Draft:Valerian Spicer

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Valerian Spicer is a British-born former amateur boxer, boxing coach, author and social entrepreneur. Born in England to a Dominican mother and British father, she represented Dominica in international boxing competitions, including at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.

Boxing career

Spicer began boxing at the age of 30, initially taking up the sport for fitness. She subsequently competed in England before representing Dominica internationally. During her amateur career, she competed in 64 bouts.

Spicer began her boxing career at Chadwell St Mary Amateur Boxing Club in Essex and subsequently spent two years boxing for Islington Boxing Club. Islington Boxing Club's history also records that she moved to the club from Chadwell St Mary's ABC and competed for Dominica in AIBA tournaments.

In 2012, she won the women's 57 kg Class B title at the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) National Championships, representing Chadwell St Mary. England Boxing lists her as the Class B 57 kg champion.

2014 Commonwealth Games

Spicer represented Dominica at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the women's 60 kg division. The Games marked the debut of women's boxing at the Commonwealth Games.

She was Dominica's only female boxer at the competition. In her opening bout, Spicer defeated New Zealand's Alexis Pritchard by unanimous decision. She subsequently lost in the quarter-finals to Northern Ireland's Alanna Audley-Murphy by a 2–1 decision.

2015 international competitions

In 2015, Spicer represented Dominica at the Pan American Games in Toronto. She was Dominica's only boxer at the Games and lost to Mexico's Victoria Torres in the quarter-finals.

At the 2015 Nations Cup in Subotica, Serbia, Spicer won a silver medal in the women's 60 kg division. She defeated Eftichia Kathopouli of Cyprus in the preliminary round, Kazakhstan's Rimma Volossenko in the quarter-finals, and China's Shi Yazhuo in the semi-finals, before losing to Russia's Natalia Shadrina in the final.

2016 World Championships and Olympic qualification

Spicer was considered for qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2013, contemporary reporting described her as a prospective Dominican Olympic boxer and reported that the Dominica Boxing Association was working towards her qualification.

In February 2016, the Dominica Olympic Committee said that Spicer was eligible for the Olympic qualification process and that she was scheduled to travel to Argentina for an Olympic qualifying event.

Spicer competed at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, as part of her Olympic qualification campaign.

At the World Championships, Spicer defeated Hungary's Timea Takacs by technical knockout in the opening round. The International Boxing Association described the result as the first victory by a Dominican boxer in the history of the tournament.

She was subsequently defeated by Russia's Anastasiia Beliakova in the next round.

2016 Nations Cup and Continental Championships

At the 2016 Nations Cup in Ruma, Serbia, Spicer won a bronze medal in the women's 60 kg division. She defeated Alla Yarshevich of Belarus in the preliminary round and Hasna Lachgar of Morocco in the quarter-finals before losing to Poland's Kinga Siwa by a 2–1 decision in the semi-finals.

At the 2016 AMBC American Confederation Women's Boxing Championships in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, Spicer reached the semi-finals of the 60 kg division, where she was defeated by Argentina's Dayana Sánchez.

2018 Commonwealth Games and retirement

Following the birth of her son, Spicer returned to international competition in 2018 and represented Dominica at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. The Games were her second Commonwealth Games appearance.

Spicer announced her retirement from amateur boxing in April 2018, ending an eight-year boxing career.

Coaching and community work

Following her competitive boxing career, Spicer became an England Boxing coach and personal trainer. She holds a Level 2 England Boxing coaching qualification.

Spicer is the founder and CEO of Empower Box CIC, a social enterprise that uses non-contact boxing programmes to develop mental resilience, physical wellbeing, confidence and leadership skills.

In 2024, Empower Box was selected as a winner of the Investec Beyond Business programme, which supports social enterprises through funding and business support.

In January 2026, the Shackleton Foundation announced Spicer as one of its Leaders and awarded her a grant to deliver a year-long Girls' Boxing & Mindfulness Programme for young women aged 13–25 in Tower Hamlets.

Writing

In 2025, Spicer co-authored Round by Round: Life Lessons from a Boxing Champion with Bill Snaddon and psychologist Andy Cole. The book was published by Libri Publishing.

Awards

In 2017, the Government of Dominica reported that Spicer had been named Sportswoman of the Year for her performances in 2016.