AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
Join host Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff-Millbrook on this episode of No Punches Pulled With No Mercy on July 11th 2023 @ 8:30pm EST as she sits down for a captivating live interview with retired WIBA America’s Lightweight Champion and Illinois Boxing Hall of Famer, Rita “La Guera” Figueroa. Discover the inspiring journey of this remarkable boxer who won the Chicago Golden Gloves multiple times during her amateur career from 2001 to 2004. Trained by the legendary Sam Colonna at the original Windy City Gym, Rita’s boxing career was cut short after a fateful bout that nearly cost her life. Uncover the heart-stopping details of the fight, where an accidental headbutt led to a brain injury, forcing Rita to make the courageous decision to retire. Since hanging up her gloves, she has continued to make an impact in the boxing world as a certified trainer, working alongside Sam Colonna and mentoring future fighters. Don’t miss this unforgettable episode as we delve into Rita Figueroa’s resilience, triumphs, and her enduring love for the sport. Subscribe now and be part of the conversation!
Transcribed
[, Music, ], foreign, [, Music, ], hey, hey everybody! What’S going on, it’s your girl, no mercy here, it’s Tuesday night! So you already know what time it is.
It’S time for no punches pulled with me, no mercy.
Some of you probably already know who I am, but those of you that are new and don’t my name is Brooke Millbrook.
I am your host, Formerly Known in the fight business as Brooke no mercy deardorff.
I am a retired professional boxer held the WBC lightweight title until I retired and I was inducted into the international women’s Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022.
I’Ve been through some good, some bad and, of course, everybody knows a lot of BS in the sport of women’s boxing.
You guys know how it is 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, we talked to pioneers of the sport past boxers current boxers and even future boxers.
We will be getting down and dirty speaking, the truth of what takes place behind the scenes in women’s boxing.
You don’t want to miss a single show, so please, please make sure you like subscribe and you’re sharing every episode.
So you don’t miss a Tuesday night with me here, every Tuesday.
Why would you want to miss that? What’S up women’s Boxing Channel, I see you in the house appreciate you, but today y’all we have a very, very special guest in the house.
A personal personal friend of mine, um, retired wiba, America’s lightweight champion Illinois, Boxing Hall of Famer, Rita laguera Figueroa Rita, was a stable mate of mine.
She’S been there since the very very beginning of my career, y’all, all the way back to the amateurs.
She has been a great mentor, training, partner, sparring partner and friend of mine Rito on the Chicago Golden Gloves from 2001 to 2000.
Before for before, before deciding to turn pro, she was trained by the legendary Sam Colona at the original Windy City Gym in Chicago, which is where we met and trained together as early as my amateur days, all the way through my pro career, her boxing career was, Though, unfortunately, cut short after a fateful bout that nearly cost her life, when an accidental headbutt led to a brain injury, forcing her to make the courageous decision to retire from the sport she loved boxing.
But since hanging up the gloves, she did continue to be very.
Very active doing training certified trainer working alongside Sam Kelowna mentoring, many many many future Fighters.
Please help me welcome my friend, Rita Figueroa, to the show.
What’S up champ, how are you it’s been a minute, it’s so good to talk to you as well been a while.
It’S been a minute, I mean I keep up with you on social media.
I’M super super excited to see you so happy.
Thank you because I really seen you like glow and it makes every time I see a post.
It just makes me smile, because I appreciate that it’s just great to see you so happy well before we’re over you.
I can bring Danny over here he’s sitting right here anyway, so you can absolutely yeah yeah.
I definitely before I mean before we’re done or whenever yeah I definitely want to say hi to the man that made you so happy, because I he’s definitely changed your life for sure.
Yes, yep um, but again thanks for joining me on the show um you keep up with it.
I’M sure see the posts and stuff, but your story to me is very special um and I think that it can help so many future future boxers, um and and you’ve just LED you’ve left a great imprint on the world of boxing.
I’M glad you know.
Well, you know how it is.
You know, as you work hard and, and you know the people that respect you great, the people that don’t well, they don’t really matter much anyway, so yeah keep it moving yep! That’S how that’s, how we do it over here um but yeah.
So to start us off, though um for those watching that, maybe don’t know who you are or how you started.
Take us back to a little bit early days.
Tell us how your your childhood and how you became involved in boxing.
You know what I’ve always loved boxing.
I used to watch it with my dad all the time when I was younger um.
You know we would have two chairs like between the kitchen and the front room, so once you have boxing on and one TV would have hockey on so we both sit there and kind of watch both the TVs.
You know yeah, so I’ve always been interested in boxing you didn’t have to like flip back and forth between the channels.
You could just have two TV one on each TV.
It was great that’s when boxing was free yeah, that’s the way to do it.
You know that pay-per-view you could watch it on like CBS or whatever yeah.
So so we would watch Boxing all the time and – and I never really thought about it, then I joined a martial arts, school dougburg academy on the North side in the city and um.
One of the people I trained with at the time ask her said: hey, do you want to do like an in-house tournament, and I was like oh okay, so I did and I kind of liked it and that’s when Oscar actually took me to the original Windy City Gym, there’s nothing like the original yep yep, so yeah I mean you know how I was walking up.
Those scares of the stairs you’re in your pants because you knew it was gon na be brutal.
I could still remember the very first time that I went to Windy City gym and I was like this cannot be the right place because you went up those stairs and I’m like there’s no way.
There’S a gym up here.
The building looks like it’s good like it’s like, because there was Holes in the Floor.
You could hold.
There was Holes in the Floor.
You could see through yeah, so I was like, but then I walked in and I was like and I always tell people you know a real gym by the smell, oh yeah, because I’m not like that anymore.
Well, when there was a sign on the wall.
That said, no spitting on the stairs.
Yes, I tell people all the time.
I said you know.
That’S my.
I consider that, like my home gym, regardless of anywhere that I ever trained, it was the only real boxing gym that I could ever explain to people, and I said if you haven’t been in one: it’s just you can’t really describe it.
You have to really go in and they don’t.
I haven’t been in a gym like that.
Probably since then there just is never any.
No and Egypt are very nice like Sam’s gym.
Is nice there’s other nice kids, it’s a nice gym, but it’s not I’ve been there any City with Windy City.
You know what I mean it wasn’t the Hardcore gym like like the old school gyms.
If you walked up those stairs once or 200 times, you still felt the same yeah yeah.
It was like you just that was boxing yep.
Now it’s like, I feel like every time you walk in a gym, it’s just more cardio.
Why not you knew it when it? It was just it was in a league of his own for sure you know.
For sure I mean I never do a front, but I’m sure it was similar to that or yes also there’s a few of them still out there, just not very many they’re hard to come by yeah um, even here I’ve, yet to find a real gym anywhere.
In the area and there’s boxing in Nashville so they’re, I’m like there has to be a gym, a real gym somewhere, but I’ve yet to find one.
I’Ve been in lots of like they have like the Mayweather gyms here um.
They have titled boxing gyms here, but I’ve yet to find a real gym.
Maybe people just don’t know where they are right right, there’s got to be one somewhere.
I just have not found one yet, but I’ve been to the other ones and they’re I mean they’re gems.
They have the equipment, it’s just not the same feeling, yeah yep and well.
When he said he would like, when you said he wasn’t really around to make money, they were around to make Fighters, they got to make money to sustain themselves exactly exactly um.
Women’S boxing channel is always here week to week.
Um he’s.
Actually, I forget, where Women’s Boxing Channel tell us where you’re from again, because I can’t I know you’re um overseas somewhere, but I don’t remember exactly.
I got ta put my glasses on, so I can figure it out.
Do you train amateurs every day from Monday to Friday, or is it Pros also, do you treat male female both I when I was training, I unfortunately don’t get the opportunity as much anymore um a few years ago I decided to move to Wisconsin.
I was helping my mom on the weekends I was driving back and forth and she needed some more care.
So I moved up here full time um.
So I mean every once in a while I’ll go back and try to pop in the gym.
But I I don’t get the opportunity to train people like you I used to, but when I did train people it’s, I don’t care if you were Pro amateur whatever.
If there’s something you wanted me to help you with it, I there was no.
All my only require requirement was that she worked hard, yeah, foreign Right, male, female amateur Pro didn’t matter: yeah, Derby, England, he’s from Derby, England, nice, yes um, but speaking of um winning the Chicago bone gloves multiple times is definitely an incredible accomplishment.
I know that meant a lot to me, um and all of us in the area um.
But how did those victories shape your boxing career? Well, you know what at the time there was no um.
What is it now? The when you go on the? Oh god? Oh, it’s like the national, like Nationals and no not the Nationals, go to the Olympics like Olympic trials.
No, even when, when you get too old to fight in the gloves, you’ve got the Masters so yeah guys um there wasn’t a master’s efficient back.
Then you know, no so, and I told Sam I’m like well, you know I I kind of enjoy fighting and I don’t want to be done yet he goes well.
You can turn pro and I was like well, let’s do it, you know, and so – and you know Angela Gibson also, you know was a very.
She was with me training, like 90 99 of the time you know sparring with salmon between Sam Angela and Greg was in my corner.
We put together a pretty darn good team for sure yeah for sure I’ve seen this the team that saved my life actually.
So, yes for sure, um and yeah I mean that was a bad thing about it back then we didn’t have any of the opportunities that people have nowadays and even my decision to turn pro was just because I could get no fights right right.
I think I think all the opportunity is great for the women out there now that just you know, don’t want to take that next step.
I think to do the Masters I think is great and I think there’s so many more doing it.
You know, which I think is a wonderful thing.
Yeah I mean and it’s safer, it’s technically safer you’re wearing the headgear, so you don’t have as much at stake, not that it’s not still dangerous, but some people just don’t want to go pro right.
Yeah, that’s cool! You know yeah and I don’t care amateur Pro you step in that ring.
You’Ve got something more than others do, because you know a lot of people can talk a lot of, but they can’t get in there and do it right exactly, and some of them are fine with sparring, and some of them are fine with doing the matches.
As amateurs, because it’s not the same as the pros and some people do it – some people just Spar because and they do better sparring than fighting anyways yeah, you know so it just depends.
Yeah just depends whatever works for everybody um.
I oh, I frequently have talked about um training with Sam Kalona, especially at the winning City, and all that but um, nothing but great memories there, but tell us about your experience.
Training with the renowned Sam Kelowna at the at the gym and um, I like we just talked about there’s nothing like the original gym, just working with Sam, because everybody knows who Sam is well, let’s talk about it before, but everybody has a different look on Sam Sam you know, Sam Sam will make you work, you know, and he put in the time you feel the same.
That’S probably where we got it from you know.
If you’re willing to work, then he’ll work with you, you know yeah.
I remember the first time I went to Windy City to went to Windy City.
I was nervous, as he could tell he was unpacking a box of Title boxing equipment.
He got and he pulled out a shirt and he threw it at me and I still have it somewhere and that was gosh.
How many damn years ago was that, oh God it was a white title, shirt white, title shirt.
That said in blue title, I’m gon na find it I’m gon na, find it and I’m gon na send you a picture of it.
Send me a picture.
I still have that.
I still have all my title.
Shirts yeah, like my Golden Glove shirts, and all that I understand same through that the first day I was at Windy City Sam, threw that shirt at me and I still have it yeah so but and the thing with, and I tell people all the time.
The thing with Sam is he wasn’t your traditional trainer back then that didn’t want to work with females like he didn’t give a if you were male or female as long as you put in the work you give.
Sometimes I think he enjoyed working with us more.
I think so too, you know, because we we felt like we had more to prove.
So we worked our asses off, so we worked way harder than the guys that were at the gym and uh what was even the heavyweight that he used to have.
Was it glassland that used to train when we were there? Okay, see Brooke, you know that’s a long time ago and I’ve been hitting the head quite a bit plus I got a few plates.
I tell people all the time, I’m like I’ve.
Taken too many punches.
I forget stuff I used to remember when he would come in and he’d get so mad because he wasn’t working like he was just being lackadaisical.
I guess it was the word.
I think Sam got mad at a lot of people for doing that.
Yeah, because it’s a waste of time right, I mean there’s one time there I forgot who it was.
There was somebody talking on the phone and Shadow Boxing Sam was like what the yeah the stories we could tell from when you’re saving them.
I’M telling you and there’s some that we probably shouldn’t tell so we probably should keep to ourselves, because Sam might not be too happy.
I’M sure she’s, probably gon na watch this one if he doesn’t watch any of the other ones.
So we probably shouldn’t yeah.
He knows he’ll just laugh, he’ll just laugh um, but this okay, so the same year I turned Pro 2006 is the same year that you won the wiba America’s lightweight title um tell us about that fight how it felt to become a champion.
It was great.
The girl I fought, I swear to God, she was, I just loved her.
She was, she was just she.
She worked her ass off and I really I I think I told Samuel.
I told Angela, I told somebody if she lived here in the States because she’s from Mexico, if she would have lived here in the states, I would have loved to just work with her because she had so much harder.
It was unbelievable yeah.
You know so yeah that was a that was a cool fight yeah, absolutely it was for sure um, but you had several Wars in your career.
Um lots of really really good fights, action-packed fights, who would you considered would have been your toughest opponent, Tammy Johnson.
Really, yes, mutual respect thing.
You know we got in there and people always think that you have to like.
Not like your opponent and that’s such that’s yeah, it’s it’s! So I think, if you fight anger, you fight bad anyways, yeah, absolutely and, as a matter of fact, I think I still have.
I don’t remember if it was the first fight or the second fight, but I think I still have it on tape.
Yeah, your fight with Tess yeah.
She, though, both both fights I was like that, is one tough chick right.
There yeah she was phenomenal yeah.
She was a tough chick, very tough.
I still talked to her on social media too, but yeah.
I still have one of those fights, oh my God.
I have to dig through there and see if I can pull it out, you can watch me get punched again, but those are the kind of fights you’re like yeah man.
Those are the ones you remember because, like how much, how much can you dig? You know how much do you have left in the tank yep yeah before, because we’re not quitting right? Oh, never! No! No! That’S like sparring with Sergio in the gym.
It’S like! Oh, my God, oh my God yeah yeah and then Macho was another one that was in the gym all the time that was, but he worked his ass off too, though, oh, my God, we were at Windy City, one time and Macho said come on.
Let’S go out the door on the on the roof where it was all blacktop.
We were having a jump.
Rope contest – oh my God.
I I remember this like it was yesterday.
I told him next day.
I said I fell out the bed the next morning because I had no legs yeah, it’s like it was.
It was like.
I was like much you’re trying to kill me, but those are both.
Those are the fun memories, though you know, you’re working your asses off.
Whatever in the gym is doing the same thing, you know yeah exactly yeah 100, so true, but yeah you’re, just like those were like the worst days, though, when you woke up and you just couldn’t freaking move yeah yeah.
My legs were just gone from from jump.
Roping with Macho for like 30 minutes, but those are the ones you look back and you laugh.
Oh absolutely.
I look at we’re laughing about it now how many years I know we’re laughing now, because I can just picture I can just like.
I can literally see it like in my mind, uh women’s Boxing Channel says you know, we inadvertently think oh yeah the history, but then we see the living breathing, wonderful people who once fought for a living on Brook’s page and it’s like being in the best documentary Ever ever appreciate it, I appreciate that women’s Boxing Channel – I I’ve, said it time and time again.
The reason I agreed to do the show was because I feel like women’s boxing – has lost it s, respect for past, and that’s why I accepted to do the show um only interviewing female Fighters um.
I feel like the fighters, not all of them, but several fighters of today have forgotten about past Fighters and that they feel like they made boxing on their own because of the Olympics, but without every one of us before that there would be no Olympics.
I think everybody before even everybody before us.
You know everybody later all the way back, yeah one of the bricks you know there’s there are bricks that led to the road and it’s got to be paved somewhere.
Just it just doesn’t happen.
You know absolutely, and I feel, like a lot of the fighters today, have lost that respect for past Fighters, like all going all the way back like they never mentioned past Fighters like I know I always used to mention people in my interviews like I would mention Christy, Martin or I would mention Laila Ali or any of them, because that’s who, like I looked up to and that’s why I boxed or that you know whatever it was always Tish.
You know yes, Tish in Chicago was a huge one, but people I feel like it’s just it’s lost its way and people don’t talk about it at all anymore, like when they ask them.
Who who do you? Who was your? Who do you look up to in women’s boxing and then they say male boxers and I’m like there’s literally thousands of female Fighters? You could say you can’t think of one female that who liked from before, like from the Past, come on now like so that’s why? I did the show and I all those stories are different.
They’Re all unique in all the future Fighters can learn from everybody’s story.
Absolutely you know if they pick up even one little thing or or anything you know so you never know, never know we’d.
Never.
He said we never get to know these Fighters were, if not for people like you.
Well, I appreciate you but read a story is phenomenal.
We’Re not done yet we’re not done yet promoters who run things and they absolutely never mention if they know it all past Fighters.
Oh they know they just don’t mention it.
They know um but um speaking of fighting and hard fights, and all that the last fight that led to your retirement, unfortunately, 2009 was definitely a turning point in your life in your career.
I talked about that before, but I feel like it’s so important for people to know um, because I think people sometimes forget how dangerous the sport is and how dangerous it can be.
Could you walk us through the moments of The Accidental headbutt and then the aftermath? Because I, if I remember right, you remember oh yeah yeah, I mean you, remember it step by step.
What happened? I do you know it was that but and uh, and I knew something was wrong um because I it’s it’s it’s weird to describe, because I felt like when I got hit after that.
It was like my eyes were like uh like a uh like a slot machine like it would just you know they would like just be like holy crap.
So I knew something was wrong, but of course you know you don’t know exactly you’re.
Just gon na keep fighting because you think, oh, I guess clock pretty good or something yeah, I’m just seeing stars or something and then I you know I went in the back and I just started getting sick.
So they knew something was wrong and – and I will say this – and I will say this to every fighter and if they take one piece of advice, please have people in your corner that know you.
They have to know you.
They have to know you’re.
Just you yeah because head – and I – and I I say this all the time had I been an opponent that was brought in yeah that had no corner with them.
I would be dead right now, and that is a hundred percent certainty yeah, because you could have been in the back room by yourself and but yes and everything and and there’s there’s a there’s, a quite a long story.
That goes along with this from the fact that um my corner knew me.
They knew my eyes, they called the ambulance.
I don’t give a what the per what the Illinois commission says: they’re full of they up that night, yeah um they pretty much.
They had the ambulance, come back and get me they didn’t want to.
Let the ambulance leave because there’s a fight going on um and pretty much my corner.
People said, if you don’t, if you don’t move, we’ll kill you yeah, and so the guy stepped to the side, yeah and and one of my corner people Greg called Tamir Tamir is a neurosurgeon.
Tamir was one of my students at daggerberg mayor trained, Dr hanjani, who performed my surgery that night at UIC.
That’S how I got in there as fast as I did, because the right people did the right thing, yeah and even with all those good things that fell into line.
I had about two more minutes left before I was done yeah.
So imagine imagine if your people, if your people don’t know you at all and they think oh yeah, it’s got a headache.
She’Ll be fine, don’t worry about it.
Do whatever you know, yeah we’ll just take her in we’ll take her after to go, get checked out.
So so I will say this: if there’s one thing any fighter gets from this right now is: please make sure the people in your corner have your best interests and, and you trust them with your life, because you may have to yeah absolutely and there’s so many Times I mean if you even if you take a good punch, I know I’ve been hit in the ear and my equilibrium was off.
That was all weird um, but I mean immediately.
We went and got it checked out, and I mean luckily that’s all it was, but but same thing like you said it could have been something else.
It could have been something worse and it had I and being us being the the tough people that we are we’re like.
Oh I’m, stubborn, I’m all right, I’ll, shuck it off yeah.
It hurts.
I don’t feel like, but I’ll be fine, but that you know then they make you go get they force you to go.
Get it checked out those people around you, those people around.
You are so important, absolutely yeah and I was lucky at that fight um.
It was that was actually the fight in Canada and Chris couldn’t go, but my dad another guy.
We knew that was a trainer that knew us right um, but my dad was there.
So I mean I had that’s why when you know sometimes you get asked hey, can you work a corner? Can you work a corner? It’S like.
Sometimes I would say no and not to be an yeah.
I don’t know that fighter.
You know I.
I can’t be responsible if something happens, and I don’t catch it.
You know what I mean yeah, because a lot of times they’re like I’m, fine, I’m fine and you don’t want to push it and I don’t know the person.
I mean I’ve pulled people out of Spar and they got pissed at me before and I’m like.
Well, I don’t care you can get mad.
You know you can spur tomorrow.
If you’re yep, better yep yeah, it’s yeah, you got ta yeah.
You definitely have to listen to your corner and do what they say regardless, how you feel about it or how tough you want to be, or act like you’re, fine, because sometimes you’re not and you just and look at.
We swear.
We’Ve spread when Sam’s pulled us out and we’re like Sam I’m good, no yeah, oh my God, so many times same thing.
I used to get so mad at him.
So if I used to Sam, if he’s watching Sam, I love you to death, but I used to get so pissed when we’d have to spar and you I’m sure felt the same way.
But when we had to spar somebody that we were working with okay, we’re helping – and I have no problem same as you like working with them – teaching them things going light, letting them do their thing, but then, when they take it to that, like extreme level where They’Re, just like teeing off to the point where you’re like okay, I just want to hit him once so they’ll.
Well, that’s what I would do.
I said you know what I’ll look I’ll go as light as you do right.
Damn would be like: okay Brooke, you got ta spar with so and so, but all you can throw.
Is your jab and work on defense and then but then they’re teeing off like as hard as they can yeah, and I would throw one Hard Punch and you’d be like that’s.
It you’re out get out and I’m like, or there are times literally what a fun combination and I threw one punch just to say: hey, calm down yeah and I got ta get out, and then there were times that we’d want me to pull.
We’D want him to pull us out and he wouldn’t one more I’m like oh yeah.
He did it on purpose.
Yeah, oh yeah yeah.
Just to let us take a couple more punches because we couldn’t freaking defend ourselves because we couldn’t even breathe well, and you know the rule too, it was no odd numbers.
So if you did two and they did another one, then you had to do another one.
You had to do another one yeah, so no odd number yeah, but those are the ones that I always would be like.
Do you miss see him yep? I don’t want to get out.
Yep yep.
I was just trying to tell them to hey.
Like I know, you feel pretty tough right now because you’re teeing off on me, because I can’t throw, but let me turn it down a little bit.
I got ta.
I got ta give my props to Angela too, because when I was at deckerberg and we were doing pad work and everything and and stuff you know she helped me with with the boxing.
She helped me in the corner.
With I mean from amateur to Pro like Sam, of course, too yeah getting my black belt and everything, so I got ta just make sure I give her a shout too, because she was, she was a definitely team, Louetta, all the way, absolutely definitely great person, great Person um he wants to know.
Do you recall that poor man who died in the ring about four years ago, his team held him up to get the photo? Then he collapsed? Oh yes, I do remember that yeah.
I do remember that and, like I said, you know like that, goes back to if your corner doesn’t have your best interest is hurt, get rid of them, yeah um.
He wants to know if keto Watkins contacted you after um yeah.
Actually we have talked after.
We had, and you know what she said – no ill.
Will it’s boxing happens.
You know uh yeah.
Did it on purpose? Absolutely not so.
Yes, um yeah and there I.
I never had any any bad feelings or anything about that, because you know it’s it’s boxing yeah there was, there was nothing, you know it was accident, it was so what happened all the time there was.
There was yeah there was.
There was no worry worse than punches yeah I I certainly did not.
I did not think not even for one second, anything bad towards Kita whatsoever.
No and I’m sure she felt awful and it wasn’t her fault at all, not at all so yeah yeah, the only times I’ve ever been cut is from head butts too, and I mean they just had.
They happen right, um, so good to hear.
Thank you for yeah.
Thank you, yeah, absolutely, no Credo! If you’re.
If you see this and you’re listening whatever absolutely not and and yeah we’ve said that before it’s, you know it’s an accident, it happened almost and it’s inevitable.
Almost every single fight there will be at least one.
No, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some Fighters out there that do that on purpose yeah, but I’ve never experienced that personally, so I don’t think I’ve ever I mean I’ve been headbutt multiple, multiple times where I’m like.
Okay, come on now Jesus anyways, so you know sometimes it’s just their style yeah.
That’S our style too.
You know there’s the two Styles: where you’re both coming it just happens.
It happens.
That happens absolutely yeah um.
How did the brain injury sustain in the fight impact? Your decision on retiring, we know, that’s, obviously, why you retired um.
Do you do you feel like that was a time were you getting close to retire? I don’t know who’s going to retire.
Actually, that was that was actually gon na, be like my last fight.
Anyways really it was.
I didn’t know that I really didn’t say that to too many people, because I think once you verbalize it, you kind of mentally yourself yeah, and I just hate to say it that way, but um Sam knew it Christy knew it sparring with Christy.
I could.
I could tell her I was getting hit with punches that I used to to be able to get away from yeah.
So I kind of said you know what this is kind of going to be it anyways, yeah, um.
So, and of course after that happened there, there was no way that I could I mean I have four plates replacing a clip in my head.
Oh there’s, nothing, you know but yeah.
I didn’t know that you were planning on retiring after that yeah I mean it was 40.
.
I was like you know what that it’s, I’m not saying you can’t do it at that age, but it’s your reflexes, certainly slow down and I’m the kind of fighter that took a lot of punches.
Anyways yeah me too, to keep yeah except we have the same style so to keep going and Sam had mentioned it to her, and we had talked and and Iris and Angela – and I respect everybody’s opinion on that, because I do trust and take their opinion very Highly yeah they don’t, though, you’ve got to think about it in the long run, and you already take a lot of punches as it is right.
If you start taking more cleaner punches, then it’s gon na be yeah.
I mean there’s a couple times inspiring that it was like.
You know what I used to not get hit with that and I’m not getting out of the way anymore, and I saw it yeah like I should have moved yeah yeah and that – and that was – and you know – and that was all right.
You know it just uh, it definitely made decision to make a decision, a permanent which was fine.
You know, and then I was okay with that.
Do I miss.
Do I miss it? I still miss it.
I’M 54 years old and I still know yeah.
I know so I mean it’s it’s I mean we Danny and I go to the club sometimes and we watch it and then it kind of gets in you’re.
Like oh man, you know know.
But but you know, my big thing is I’ve always missed it, and I because I retired after I had Maddie my second one, and that was just because I had two kids now right in the gym.
Like literally, I mean I mean, you know you were there yeah yeah, I just didn’t want to do that to another one, not that she didn’t enjoy her time there, but it was like there was no life outside of work and boxing like there was no family Time – and so I felt like you know what I’ve already done this and got back into shape once I really don’t want to do it again, because I tell people all the time there you can be in shape, but you’re not in boxing shape, there’s two totally Different shapes, absolutely totally different things, so totally different things, and it’s a lot harder to do.
It is because sometimes I still I still get on the scale now like almost daily and I’m like.
What are you doing? What is wrong with you? You know, I know it’s even worse for me now that I’ve had another.
I had a kid at 40.
yeah, no um, God bless you because I certainly don’t have that patience because I’m doing it because yeah but uh.
Well, let’s just say the weight doesn’t come off like it did when you were 25.
okay, when you’re 54, it comes off even slower.
I promise you um yeah, we’re working on that we’re working on that and definitely not where I want to be but um.
It is what it is: hey we’ll get there one day at a time I told my husband, you know what I’m fat and happy.
I got a gun.
Now, it’s all right, fine, it’s whatever! I don’t mean that I don’t mean that seriously people all you, people that are opposed to gun such that was not.
You know, I do have guns, that’s not a lie, but I don’t use them.
I think we all have go well.
I can’t say we all have guns, weird myself now, so I know you got a gun, we have.
We do.
Yes, we we in this circle we’ll just leave it that way.
Yes in this circle, we all have guns um, he says question.
Oh, we are going to talk about that women’s Boxing Channel, but we can go ahead and talk about it now uh, but I was going to ask her about that, but he said what happened in the Mary McGee fights who have called no contest.
I already know what happened there.
I was going to ask you how you, along with that, then so so my question was going to be.
We both fought Mary McGee um.
Your fight ended in a no contest.
I know why, but you can explain it to him.
Um, but how do you feel the fight was going at the time of the stoppage like I thought it was going to win? I I thought I was digging to the body pretty good and then, when I was on the inside against the ropes I got headbutt.
I’M again, I’m not saying it was intentional, but I mean the cut stuff to fight.
Although Sam stopped the bleeding pretty quick yeah, they called it.
You know a great cut man yeah, so that’s what they could they called it.
Because of that I mean I don’t.
I don’t know what I I don’t know yeah you know I mean I was.
I thought I was doing pretty good work in there, but you know whatever the judges were seeing they were seeing, but I you know yeah well and yeah.
We both fought Mary.
I really wish you would have got that rematch though yeah with Mary um, because I I hated that it ended in a no contest, and that was just a big fight for us in the area, because we were Indiana Illinois and I’m glad to see that she Was still out there doing it so good for her, I give her props for doing it.
You know so you know I I she’s out there working still go, get it married.
Do your thing: yeah she’s, definitely still still out there doing her thing.
We hung him up early, but that’s the that’s what um, I guess, the good Lord called you know what and honestly everything worked out.
You know so yeah and people ask me all the time you know.
Would you live box still, knowing that you would have gotten hurt, and I said it and this sounds really stupid, but I must say it anyways.
I think when I got hurt and I realized how lucky I was to still be here.
I became a better person.
Yeah, you know, because you you, although not that I don’t complain and about because I do so.
I don’t don’t even take that the wrong way.
But I try to appreciate things a whole lot more because I should not be here yeah um, so I wouldn’t change anything.
You know every everything that everything that, like even with you, everything that you’ve done has led you to where you are right now so yeah.
I’M in a pretty good spot right now I’ll tell you that yeah yeah, I agree and things happen, for I always tell people things happen for a reason.
Um and you just have to continue one step at a time.
That’S really all you can do, but no and people always ask me if I would go back similar question like that because, like they ask you, but I always get asked well, if you could go back and change your career, would you have changed the path that You chose, and I always say if I really look back at it and I’m like yeah in reality, there are a few things that I would have changed as far as the fight steps that I took with my career.
Sometimes I feel that way, but then I’m like.
No because that’s what made my legacy and that’s what made I guess Built My Legacy was who I fought and when I fought them in my career.
So I don’t think I would have changed that because I fought great Fighters and that’s why people remember me it was.
That was the plan for you.
You know they’re yeah as cliche as it sounds.
Things fall into place like they’re supposed to so yeah and I always thought yeah what I like to have an undefeated record sure I mean who the hell wouldn’t want to have an undefeated record, but I don’t think I would have had that Legacy.
If I had an undefeated record and I didn’t fight nobody right, it was just a paper.
It was called paper so yeah I mean the right ones speak for themselves.
You know the the battle speaks from themselves.
I mean I look back at the fights with Tammy Johnson, I’m, like you know what, whatever the decision you know would have been.
Those are fights that you remember, because you you know they it pulls it out of you.
You know.
So those are the kind of the fights if you’re a real fighter.
Those are the fights you want, anyways, yeah, absolutely yeah and, like I always I’m like yeah, I didn’t get all the decisions.
I don’t you know, I mean it is what it is.
I can’t go change it.
I wasn’t the judge so how many times we get our ass kicked in the gym yeah.
It is what it is.
Yeah, that’s what it is um, but speaking of um legacies and leaving your mark, you were inducted into Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015.
.
Um tell us about your experience with that and and how much that meant to you.
You know it was pretty cool.
It was, it was unexpected and I feel like there are some people that may have thought it wasn’t deserved and there’s always going to be because you know who that was, but they can off well.
But you know just you know how it goes.
It’S it’s it as much as as much as a lot of people are very welcoming.
Boxing is still a very good old boy, sport, um and and that’s just the way it is and whatever that’s fine like, I always say the people, the people that know know the people that don’t don’t matter so so it was very cool and there was a Lot of people that were very respectful and very happy and very um, stating that I was very uh deserving of it, which which I mean it was a very humbling experience because uh you know I I certainly still love the sport of boxing yeah and you know I was glad to be such a big, such a part of it in Chicago, because I think Chicago boxing is just it’s very underrated.
It is, I think, there’s a lot of good people there that are doing a lot of good things yeah.
So you know yeah and yeah I mean yeah.
I don’t know people like that.
Shouldn’T even be involved, and we all know how it is.
It’S just the sport of boxing and it’s never going to change.
It’S never going to change, and that’s fine because, like I said you know some people’s gender opinions, just don’t mean anyway, so no, it doesn’t and no you definitely 100 deserved it.
I think that it was an awesome that you got involved and I’m like.
I always tell people there’s so many great great fighters from Chicago females to females too um and they don’t get the recognition.
So it was nice to see that you got inducted into the Hall of Fame there, because there’s not very many of the females that get inducted in there, even though there is several that I feel like should be in the Hall of Fame.
When I got her two Paco, you know Paco Francisco Rodriguez, he he sustained injuries similar, but his fight was a longer fight and he unfortunately passed away.
So I just want to like recognize him, and you know he was one of the Chicago greats and he could have had a very good career um had that Dreadful night not happen so shout out to his family, because you know um MLA, we say to each Other all the time, much love, always because the first time I actually went out after my injury was for his funeral.
So oh I just yeah.
I mentioned him and make sure people keep keep him in mind, always absolutely rest in peace, um, yeah, definitely just memories.
Memories there um Angie Passmore, said hey.
Ladies, she is um an amateur fighter that I met at the inductions last year, she’s a great girl.
She fights in the amateurs, she’s she’s, very loyal to the show too, but she loves learning she’s texting me after everyone, she’s like oh, my God.
I learned so much from that fighter like who was next um so but yeah.
That’S that’s like the that makes me smile that, especially like amateur Fighters or up-and-coming Fighters or whatever learning our stories absolutely at some point at some point, they’re going to have theirs and they’re going to be passing it on too.
So you know yeah absolutely um.
I know a lot of times.
People always ask me, well they always ask me about my very first fight with Mia St John, and I always tell him in every freaking story.
Well, Rita my girl, Rita, was supposed to be fighting.
Mia, got injured, um a few days before the fight rotator, cuff surgery.
That’S why that’s? Why? For the amateur fight that was just on here, when you throw your hook, throw it short because I threw a long range hook and it snapped my shoulder back so yes, so keep them short.
I had a fight, so here’s here Angie, I’m gon na – do this.
For you, too, Angie um, I have watched she just fought on Sunday.
Oh nice, you didn’t get the decision um, it happens.
She sent me the fight Angie just to let you know, I have watched it and I will be texting.
I told her.
I would give her some pointers.
I will be texting you the pointers I will also, if you don’t mind, let me know: if you do, I will send it to Rita yep, because Rita is a is she can.
She she’ll see things that I don’t see because we all see different things but I’ll send it to Rito too um.
She had a great career and also she coached.
I mean I knows boxing, but she also coached.
So she knows a little bit more about the coaching side.
I’Ll have her look at it too, and she can get some pointers to you as well.
Absolutely yeah I’d be happy to yeah um, so yeah Angie we’ll get that over to you um.
But yes, so then, but I thought it was nice, though, that not that you got hurt obviously, but that came out wrong, not that you got hurt, though, but again, but it was a great opportunity for you.
It was a great opportunity and that was in Turks.
It was in the Turks and Cake openers Caicos, or something wasn’t that like overseas somewhere.
Where was that fight at which one which, where did you fight me at well? In the first time I fought her, we fought in Indiana, okay, okay, okay, that’s right! That’S right! Yeah Mary, because Mary was on the card, I can’t remember who she fought first, but it was supposed to be you and Mary and then I are you and Mia and then I think wasn’t that the winner was supposed to fight Mary yeah yeah, okay.
So but I took your place because I well and it was nice, we got to keep it in the same camp, sure thing, um and obviously yeah.
That was a big boost for me, obviously, because I beat her there, but then that was a whole big thing because she said she got robbed because I was the local fighter.
Local Fighters never won in our area.
We had to like kill somebody never, and I was like okay.
First of all, Mia.
First of all, you will came out with the promoter’s logo on your on your outfit.
The fight was for you not for me I was a replacement biter.
So whatever call it call it what it is, but that’s why we ended up having the rematch in Mexico.
That’S right.
Did they ever though come back and offer you a fight? That’S what I want to know.
I know you ended up fighting Mary, but I know that there was an offer for Turks and Caicos and I don’t even know what happened with that.
To be honest with you, that’s why that came to my mind I got ta ask Sam because, certainly I like seriously don’t remember, I thought there was something for church and Caicos, but I don’t know what what happened with that.
Okay, because that’s what I always wanted, because I I never remembered them coming back and offering you that fight again after you healed – and I was like well, I couldn’t remember if they did or not um Andy said yeah Angie.
I forgot about that, but yeah Angie just had several shoulder surgery and had a year and a half off yeah.
Well, you know what I came back after the surgery and my like my it was fine, so just let it heal and and don’t throw long enough in surgery, Sunday, no yeah she’s getting you know one step at a time.
Thank you, Brooke.
I look forward to your feedback.
My training camp was just too short, but I leveled up and learned a lot still glad.
I took the fight me too.
I told you before you took the fight.
I told her before she took the fight.
She was fighting a girl that was 6-0 and I you only had she only had a couple fights and she was fighting a girl that was 6-0 um up and coming amateur fighter, and I said it doesn’t matter the outcome.
Take the fight for experience.
Good experience absolutely um you’ll learn something when, if you beat her, that’s phenomenal, if you lose it didn’t it doesn’t hurt anything you’re.
Just gon na learn from the experience and you’ll learn a lot um.
So it doesn’t it’s kind of what the apertures are for anyways.
I kind of you know what it’s it’s kind of a learning process.
That’S it and it doesn’t matter what your career is in the amateurs really.
Doesn’T it really doesn’t Angie? It does not um.
We talked about this a lot, though after retiring from boxing, you became a certified trainer, um working with Sam and so many fighters um.
How has that transition been for you and what inspired you to continue your involvement in the sport? After you know, I just wasn’t ready to be done yet and and I’ll tell you on the outside of the ropes.
You don’t get hit so yeah, but I enjoy like holding pads and and working with the fighters and stuff like that.
I just enjoyed.
I just enjoy boxing, so I wanted to stay involved and you know, and I was able to do that and Sam you know I was at the gym.
You know teaching the boot camps and and working with the trainers and stuff and working with the fighters and stuff like that, so it was just it.
It helped me stay in the game, so I was very appreciative that the fighters, let me be there with them, you know um, and I think I had something to offer them too.
You know so it was a win-win for everybody.
I think yeah.
I think so too, and you were always there, so why not yep uh, so it was fun.
Yeah share some of your most memorable moments or achievements from your career that stand out to you still um, I think going overseas with Mike Malo and him winning the belt when uh.
When they told him he was gon na.
When he told him the fight would be over and what I think was that they said it was gon na be over in the second round, and it was because he knocked the other guy out and stuck around um.
So that was that was memorable, and I think it was funny because I was doing pads with Mike in the ring overseas, and you know overseas they’re like what a woman trainer what the hell you know yeah and it was funny because I think I think that Gave them a false sense of well, he didn’t train very hard because he’s right right and he won.
That was huge.
That was huge um.
You know just just go and going to work with uh Antonio canas and Sammy Horowitz at the bkb in Vegas, and you know boxing has awarded me like many opportunities that I otherwise would not have had.
So I think just in general.
Just I think I think the best memories for me are being in the gym with the fighters, the camaraderie.
You know and there’s you know you have business people, you have gang bangers, you have.
You have professionals, you have college kids, you have every Walk of Life, but you would never know it when you’re in a boxing gym.
No, so I think just just the camaraderie of just all the fighters get in there just working hard and and trying to to do good.
You know, and let me give a shout out to Rashad too Rashad.
It has his own um uh gym now.
Rosado is one of the kids from um.
He was a very troubled kid when he first came to the gym and and we’ve been through a lot together as far as his growth and his staying out of trouble in his in his stuff like and stuff like that, so I just want to give a Shout out to Rashad because he’s got his own gym, he’s passing it Forward.
He’S very successful he’s got a family um and I can’t be more proud of him.
So Rashad.
If you see this um, you know keep doing what you’re doing and keep passing it Forward, because you know it’s it, the next one’s going to do the same for the next and it’s just going to keep getting passed down.
So so huge huge, huge shout out to Rashad yeah good, for you keep it up.
That’S awesome that you’re passing that on to the next Generation after generation, so that there that’s that’s really ideally like the best thing you can do after yes, you’re not doing it anymore is to just pass on what you know to the next ones.
Yeah, don’t keep it in what, for I mean pass it on he’s doing so? Well, and you know there was.
There was a time where we thought he was just going to go out in the streets and either kill somebody or kill themselves.
So the turnaround he’s made in his life – I mean just just that example in itself.
Yeah could save somebody, let alone all the stuff that he’s doing in the gym, for the kids on a daily basis, which is huge.
It’S huge yeah and it’s huge huge huge for gyms that um except like that, do it for the kids um people need something especially young kids, especially if you’re in not a great area or situation at home or whatever the case may be.
You just need something to occupy your time, to keep you off the streets and keep you out of trouble, whether you take it and continue it with a professional career or amateur career, or you don’t compete at all.
It’S just something to do to pass the time until you can get past that stage in your life of the danger and all of the going on that you don’t need to be a part of yeah, just keeping people off the streets.
So boxing can save your life, whether you want to compete or just have somewhere to go to have a second family, absolutely and I’ll tell.
You is certainly a great example of that.
So if anybody looks them up on Facebook, Rashad Grant he’s got Easy Money.
Fitness on Western Avenue, um support them, uh help them out if, if he needs help help him out, I mean I mean there’s a lot of business in Chicago.
That always say they want to help and and give back to the community.
Well, there’s your chance!
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