AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
Join me as I sit down with the amazing Laura “Lady Ram” Ramsey! Laura’s boxing career spanned from 2002-2020 when she announced her retirement at the age of 50! She held several titles in the amateur’s before turning pro at the age of 35 in 2004. Laura fought the best out there such as Gwendolyn O’Neil twice, Shelly Burton, Erin Toughill twice & Charlotte Ewell to name a few! She held the GBU Middleweight World Title which she won in 2007 with a TKO victory over Conjestina Achieng. Laura is now a boxing coach, manager & promoter for the sport of Woman’s Boxing! Mark your calendars you don’t want to miss Laura’s amazing story!
@talkinfight @laura ramsey @Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff-Millbrook @nopunchespulledwithnomercy #lauraramsey #woman-warriors #femaleboxing #badassboxing #behindthescenes #stories #badasswoman #fighters
Transcribed
Thank you.
I see them in the shadows: hey y’all! 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 no mercy.
Some of you probably already know who I am for those of you that don’t I’m your host Brooke Millbrook, Formerly Known in the fight game 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 last year.
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 to talk and we walk the walk.
We’Re gon na bring out the truth and all the behind the scenes BS and women’s boxing you’re, going to hear from the pioneers of the sport past boxers current boxers and even future boxers we’ll be getting down and dirty and speaking the truth of what it takes.
What takes place in women’s boxing? You don’t want to miss a single episode, so please make sure you like subscribe and share um.
So you can join us every Tuesday um.
Hopefully you guys already saw um the promotion of today’s show.
We have in the house, Laura lady Ram Ramsey Laura started her career in boxing in 2002 and retired at the age of 50.
In 2020.
she held several titles in the amateurs before turning pro at the late age of 35.
In 2004.
, Laura fought the best in the game such as Gwendolyn O’Neill, twice Shelley Burton Aaron, tohill, twice and Charlotte Ewell, just to name a few.
She held the GBU middleweight World title which she won in 2007.
she’s.
Now a boxing coach manager and promoter still continuing to leave a mark in the sport of women’s boxing.
Please help me welcome lady Ram to the show, what’s up Laura, how you doing hey what’s going on? Yes, it’s so great to have you on again um and this time we get to talk about your story, so I’m so super excited.
I mean, I know your story, but some people know yeah.
Well you you know some of my stories.
I mean some, I’m sure you know it’s funny, every single show.
I do.
I think I know like all the fighters – and you know I I do my research and I look up and but there’s always something that comes out that I don’t know so I like to listen.
I like the stories too, because I learned something too yeah.
Well, what you do know is um which what you know is actually a lot of: what’s not on the internet.
So that’s the good thing about it and that’s some of the parts that I’m gon na actually uh start putting in my book um that I’ll be working on.
So that’s a good thing, but there’s some other underlying things that nobody really knows unless they’re like like in my circle, so yeah, that’s the good stuff.
Well, that’s good! That’S good! I mean I’m I’m a partial Circle.
I’M sure I don’t know at all, but that’s what that’s why we’re here.
Thank you thank you for having me.
Yes, thank you for coming um, so I always start out.
I mean take us back um to your childhood kind of tell us like how you grew up where you grew up and what led you to boxing Florida um.
That’S one of the Citrus cap, Citrus capitals of the world.
We actually um have the Florida natural orange juice brand is where anybody that’s uh into orange juice.
Um.
My hometown is the capital for that and um.
I grew up um playing all the sports, but um basketball, football.
I’M not sorry, basketball, softball, um, volleyball, track baseball.
Um you name it.
I was in the band.
Just did all kinds of things and um just excelled without any um, just without any extra going to camps, and things like that was just one of those above average natural raw um athletes um actually growing up growing up in the project.
So back then it wasn’t as rough um.
It was tough, but not rough um and I just had a little nonsense, Mom that she wasn’t even trying to hear nothing.
I was trying to say she was like a dictator, just told me everything to do and I had to do it.
So you know I walked a very, very straight line.
So um, you know my family Dynamics and everything just well-rounded Educators, doctors, lawyers, um and I just knew to kind of do the right thing, but there was still this underlying thing that kind of just um just kind of ate at me.
If you will and um I just kind of had to deal with that along the way, and that was uh, which we all try to avoid, but that’s bullying that was a that started kind of with bullying.
So I was a little girl with the long ponytail um, with the hair that didn’t quite match for my um ethnicity, so they say and um I got bullied for that.
So it kind of that’s kind of weird some of the stuff, so okay, yeah yeah.
I think um I don’t know any.
Actually, I’m sure there are some, but I haven’t met any female fighter yet that didn’t deal with bullying in school um.
I think we have all dealt with that a little bit and I know my kids have dealt with it.
Really bad too so um, I’m very familiar with that aspect of people, just being nasty people.
Just you know that at the age of 16 you did become pregnant um as a young teen um, but you you kept your head together.
You kept pushing forward.
You graduated high school.
You still went to college on a volleyball basketball, softball scholarship, yeah, I’ve seen your bachelor’s degree in organized management um.
I feel like there’s a lot of young girls today, especially today, um that deal with similar situations or are kind of put in that situation.
Um and some of them just don’t know how to proceed forward properly or don’t have the people behind them to help them to keep pushing forward and be persistent to succeed.
So I feel like your story with that, will really help help some of these girls.
These young girls today, because you did – I mean you, went above and beyond you know, graduating going to college.
Getting your degree still got a scholarship like you, you didn’t let that stop you from getting your going going for your dreams and your goals so kind of tell tell us a little bit about that.
So the way it started was um.
It was my senior year.
I had just you know, left 11th grade going into my 12th grade year and um, my dad, who you know he had a another family already established um.
He passed away my last time seeing him was actually at my uh, my job.
It was a fast food.
Restaurant and I cleaned off the table and all that stuff.
So I didn’t know that was gon na, be the last time that I saw him so he had a heart attack and so going into my senior year.
You know to lose my dad, knowing that my my dad was, I kind of was like the apple of my dad’s.
I had like six boys and I was the only girl, so that’s the way I felt anyway but um.
I don’t remember saying I love love him.
We always said that and I I I I I I don’t recall so I had that little hang up in my head, but um my best friend, you know he was goofball.
My best friend, you know we just kind of got together, one time and and Magic occurred, so to speak, and then it was just a situation that you know I had to deal with going into my senior year.
So I’m the the you know all sports, uh senior and all of a sudden I have to deal with this situation and my family.
Oh my I meant when I say my family, my doc.
My uncle is on my birth certificate as the birthing position, nice.
So yeah, so I’m named after his wife, which is my mom’s sister, which is my aunt, but so so what I’m saying is this is not like in my family, you just kind of okay.
Let’S deal with this um.
What are you gon na do so? I kind of had to put on my big mama panties really fast, and I felt like I I don’t want to say I missed out.
I just was delayed and then what really triggered me was.
There was an article in our local newspaper that stated a black female that was pregnant um.
My age was never gon na make it and I don’t know why they were um post, something like that in the newspaper, but I can recall that was one of my driving titles.
I was like I’m not gon na, let anything of a black print on a white piece of paper.
Tell me what I am.
I said I I was just going through something my father passed away.
This is my best friend, you know, and that was a situation but um I.
What I noticed was a lot of people that you know, as we know, when you’re going through turmoil or whatever a lot of people that say they’re on your side, they really don’t they’re, really not there.
They don’t really want to uh deal with it with you, and so what I had to do is um.
You know there are some people that did step in and I appreciate those people and I had to kind of just learn to walk with my head held high and to deal with the situation.
And once so, I was 16 as a senior graduated at 17 and I was in college at 17 with a two-month-old baby, but all my scholarships that um, my basketball, I’ve seen a lot about scholarships.
They they went away, and so what I had to do was um.
I just just took one step at a time, and I noticed that, as I went back to go, try out walk on to these different colleges.
They were actually looking for me because I I never used my real name.
You know my name is Laura Ramsey.
All of the newspaper articles had me as Lisa has our middle names Alicia they have.
My name is Lisa Ramsey, you know, and so all of the college coaches were looking for me, but going into college.
They use your first name.
So as I presented myself as Laura, that has you know about 30 pounds packed on me now with the baby.
They were like, they thought I was like the cousin or something, and they were looking for me.
So thank God, thank God that the the work that I had done then spoke for me, so I was able to actually go into welcome College um.
You know college uh Sports and to get um invited back as a scholarship, so that and when I say in five years of college um, I may have paid for one semester only because it was just a situational deal.
But in five years College God has blessed me to um, you know, earn my degree, you know.
So thank you and that’s amazing.
Amazing amazing, uh, Michael Orr, is tuning in hey, Michael thank you for tuning in.
He says hello.
It’S great to see you again.
I know you were looking forward to this one Michael, so I know you were looking forward to it so we’re here, um, so yeah um, that’s amazing, um and a way to stay.
True and um just make it make it work with what you got.
I mean things happen and you just can’t give up.
That’S really just what it boils down to hard work and persistence pays off um and if you just keep keep going forward.
You’Re all good, but you just can’t give up.
That’S all um I do know.
I love softball as well um I played softball bat.
I played them all too basketball, softball uh volleyball.
I played them all too.
In school um I had a basketball scholarship to play uh full ride, but I joined the army instead After High School, so um I’m familiar with that whole background.
There um I do after I retired from boxing, though I did take up uh fast, fast, pitch softball league uh and played fastpitch softball league um.
Two years in, I tore my ACL though so I haven’t played since then um and I know that you played pro softball.
Yes, oh you did some homework.
I did my homework.
I did my homework um, you played pro softball and in your second year you got a career, ending injury.
Yes, what it was like playing professional softball I mean I would have loved to play pro ball.
Any ball, throw any ball for that matter.
Um walk us through that and then um how you got injured.
It was amazing um, as you know like I said, I’m I’m writing on cloud nine.
I was at my degree I was working at Florida, natural actually, as one of the I wouldn’t say execs, but I was working alongside the execs doing um the formulation for um Ocean Spray, and things like that, and so I meant I was a young girl with A degree with a pocket full of money, so I was just able to bounce around and just enjoy life and then um.
They said that there was a tryout for fastpitch, because I was playing uh Semi-Pro baseball.
Actually so I did that first and then, at the end of that they they let me know the coach.
Let me know: hey, there’s a tryout, you know, and I was like the University of South Florida is in its uh University of Florida and I I went over there and tried out the two-day tryout and they said three things.
Gon na happen.
You either gon na get a like a rejection letter saying don’t think you’re gon na get um put on the um draft list, or are you gon na get family spot? So I was one of the ones that went on the draft list and um.
You know when I when I finally I didn’t get a letter, though, because the mailman something happened, my mom redirected the mail and it went back to Colorado.
So I never got the the mail.
So the news man, the mail deliverer, said hey.
I think your letter came, but I had to send it back, so he told me and I called, and it was like yeah you’re on the dress list.
So just you know be aware, so I told my company listen like I don’t.
I don’t have nothing to lose.
I don’t have any time to play around as a young mother.
If they call me I’m going, I was making pretty good money back then so that uh Friday I got the phone call and by Tuesday I was already packed and ready to go.
I said Mom, you know I’m going to try out.
Oh no.
I had already tried that I said Mom I’m going to play.
She said, leave your baby you’re, not taking your baby, and I was like what she’s like nope you’re gon na go play go play, so I think she might understand that.
Maybe I was, you had grown up really fast, and this was my me time so to speak, and it was only.
It was only a few months anyway, but I was able to actually you know, pull it from Florida here and there and spend time with her.
But that’s what happened and um and I I did it so yeah.
That’S awesome! I made history with that yeah.
What’S up Taz Taz in the building? What’S up champ? Yes, what’s up girl, um? Good Luck! Good Luck! This weekend, I’ll be watching for sure! Um! You better kick some ass, that’s all I know um so yeah.
I know um.
So you did get the injury.
What how did you get injured? Oh boy, so um? I don’t even know if I want to put this part in there, because it’s a part of my book, but I’m making I’m making sure I’ll make it short.
I I went to a move to Ohio on a on a um, a whim um.
I moved to Ohio Chasing the Dream and that will be in the book but um there.
It was cold in Ohio, I’m right off of I think it was Lake Erie um it was cold.
I couldn’t work out.
I gained weight um, so I went into spring training overweight.
The second year, the first year I was tip top shape second year overweight and then um.
You know I took a a slide and I took a slide and it it almost ripped my kneecap off right.
It was just a bad slide, so recouping off of that um.
I was out for a little minute and then, when they put me back in, I was uh running fast, for I was running for the pitcher and to put them on first base, and it was first and third situation.
Clearly, remember this, and I I don’t know if the person of player on third Drew enough attention, but you know I took off the second.
I thought the play was crystal clear and maybe I was just oblivious, I don’t know, but I called a clique with my hand open as I was reaching for second base and it split to beyond the point of flexing to the point that it popped.
My um popped, my bones, so I have five screws in the plate in my hand as we speak that that ended boxing in the weightlifting and that it ended everything for me, and I was just so down in the dumps that I gained so much weight.
I was in the 200s at that point.
I went for 163, eight percent mighty fat to like 203 and um and and then another situation happened.
That is a whole nother deal, so it just hadn’t stopped yet yeah.
I got you, I feel you.
I feel you um in out the neighborhood teens Focus their attention on something constructive, keep kids out of trouble.
Um tell me what like what made you want to start that and how hard was it to keep it going so um? I was actually um training in the Andre Berto Camp um, one town over and um, and I really wanted to be home.
Um Amari started my ear if you know the basketball player we’re from the same town and so um.
I I just want to do something there, rather than keep moving and traveling, and so I just decided I had got a brand new gold Camry and put a a big bow on the top of it and was one of the last entries into the Christmas parade And I was like hey: anybody want to want to wear some gloves.
You can be in a Christmas parade to get a t-shirt meet me under this tree right.
So so many people showed so many kids showed up.
I didn’t even have nothing uh shirts, which is 20 shirts, so all the kids just jumped in the parade – and I was like – oh my God, like what is this so from there by the way we got honorable mentioned – and I was like this – is we have To do something in Lake Wales, so um, I took it upon myself to go to the higher up stuff um.
He was the police chief and I sat down and said: Hey, listen.
This is who I am.
This is what I I have done.
This is what I wanted to do.
How can you help and the response I got was so far beyond the response that I would have thought it drove me out of the city so to speak so um I am so I was told that they didn’t that.
If later, I was told that if I helped the youth off the street, what would the cops have to do? No, and I’m I’m like interesting, I say: well, you can eat donuts as a joke, and so he was like.
Well, you know when you start dealing with that and he went into details as to how I would change the economics of the city and it will cause less cops to be needed if I fix the the problem.
Well, isn’t that the point? No, I mean that’s the point and we don’t want trouble.
I learned very well when you try to when you just like cancer, when you try to fix cancer um.
You know things happen when you try to fix problems in and these people, that’s their livelihood is to have the problem and to make it appear.
Like they’re fixing the problem, that’s the way that they eat, and once I understood that as again I was young as I was learning that I was like wait: they’re, not even trying to help kids, so it’s just always have been in my heart to help to That’S just what it is.
I don’t care if I don’t have, I’m gon na find a way um.
If, if I, if you won’t help me, I’m gon na go work and do something to do what I feel that’s needed because mind you um, my daughter.
Had she wasn’t having kids then, but once you start having kids um, then I knew there’s kids, that’s my grandsons look just like, and I would hope that somebody helped my grandsons that they ever was in need.
So it’s just and that’s where the village comes in, of helping people, so I just I just never.
I just never went back, so I just continued to move and go from place to place to get and do my own thing and walk to the beat of my own term.
The way that I know how to help the people that I could I know, I’m not God, I know I’m Not Like An Almighty, but what I am is a force, a little force that can help some of the people.
You know that want to be a part of what what I have to offer so yeah.
Exactly exactly I mean that sounds amazing started.
You started amateurs in 2003.
I believe it was after um working with them right in 2002, you kind of decided to start competing um [, Laughter ].
Where did you get this from? I got this on point you better.
So yes, so I was at.
I was in Saint Pete Florida again against Keith Thurman, I’m throwing some names out there, Keith Thurman.
He was in the images but um.
This is over in his area in Florida, West Florida and um.
I had my team with me and I I just knew there was no other female, my size, um that was going to be there to box.
So I just came in.
There was a coach’s training.
I did that and all of a sudden there was this name.
I just asked, I said: hey um, I know there’s not another female out there.
You know that came and they was like no way there is, and I was like there is.
I was like what so they was like.
Yeah um.
You know, her name is uh.
Alexandria, Malloy, if you know Alexandra Malloy right like this talk, so I was like.
Oh okay, well put my name down I’ll fight her and it was like okay.
So I went to my coach’s meeting and took my kids back home and then I came back the next day.
You know ready to compete and and do my thing with my team and uh we fall.
That was my first fight.
Didn’T leave a train for it.
I was training, but not training for that yeah and that girl beat me from one side of the Ring to the other side.
Okay – and I don’t know what happened – I don’t know, I can’t tell you all I know is, and at this time it was punch count it wasn’t.
I don’t think it was rounds.
I think it was punch scouts or something okay, but I don’t know what got him, but I just saw like what I would think was near death and my right hand came out like a firing sword and I hit her so many times with my right.
So I got tired and in the end they raised my hand – and I told him after I woke up at ringside, because I passed out at ringside um.
As soon as the doctor checked me off.
There was a chair.
I sat down and went to sleep for like 30 minutes and um I was like, and this is my friends.
This is my teammate.
This is what you don’t do in my team and I taught them the hard way and it was a lesson for me.
Is you can’t play boxing you can’t play with it? You can’t think that you’re, the toughest person out there, you might be the toughest but honey.
If you didn’t train – and you know Brian, to sleep right.
So that was my first lesson to myself as well.
With my team and um, you know those are.
The memories is not the same like you can street fight all day, but if you’re not in boxing shape, you ain’t even gon na make it more round it’s not the same.
It is not the same.
So my hats went off to Alexandria and She chased me around uh Florida.
She didn’t where coach did.
He chased me around Florida for the longest, but we met again in the pros.
So, okay yeah you did.
You did uh 2003.
You captured several several Regional National level championships, including state champion Regional champ, um, tell us a little bit about your amateur career in the titles so um.
I couldn’t get any advice after that fight, so um I should say I could get.
If I I didn’t want to fight Alexander again, because we could have fallen but um.
You know the next year.
I just went to every fight.
I I put my mind to it say: hey I’m gon na focus on this.
I was bouncing around um trying to find training trying to find somebody to train me.
I linked up with Bonnie, Canino and um and Bonnie.
She actually was my trainer when, when I fought on Okay so 2003, I went undefeated 2002.
My first fight won 2003 undefeated I got a chance to.
I was never ranked number one in the United States and um USA boxing.
If I go to Russia, so of course yeah I’m going by the casino um Hall of Famer Bonnie Camino was one of the coaches and she, you know, led me there and I got a draw against a Russian yay, which I think I won.
But anyway, we’ll take the draw and then the second fight it was the duel they moved.
The taller girl at 168.
excuse 178.
I think they moved her down into the my weight class.
So she can, I guess, beat me so it was.
It was a good fight, I would say it was a draw, but she took the win.
That was my first defeat ever I didn’t know how to feel and especially being another country um it was, you know it was.
It was a little bitter.
I was a little bitter but um I came back and then got invited to go to Sweden, so I got ta lost.
I took a loss to Sweden, but although they, the Swede, said that I won, but it was all good because we parted after it had a good time and I was 34 becoming a grandma.
There was no Olympics for me and the only thing I knew to do at that point was um to turn pro so yeah.
So at the age of 35 you decided to go pro um.
You did um fight for Ring of their own promotion several times um.
I don’t know if I’m familiar with the Ring of their own, but a lot of people out there listening probably are not so.
Can you maybe tell give a little bit of history and, like your experience with a ring of their own promotions and what they did to help and everything so bringing it on um, they were, I think they they were basing their fights in casinos and so um.
It was all female organization, all female Fight Card organization, promotions and um.
You know I had some, I don’t know if I should call names, but I will I had uh what was Called Wanda Bruce.
She was on the team and she was always said: hey we have this fight um.
Would you want to take it? I was like yep so she’s like okay and then I won and then the next fight she was like uh, hey, uh, a fight fell out.
Do you want to take it? I was like yep, so she kept calling me, even though I was like back like they weren’t looking at me as like the a fighter.
They was they they weren’t really looking at me, but Wanda was like um it’s something about her right hand that we need to pay attention to so um.
They she was saying.
Look you guys need to find you need to sign Laura.
So then I was like.
Oh, we all know whatever they said they didn’t find me and she just kept plugging away and then she was like hey.
I got this fight for you.
Would you take it um against um Aaron tohill and I was like yep, and so I took that fight.
The wet people didn’t know, uh was my trainer, who was actually should have been a hallback’s trainer um.
He I don’t know if anybody knew that he was going through cancer and chemo, he had cancer was going through chemo and so on that flight.
I watched him in misery and I just had I had a heart so rather than be selfish, all of my drive that Ram drive it kind of went into Nursery.
He cared for him on the airport, it’s all kind of stuff.
So at that fight I didn’t.
I was out of my element, but so that I okay I lost.
But six months later I was able to avenge the call me again.
Well they called me to say: would you want to fight again? I said yes and then they call Aaron for her fight and lo and behold both of our fights fell off and it was like why don’t we just do a rematch? I was like yeah, I’m ready now and so in the rematch.
That’S where you probably saw knocked her out of the range and um, although they said the ropes were loose, but everybody thought we lose strokes, but she got knocked out of the ring um first round and, and that was that was that um.
The end of that particular yeah, but there was there, was a little there’s a little there’s a little something that happened before then, and I I don’t know if you know that part you probably do but but uh Okay, so so Laila Ali, the the the when I thought Aaron told Hill and lost Laila Ali was in the crowd so um, because at this time they was trying to see who would Layla fight next.
The whole thing was about.
Who would be the one to beat later so they was trying to find that it factor to be like so they felt like.
I had it, but I didn’t have a name.
So they said I definitely didn’t have a backing.
It was just my right and left pockets and – and you know that’s what it was so um she saw me lose and it was like: hey, that’s good.
You lost, I was like okay, they say she fight losers, so now you’re a loser.
I’M like okay! Well, we’ll see if we get a contract so um, they call me for the with the contract um.
What’S his name um Tom laughler luffler.
If I’m saying it correctly, he called me – and I was like man – send the contract – I’m not gon na, even read it.
I’M just gon na sign it.
You guys figure it out.
I said: did you ask her if she want to fight me and then there was like um yeah, I said: okay.
Well, let’s do it.
I say you know some of these fights we fight for free, because it’s not about the money right and so just having that mindset, some people when you talk like that, they think that you’re out of your element – but I was just one of those ones that I had nothing to lose and that’s what was I learned in business? That’S the scare Factor right, a person that doesn’t have anything to lose.
You better watch out for that person.
So I didn’t.
I learned all of that stuff, but what happened was three days later? Um Dove Huntley her trainer or former trainer who was actually on the phone when there was a conversation between my one of my uh trainers and her Doug Huntley, their brother-in-law’s Doug Holley took a flight to Florida, came to my gym, saw me in person and then Not we didn’t hear any where there were crickets after that.
So not sure what happened um can’t say, all I know is they uh did a rematch with Gwendolyn O’Neill and she knocked her out in the first minute, um or so of that fight.
So, rather than fighting, I was number five in the world.
Laila Ali was number one, and wolf is number two Gwendolyn O’Neill was number 15.
If I could recall – and they went and fought gwilling on it again – and you know already be their father again, and that was that, but the thing I was saying is after that you know I I was like what is women boxing about if it’s not fighting The best of the best, so I started having a disrespect for women’s boxing.
I didn’t respect it at all.
I didn’t even care for it.
Um and I was like anybody get in the ring.
I don’t care, we don’t have to sound contract.
You know it was like that that mad woman’s mindset – and so that’s it took me in the elevator me to a different level, and so when I got a chance to rematch with um Aaron tohill, I I did what I did with her um.
I got a chance to fight ichiama egunini.
I knocked her on the first round.
Okay, then I um fought um.
I thought uh kindestina from my world title so so when I fought, because no when I fought ichiyama with Mike Tyson, not Mike Tyson with Don King in Florida, doc, King basically brought me in he’s in Florida, I’m in Florida.
He brought me in for the B-side in Florida.
He brought her in as the a side that was you middleweight title right.
No, I didn’t win.
That was a four title: foreign okay.
So so now we formed on the um, the Samuel Peter and James Tony two card.
In Florida we were the first ones to fight at the heart rock um, the first females down in South Florida, but um.
They were saying: hey if um they’re gon na Don King’s gon na sign her that’s when, after this fight, I was like fine who it was like.
This is an address.
It’S like sign, um, they’re, gon na sign.
I was like okay.
What does that have to do with me? There’S like yeah after she beat you.
I was like the fight had started and they was like yeah, but the buzz is that that, because she was 14 and one or something and they said um, the buzz is that she’s gon na that she’s gon na beat you and he’s gon na sign her.
I said put my gloves on so they put the gloves on start punching the wall and it’s like hold up ma’am.
You can’t punch the wall.
I said well give me somebody to hit because um I’m ready.
So when I went out there um, I did.
You know I’m not there.
I dropped it three times in the first round and and then guess who ended up with the contract.
Yes ma’am.
So I got the contract, that’s money, I got the contract and then I he did.
Nobody really knew that.
I was on my way already starting the contract to go to um to fight in Africa against conjestina, so um I signed his contract.
Put it on my desk, flew out to um Africa.
Yeah got my Aurora title um knocked her down.
She never touched the canvas and not sat down like four times six rounds.
Tko through that title.
I threw the belt in the back of my trunk and then I I they was like: hey Don King, what’s taking you so long Don King was his contract.
I was like look, I was fighting for a title.
You know, I know he wants to sign me or whatever I signed the papers, but now we can, you know, renegotiate because I’m gon na order title now.
You can type this now so he was like.
God wants to contract so word: has it the inside scoop as it when the contract was turned in Don King, threw it up in the air and said tell Laura Don Waits for No One.
So that’s how close I was to fighting working on King but um in hindsight.
That might have been a great thing because you know I you never know what would happen anyway, because if he flipped the script that fast against igeama, I imagine what he would have done for me yeah.
If something happened with you yeah, that’s.
That was always the thing with Don King I mean there was there was this person.
There was also that there was also the downside to it too.
Oh yeah, you never know what was going to happen with with.
If you were with Don King, you didn’t know, it has a flip, a coin literally um so and I know in 2006 you were named W band’s best kept secret um, possibly the best um and like notably the best woman out there for women’s boxing um and Making sure that people are getting seen um, so what did that mean getting the best kept secret at the end of the year in 2006.
, man yeah, I followed W being religiously, because again, I was doing all this homework.
On my own and um, I was like Wow best kept secret, but you just told the secret.
So now, let’s see so, I think the thing is when people didn’t know who I was um.
It was okay, but now that people know who knew who I was um, they were like.
I don’t think we’re gon na fight her she’s a little, not right, she’s, a little dangerous she’s, a little whatever, so I think they kind of in their own ways.
Just danced around me and shelves me, and so that’s what it was so again.
I was trying to gain respect for women’s boxes.
It was just hard because I didn’t understand the business of it and I didn’t understand you need to have a promoter to promote you.
I didn’t understand that I felt like okay, I can fight.
I can fight like the guys.
I can knock these chicks out.
They can pay me and they’re like um.
It don’t work that way for women’s boxes, so there’s a different set of rules that I had to learn so um and that’s what it was.
That’S my story, so I I did it like.
I said I had to.
I Did It My Way um.
I didn’t beg I just I just kept taking one step, trying to figure it out and then um.
You know I started uh.
I decided especially on four.
I actually was opening my gym with the help of a mentorship of Monica Nino.
She helped Mentor me into that, and so I had my own gym.
I was doing my own thing.
I actually worked for work, um incarcerated juveniles, so I and I thought – and so I wasn’t like I wasn’t losing like you know, and so no I wasn’t yeah, and so you were 50.
so yeah it was so it was just that um.
It was just that, whatever reason people did not want to fight me, you know there was some.
You know there’s some, you know once I went into a heavier weight, I had surgery and my hormones shifted and everything they removed a massive tumor about the size of a half gallon jug of milk.
They removed it.
My hormone shifted.
I went into the heavy weight, Division and uh, you know.
I then my I’m literally not supposed to be that big and I’m trying to you know hang with these the big dogs right and um.
You know and and I started it still didn’t matter – I was like yep I’ll fight you.
I fall like Carla Ewell off the operating table.
You know which I tried a couple of times the fighter.
It didn’t happen and then finally we got a chance to fight and um.
I thought it off.
The operating table 10 Rounds yeah.
So if you won that fight okay, there you go, I mean I’m just saying just throw that out there I know um was it.
I don’t know, was it someone I heard I think I just saw recently on Facebook.
Somebody was.
Was it her that was talking about um? Did you see this? I think maybe she posted um something about the Roy Jones Mike Tyson fight, which had already happened, but she thought it was gon na happen again.
Somebody posted that and they’re like oh.
This is my chance like where we I can come out and we could like do it again.
Oh I’m not sure about I’m not sure, but I said that fight already happened like it’s old and she’s like oh, like I knew they had fought once I thought.
Maybe they were doing it again because remember when they did the exhibition boy and Mike and she’s like so I was like thinking like I could get on that card like come back.
I think it was her.
Oh yeah, I don’t know I just um yeah but yeah, but Carlette um.
We kind of we kind of grew close because I my first my first and only show Pro Show I promoted in Florida.
If anybody knows um yeah New York is hard.
California is hard.
Florida is a really hard state to promote in um, which is why we’re in Mexico now but um.
You know my first ever I did it as a joke.
I’M like are you guys kidding me like.
This? Is eighth grade administrative push paper, pushing emailing, you know faxing Back in the Day stuff and I was like yeah.
You know I can do this so me and my friend uh right hand, man, Patrick Washington, truck driver.
We were faxing from truck stops and all kind of stuff, and we put on the pro show, that’s actually on YouTube, but her let um I had her um her.
The main event was her fighter, so she came down and brought her fighter to fight in Florida.
For the main event and her fighter actually won what was called my battle Ram um championship belt, her fighter actually took that belt back yeah, and so because she had worked with me and my that that whole event – oh my God, it was.
I can’t even explain what happened but um it did happen, but I had to actually pay post pay some of her money.
You know them some money, so um I paid.
I left them with some, but then I started doing my increments and they didn’t file a complaint against or anything, but when it was my time to fight her.
I was like you know what, since she worked with me on my deal, um – and I know how these shows are – I’m gon na give you guys a 90-day Clause to pay me so on my calls, I typed the contract and I put pay me within 90 Days and she was like really and I was like yeah, because the ticket sales weren’t going, I was like I already know you already worked with me, so we kind of became like you know, boxing buddies and sisters and um.
You know we talk, you know phone and things like that, but I just I was just a little hurt because, like you know, I felt like I had won that fight.
Some people say it was a drone, definitely wasn’t a loss and I put in a um.
I put in um a um right away, call the commission and put in filed a complaint and said hey.
This was supposed to you know, get the video, so nobody ever never provided the video, but that that fight is still an appeal.
If Video is ever presented that video I mean that fight so video, either nah nah they’re, not gon na this guy sent me.
He sent me some clips, so I know he videotaped it.
He sent me clips, but they said they had to be unedited.
So you know that again, that’s a part of my legacy, my story, so that would be the one fight that still bothers you today.
Um um, it’s it’s one.
There’S I mean there’s others, but that one I just have to say all right.
I lost you, one okay, yeah moving on yeah, I feel you, I feel you um, who would you say, was your toughest opponent wow, so many good ones, um, oh man, I should say so.
I would say I.
I can’t really answer that question, because every my every fight there has there was something something like like when I fought um when I fought my daughter fought, and I don’t know if you know this, my daughter fought Sonia lamonicus aluminakis.
I didn’t my daughter bought her in 2010.
If you go look at my trip, so my daughter’s name is Alicia’s William Stevenson, so she fought Sonia.
I worked the corner and she my daughter’s first and only fight with with um Lou de bella in New York on Broadway, okay, okay, let’s go so she was a heavyweight, so Sonia fought her.
The New York State athletic commission allowed my daughter who had no amateur fights.
She had a book full of entries of years of entries, no official plants, let a four-time New York state Golden Glove champion fight, my daughter, okay.
So something is not right, but we’re gon na play the game.
So I went ahead and you know my daughter.
She fought on him.
She she beat my daughter, but I just said I just said to her um.
Well, since she beat my daughter, you know I got ta get your back.
You know one of those type of statements, and so so that was in 2010.
, we didn’t Sonia kept saying there was nobody to fight all those years.
I made a rap song about it.
I did all this stuff, I did everything but call her out, because I don’t have to call you out if I’m right here for you to fight.
Why do I have to call you out you’re the one making the noise so um? It just was happening.
You know I had a fighter that was fighting on Keith Thurman on the card, a mill we were up in her home.
We were up at Gleason’s gym.
These trainers came up and said.
Wait you, lady Ram.
I was like yeah, they said um.
They said.
Oh, why won’t you fight Sonia, I said Sonia who and they was like.
Oh you know what you’re talking about.
I said.
Well, I just fought a science so who are you talking about? They said, oh, the one that fights here.
I say I don’t know who that is she’s a nobody, it’s like, oh, so they started this big thing, and this is, I think, maybe Facebook live had just started or something and they started this big thing and start got, and this is this is why Clarissa Shields is so so on point because she knows how to strike strike the chord and so that.
So I had to learn that.
But here I am like 40, I’m like 47 years old or something just learning to strike that match to start the fire, and I was like I’m gon na do it.
I said yeah, I’m gon na.
Do it put me on video, and so I was like yeah Sonia wherever you are.
I mean your uncle please right now, I’m just talking.
I don’t even know what I’m saying.
I don’t even know how to do that.
I’M like yeah, I’m in your home.
You know I’m in your hometown, blah blah.
Where are you you want to fight? So I said something I don’t even remember, and lo and behold they um uh uh.
This guy reached out to me, said he’s calling over her behalf for a fight.
I’M like really.
I said: okay, let’s fight and and that’s what happened nice hey.
Sometimes you know.
Sometimes you got ta, you got ta, be the one to to start the noise because they are talking all that mess, but it won’t space, say specifics or mention names, but you know they’re talking to you but they’re not talking to you directly so yeah.
Sometimes you just got ta, you got ta, be the one well with social social media, now see, but people people.
My in my era.
We have my space right yeah.
I don’t even remember how that thing worked, but now all the music industry, everybody is social media marketing.
All your marketing advertisement, so all you have to do is say something off kilter or negative.
All the positive stuff gets kind of overlooked a lot of times, but the negative stuff is what strikes so I had, but I learned, and so we got the fight and we fought to a draw.
My hair was all over the place and everything it was horrible, but what people don’t know then there’s people that knew, but she didn’t know, and I didn’t let people know I had a full-scale pull hamstring – that fight full skill scale hamstring.
I could not even push off.
I was in so much pain, so if, if there was a fight that was the hardest it was it was, she was tough, I’m not saying she’s not.
I couldn’t be me because I had an injury and I couldn’t yeah yeah.
Think about that you fought to a draw.
So imagine, if you didn’t have the injury, you would have definitely beat her yeah and and I I wrote up the contract, so I said I said if, if I beat you we’ll redo this 90 days in Florida, so she agreed to that.
So my thought was okay.
If I beat you in your neck of the woods what you think I’m gon na do with my negative right, so she agreed to that first.
I said okay, so in the ring I I want to see that again in the ring.
She was like so we’re gon na we’re gon na do a rematch.
I said no, it’s a draw so to draw there’s no rematch, so we didn’t, we don’t have to oblige to the contract right, yeah well and with her with that fight, I was like I.
I didn’t even care about the money.
I made it the money issue, but I didn’t really care about no money it was about.
It was about you all these years.
You avoided me and you’re talking and she said something about.
Oh, I beat a daughter if she got sisters I’ll beat her, then she got.
She started like talking like my favorite stuff and my mom had just passed.
So the last thing she wanted to say was, if I’ll be the mom too, because I’m just gon na leave that right there yeah, so she started yeah.
She started chanting, a line that I don’t even the line of disrespect that I don’t even like.
If you really want to see me come out fighting and I’ll fight you, but it won’t be a fair fight and it definitely won’t be in the ring so yeah that that thing I wasn’t even gon na go there, but I’m glad she never said it.
So she said just enough to strike it like fire me up to the point that I you know I did what I had to do, but I told them.
I said I told the promoter I said um.
It was with Rivera boxing.
I said um, I said, look, do you know the history behind us? He was like.
No, so I gave him the history of my daughter and everything I was like.
No, oh.
I owe her a butt whooping I was like you know.
I would do it for free, but since y’all giving away money, um just put some numbers down there and let’s make this thing happen.
I said.
The only thing I want you to have is a um, your insurance policy.
I said: that’s, that’s it.
If you have an ambulance, an insurance policy, I said we’re good, I said because if I don’t disrupt the inside of her internal organs, I said I didn’t do enough and that that and that’s what I meant, and so I I know she hadn’t fought.
I had.
I know she had a fault again, I don’t know, I don’t know where she is and what she’s doing.
But somebody said I cracked the rib somebody said she had internal bleeding, but they didn’t tell me until a little later.
But if that’s true, I felt good about it, but if it’s not true, I’m still disappointed because my whole intent was um to destroy her like, like not even like, like.
I really wanted to put her on a stretcher, because she I felt she was disrespectful.
Now, as a person I mean – maybe that’s just her her um her get up as far as the boxing promotions, but I think as a person she’s a really good person.
I know you know she’s a teacher.
I respect that and everything but um.
You know she was just doing that to strike up something, I’m just not that one really right so and that’s kind of just what that was, but I’m good now you know I baby.
What’S his name, Mason, hey Mason, he just woke up hey Mason um, so I think the only other I mean there’s a lot of other stuff.
I was going to ask you, but before he goes in bananas um, why don’t you just tell us about the show? I asked you most yourself about your career.
I was going to talk about women’s boxing today, but before he goes bananas and starts freaking out.
Why don’t you tell everybody about the show this weekend where they can watch it where they can get tickets um any new info info? You got and stuff like that.
Okay, so this weekend March 18th will be in um Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico um with the ring King and Queens, which is also known as the women’s boxing championship series and we’ll have a host of American Boxer organization.
Title belts on the line with Therese Brown, Normy, Vasquez and um a few other.
We have a special fight coming in from um from France.
Her name is kapanza.
If you guys go to my Facebook, Laura Ramsey, um or lower lady Ram Ramsey, you can I’ll be dropping the links.
The link is already out there.
You guys could purchase it for 29.
99 and that should trickle over into the Instagram as well um and if you’re in Mexico, you can also pull it up under War boxing International um, that’s w-a-r, boxing, International or um.
I also have a page called KO Sports International.
That’S k-h-a-o Sports International on Facebook, so you guys can find us and the links are already out there um.
As far as tickets um are concerned, you’ll have to just buy the tickets at the door and um, and then you, you know we’re looking for a great show and um.
We hope that these girls uh, you know I I are they going to put on a great show, so thank Ernesto Neri and War box promotions for inviting KO Sports International um alone to to make this event happen.
Yes, absolutely um.
How was taz’s training camp? Is she ready to go? Is she excited? I know we’re gon na be in the main event.
This has got to be big for her, oh yeah, so China Camp has been great um.
You know we had the fight on the Zone back in December, but that was a replacement fight for the Australia fight that was um.
The opponent apparently hurt her hand, so she’s been training.
You know for months um for for a fight, and then this this Zone was unfortunate situation, but now this fight uh we’re looking to you know I I don’t want to stay tuned up, but we’re looking to get back in the ring and then um and then In two weeks later, we’ll be fighting for a world title fight in Australia.
So um you know it’s getting busy we’re getting busy, but training camp is, is good.
Um she’s, you know she’s sitting on 128 um, but the fight is the fights are at 126.
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