AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 4
Former IFBA Jr Featherweight World Champion, former NABF Featherweight Champion, former NABA Featherweight Champion, former Interim WBC Featherweight Champion, and 2X World Champion.
She was highly recognized for her work in the film, “Million Dollar Baby” – She was the sparring partner for Hillary Swank.
“Boxing is our truth serum” – Maureen Shea
She is currently part-owner of the company, “One With Life Organic Tequila”
As well continue to have active involvement in the sport of boxing – One of her main goals is getting back in the ring for another title!
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Transcribed:
Hello, everybody and welcome to our next episode on the female fist.
I’M really excited about this episode.
I have such an amazing guest with us today.
She is a two-time world champion and she is the n a b.
A featherweight champion is that right, n, a b, f, w, absolutely nabf world champion, there’s a couple different um there’s a couple different.
I have four belts, total two-time world champion, wbc ifba and uh, the nabf and the naba were uh the regional titles.
Oh my god.
Thank you so much for that.
I don’t want to butcher it.
Everybody welcome the real million dollar baby, okay, the real million dollar baby maureen shea.
Thank you so much for coming on to the show with me.
I’M really excited to get into a conversation with you.
Thank you.
No, it’s such a pleasure so obviously for our audience.
Anybody who doesn’t and should know about you she was in well.
You were the sparring partner for hillary swank in the movie, the million dollar baby.
Hence why you have that nickname yep yeah.
So i worked with hillary, i was um, it was 2003 that she came to gleason’s gym where i had been training and uh.
She was put with hector roca, who was my boxing coach at the time and um.
It was funny.
I remember meeting her in the office like i worked in the office to pay my dues to bruce silverglade who owns gleason’s and she walked in and then bruce introduced me to her and said.
Oh, you and maureen may be working together and then lo and behold uh, you know the following week.
She started working with hector, okay and then hector paired me with her um.
I mean she.
She she got to train with different people, but we were primary.
I was her primary scoring partner.
I was getting ready for the golden gloves and she was getting ready just to learn boxing and obviously for a million dollar baby.
So we trained we sparred three times a week.
Hector was really big into sparring, and so i sparred everybody like he would just throw me in the ring with whoever he felt whether it was guys girls.
You know what we felt during that day um, but for me like, there was specific work because a lot of people like oh did you hit her.
Did you and i’m like? No because he sent me in there to work on something specific, so mostly defense and then countering, but the thing with me – and you would understand this too, is i always had control in there, and i know a lot of people, men and women.
Don’T really know how to control their punches, and so i always went in there.
I never went 100 ever even now.
I don’t go 100.
Unless i say i need to spank somebody.
If i need to i’m like okay, but back then i didn’t even know.
I was learning you know, and so i just went.
I just went like as much as like just trying to get the technique right, which is why i’m such a technical boxer today um so learning that work and then being paired with her.
She was protected.
You know so i wouldn’t hurt her, and even if she went 100 on me, it wasn’t going to hurt because she didn’t have the technique.
You know so um, but she was she developed it and she got better and it was just such a pleasure to work with her because she’s just a real person and very genuine and authentic, and i learned a lot from her as well: yeah she’s uh she’s, One of my favorite actresses, i think she does phenomenal work and i think that’s amazing that you had the opportunity to work with her in the ring and i think that’s um.
That’S an interesting point that you made that you know how to control yourself in the ring and i think every combat athlete out there can relate to having one session with somebody you know maybe in their beginning stages, maybe when they were first starting on a boxing.
There’S always been somebody, that’s gotten in there with the ring and they don’t know how to control themselves and they’ve been hit where it wasn’t necessary, and i think it’s so important that people to when you reach a certain level when you’re going for provincial championships right Or for state championships or national championships or international, when you’re at a certain level, there’s a respect that you’re supposed to have in the ring, and i think that a lot of people sometimes forget that and when you have these people that are trying to learn the Sport trying to understand ring, you know, respect and when they get these horrible experiences, and it kind of creates this bad name around boxing.
Where, like all these people just go in there, they throw you in there and then you just get beat up well.
That kind of happened to me started that kind of happened to me yeah, please, for me, yeah.
I think that every but i look at it like it was like a test for me.
If i really wanted to do this, if you really want to come back because you had to be able to kind of like you know, i think it’s important for every female to go through or any fighter to kind of go through that test and then realize.
Okay, what do i need? What do what do i have? What don’t i have? What do i need, and how do i get it you know so that happened to me when i first started, and i remember and i got humbled real, quick um.
I was only boxing a couple, maybe like six months, and i only sparred with the guys who didn’t beat me up.
The guys were like playing pity, pat with me right, my coach at the time willie uh, willie soto, said okay.
They brought a girl in for me to spar and i’m looking at this girl and i’m like oh she’s, small, like she was smaller than me, and so i got in the ring.
Like oh she’s.
I totally judged the book by its cover and she caught me with a left hook and i thought i broke my jaw and i was like.
I stopped the sparring.
You know – and i remember i was so embarrassed and then i went home and i cried and then i came back to the gym the next day and i just kept going so that was my test and i realized, don’t judge a book by its cover and Then i found out she was a golden glove champion.
I hadn’t even fought yet and – and that made sense like it didn’t matter how big or small she was.
She mattered her experience, you know and that i didn’t have so she knew exactly what was coming at her.
I had no idea and i don’t think she threw the punch to hurt me.
She threw the punch and landed the punch because i was you know all.
I knew was one two three slip slip.
That’S all i knew you know so she’s gon na catch me but um.
I don’t remember her name but um.
That was probably the best lesson i ever learned.
I’M sure she remembers your name though, but it was um.
It was, it was interesting, so it was definitely like.
I said the test you know, but after that there were times where i was put in there with guys i had other coaches that didn’t have the experience and didn’t understand.
I got put in there with some guys that that beat me up, and i thought i had to fight and that’s where i felt like.
I was never good enough or i always had to fight you know, but when i got in there with somebody that worked with me, i never wanted.
I guess i never wanted to put somebody else through that right and with the guys i’m like.
I didn’t think i was hitting them hard they’re guys, you know, but some of them were just you know they didn’t have the control they’re, like 17 18 years old, i mean i was 18 years old too, but i’m a woman like i’m okay, to say my Friends, that’s not as strong as these guys like it’s, not natural, we’re, not we’re not created that way.
You know endurance wise.
We can out beat them with that when it comes to power and and strength, it’s very different, and i always have that conversation with everybody too, because people always say to me: would you ever fight a guy? It’S like okay, because now in this new era people are, you know you see now like in ufc they’re putting men in there with women, and some of these shows – and i just think it’s so you know i don’t want to you – know – bring up this controversial Topic but it’s like your opinion, i agree, and you know i think, that, because pound for pound, a guy, my size he’s still a man and he’s still like his bone density is different than mine.
I’Ve got like flow and estrogen he’s got flowing.
Testosterone, like it’s just different, i don’t want to get hit with that.
It’S not fair and don’t get me wrong.
I’M not going to say that, like oh uh, a guy could just beat me up.
You know as a fighter just a fighter if your man or woman you’re never going to let somebody just beat you up you’re going to always fight.
You know as much as you can, but i don’t want to go in there and fight a guy.
I don’t want to do that and i don’t think that’s like you know.
No, it’s not.
It was – and i think i agree with you and i think, there’s a couple reasons why that’s coming to now why people are well, i mean first of all because of the transgender which i think is unfair um in all sports, not just combat sports um, also Because i think they were people, i feel, like the the public wasn’t informed as far as the understanding that women’s boxing is the same as men’s boxing, the only difference is in the professionals we fight for, we fight two minute rounds and they fight three minute rounds.
So right away, they’re like oh well, women don’t fight as much.
Why? Because we have a higher rate of concussions, a higher percentage rate to get concussions.
That’S one reason.
Second, i was always asked by um different uh media about what i thought about a lot of women wanting to fight three-minute rounds, and i i i mean look at what happened with marlene and and sien and um sunisa yeah three minute rounds more lens gash, i Mean that may have been avoided.
You know, i don’t.
I think women’s boxing for me, i like it, it’s like women’s tennis, i’m like why are you gon na keep it different? It’S a different type of sport.
It’S a same sport, but it’s a different style.
Women have a different finesse, a different it’s like with anything.
Women are gon na.
Do things differently than the men.
It’S not so much who’s better, but i would say you never see a boring women’s fight because they fight two minutes.
There’S no time with men.
I’Ve seen plenty of boring, men’s fights and i’m not putting the men down because they’re going to agree with me.
It’S not that we can’t do it.
It’S that why it’s got to stop being a competition.
You know – and i felt like that, but then, like oh, the pay and and i’m like it’s, i don’t feel that we’re not getting paid because we fight two minute rounds.
I feel like we’re not getting paid because we’re not being marketed correctly and we’re not being given platforms.
I mean it’s like i mean i had a conversation with with one of my when i’m actually a world champion male fighter that i love to death.
You know he’s a great guy, but i said it’s him.
I was like he’s like.
Oh once, you guys fight three minute rounds.
You got i’m like that’s such a bs, i’m like if we get the, i mean dana white.
I just had this conversation with phil.
My strength, coach, dana white did it right.
He didn’t dilute the market, he took the 135 pounders built those women, ronda rousey took the 115 pounders built those women joanna george check tasha torres all those girls, and then he brought in the 125 after um.
I know so much about mma, because i’m a fan, but then he took you, know: amanda yeah, amanda, nunez versus valentina schiavenko and then created the 125, which valentina cervanco’s fighting 125 she’s dominating.
Could she fight amanda nunez again, mandanez is significantly bigger than valentina and valentina went the distance twice with amanda and even even dana said it the other night.
He said i don’t see because you know valentina beat um um.
What’S her name, um uh, uh, jessica, yeah yeah, so you know it was like valentina, i’m a fan of valentina’s me too, and i was a fan of joanna’s and joanna.
Actually she and i was a fan of t-shirts and t-shirts and i sparred and joanna trained with with phil.
I got to meet her and speak to her and you know it’s it’s so um even amanda.
You know at att when i was going over there and stuff, and you know it’s so cool – to get to know these women even valerie letourneau people didn’t know, but valerie letourneau, who ended up fighting um joanna george check at 115, which that is not valerie’s weight.
Class valerie’s, like a 135 pounder yeah 125, is cutting it close, but valerie and i used to train at gleason’s back in the early 2000s when she went before the ufc.
You know a lot of these women have been around for a long time and valerie is one of the toughest girls that i know you know overall and her fight with joanna jack was great.
She was, but you don’t realize that she’s, not a 115 pounder yeah.
You know that’s a tough like to cut all that weight.
Oh but she’s the bigger girl, i’m like yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better, oh like when you go like that’s where most knockouts come from is the dehydration alone and the injuries and the death.
You know, and and i’m glad you said that because that’s a big thing with mma in comparison to boxing yep, you see these girls and boxing jumping away classes like i jumped weight classes because i kind of had to there was a number of reasons.
I did it because there wasn’t enough enough fish in the pond for me and i was stopping a lot of the girls at the lower weight classes.
So we went up.
I also had an eating disorder and i suffered from depression.
So i was on anti-depressants.
I was it was it was, it was tough.
My eating disorder was, i was a compulsive eater and i was struggling with depression and i oh i have a picture.
I can send it to you.
I was 180 pounds multiple times in my life, not because i wasn’t disciplined but because i you know i’ve been in therapy since i was since i was like seven, but i’ve had an array of issues.
You know i just didn’t make them public, because you know i was going through them and when you’re going through something it’s it’s hard to to to come out and say like oh i’m, i’m messed up and plus at the time i didn’t you could see me.
Oh, my god that looks like two different people, oh yeah, and it wasn’t once it was multiple times in my life wow like i.
If somebody showed me that and said that’s maureen, i would never have thought it’s like.
No, it’s not it’s just i i see maureen like wow transformations, for you, huge, huge and boxy has been a big part of that.
You know and that’s the thing like people didn’t know those things about me like i got offered matchroom boxing called me and offered me the 130 pound to fight for 130 pound world title against their champion in my backyard here in in florida.
I’M in florida.
Now, at the hard rock – and i’m like why i’m ranked number i was ranked number one by the wba at 118.
– i’d been ranked at 122.
.
I hadn’t fought at 130 in years.
I’M like why am i going to go up see? This? Is the problem what’s happening now? It’S like i’m not going to sell myself out the fights that i fight now at 29 and 2 or 13 knockouts and a two-time world champion.
They need to make sense, they need to financially make sense and they need to make sense for me in my ranking, i’m not gon na go and fight.
I just i told my manager that i’m just not gon na.
Why do you think i haven’t fought this year? I’Ll tell you why? Because i was supposed to fight for the world title in may wba world title and then covet hit.
So then my fight got pushed and then the ranking stuff started and we had.
We were going back and forth the wba, and then they just had.
I was ranked number one and then they just had um ebony bridges, fight, uh, shannon courtney for the title that was rightfully mine and those girls were ranked seven and eight because match room.
You know eddie hearn, he you know he buys the belts and those are his girls, so he’s not going to put them in there with me.
The girls are like collectively, i think they have 15 fights together.
I have 33 fights, he’s not going to put them in there with me, because i’m a threat and i’m 40 years old.
So what’s your what’s your? What’S your i’m not stupid, you know what i’m saying like yeah a couple interviews, but what they don’t realize is women literally get better with age? Look at alicia, alicia ashley! Not only was she one of my i sparred with her when she was getting ready for her fights when i first started boxing but she’s been such an inspiration for me and she’s watched me reinvent myself, multiple times, and we still talk, i mean she’s now in In china doing uh doing uh boxing out there and she’s doing great but she’s been such an inspiration for me because she was like in her late 40s and she was in the guinness book of world records.
I think she was like 48 and she beat out bernard hopkins and she won the wbc world title and you know, and and and she was managed by my manager – luigi, oh jesse, again, self-promoted yeah, you know he did it like with me and that’s why you Know i stand true to who i am and i’m i just you know it’s for me.
It’S integrity and it’s also just my journey – is different than everybody else’s.
You know um.
Could i join.
I just stay true to myself and, and one of my favorite quotes.
I i was an english major.
One of my favorite quotes was ralph, waldo emerson said, do not go where the path may lead go instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
That’S been my if you could probably find interviews from years ago, where i’ve always stuck by that and also the easy road is the road to um.
The easy road is the road to destruction and the hard road is the road to salvation and that’s biblical and i’ve always felt like for me.
God is my higher power and i’ve always had faith, and you know my my.
My spirituality has always been a very, very important part of who i am, and that’s been my faith in that god has something bigger for me than i could always imagine for myself.
So when i didn’t get what my dreams were or what my i’m like.
Okay, he’s always give me something that i’m, like million dollar baby, never expected that to happen um.
You know, even just all this stuff training at lomachenko’s gym.
Never, you know i mean i went out and i made it happen, but god opened the doors.
For me.
You know what i’m saying he gave me that hey i’m like what are they gon na say? No, i mean how many women have done that you know what i mean have been.
No women have ever can never say they trained at the boxing laboratory, and i used to run with lomachenko at arroyo verde in california, and i did strengthen conditioning with multiple olympians that were from um.
You know they were all from russia from kazakhstan from and they they’re awesome.
You know and – and i’m so blessed that i got to get those i create.
Those experiences were there, but it’s also, you know, luck is preparation, meeting opportunity.
Absolutely i got a ton of them no, and i love that, and i i’m oh my god, everything that you just said is so valuable.
It’S so it’s so beautiful everything that you just said, because not everybody like not everybody, has the opportunity to even hear this kind of wisdom, this kind of knowledge and as a woman in a sport, that’s male, dominant and you’ve been in boxing now for how many Years 23.
, more than half my life, so you don’t want to taste sex yeah, but it’s like, but like even that alone, you know like for me, boxing was such a different world for me, 10 years ago yeah.
I can’t even imagine, like 23 years ago what it looked like.
The segregation like, i remember, mandy.
You know mandy bourgeois the olympian of course yeah so she’s, my teammate and she used.
I had her on here and she was telling me about how they used to have like in the amateurs one ring for the men and one ring for the woman, and they they would send all the referees that were like new or they were tired or whatever They’D send them to the women’s rest, like the women’s ring, and i’m like this is crazy, like that would never happen now.
So that’s what i mean like you know what no even i could tell you even another story when i went to so my i.
I fought my second fight nationals.
I fought the national champion in my second fight as an amateur, because there were no women for me to fight, so i had to pay my way to nationals in chicago and i got there and i didn’t know about making weight like.
I didn’t realize the hydration and from the plane ride, so i ended up retaining water.
I weighed in at 127.
I was fighting at 125.
.
I couldn’t make it so.
My manager luigi was my boxing coach at the time he’s like well, we got two options: either.
Either you don’t fight or we go up a weight class.
We fight at 132.
, i’m like well, i’m here i paid i might as well fight 132.
.
So i fought and i had the national champion coming down from 138.
smalls and i fought her and i mean yeah.
I lost the decision, but those were the risks you had to take yeah and the other one is.
I went to um.
I think it was uh women’s, i don’t remember, is in colorado, springs and women weren’t allowed to speak, because we weren’t considered an olympic sport.
Then we were not allowed to stay on the olympic premises on the on the premise yeah.
We weren’t allowed to be there.
So we had to stay in a hotel.
We had to pay for a hotel.
Take our rent, a car.
I had to cook my food in the hotel where the men were allowed to stay on the olympic training center, but we fought at the olympic training center, but we weren’t allowed to stay at the olympic training center because back then and that’s why? Because women’s boxing was an olympic sport and you know, like i’m glad, i went through everything that i did, but i also turned pro after having 12 amateur fights because it was tough to get fights and you know i had to pay my way and i was Ranked seven nationally out of like there weren’t that many, you know and again i learned on the job i wasn’t raised in a sport and i’m not saying a lot of women did, but i felt my manager well luigi, who was my boxing coach at the time Felt that my style was was made for the pros, and you know so.
He brought me to the pros and after a million dollar baby, we saw the opportunity with the with the media and the fame that i got, and the attention should be able to go pro because promoters put me on because i sold tickets and i was marketable So again, i that platform is what gave me that boost.
You know i didn’t have i mean even look at christy, martin and chrissy is amazing and christy martin got the opportunity because she fought on the tyson card right.
You know what i’m saying and then then she got in sports illustrated and then all that laila ali she’s laila ali, you know what i’m saying jackie frazier is jackie, frazier, lucia wright.
Two.
Did it another way? She she had a phenomenal career herself and wolf with that knockout of bond award.
I mean there’s a lot of women that if those women didn’t do that, you know i’m saying like – and women like me didn’t do that there wouldn’t be opportunities for women.
Like you.
Okay and we stayed there and even like even today, like people, ask me like how do you still have like after all this time? How do you still do it? I’M, like i love it.
I do love it, but the thing you know what i found it’s like, i don’t i used to think i needed to box not financially, but like i needed it like, it was who you were yeah and then i realized i’m like wow.
It’S really.
It’S nicer to not need it and to choose to do it and i think it’s a little bit more powerful to choose to do it, because it’s definitely not easy, and i learned that with my manager luigi, you know explanation the explanation of school and education being Of utmost importance during my career, you know so like even million dollar baby i was at.
I was going to iona college in new york, and so i lost my academic scholarship because i started going part-time because i was boxing and they took that away and i couldn’t get an a sports scholarship, because boxing wasn’t considered a collegiate sport.
I couldn’t use the gym because boxing wasn’t considered a collegiate sport, so i was running in the snow running outside and eating out of the trunk of my car between classes and eating a yam asking if i can eat a yam in class because they didn’t really Understand you know what i was doing.
You know because they were like and again back.
Then boxing like you, don’t look like a fighter right like women like you now are so it’s is accepted.
You’Re beautiful women that are feminine and more accepted because of of the ronda rousey movement, and things like that and women could still be feminine and be tough.
Where, like when i first started, i got doors closed in my face because i didn’t look like a fighter and, first of all, because i was a female second of all, because i, like i looked feminine well you’re beautiful.
Thank you.
Thank you and that’s the thing and i’m like, but it was, but that hindered me starting out and it made me mad and i’m like what am i supposed to look like like i don’t understand, they know the fight.
That’S inside of me like they don’t get it plus i’m an athlete.
I mean look at these phenomenal athletes like mia ham, she’s, beautiful and she’s a phenomenal athlete.
I was a big.
I was a huge mia, mia ham fan.
I was a huge carrie walsh.
Misty made trainer like the volleyball player, they’re, beautiful and they’re athletic and they’re.
You know and they’re they’re, not like hard hard.
You know what i’m saying so i didn’t understood what i needed to look like to be accepted, and that was really hard for me.
You know coming up because it was like you got ta be a certain way, and i was just not that way right and i understand that because, like even myself just ten years ago, just ten okay, how about no? No, even more like 11 years ago now, where i had a boy because you know i was like 15 and you know whatever, and i had a boy i was just starting.
Actually, i started competing in olympic style wrestling first, because my dad didn’t.
Let me do the boxing because he was like.
I want to see my daughter get punched in the face.
I don’t want it, so that’s like okay, so i kind of like forced him to let me because i just took my own way and i went to wrestling first, but this boy had said to me um after, like i was winning all these medals and i Was so excited – and i was talking about with my friends like i just won gold – you know whatever and then he’s like you know.
This is something that boys do like.
Why are you like trying to box? Why are you trying to wrestle and he’s like this – is what boys do like there’s something wrong with you yeah and he’s like you know, i don’t really think that girl should be doing this stuff and, of course, like it, never hindered me because i grew up In a gym with my father, my father never made it like in my head, like it was wrong for me to be there as a girl.
I was just a part of it, so like i’m lucky about that part, but when he said that to me i was really like this is how people see it like.
That was like the perspective that i saw right there and like, like you said you know you look at so many other, like beautiful female athletes and they don’t say boo to it and i thought like well, because i still knew about mandy back then she wasn’t.
The olympian back then, but she was still all these national championship or whatever she was the it girl for canada and my dad used to say to me.
You should look at a girl like her like she’s doing it.
You could do it too, and i think i wonder if she’s ever heard those things too, because she’s beautiful, like you know, i thought to myself: why is there a stigma about a good-looking girl being in a sport and people? You say me all the time.
Why would you want to get your fit your pretty face ruined? Why do you think i’m going to yeah? That’S what i tell them.
They look at my face and they’re like wow.
You know you still for all those fights and i don’t sound punchy and things.
I’M like i have really good defense, but i broken my nose like three times i mean i got headbutted and i broke it.
Yeah i’m like i’m like i’ll, get a new nose when i’m done, i’m like everybody else gets new noses.
I’M at least i’m gon na have a reason you know like my left nostril you know, but it’s like, but but i think that’s what makes us special because listen we’re less than one percent of the population that can do what we do, and so that’s what And you know that’s why this conversation we’re just.
We can just go back and forth and you can relate so much because we’re we’re both special because we’re in this.
You know it’s not like we’re better than anybody else, we’re just different yeah and i’m like you know, and anybody that questioned people that i’m sure, like your dad or anybody.
That knows me is like no, that girl can fight like they’ve got over the whole look thing and they got over even my age, because i’m here, training down at um, sweat box, but i’m sparring with avril mathy and a lot of the girls and they all Respect me be like no, she could fight, even the guys david estrada is down.
There david’s know me for years, he’s like an old school he’s, a veteran and he’s like no like.
If they didn’t know me they’re, going to know me when i was done sparring.
I’M, like i’m a veteran and i’m i wear that with with pride, been around this game for a long time, and i know anybody who knows me, you know knows like i’ve been here, you know and and and i love and that’s why boxing’s such a small Community too, like i love that i love that about boxing is that you know i don’t i don’t feel like.
I have to go places and announce myself.
I just sometimes it’s hard when you know they don’t know like younger girls too, that don’t know or things like that where i’m just like.
I i don’t even care, because i’ve learned to sit back and observe, and i’ve learned that like if they care to know they’ll, ask yeah exactly you’re like there’s knowledge.
There’S experience i’m like yeah and i’m all about sharing that so that you don’t have to go through stuff like i i’m one of probably one of the most accessible female athletes like like you said you know, you took a a chance to message me.
Why? Wouldn’T i why wouldn’t i do it? Why and even gianna had asked me about um.
She asked me about uh having another girl on so um she’s, a judoka she’s, a judo she’s, an olympian judoka, which is i mean if you’re interested i’ll, even angelica.
You know she’s amazing, you know and she’s trained strength and conditioning, and i love her to death just meeting other female athletes in and she’s cuban and her dad was in judo and she’s.
She just went to the pan ams i mean she came in.
I think she came in second, i love angie like she’s like us, you know what i’m saying so like we connect so much and i’m like, and i asked her if she’d be on gianna’s podcast and she said yeah, so i connected them um.
I think it’s important you know for women in combat sport.
I think there’s definitely i mean.
Obviously boxing is a little bit different, but i connect with mma fighters, men and women.
I just feel like male mma fighters accept females like me or, like you, and boxers more like they don’t look at us like we’re women, because the females in mma have done so well and they train together.
What i hope that’s not mine was that mine.
Oh i’m so sorry, i thought this was on silent.
Oh you’re, fine, i think, like with the mma fighters like they are more accepting and because they’re more educated on their counterparts, their women mma fighters where and they train with them like they can roll with a girl like amanda nunes is rolling.
You know i’m saying with these guys i mean, i know one of her sparring partners.
You know and he’s like dude she’s, a beast like she’s like legit, but they don’t go hard.
You know what i’m saying because they have so many different arts.
They have to work on yeah, so she’s technically sound like i’ve sparred with him too.
You know lamar and i love lamar, he’s awesome but he’s you know, he’s helped amanda get ready for a lot of her fights and they know how to work with the women.
You know what i mean: they respect them, where i feel male boxers, because we don’t train collectively as a team, where you know you’re, never going to have your teammate really hold mitts for you.
You know, usually your coach there’s a different, there’s differences.
I had this conversation with with beau hightower yesterday, and i said i just find that i get more of a connection with mma fighters, sometimes than than male boxers, just because of that they don’t they’re, not educated, they don’t know because they never either gave themselves the Opportunity or even considered, let me train, you know, but i’ll tell you in my gym all the guys, respect me because they’ve all seen me spar, they all know and they learn from me.
They were like no.
We learn from you i’m glad because i’m like so what i’m a girl like you know like i can do something you can’t do, which is move like that.
You can try and it’s very hard to have, as you were saying, that team kind of like in the boxing specifically because of those reasons like even for myself growing up with my uh, with my dad.
Of course it’s like, i was at many times the only girl in the gym and i’m very small.
I fight at 118, i’m like five foot, three and a half, and you know i’m i’m tiny right.
So these guys they’re big guys.
Some of them are corrections.
Officers, some of them are police officers.
Some of them are like firefighters.
Some of them are from the military and they’re big guys.
How does a big guy like that work with a tiny little thing like me and most of the time just defense, but we’d always have to bring in girls and the community is so small? And i guess also too being in canada, because it’s even smaller when you get down to like you know what you mean so we have like.
I fought the same girl like two girls.
I fought them both five times each.
It’S like it’s very small, the community right so sometimes like.
I remember when we would bring some girls in that were veterans at the time like, as opposed to me just starting out, and even these girls that were veterans didn’t know how to work with me at.
Like their their, they didn’t know how to decipher like okay, i’m here, she’s still green.
I need to meet her in the middle because for me i used to think like well.
This girl is so experienced that i’m just gon na go as much as i can, because i know she can handle it, and i want to like really test myself, but they would take it as like.
Disrespected at some point – and it’s like you know, you know like that – i think that’s a personal thing and i and i always tell the girls i’m miss bar with, like i’m gon na.
Let you go, you know what i mean, but if i need to like, if i but i’m gon na i’m gon na, let you know you know what i mean, but i i i feel like i’m always sent out to work on something right.
So i go out and i work on something you know i’m working on defense like i spotted this girl, evelyn she’s an amateur boxer, but she also does mma and evelyn’s great.
Sometimes i feel like she’s too tough for her own good, but she’s she’s really good.
You know i mean, but sometimes she’ll stay right in the pocket with me and i’m just like okay, but then i’ll like i mean nothing ever to like hurt her but like, but she’s tough.
So sometimes it’s good that we’ll get an exchange.
It’S a good exchange, but then you know, but she can handle it.
So i would like, if i was to get there with you, i’d be like okay, like i fight at 122.
.
You know i walk around like right now, i’m like 132, but like i would work on something to see where you’re at and then i would provide you something and then i’d see.
Okay, what could okay her speed her, whatever i’d work on something that would benefit me because then otherwise? What’S the point you know, i’m saying like you get hit with a good shot like evelyn one time she walked into my right hand, because she was lunging, i’m like all right.
Well, that wasn’t my fault.
You walked into that.
You know, but she’s caught me with some beautiful hooks, because i wasn’t bringing my jab back.
You know those little things, but i’m like all right, cool but yeah.
I think that that’s just a personal thing too, and not many people know how to work, and i i mean i get in there with somebody.
I have like a couple female clients that i work with and i get in there with them.
I get into my nine-year-old female client who caught me with an uppercut, because i was showing her a move.
I turned and she was like boop.
I mean this little girl is something else she’s on my instagram raelyn and i was just like she’s going to be.
I’M freaking out, like i’m, not going to crack a 9 year old.
You know what i mean like i’m around, because i showed it to her.
You know, but it’s [ Laughter ], even like the sparring, like i don’t know like even sparring when i’m down it down at javiel’s, gym it’s sweat box, i’m smart like avril and stuff, and it’s like we’re not competing.
This isn’t a competition and avril so she’s.
We have a great, we have great sparring sessions.
Like you know, we we worked well together.
You know she learned she.
Essentially.
I learned a lot from you and avril’s very tough and i always said to people.
I was like if anybody talks, [ __ ], about her, because she’s a model or you know miss swimsuit.
I was like that she’s tough she’s, an athlete she’s always getting better and she provides good work for me too.
You know, like i, told her i’ll defend you, i don’t care, you know, because people just get ridiculous.
Any girl, that’s like any girl, that’s willing to step into that ring in front of people.
Anybody that’s willing to step into that ring i’ve.
Seen fighters like my dad um, he took this fighter out to uh this town called sudbury.
It’S like three hours away from three hours north from where i am where we are so they threw up all the way there for one fight and the kid that was supposed to fight our kid.
He just couldn’t handle the nerves and he began walking to the ring turned around and walked right out because he couldn’t handle it and, like you know, of course our kid was upset because we drove like three hours just to have one fight.
But it’s like you see, like some people cannot handle even just getting to the ring, so anybody that can walk into that ring touch that person’s gloves and go.
It’S like you, don’t see that they’re a fighter and the thing is like even like you know, you have your gym fighters where you know i i just don’t like people and they’re in the ring and they’re like i’m like okay, but have you had a fight? Yet yeah, like your gym fighter, like you’re in the ring you’re sparring, whatever you’re doing but like it’s a whole different thing when you’re in an arena and there’s actually a win and a loss on the line.
And you have people watching you and you’re under a lot of pressure like that’s very different, you know um and again even me like even i mean i respect, everybody, i’m very opinionated and i always say this to people.
I just listen.
I i i’m very opinionated and i own it and i’m entitled to my opinion.
I don’t care people agree, don’t agree with me.
It’S just my opinion and sometimes my opinions, change based on information that i collect.
But you know i see some people that go.
I don’t agree with the way, a lot of people and not a lot, but some people do their training and, like i can see a million things wrong with that.
But you do you you you do you.
I can’t i just can’t when people ask me for advice, i’m just like i mean i’m not gon na waste.
My time like i’ll, tell you things, but then i come to a point where i’m just like.
I can’t i can’t i can’t i’m not gon na waste.
My time right now like this is pointless like now you’re, it’s just it’s a waste like, and you know, and that’s that that’s a frustrating thing when people come to you because of who you are or well, you can do what you want anyway, although that was I never really asked anybody for advice.
I just did what i wanted and people would always give me their advice, and i didn’t listen because i just didn’t.
I would have to see things like like when i would go to the gym.
You know i would train and the trainers all had something to say, but i always listened to one coach, whoever my coach was and i was very adamant about it.
I was like no, i don’t want to do that and they look at me like why and like because he didn’t tell me to do that and they were like.
They couldn’t believe my loyalty, you know, and then, if, if he didn’t show me something, i would go home and watch tape and i would see it actually happen and it actually worked.
Where i studied fernando vargas, i studied roy jones, i said to bernard hopkins, archer gotti, like i’m talking chavez jr, i’ve watched all their fights and roberto duran marvin hagler was my favorite and i was like.
Oh that looks like a cool move.
I want to try that and then i’d go in the gym and try it and then my coach would be like you’re doing it wrong come here.
Let me show you how to do it because i knew he may have not wanted to show me, but i had to kind of figure it out for myself.
You know and then made it like and again that’s another thing you realize about men.
You got to make it feel like it was there.
It was their idea and i was like oh, this is what you he’s like.
Oh look at what i taught her.
I’M, like john hopkins, actually told me that when he fought uh, you know felix trinidad, but you kind of fixed it.
We have to think two steps ahead because we got ta work.
We’Ve got ta know how to work.
The men too.
This is a male dominant sport.
We got ta know how to work them too see.
I feel like as women.
What i, what i’ve learned is that i had to think like a man in order to understand what they wanted from me, because women think differently than men.
I train my female female athletes that i train they’re, just like.
Oh my god, i get it.
I’M like! Well, he’s telling you the same thing: i’m just telling you in a different way right.
You know when they’re like, oh, so for me not having those females around to talk to.
I was like all right.
I don’t know what he means, because they’ll just throw you in there and say figure it out.
I’M like i need to understand in order to apply and i’m very photographic.
So if you explain to me okay, this is the move you need to do, and this is why – and this is how it’s supposed to look then i’ll do it, but if you just say just go in there throw a left hook, i’m like well when well, Why why exactly you have to understand it, but that’s the thing and again so i realized like i get along.
I have a lot of i’m a lot of male friends and they all come to me with their girl issues and i’m like because that’s not what she’s hearing she’s hearing this and you’re gon na.
I said: try saying it like this and then watch what happens and then they’re like it’s too difficult.
I’M like no, it’s not it’s man, brain woman, brain it just is one or you know, and even like my boyfriend.
Now it’s funny because i’ve been so male dominate thinking that even with him sometimes he’s just like like i’ll think, like a man, he’ll just laugh, you know and he’s looking at me like relax like because i lose my feminine side and i’m just like you’re getting So aggressive you’re so and i’m like well, i’m a fighter, you know what i mean like it’s there, but it it’s a balance.
It’S really a balance, and you know when i’m home, you know i have a dog, i’m very nurturing.
I like to cook i like to do different things and now that i’m i’m working, you know i have a full-time job with phil deru, his personal assistant, and you know to be in the gm of his gym.
I feel more than nurturing because i’ve got like a collective group of i have two female coaches and then i have the rest are male coaches and i kind of almost have to like mother everybody but the females.
I don’t really have to worry about because they they’re, but the guys i kind of have to you know because sometimes they get like and i have to kind of bring them together a little bit.
You know, and and this experience they’re a lot of the young guys but they’re awesome like i work with such an amazing group of coaches and phil’s great, you know i’m very very blessed.
Well, it’s amazing to hear all the people that you’re working with like avril you’re, looking with the ufc fighters – and you know something – i noticed that you were saying a lot of these female boxers – are also training in mma, and i think that that’s very new, like You’Ve, basically gotten, like you, have seen the evolution of women’s boxing over the course of like two decades, and what would you say is like the like from back then? What do you think is like the most the biggest accomplishment that we’ve made as woman from starting two decades ago? All the way to present time now? Well, i mean getting televised, i mean being told consistently like there’s always i mean it’s like most of the time when there’s a male card you’re seeing females televised, you know in in 2016 15 i was a 15 or 16.
.
I was the first female in over a decade to fight on pay-per-view.
Oh, my god and people don’t know that shane mosley put me on his co-feature when he fought my orga the second time i fought for the ibf world title against julian luna, which ended in a draw which i thought i won and i wanted the rematch, but It ended and you’re the hound’s a champion now she dropped.
I think she’s at 118, now and she’s now, a champion um, a very good fighter um, but so that was we got that opportunity.
You know, and – and i know that i did a ton of press for that, because shane knew that i could sell.
I speak fluent spanish, so i was on espn latino.
I did all these different things and it was awesome me and shane together.
You know it was cool that he you know he brought me in is like his.
You know you’re going to open up the show for me and that hadn’t happened since laila ali and that was over a decade ago, so that was really cool for me to experience and now to see women getting those opportunities.
Even more is nice.
You know seeing it with with the with the zone, seeing it with espn plus and uh.
You know even showtime and even hbo when cecilia break his fought.
I was at that fight when she fought on hbo and then clarissa for an hbo, and it’s it’s exciting to see.
You know i’m happy that women are getting those opportunities.
It’S a long time coming yeah.
I i absolutely agree especially because, when people think of female boxers, you mentioned this earlier when they think, like oh only two minute rounds or this, and that like is it because they’re not as exciting or whatever they have these kind of assumptions.
It’S like just because being a woman like for me personally, i like to wear a skirt when i find amateurs i like to say that, just because i’m a woman doesn’t mean, i can’t fight – and you mentioned this before it’s not a competition between men or women.
It’S like i’m a good fighter regardless it doesn’t matter like.
I don’t want to go fight the men but, as you say, they still respect me.
As i respect you, because i see you go in there, it doesn’t matter what it is.
If you’re a fighter you’re a fighter and if you’re putting the heart and dedication into it, you’re gon na get on that in that ring what you’re putting in in the gym so like.
If i’m coming in there on the skirt, i’ve had many girls, say so much crap about me just because i’m walking into the arena with a skirt and that whole conversation just stops once the round’s over i’ve always fought in a skirt, and you know why i’ve Thrown a skirt, no, i thought is the mexican flag, then, and and the in the amateur yeah i really like it yeah.
I always thought it’s great, but you know why it wasn’t even the feminine.
For me, it wasn’t even that it was that i’m a mover, so the shorts training shorts at all.
I don’t like, i feel like i’m.
They ride up, i feel so constricted yeah and i’m like even in the amateurs when i thought you know um.
If i had to fight and sh i i think i don’t know i did in nationals, it wasn’t until a million dollar baby that they actually let me fight in a skirt.
I think that was because of the media attention that i had, but in the finals the golden gloves, i had to fight in those stupid shorts and they were like they were too long and they were too, like.
I didn’t feel the fluidity of my legs and i’ve always been a mover so after that the pros i’ve never flown shorts.
In all my 33 fights, i’ve always had some kind of like a a skirt and um.
You know and even um fran sean um franshan made my uh um.
My my boxing, you know friend sean right, uh refreshed my memory she’s a world champion.
She was um.
She was yes, yes, yes, i know the name but like yeah yeah now i know what you’re talking about yeah now she’s married, but she signed with golden boy and franchise made my the last fight.
I had she made my outfit because i stand salsa, so she made me a salsa inspired outfit and i wanted i loved it.
I love i mean she is freaking awesome, yeah, one of the girls, her christina cruz isis for christina cruz back in the day um.
You know i used to watch even michaela meyer, like i’ve, seen them all in the amateurs, and i would go support them when they would come out and they there was like a worlds duel that we had in oxnard when i was living out there and the Girls came – and i have pictures of me christina and franshawn and franchenstein the national anthem, and i’m like i, just loved, seeing all these opportunities and these women now like capitalizing.
I respect them for it.
You know worse, everybody’s got a different journey.
You know my journey is self-promoted to where i am now i never signed with a promoter i had opportunities to, but my manager and myself.
We didn’t think it was the right options.
You know and i’m not going to say every woman should do that.
I’M not going to say every woman, maybe they don’t feel like they need a manager right.
You know they just feel like they need to promote her.
I’M like well, not one thing’s right or wrong.
It’S what’s your it’s for you right, you know, and and that’s what i give women like.
I just tell any female: that’s gon na go pro.
It’S different right! Yeah! The pros are different.
You even see that now that you see the women coming up in the pros now they’re starting to develop the more pro style, it’s different when you go from four rounds to six rounds to eight rounds to ten rounds um, you know – and it’s just it’s totally Different styles of people that you’re fighting you know nationally internationally, so i always tell them like you know, when you’re gon na make that transition just understand that just know that the styles are gon na be a little bit different.
That’S gon na take some time.
You’Re not just gon na, come into the pros and be like all right.
Bang.
I got ta style, you know for me.
I had a pro styling amateurs, but it also only had 12 amateur bouts right.
So it’s different when the headgear comes off.
It’S different.
When those gloves go to eight ounces, it’s different, i don’t care who you are.
You know it’s.
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