professional boxer Caroline Dubois.
For Ogweno, however, the journey must always run alongside education. His message to young boxers is straightforward: talent alone is not enough.
“Without education, boxing won't take you anywhere,” he says, pointing out that boxing careers eventually end and that academic qualifications can open doors in other fields, including the security forces.
For Demesi, then, the punchline is not simply about throwing punches.
It is about discipline, education, resilience and the courage to pursue a path that few girls around her have chosen.
She once went to the gym simply because her younger brother was there.
Now, with Mbithe and Shields as inspirations and Dakar on the horizon, Demesi is building a dream of her own.
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