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Today we are sitting down with current up and coming pro boxer Destiny Day-Owens AKA Lady Tyson! Destiny started boxing at the age of 19! Her amateur record was 15-1! She won the Golden Gloves 3 times before deciding to turn pro in 2019! Thus far as a pro her record is 7-0 with 4 KO’s in the Super Lightweight Division! You don’t want to miss her story and hear what she has to say and what’s next for her in her career!
#femaleboxing #badasswoman #nopunchespulledwithnomercy #destinyday-owens #brookenomercydierdorff-millbrook #talkinfight @Destiny Day-Owens @Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff-Millbrook @No Punches Pulled With No Mercy @Talkin Fight
Transcribed
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What’S up everybody? How are you doing tonight? It’S your girl, no mercy here.
It is Tuesday night.
So you definitely already know what time it is.
It’S time for no punches pulled with me, no mercy.
Some of you may know who I am, but for those of you that are new and are not familiar with me.
My name is Brooke Millbrook, Formerly Known in the fight business as Brooke no mercy deardorff.
I am a retired professional boxer.
I held the WBC lightweight title until I retired and I was inducted into the international women’s Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022 last year, um I’ve been through some good, some bad and, of course, a lot of BS in the sport of women’s boxing.
Welcome to my platform, this is where we talk the talk and walk the walk.
We’Re gon na bring out the truth behind the scenes in women’s boxing you’re, going to hear from pioneers of the sport past boxers current boxers, even future boxers we’re going to get down and dirty speaking, the truth of what takes place in women’s boxing.
You don’t want to miss a single show, so please make sure that you like subscribe and you share it with everybody else spread the word.
So you don’t want to miss a show every Tuesday night here with me, but today we got a special one in the building y’all.
Today we have up and coming professional boxer Destiny day.
Owens AKA lady Tyson in the house Destiny started boxing at the age of 19, competing as an amateur accumulating a record of 15 and one y’all.
She won the Golden Gloves three times before deciding to turn pro in 2019 and so far y’all in her pro career.
She has seven wins, no losses: four Knockouts um fighting in the super lightweight division.
Y’All, please help me welcome Destiny to the show um.
So how you been how you doing thanks for coming on the show tonight.
I appreciate you thanks for having me I’ve been doing great, just training and um trying to stay focused, that’s good.
I got you been there done that totally understand that trying to stay focused and uh.
Keep your mind on the keep your mind on the prize right.
Yeah um, so to start us off, we always kind of like rewind a little bit.
Take us back to the beating.
Tell us a little bit about your childhood, where you grew up and how you grew up and how you just became destiny uh.
It’S crazy kind of beginning um.
Well, first of all, I’m from Baltimore City from Park Heights area um, oh yeah, yeah.
I was born in whitelock, though, but um yeah it was just like I was just outside.
I was running around this my brother right here.
I was running around with with my older Bros um, my friends, everybody I was outside with the boys, though, so it’s like we were just in the rough stuff like just just doing whatever I was even out there playing football with them.
They showed me.
I throw football and I think um so boxing was just around boxing – was natural for me.
Um everybody in my neighborhood would just put gloves on and go outside and box.
Not you know it wasn’t like Technical and all that, but everybody would just do it.
So it wasn’t like something I wasn’t accustomed to and then I had a temper on top of that everything else.
I had a bad temper.
I was I’m still to this day.
I’M cool as a fan, but like we’re gon na be mad.
Yeah so sounds familiar.
Yeah yeah right so um, that’s where it started off.
I had a template, so I would fight easy and my mom.
I got my mom right here on the camera but um okay, I got my mom and my dad were just trying to figure out stuff.
He didn’t live with me, though so he’ll just get reports, she’ll call them up.
Tell them on me all the time and um he’ll try to figure something.
Yeah got ta tell Dad yeah.
She called him one time and has my toys and things confiscated.
I’M just like man, my dad was an over-the-road truck driver, so he was only home on the weekends so yeah that was like yeah coach bus driver, though so I guess it’s some of the he used to drive me everywhere, Yeah! Well, yeah.
I know, though, when Mom calls dad, oh man, because he the one that come with everything he the one that don’t play like.
I was Daddy’s girl for real, so he uh yeah when she get on the phone with him.
I just be like I got ta.
I got ta tell out or something, but it was something I couldn’t even stop.
I couldn’t even control about myself.
Just I just get mad, though people I don’t know how or why but they’ll take me there.
I was fighting when I was little.
I was just fighting, though I don’t know, and at school it went to school two and everything, because we had like situations where I would just.
I would just be in situations from home and I would take it to school and be mad and not care about what they were telling me telling me.
I would get suspended and I’m like go ahead.
Send me home, I don’t care hey, but I obviously I got out of that type of stuff, but um.
That’S when I guess somebody suggested boxing.
It was somebody at my high school that suggested boxing.
They was like.
Why are you in the Box? You don’t box or nothing like that wrestling or something I’m like.
No, so they tried real hard to get me on the wrestling team, but I wasn’t feeling it.
I didn’t really want to do it.
I wanted to fight.
Like I said in my growing up, we was throwing hands, so I didn’t really want to wrestle and um uh.
Would it the year after high school? That’S when I started actually boxing and um found a trainer and stuff it’s more tough.
It’S way more tough, but I’m not gon na go too far.
Until I got, I fell in love with the sport.
Before I started, though got you got you yeah, I mean similar kind of similar backgrounds.
I have two older brothers so and I was the only girl, youngest um, so yeah I was always just trying to do whatever they were doing, but you didn’t play any sports, though in school, though right nope, which is very surprising to me that you’re not athletic.
All around that’s what I’m saying everybody would say that I’ll be outside um and I mean you did stuff, but you just didn’t like compete in it yeah I didn’t know how to play basketball um.
No, I never was.
I never played Sports got you got.
You know uh, so you did.
Obviously you said you did a lot of fighting.
I think I only got into a handful of fights in school and they were always with boys, because the girls just didn’t mess with me.
I didn’t have no problem.
Yeah the same situation, it was always some boy yeah.
I think that two or three times I got in flights to high school, they were always boys um, but I kind of got lucky because I was the girl they got in trouble and I didn’t so.
It kind of worked yeah something’s gon na happen depends the girls didn’t um.
I didn’t never really have girls mess with me, though I I don’t know they wanted to try to jump on me.
Try to jump you yeah.
I want every fight.
That was one on one until somebody just didn’t like it or something cousin just got to help me more.
Somebody just got ta help me, but I get on them too.
That’S what they do nowadays.
I know my dog, my oldest daughter, is 19.
yeah.
The couple times she almost got in fights they was like a mob of them like trying to jump her.
I showed up at one of them.
I said: oh no, we’re not doing this today.
We’Re gon na do a fair and square or we’re not gon na.
Do it at all well I’ll, be here to uh commentate um yeah? They don’t want to play fair anymore, that’s for darn sure um! So, like you said, you did become pretty interested in boxing at like the age of 17, from what I have researched and found out, but you started training seriously like seriously training at age 19.
Um.
What made you just! You said just people at school talking about boxing is kind of we’re in streets.
You know street fighting or whatever kind of LED you to the gym, yeah that, and I guess my dad telling me to figure out what I want to do with myself to stay out of trouble yeah.
Something to keep you out, keep you out of trouble yeah.
I don’t know how I really just came across this well, I figured since she liked to fight a lot and she had a lot of energy bottled up energy.
She I figured she had to figure out some kind of way to let it out.
So I was one of the people that encouraged her.
Well, then, why don’t you box or something you know, Let it go that way.
Yeah that way, you can let it out and you don’t get in trouble right.
That’S the point there you go, you can beat him up legally and then go home.
You know, yeah somebody want to fight we’ll say meet me meet me at the gym right I got ta.
I got a song like that.
That says pretty much something like that.
I used to rap too and just all kind of um.
I used to make all kinds of songs and nonsense like that, while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with myself, that’s, what’s up, that’s! What’S up um, so I know there was there’s two gyms locally.
Where did you start out at what gym? Did you start at there’s a lot of Zoom too? We um, I started it Loch Raven boxing I still uh.
He was now Uma.
Oh well see yeah.
I was down Umar at first, but I don’t really count that as my stuck because like coach, Marvin and Adam coach D, like they’ll just be like, I was cool with all them.
This Umar is our other, like Jim, that’s in the city, so uh.
What is it I know everybody up there? They, they kind of, I feel like they could have said they started me, but I didn’t actually learn nothing.
I just was hanging out there because that’s why I told you like before I turned 19.
I was actually just around and out at the gym yeah exactly.
I might not hit the speed bag up there and everything, but Loch Raven as well uh.
The first time I sparred the first time everything okay got you um, because I know like back in my day a lot of the gyms didn’t welcome females.
They didn’t want the females around, they didn’t want them training.
They didn’t want to coach them, they didn’t take them seriously.
Um has that changed at all, or did you still experience those issues? No.
I definitely went through that at my um, my first gym.
They didn’t treat me like that at umado, but first gym they uh.
They just said, save my money, you know I’m not gon na, take it and then you have people in there supposed to be trainers and all this different stuff wanting to date, and all that like I don’t I don’t know, showing up to be professional, so yeah.
I just had to focus, I just had to stay focused tunnel vision, no other nonsense and yeah, but I’ve seen it a lot, not just at that gym too just coming up.
I’Ve seen it a lot with other females and with myself with yeah it’s different.
I know it was yeah, I mean I didn’t experience a ton of those issues I mean I, the only thing that I really experienced was the the one main coach that I was with for the long for before I my husband took over, and I just was With me and him – and we just did it ourselves, because there was just issues but um.
The only thing I really noticed was that they always writers that were competing too, so they did most of their time, went to them and I just got the leftovers.
That was like my biggest issues, a lot of the times at different gyms um.
I never really experienced anyone being like.
No, I don’t want you here, get out um and then they always went like balls to the wall, because they don’t want to get embarrassed by a female.
What right difference um it was.
I had it went both ways with me.
Like half the guys, they’ll be like all right.
I’M not gon na spoil her she’s a female, and I would feel disrespected so it would be crazy, like I would, I would have to overdo whatever I was already gon na do so that I could really make a statement and show you.
People like they’ll just dismiss me like I’m, not even worth the work right right, but the other guys who who actually did turn up and stuff like that.
I love them to this day, like I’m, I’m still cool with all the people that I first came in the land and was around with inspiring with because, like they didn’t treat me different, they actually wanted me to learn so I respected it yeah I know um.
I I think my worst, I I still to this day say my worst: fights were in the gym sparring with the guy, with some of the guys, because, like yours I mean I had my nose broke, I would break there like.
We both will break each other’s.
No, I mean it was like war and when I went the first very first gym I started at was like a pure Mexican gym like hardcore, and you know how they train.
I mean they just trained Parts like no stop.
It took me a while to get my stamina up in there to be able to hang with them, because I would get tired, but uh.
We had some Wars in there.
That’S for sure.
I always said those were my toughest fights was sparring at the gym with some of those Mexican guys because man they can keep going all day.
Thank you forever.
That is crazy.
I literally say this all the time to people that um that all the spa was was pretty much harder than all my fights yeah, even in the pros.
That’S the crazy thing, like yeah all the time that I’ve had it’s harder, sometimes huh, especially as far with any females.
Exactly if you got no females in the area, they got some top amateur males or some some Pro males that uh that’ll get you right.
Yeah, mostly spoiled with men anyway, the girls were scared to spawn with you now all of them was scared.
It’S just like um a lot of them.
I guess the ones in our area.
We went in the right locations or something like that, but I did spot a lot of meals yeah.
Well I mean that’s typical and that’s across the board.
I think for most women I mean unless you’re in a a huge gym.
That’S got a lot of female and male competitive Fighters.
You’Re, really not going to get a lot of female sparring unless you’re, just in that type type of gym area like New York or somewhere.
Where there’s a lot of female Fighters yeah, I didn’t have, I think, actually I don’t know that I had any females my size at all.
There was only a handful of girls there and they were all smaller or way bigger and the smaller ones.
I couldn’t spar with because I was too powerful for the small ones.
I just borrow some of the bigger ones, but um there was a few.
There was a few decent ones um, but yeah I mean it’s, it’s Hit or Miss.
If you get them really right, mostly guys so then um you did start competing in the amateurs um and you controversially lost your first fight.
I don’t think it affected you at all.
They stole that.
I’M sorry I had to be honest.
They stole that.
It’S only because she’s just starting out and she they didn’t know who she was yet, but they stole that yeah because she knocked that girl down – and I don’t understand to this day how you gon na, get knocked down and win the fight.
So I’m not surprised whatsoever when I’ve knocked people down, they call it a slip because you’re fighting at home or whatever yeah or they’re the name.
I was always the uh.
I was always the B side.
I was always the opponent traveling to wherever fighting whoever the top fighters were so yeah.
I know how that goes.
I know how that goes been there: okay, yeah.
Maybe they definitely would be cheating um, because I go to a lot of fights too now that I’m a pro uh, I go to a lot of fights, sometimes with like Fighters, because I’m a trainer too, where they be on b side, and I just see all The games that they’ll be playing like they’re literally have the person have to handle me unwrapped and they’ll.
Have the right person run out, run out of the room and leave them just sitting there and then the next thing you know they called him up in the ring like they can’t even warm up.
I guess that is yeah lots of lots of different sizes.
Boxing people just don’t know but um.
You know we talk about it here, but, regardless of that, it didn’t affect you at all, didn’t affect your career at all and after that, in the amateurs you went, 15 straight victories uh winning the Golden Glove three times three times again, um to win the first Golden Globes, the first one was with my first trainer right before he.
Well, no that’s what right before he passed away.
This was he got sick with cancer and then passed away a little later.
So it meant a lot to me that he actually was there for that yeah, but nothing else.
I’M like dang um, my whole team was that actually I was the only one that actually won, though, so it felt really good.
I’M like all right.
I guess this is where I belong.
Um that that loss didn’t do nothing really.
It made me go harder in the sport, yeah yeah, that’s very special yeah that you got to experience um and then you had to represent, like somebody had to do it right, so it might as well represent in the gym with the Victory and one of those People that lost they was one of the guys.
That said, they were going to respond to me too.
So I was just like all right.
Okay, he already knew the business he already knew if he lost against a dude.
He I mean [ Music ].
After we spotted a good amount of times he actually saw.
I wasn’t going nowhere, that’s when he actually was like okay, I, like her cool yeah.
I don’t think I’ve ever really had any real problems with anybody from the gym.
I mean sometimes it kind of starts out that way, but usually I mean you guys are everybody at the gym is like really ideally going for the same goals.
So usually you can kind of work it out where you’re cordial at least yeah yeah.
It’S crazy, like every other gym I’ve been around to well.
Actually, I’ve been to all the gyms in our city because my gym uh didn’t have a big boxing ring, so we’ll just move around there with the gym that I I was just at, like literally just now, not um, my first gym but um from what I See all the damage is uh they like, if they’re immature here like I.
I don’t want to say nobody in particular, but a lot of the fighters and the trainers focused on the wrong things.
Like gossiping and stuff.
I like to be focused when I’m in the gym – and I like folks, learning something new.
What are we doing today or what’s the plan to go for this camp or just whatever’s, going on my last gym? They were good for that when you come in there, it’s a family and it’s boxing and that’s just all.
It is yeah period.
Nothing else, yeah straight to the point yeah, so I mean.
Are you looking for you’re still looking for like a home gym now, I’m assuming yeah, it’s uh, it’s a lot going on and stuff.
I might even be relocating, so I’m not 100 sure how I want to do it, but right now it’s like I’m welcome everywhere.
So I just yeah, I’m figuring it out right now, yeah I mean right now at this point in your career I mean there’s, I’m sure, there’s tons of trainers all over.
That would be happy to work with you and that don’t have those issues um.
It’S just a matter of deciding where you want to go.
There’S gyms everywhere, yeah, it’s messed up too, because um, I don’t even just look at the gym, it’s just just all business.
So I’ve really got to know that you’re.
For me, if I bring you on some part of my team yeah, absolutely yeah yeah you’ll definitely want to do like some trial and error there, because you got to get to know them.
You got to get to know if you can trust them.
If they’re really.
Looking out for your best interest, um, that which is exactly why like for me um, I started out at the Jesse Torres gym, uh, I’m from Illinois.
Originally I live in Tennessee now, but um.
So I fought out of Chicago um.
The first gym I started out.
He was good, but he only did amateurs he didn’t do Pros.
So once I decided to turn pro um, I went to Windy City Gym.
I don’t know signal less enough.
He was all over the place.
Oh I got you back.
I got you back so from there um I went to Woody City Gym, which is a well-known gym.
The original Windy City Gym like when it was like the original one, not the one.
It is now today um – and I worked with him so but after like after my first couple of fights, he was he wanted to take me on a different path like I I felt like.
I wasn’t excelling fast enough for what I wanted to accomplish um.
I already had a kid at the time so like she grew up in the gym.
My youngest um – and I just didn’t – want to do it forever, like I wanted more kids um, so I wanted to go faster than the pace that we were going so after, like I think I had like four fights with him um and there was a couple Like a bunch of fights that were coming in and he was like no like, we don’t want to take that type of fight yet like we’re not up there.
Yet, let’s build your record and I’m like I don’t care about.
I really don’t care about my record.
Like I want to fight the best, that’s like what I’m here for um, so um, we kind of – and it was an hour drive for me to get to the gym – and I was it was to the point where I was doing all the work at home.
With my husband doing, pad work and met, work and and we were doing the whole training – and I would literally just go to the gym for one day a week for sparring, so you know and then you got ta pay a part of your purse.
You know how that goes, you got to pay them a percentage um.
So it was a point where my husband was such a good coach that he got his license his coach’s license and we’re, like you know what we’ll just do it on our own, but there’s downfalls to that, because it was just me and him managing like he Was taking the managing side of it like trying to do the negotiations plus we were training, so I mean it’s give and take really, but it worked out best because I mean I took the fights that I wanted to take like.
I could speak for myself like yep, I’m taking that one, and actually I didn’t turn down any of them.
To be honest with you um after I fought me a St John, the first time it was literally top five Fighters after that, and I fought all of them just because I wanted to fight the best um, but the downfall of that is.
I was traveling like I was always the opponent being brought in so obviously I wasn’t making any money, obviously less than them, because I was the opponent get screwed a lot yeah.
Oh the service messing up again Feliciano.
Are you guys idiots there? You are okay, because in the house, how are you champ um? I interviewed her a few weeks ago.
She says: hey, what’s up, basically so yeah but um, so yeah you just got ta, be careful, though, who who you go with and who you trust, um because really you’re putting your life in their hands at that point, um because they’re making you know so you Got to be able to trust them to make the right decisions for you, but you also want to have somebody that will give you a say: yeah, exactly speak to they’re, not just like not telling you about fights coming in or not telling you about calls coming In like hey, we got ta offer this.
What do you think I mean there will be coaches that won’t even tell you they’ll just be like nope nope.
We don’t want that one and they won’t even say anything yeah you just you got to be careful.
What’S up Angie, how are you champ um? Can you can see the comments over there too? I’M pretty sure um I mean they’re, just saying Hey, but Okay, I’m just telling you they just said: hey, ladies and hello, um, so yeah, that’s my only advice to you.
As far as that goes is just.
Do your research on the coaches? Do your research on who they’re training talk to some of the girl if they’re fight, if they’re training, girls talk to the girls, ask them how their experiences um, if they’re true to females and not just males um, if they’re gon na look out for your best Interest and lead you on the right path for your career and if and at the pace, you want to lead it um, which is kind of why? Because I had title fight offers coming in and they you know he didn’t want to take that path yet, which had I not taken that path and stayed with him.
I probably would have had undefeated record probably would have, because he I would, I would have played it safe at that point.
I didn’t want that reputation.
I didn’t want a paper.
I didn’t want a paper record, we’ll just put it that way: um yeah, so he probably he probably said that one way but y’all got to be in a meeting in the middle somewhere.
That’S the biggest thing! That’S the problem, like I mean, or just work with different people, y’all y’all got.
You got ta, have in mind the mental stuff aligned before everything else.
I could do the pads all day.
I could do all this other stuff all day, but if y’all don’t agree when it come down to certain stuff, whether you got a manager or not, if you him and the manager don’t agree or you and him just on the river him and the manager agree.
So they make a decision on your behalf.
It just go wrong.
It just go bad yeah and um definitely make sure.
If you do sign with anybody, you read the fine print and you read absolutely everything in it.
Have a lawyer look it over yeah, I mean I’m just telling you from experience.
Uh, make sure you read everything and you make a lawyer read it with a fine-tooth comb to make sure they’re not screwing you, because it happens every day, male and female.
That’S across the board, that’s just not comes in says.
Females have to be careful who really wants the best for your career.
Some coaches only want the money some wants what’s best for you.
I totally agree 100, 100 um.
So back to the gloves, though, how many times did you have to fight in the gloves um for the before you got to the championship uh two times and the second one and the third one and the first one one time because I was still.
I was still order novice on the first one.
Okay, I got you got you I’m just like, because I fought at the Chicago Golden Gloves and then the Nationals before I turn pro um and I think the most times I had to fight was three yeah three.
I don’t really a bunch of women all.
I know they told me what it was.
I came back for the second one after the first after my second Golden Globe, the second fight I came back and they just said that one got you yeah yeah, I mean, and sometimes the sometimes there’s a lot of Fighters and sometimes there’s not so I mean It is what it is.
I know for me personally after my last Nationals um, I went in at the featherweight division.
We waited till the end to sign up, because my coach knew like there was a lot of people that didn’t want to fight me.
So he’s like we’re gon na wait till the last day to sign you up so and then the next day everybody had either moved up in weight or down in way to weight class yeah, because I didn’t have nobody to fight.
No, no.
I was like alrighty then well, if this is how it’s going to be, we might as well go pro so that was like my turning point in me.
Deciding it was time to go pro um.
What made you decide? It was time to go ahead and go pro.
That is sad.
What you just told me, but it’s the truth, I’m not even lying I’m serious literally.
We went to the last day to sign up and we’re going to hit 125.
and it was full.
There was like 10 girls fighting yeah, literally the next day, when it was day to fight.
They either moved up to one 138 or down to like what was it 119 or something.
So I had one by walk over my very last one.
So I’m like yeah we’re done it’s time to go pro like I’m, not doing this, no more yeah, I’m not gon na go through all this training and then not fight like no right.
We’Ve been through that so many times.
Oh, my goodness.
So what was um? What was your turning point in deciding to turn pro? Was it just lack of competition, or you just felt like it was time my team felt like it was time? Everybody said that I just already had a pro style and the same thing was going on like I couldn’t I had a job already.
I had a um, a warehouse job and I already had two kids when I started boxing so um.
It was like.
I can’t just take off and go to all these tournaments real fast and go to this and go to that and whatever, like, I had to work around my life schedule.
Even though I was wanting boxing to be the center of my life, but I had other stuff, I had responsibility to already a lot of people.
Don’T have that start now so well, I did yeah, so it was like all right.
I’M gon na fight every couple of months, so fight every whenever they could get me a fight and keep working working and doing this and that and then the fight pull out that as an amateur.
That’S a lot of wasted.
Time still like I mean a lot of hard work, yeah to not go pro and nothing uh, so it was.
It came to a point that I was just like all right, it’s time for me to start actually chasing this dream of getting this world title and that’s just what it was.
I started late, so I um I just just wanted to play catch up and I had a lot of problems with like trainers.
I guess you want to say and people along the way.
So I I don’t know by the time I got with my John Doe.
My gym and I was just wet that it was just uh the right time, the right gym and, and that’s what they just told me.
I was gon na turn.
Bro um makes sense, um my guy Michael Oher.
He has um, he does lots of shows on talking fights, so he has lots of podcasts on here as well.
He says um, we said hey to me and he said what’s up lady Tyson, what’s up return Pro in 2019 and you fought two times that year before a what I would assume was a three-year layoff.
Um was the layoff due to like covet, or was it problems in the gym right? It was not just that it was just too much all at one time.
It was mainly management, though, like we could not get our heads together like I was explaining me and my managers new managers, I wanted to bring on and other people other advisors.
Just it was a mess.
It was it’s been a mess for like four years or maybe even longer than that um.
It was just a mess and it just only recently cleared up.
So I can fight again, okay, which thus, I would assume is why you’re looking for a new team, I have Partners.
I have Partners um on the business side right now, but as far as my gym, it’s all it was all tied together with my old situation.
Like the management and all that stuff, so I would like that part to be separate nowadays, yeah yeah, a separate manager except like everybody, separate, not all in the same location, oh yeah, yeah.
I feel you um and do keep in mind.
You do not have to have all of the above.
If you get yourself a really really good promoter or a really really good manager, you do not have to have all of them.
I mean it’s nice to have all of them once you’re, making the big money, but you got to remember you got to pay all of them a percentage Yeah so um.
I know like back in my day the the most I ever made for for that freaking belt, that everybody wants up there in that corner in Mexico was four thousand dollars more great and the guys make 40 50 million for that belt.
I was just telling my brother, like how um I I feel, as though even in my lifetime, it’s going to be a lot better.
Now, like for the girls, that’s coming up behind me, it’s gon na be real good, yeah yeah.
I mean it’s come a long way from when you know 10 years ago, when I retired it’s come a long way but um.
You know I mean whatever but yeah um, but I’m just saying you don’t have to have until you get up there.
You don’t have to have a manager, a promoter, a trainer of you know a meal.
Prep person like you don’t have to have.
All of that.
Give it time, like you, know, build it as you as you go, and I know a lot of people that I never did because, like I said it was just me and my husband but um.
I had a lot of managers want to work with me, but I shouldn’t feel like it was worth paying them.
I didn’t make enough money, so I’m like I’m trying to keep what I had.
It was just like I’m not making anything most of the time.
I wasn’t even making money anyway by the time you go to the fight and you’re off work because I worked for you know.
I work full time so by the time yeah go to the fight and you’re off work.
You really didn’t make anything, because you just used that money to put back what you didn’t make paycheck exactly.
I know exactly what you’re saying yeah so that was happening in the images like if I was take off and go somewhere like yeah there’s a lot, especially for women.
It’S a lot.
It’S a lot.
Um nydia says it’s a lot of hard work and not having a fight and oh and not having a fight in the amateurs.
That’S annoying yeah.
I know right, I’m telling you it sucked it’s why I went pro um.
They brought one girl to a show and had a a whole second person there, just in case they pulled out because it was a big show for me yeah that well, that’s a good idea.
To be honest, that’s really a good idea.
They should do that.
All the time I was gon na be mad.
If that one didn’t happen, the girl ended up fighting up.
So it worked out all right, yeah, um, Lydia Feliciano.
She comes back and that’s why I’m back it’s more recognition for the girls now and more money.
Yeah! That’S why I want to come out of retirement.
I know I’ve thought about it.
A lot a lot the last couple of years, but I just had another baby two he’ll be two in June um man.
So now I got three which Grant granted one of them’s grown up and out of the house she’s 19, but I still have an 11 year old and now a two-year-old and I’m not as young as I once was.
I feel like I’ve done what it would be, a lot of work for me to get back in that kind of shape, and I still don’t have the time or the dedication for it with the baby.
Now, like being an important I’m, you know I’m 41 I’m getting up there, not that I couldn’t do it, but yeah I’ve thought about it a lot.
A lot of people have asked me that, and if I could come back and just automatically go to a big fight, I would 100 do it.
The problem is: I’d have to build myself all the way back up the ranks so you’re.
Talking with like three four fights before you even can maybe get a big name fight to get that big payday, that’s like an ear two and I’m just like.
Then I would be like 43 or 44.
.
I’M, like I don’t know, but yeah now that girls are starting to make the money.
I’Ve definitely been tempted.
I’Ve been tempted.
Yes, I know you size Michael’s hard times in.
I knew he would say something.
You know you still slumped some of these women today.
I could be all her asses Michael call out.
I old school I had to take him to school.
There’S a lot of girls that have come back from from my era.
There’S a lot of girls coming out of retirement.
So I like that, when I see that that makes me feel like I have plenty of time left yeah you got, I know, Michael, you know, you know, you know you, you know we’re on the same page.
You know no and I’ve been tempted just because the girls that have like the Undisputed in my weight and stuff – I’m like that’s Cake, Walk for me.
That would be easy work um.
I didn’t get handy belts back in the day these girls, some of these girls.
Today get handy belts, I’m sorry, I’m probably saying too much.
Mine’S being honest, I mean with no mercy, I’m just telling it like.
It is how I feel the girls in my weight classes, Undisputed man.
What I would have happened with that paycheck.
That’S right! Yeah! You know what I mean, you know what I mean: uh Nidia.
So what’s her background, her nationality just to be just curious, um Destiny’s out there swimming Chums too.
Yes, she is Michael.
I know with four Knockouts out of seven um.
Then he wants to know what your background like, what your net, what your nationality is, had me tongue-tied.
What’S this I’m just black from here from uh, I don’t really know I’m just just African-American yeah! That’S what I assumed she Nidia is um Lydia, correct me.
If I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure you are mixed, you are uh she’s Puerto Rican.
I just interviewed her a few weeks ago, uh Puerto Rican and nydia.
You had to tell me in the comments, because I can’t remember, but it’s Puerto Rican and Guatemalan.
No tell me in the comments I can’t remember: that’s probably why she asked um but anyways.
Well, listen our family too! Well, my mom’s saying we have mixed wrenches, but I don’t know yeah Dominican, that’s it Dominican, Dominican, she’s, Puerto Rican and Dominican.
We no family is Cherokee, Indian, uh, European and also African people, saying because I would tell that answer either.
I don’t know yeah.
I know I’m German and Italian, I believe German and no German and something else.
Oh okay, Destiny from Charm City, we’ll see from charms.
Yes, because I saw a Colombian flag on her Instagram – oh oh! No! I just like them.
I mess with them out there.
So um yeah, I’m gon na put a flag up very country.
Okay, there you go that’s! What’S up.
I should do that.
That’S that’s cool! I like that um.
I should add that, to like my background back here um, he said: that’s that’s her background Destiny’s from Charm City.
That’S what that’s! What Michael Orr says, um all right back to it back to it.
So after the layoff, though uh the three year layoff, you did come back extra strong.
You fought once in November three times in December of 2022 um did you? Was that hard for you to fight four times back to back in a month, or was that like easy work? No, actually I thought um was it.
I put three times in December and then February, so it was three times back to back uh.
I had a fight scheduled in November, but that was another one of those situations where you don’t know what happened in the fights just don’t come through yourself um.
After that I was just like I um started working with new people and letting things fall into place.
Like that – and I was like I’m not taking my foot off the gas uh – I had another date offered to me for February and I didn’t know what was the I didn’t know what exactly the day it was gon na fall on, but so at that point I’M just like you know, I don’t even care like uh, because I know I always celebrate my birthday with Valentine’s Day, because my birthday today after Valentine’s Day, so I always possibly trying to take off or go somewhere up but, like I know, 21, 22, 23 and All that I was in the gym on my birthday, so um I was like dang.
This fight could possibly fall on my birthday, but I was just like what I don’t even care after December um.
I said just just just.
Let me get the February fight dude and um.
It landed right directly on my birthday, wow, so um, just just fighting back to back felt good in general, but I’m serious about staying in the ring.
I don’t care what’s going on or I’m not letting outside things keep me out of the ring either right, yeah yeah exactly well and the fact, the more experience you get, the more fights you get under your belt, the faster you can get to your goal.
Exactly ideally, what everybody’s looking for is to get to their goal, and it not take three four years: that’s initially like the big, the big thing um, but so far in 2023, you’ve had two fights winning both by knockout um.
I did ask you before so I already know the answer, but can you tell everybody uh if you have any upcoming fights scheduled? I have a fight coming up uh next month, but I won’t.
I don’t have my phone in front of me to get the date and all that, but no biggie yeah I’ll definitely be back in the rain.
Okay, all right, y’all, so um next month make sure you guys tune in um because I said so watch her watch.
Her fight um so tell I know you said you’ve kind of worked with a bunch of different trainers.
Did you have? Obviously I’m assuming the one that passed? Was your favorite trainer that you ever worked with so far? I want to say it was my favorite.
It was like uh the best one baby.
He was a father figure, so, okay yeah, I have.
I had a lot of respect for him, but uh.
My last trainer is the one I was with mainly my my whole amateur career, so I got to give him his props.
Okay, all right, um and I do know from uh doing my reading and research.
You did which one I’m not sure which one it was because I didn’t write it down, but you did work with Tank’s first trainer.
That was my last train.
That was your last trainer, okay, um and you guys have had a falling out now.
Obviously, but you guys did have a good connection at the time yeah.
He was uh he’s at my wedding and all this different kind of stuff um.
I don’t even want to get into that too much.
Just you don’t have to you, don’t have to um, but I do know it’s hard to find coaches, that you get that click with um.
So I mean, since you’ve experienced you kind of know what to look for, which is a good thing.
Yeah, I’m now now I’m going into my next chapter of my career on a different wave like At first back then when I first turned the program right there.
I was kind of more thinking like uh kind of like a kid still a little bit back then like I was just completely like not knowing what was really going on.
I didn’t know too much about the business yeah I didn’t know.
I had even options for certain stuff like it was a lot going on.
Yeah you’ll learn every every day.
I’M not I’m not got nothing like messed me up.
Now, though, what’s up James uh, they maybe you know them.
They said kneel the deal here great show.
I appreciate you thank you for saying that maybe they came from your page or else they’re new here.
Thank you for joining either way.
I appreciate you um, so I know.
Obviously everybody knows we talked about it before we talked about tanks.
Um is from the same area as you have you had the pleasure of training or meeting with tank at all? Well, I’ve been around them a few times.
Uh just out at fights he’s always at uh little shows what it used to be.
You know, I don’t think it came out as much now, but I I’ve seen them and spoke a good amount of time to be from the same area.
We write up on every gym everywhere in the same circles: yeah we’re in the same circles, but we’ve never been in the same camp.
Actually gotcha got you um, I don’t know he seems pretty down to earth and pretty cool to me.
Oh you know.
Sometimes they put on a show like, so you never really know unless you actually meet them yeah.
When I first, I think the first time I actually was introduced, though this was um like around.
I don’t even remember what year it was.
It was probably like five years ago, though he had uh.
He had just got those teeth, whatever those veneers, because I remember my coach walked up and he was like um he’s like what you got, your teeth done or something like that.
He just smiled.
So all them white yeah, nice, nice um.
So we talked about it beforehand a little bit, but we got to talk about the tank, Garcia fight, um.
It went exactly how I predicted and told everybody that it would go not past eight tank by knockout um yeah.
It was a good fight while it lasted, it was entertaining, but I just clearly knew that Brian wasn’t gon na last.
The whole 12 rounds yeah I had to look around, but I definitely knew only thing that shot me was that I thought that uh he possibly would have did a little better than rolling yeah.
I um I actually expected a little bit more action for the short.
I knew it wasn’t going to go long um, but, like we talked about the build up of it, all I felt like Garcia was like literally gon na, like give it everything he like had, which maybe he did.
I don’t know I feel like he could have gave a little bit more and he started off a little bit quicker, but that was a mistake he got when he got hit.
It was like he never been hit like that before in his life he’s been dry before yeah.
I didn’t believe what he said when he said that Campbell hit him harder because yeah don’t say that Campbell didn’t make him quit honestly.
No, no, he didn’t um and you yeah.
You knew that kidney shot was perfectly, I mean they showed it on the replay.
Look at that it was like a perfectly timed.
It was snuck right in there.
The delayed reaction, like a lot of people, were saying.
Oh well how it works, Delayed Reaction, uh.
If you knew anything about it in the body, then you’ll know you know, that’s what happens.
It’S not instantaneously.
It takes one or two seconds before it hits you and takes the wind out of you.
It’S like getting the wind knocked out of you.
It’S the same thing: it’s not instant like as soon as it hits um, because I know a lot of people were like oh yeah, but it it took them like two three seconds to go down.
Well, that clearly, you’ve never been in the ring and took a body shot because uh that’s how it works um, but yeah um.
I guess entertaining for what it was um.
I just feel like he wasn’t ready, for he wasn’t he’s not on that level.
Yet he’s not there yet um, he definitely needs some more experience.
Yeah um.
Are there any Fighters today, um in your era that you want to call out while you’re on the show my arrow well, who you want? Is there any Fighters you want to call out? I’M not even gon na fight them soon, because I got ta work my way up, but the only people I care about is the champion yeah.
I feel you, I feel you yeah.
You got ta you’re you’re, getting there you’re getting there.
Uh you’re not too far off from there.
You got seven under your boat, not too far off um.
Who are you looking forward to most um fighting? I mean the Champs out of the Champs now like who is that one fight you’re like yeah? That’S that’s that one excites me like.
I want some for some reason.
I wanted to fight Katie Taylor for a while now, but so since she’s about to fight Cameron, it just it’s even better yeah um, but I don’t know who’s gon na win that fight.
But that was a fight that I just always uh like I like that fight yeah, yeah yeah, I yeah.
That would be that would be an interesting fight and um yeah Katie Taylor, Katie Taylor’s uh phenomenal phenomenal fighter.
I don’t, I still don’t know to this day.
What happened with Serrano yeah, I like that fight, you know since you’re like in the now of it all like they just said she got an injury, but yet I’ve seen her at different PR events and um things and she looks fine.
Have you heard like or read anywhere like what the injury was or like what I didn’t hear anything I don’t know I actually.
I should have been looking into some type of update, because I was looking forward to that yeah I mean I.
I was looking forward like to watching that and then all of a sudden it actually was my husband was like yeah.
I just saw an article that someone else got an injury and they’re replacing her with the camera fight and I’m like really like what was the injury and I, to this day I’ve still looked.
I didn’t get to see any like public statement or anything from her team or Camp of what’s wrong or how long she’s out for or nothing kind of boggles me I’m like a little that way.
Something, on my mind too, like what, when is the rescheduled date or something yeah like? Are they still gon na, do it or when or how long is she like? How long is she off? What did she hurt like I? I would really like to know if anybody out there knows.
Please tell me in the comments, because I have yet to find anything on.
Why why the fight didn’t happen, I mean I know it’s that injury, but what injury? And how long are we talking she’s out for it permanently or what, because I haven’t heard anything um, but I have seen her at um events, pictures of her at events and stuff – and I don’t know so, I’m just curious if you guys find out.
Let me know, because I would love to know, send me a message if you find it send me the Articles, because I haven’t been able to find them and I’m pretty uh, I’m pretty good detective.
I kind of forgot about it.
I’M glad you brought that up.
Man, I need to yeah.
If you want to find it.
Let me know, send me it if you send me the info, if you figure it out, because I’m really eager to find out what’s wrong um so who, when in your upbringing or now that you’re involved in women’s boxing and all of that who would you consider Your female role models or Idols or people you looked up to in a sport from the past.
It had to be correct, Titus, past Fighters like Fighters before your era, oh okay, um or Role Models or people that you were inspired by all day.
Animals um her style.
Everything about her just remind me of myself, so yeah the way they train the old school stuff.
That’S how my gym just was.
We was like uh, it’s like a boot camp almost with boxing, but like the way she fight.
That’S how I want to fight when I’m like, actually complete or whatever, when I’m yeah yeah put it all together.
Yeah, um and we’ll 100 was definitely um, one of mine as well.
She definitely old school like like Rocky type like old school old school, like like the Rocky movies like I just always say that, because people are like well like what do you mean I’m like well, did you watch Rocky like like that? Okay, old school yeah, I will go down there and chop some wood put some some cars, whatever whatever she’s getting into that’s.
What we’re gon na do.
Yeah yeah she um I’m still working on getting her on the show, but um yeah.
I don’t know if she 100 percent.
I know she was training people I don’t know.
I think she just.
I think she just said something about starting to train people again, because yeah I knew she had took a break.
I know she’s got a like a food business like a food truck and stuff that they do now and some other stuff, but yeah.
She was a a fantastic trainer too really good, guys and stuff, like yeah she’s, a phenomenal trainer as well.
She knows she’s, like so [ __ ], like she’s hardcore.
I I talked to I talked to Kirkland about her.
He was telling me like you’re, not even come up there, you’re, not ready to throw up type stuff or something yeah, I’m ready, yeah yeah, I mean if you’re, if you think about training with hand, you got you better, you better have your big girl, britches on And be ready, yeah she’s, our core she’s hardcore, but no no! This is this was a little while ago, though, that’s what I was looking for.
That’S what I wanted bad like.
I had that at my gym, but it’s like she’s a female too.
So I know that she understands certain stuff too yeah.
I think that would be great yeah um.
Yes, I always wanted um.
I always would have loved to have worked with like a a retired female fighter like during my time.
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