THE new Miss Scotland Nicola Mimnagh isn't just a pretty face - she packs a painful punch too.

I got to feel its full force when I went sparring with the gorgeous boxing fanatic.

Sure, she may have been all sweetness and light when she was crowned Miss Scotland on Saturday.

But by Monday morning she was back to being a lean, mean fighting machine.

The leggy brunette says: "I'm a huge boxing fan.

"I box about twice a week - I know how to look after myself.

"After clubbing, I love going back with the lads to watch the boxing on the pay-per-view.

"The last one was Floyd 'Money' Mayweather versus 'Sugar' Shane Mosley - watching any big fight is the perfect end to my night out."

Sounds like the ideal woman. Next she'll claim she takes a drink and likes the footie, too?

"I do - double vodka Redbull is my tipple," she adds: "And I support St Mirren - I'm a big football fan.

"Although the World Cup started really slowly, the games are starting to pick up now.

"But there's no way Kaka should have been sent off for Brazil for a wee slap - I can punch harder than that."

She sure can.

We meet at Saltire Boxing Gym in Paisley, a stone's throw from Nicola's home village of Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire.

In the sexy corner it's Nic 'The Knockout' Mimnagh.

And in the well-past-his-best corner it's Matt 'The Prat' Bendoris. It was a mismatch from the start with Nicola's towering 5ft 11in frame and her 15-year age advantage.

Even her tan is in better shape than my two-tone van driver's effort.

But will the 24-year-old go the distance or will it be me who's out for the count?

Round one started with a quick one-two.

Me: "What do I call you? Nic or Nicola?"

Nicola: "Well I'm Nic to my friends - so you can call me Nicola."

She breezed through that bout.

Although born and raised in Renfrewshire, Nicola looks a little Oriental, with big brown eyes and dark skin.

Then there's the exotic sounding surname Mimnagh - which is pronounced Mim-na.

She confesses: "Mimnagh is actually from Ireland. And the dark skin is out of a bottle.

"I also have a real weak spot in Chinese food. I can't get enough of vegetarian chow-mein. I'm the takeaway queen.

"But I am tall, which is strange as both my parents are far shorter than me and my brother Andrew, who's 6ft 2in."

Me: "Maybe you're adopted?"

But my sucker punch proves to be a real body blow.

Nicola stutters: "Maybe I am. I think I need a serious talk with my folks."

Round two to Bendoris.

Nicola's mum Joan, 52, is a finance officer, while her dad Jim, 53, is a Special Branch Detective Sergeant.

But she reveals: "Dad was really strict with me when I was growing up. He always terrifies my boyfriends, too.

"If I bring a date home, his routine is to turn off the telly and then ask him 20 questions - like he'd brought a suspect in for questioning. He's scared them all off, which was probably his intention."

Me: "So he's a bit like Robert De Niro in Meet The Parents?"

Nicola replies: "That's him to a tee. But he never tells us horrible stories from his work. Just the funny ones.

"Like the time he busted into a suspect's house and got hit in the face by a baseball bat."
Hilarious - round three to me.

No surprise then that Nicola's "100 per cent single". She explains: "That suits me fine as I wanted to be totally focused to win Miss Scotland and not have any distractions.

"And anyway I hate guys thinking they can tell me what to do," she adds with a fearsome flurry of fists - round four to the Paisley brawler.

Nicola talks about focus a lot.

She admits: "I am determined when I want something. Then I'll work my ass off to get it.

"I'd hate to think I'd lost out on an opportunity just because I didn't try hard enough."

That was plain to see on Saturday night, when she got off to a flier with a flawless interview with host Gok Wan.

She revealed she had some backstage sparring with the How To Look Good Naked star.

Nicola - who has an honours degree in politics from Glasgow Caledonia University - said: "Before we went on stage I warned Gok to be nice to me.

"He called me a diva but I told him, 'I'm not - I just want to win and I don't want you mucking it up for me.'

"I must have looked pretty scary as he seemed to listen to me and he couldn't have been nicer on stage. The thing is I could see my future flashing before me.

"If I didn't win Miss Scotland I'd have had to try and get into teaching or the civil service - which are about the only jobs open to me with my degree.

"Neither get me fired up. My dad recently sat me down and warned me I'd miss the boat if I didn't use my degree soon. But it's a boat I'm prepared to miss."

During her student years Nicola worked behind a bar in Paisley - an area known for the odd scrap or ten at the weekend.

She says: "I worked in Café Borgia for five years. It was a friendly pub by Paisley standards. Just the odd flying glass now and then. But the locals were great. I could practically live on my tips."

She also worked part-time in Debenhams department store - as revealed while being interviewed by DJ George Bowie on Clyde One yesterday morning.

Nicola explained: "A fella called Mungo called the show and said he used to work with me.

"George thought he was kidding and asked if I remembered him.

"I did. Well I'm hardly going to forget a name like Mungo - and he was the only man who worked in the cosmetics department."

I didn't land a glove in that bout.

Now, it's the last-round decider and Nicola says: "I'm really excited about my year ahead as Miss Scotland. I'm also going to keep up my boxing - I'm addicted to it.

"I hate running on a treadmill. I love sport with a bit of aggression.

"There's nothing better than going to a fitness class where the trainer screams at you.

"I also do combat training so I know where to hit a man where it hurts," she adds with a manic look in her eyes.

It's time to take a dive before any below-the-belt blows - Nicola really is a knockout in every way.