They show up in the gym each night, pounding the heavy bag, working on speed and agility, even getting in some rounds of sparring.

And they — Candice Berner, Samantha Griffith and Autumn Neff — have no idea who they will eventually fight in the ring and how long they might have to wait for that opportunity.

Such is the world of female boxers.

Much of Berner's, Griffith's and Neff's world takes place in the Butler Cubs boxing gym, under the watchful eyes of trainers Don Spinetti, Billy Wolfe and Dan Shaw.

"There may be four women fighters in the 132-pound division in the entire tri-state area," Spinetti said. "That's what we're up against trying to line up fights for Samantha.

"Neff is in the 155 to-160-division. That might be tougher. Berner is about 4-feet-11 and weighs 115 pounds."

These three women have one thing in common: They love boxing.

Griffith, 19, is a graduate of Strong Vincent High School in Erie and attends Butler County Community College. She played basketball, soccer and ran cross country in high school.

"I got into weight lifting once I came down here and met somebody who boxed here," Griffith said. "I came up here and started training.

"I was going to play basketball at BC3, but my schedule's pretty crazy. I work full time for Catholic Charities along with going to school.

"If I miss a basketball practice, I'm hurting my team. If I miss a night in the boxing gym, I'm only hurting me," she added.

Griffith has been coming to the Cubs Hall for eight months. She won her first fight — a TKO over Carrie Fiol of Warren, Ohio — and was scheduled to fight an opponent from West Virginia University, but that bout was canceled at the last minute.

"I don't like it," Griffith said of the difficulty in finding opponents. "I'd fight every week if I could."

Berner, 29, lives in Slippery Rock and is a substitute teacher. She began boxing as way to gain the respect of inner-city students she was teaching in California.

Berner is 3-3 in six career bouts.

"Candice has sparred in our gym 10 or 15 times," Spinetti said. "She's very serious about this."

So is Neff, 16, an incoming junior at Moniteau and a left fielder on the school softball team. She trained for a few months, took a couple of months off for softball season and has since returned to the gym.

"I'm a fan of (Ultimate Fighting Championships) and pro wrestling," Neff said. "A friend of mine, Lucas Homa, came up here and brought me with him one day.

"I like everything about it. Working out, hitting the heavy bag. ... And when I sparred for the first time, I got such an adrenaline rush. I want to keep doing it."

Neff spars against an opponent from Kittanning. She doesn't want to face her in an actual match "because we've become good friends."

Neff comes to the Cubs facility three nights a week for two-hour workouts. Griffith comes four nights a week for three to four hours each time.

"The lack of opponents doesn't worry me," Neff said. "A lot of girls are starting to get into this. Opponents will come."

Their boxing workouts consist of jumping rope, footwork, crunches, running and time on the heavy bag.

"I've dropped 20 pounds since I started coming here," Griffith said. "My body's tightened up and I can feel my punches getting stronger.

"I'm so young, with so much potential. I could become a pro. Who knows? I'll take it as it comes."

Wolfe had a couple of pro fights himself when Spinetti trained him. He's been working with male and female boxers in the Cubs program.

"I love working with the (women) because they're so concerned about technique," Wolfe said. "They want to get it right immediately. Guys usually worry about technique after they've been in the ring a few times.

"Young women getting involved in boxing is great for the sport," he added. "I know it's great for our gym. When a guy sees a girl in here working so hard, it's going to push him, too."