Ms TooBad | The Sugar Show with Natalie Brown | Talkin Fight

The SUGAR Show is a series focused on Womens Boxing. Natalie SUGAR Brown visits all aspects of Womens Championship Boxing involving both up-and-coming and seasoned amature and professional female boxers, along with studio segments covering headlines and developments across the sport. The program primarily broadcasts on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm eastern time, weekly.

Natalie joins the TalkinFight team to discuss boxing and share her knowledge of the sport.

Watch Live on TalkinFight.com or YouTube.com/c/TalkinFight

Ms TooBad | The Sugar Show with Natalie Brown | Talkin Fight

#Boxing #SugarShow #TalkinFight
#MsTooBad #NatalieSugarBrown

Transcribed:

[, Music ] me [, Music ], i’m natalie sugar brown, a master of pugilism yeah.

I said it.

I’Ve boxed competitively for over 20 years, and my journey has made me the person that i am a champion.

I was a two-time ayabo world silver medalist representing jamaica and usa national golden glove champion champion of two countries, pal champion, just to name a few after having so many elite accomplishments as an amateur i boxed professionally.

My professional record is seven three and one with six kos.

It was very hard to get fights as a professional because of my amateur background, so i ended up training, traveling and doing exhibitions.

I’Ve trained with the best of boxing males and females, and i’m truly grateful for the experiences good and bad.

It wasn’t a walk in the park, but i learned to enjoy every opportunity and make the best of it.

I learned to win and lose that’s that [ __ ] that made me love that slideshow man, what up talking fight fans? You know what it is man, thanks for tuning in to this wonderful debut episode of the sugar show featuring our our host natalie miss too bad brown.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of your debut episode today.

Uh, it’s an exciting time for us here.

At talking fight, we’re uh glad to have you a part of the family, and we welcome you on board, and you know what? Let’S, let’s take it away and get this wonderful show underway and start to.

You know start start the beginning of this.

This wonderful experience that we’re gon na bring the fans awesome.

Let’S talk, let’s do it, let’s do it so uh the slideshow.

You know it’s just uh, just a little peek.

Some images you know of of of the journey.

Yes long journey.

What you’re trying to say, huh? Well, i’m trying to i’m trying i’m trying to say you you are! You are a veteran in the game: uh, you’ve, solidified yourself, your career, you’ve done you’ve done lots for women in boxing uh.

You’Ve come a long way in your own uh you’ve paved the way for younger women to you, know, come and and follow in your footsteps, and you know um.

This slideshow really is showing your strengths and and and everything that you brought to the game and honestly, congratulations well.

Thank you.

I appreciate it, you know i we all did it together.

I did my part um, it wasn’t it, it wasn’t a single effort and there was not.

You know there wasn’t a queen.

It was, you know, it was actually a group of gangster females that decided that you know what we want to fight and and that’s what we’re going to do and we just kept doing it until uh.

You see what you see now the this wonderful uh opportunities and and and the growth of women’s boxing, so i mean we can get into it.

Talk to me mike um, honestly, i want to talk about the competition expectations as a woman and and how like what is expected, what what? What do you get? What like, let’s run through it from start to finish, okay? Okay, so i mean let’s talk about the journey.

Okay, i started when i was a teenager um they.

This was in at the this was in atlanta, georgia um at the the boxing gym was called biggs.

Morrison boxing gym, okay and sorry for the background noise, but um, you know we had.

We have some good.

We had the names in the gym.

We had o’neill bell: vernon forest forest um robert allen.

Like the sims twins like it was hype, it was poppin chris johnson uh, bronze medal.

You know we, we had a good um, we had a good kitchen and in the kitchen we had some food.

There were some females, uh, israel, gigara um and corinne van riddika suzy, taylor, um, just to name a few, and then here come my little scrappy.

Butt came in the rain, it came in and so those ladies were you know they were doing.

They were doing what they do, they were pro um and the amateur scene was was a dark and scary place because uh, that’s where you couldn’t choose or pick who you were gon na fight or what you were gon na get right.

So there were no expectations.

Really right for a young girl with afro pups walking into the gym, and you know i you know i want to fight as a matter of fact, my the the first man walked into the gym.

He said what you doing here, young lady, i said i i want to learn how to box.

He said i want to learn how to box.

You need to get you a boyfriend to fight for you why’d.

He say that to me right in my mind, i was like you know what you think.

You know i could i you know, i’m gangster, you just don’t see it yet right.

So, oh probably like 85 pounds a year at the time, [, Laughter, ] and trust me i had this baby face.

You know it was just uh, not believable.

Just trust me so um after showing up a couple times, uh and and just being uh, just being a pest uh they they.

Let me train and let me train with the guys the ladies were in there, but you know um, i’m gon.

Na be honest.

The terrain, the the the terrain uh, they weren’t – they they weren’t accepting.

You know it was.

It was a high competition.

You know, uh you walk into yeah, they were all queens and you walked into their they.

How who do you think you are a child? Little kid you know so um chris johnson uh, who was a olympic bronze medalist at the time, and he was a young pro um.

He uh held the pads for me and stuff, and he said you know what you’d be you you could really box.

You could do this, you could probably go to the olympics.

If you want – and i said what my eyes like lit up – you know.

Maybe he was spitting game, i don’t know, but he like, i felt like yeah yeah.

I could do the olympics so lit my fire.

He got you hooked, i yeah.

I i showed up every day and you know what he was like a big brother to me.

Yeah.

He put me in the ring yeah and, and they do their little thing to test you right.

Those are the expectations, let’s see if she got hard, let’s see what she got.

You’Re you’re saying me in there with ezra yeah and israel was a big name.

At the time israel was signed with uh don king’s daughter and uh.

Israel had fought christy martin at the time she had just come off of uh losing to christy martin, but she gave cricket a fight, and so i got thrown in and um ezra.

She she she stepped in my chest.

You know you know i this little teenage girl like i said she showed me that okay you’re gon na come in here and stand in here with me.

You got ta, be something right, so trust me like after the first one, she’s blah all upside my head.

Okay, and so after the first round, i ran back to the corner and i was like um: i ain’t going back out there.

This was in the corner, he was like.

Yes, you are you weren’t finished and you weren’t finished this morning.

I said: no, i’m not.

You know he took the mouthpiece out, he said yes, you are, i said, no, i’m not.

I didn’t know he shoved the mouthpiece back in my mouth and i was so pissed that he did it.

I bit him and then he pushed me back out in the ring and in that round i realized you know what natalie this is it.

You know you’re in a fight, so you do what you can so i didn’t know how to box, but i knew that street thing right.

So i took it to the streets.

Yeah, okay and i had a better round and the rounds just kept better because listen natalie didn’t know how to box, but natalie, but natalie knew how to take it to the streets right.

So i had fighted me and that’s how i earned my stripes.

So the expectation as a young girl when you go into when you start up they, it’s really about letting.

You know that we’re measuring, if you can put your big girl panties on yeah and you know what i’m saying and and um they’re, not holding back they’re they’re, pushing yeah they’re, pushing they think right.

Yeah, yeah, there’s no there’s! No! Oh yeah! There’S no she’s a girl or whatever, no it’s even worse, actually, because they want you to quit correct or at that time they want you to quit.

They don’t want.

They don’t want another girl in the in the um in the gym right.

So, during the time that you you, your career was taking place right, like women’s boxing, wasn’t even recognized at the olympics at this point.

Oh, my gosh that wasn’t even uh um that wasn’t even in the conversation um dallas malloy just earlier had just sued usa boxing for discrimination against women, because usa boxing did not allow women to fight so dallas.

Malloy um is a trailblazer.

She opened the door amateur wise olympic, wise for these young girls for clarissa’s shields right right, clarissa shields stands on her shoulders, but what happened to dallas? Nobody knows dallas right.

They, just you know, everybody’s just focused on the this product here but yeah you uh female boxing has a history and we have to know these names and we have to know these people, so we can celebrate them and – and we can, we can know that.

Yes, we’ve been there done that and we can build and stand like.

I said, stand on each other’s shoulders, so um at the time we had just earned a national championships.

You know it wasn’t.

Even oh olympus wasn’t even a thought but in my mind, right olympics.

Yes, we’re gon na get there, i’m gon na get there.

That’S for sure.

So i started i got in there.

They threw me in there with everybody with everybody right um, the the pros you know, like i said uh, i came up with o’neill and them were in there um, chris, all those guys they were young guys in their early 20s.

They had just turned pro too.

You know so uh.

It was something that was new for them right and they and and i’d have to say i have to give them their props.

They they took me under their wing as a little sister, okay and um.

You know they put me in.

They put me in some shitty situations.

You know they throw me in there with a big, you know big person, small person or whatever, and then they they make fun of me after, like how a big brother would make fun of a little sister after like yeah.

I see you got rocked you got right there, you got here with that body shot.

I see and you pulled that leg up.

I see you know so you learn to be tough and you learn to banter back and forth and that’s a part of it too.

Like i said in the earlier con in in the um earlier interview, we have that talk is a part of it.

You learn to talk that talk.

You learn to fight talk yeah, you know, you know you learn to tell them.

Yeah all right come see.

What does right hand do, though you know? Oh, you look like you in the right position to catch this hook.

You know what i’m saying you start talking.

There was enough expectations on on on women’s, like women to perform a lot of pressure.

Wasn’T there at that time, because you know [ Music ] the pressure.

The pressure was more so about finding another female to fight.

Okay, okay, a lot of a lot of my sparring and a lot of all these things in the beginning was with guys.

So i was in there and like these uh, most of the guys were trying to take my head off right right yeah.

They felt that you didn’t belong well, some of them felt like you didn’t, they didn’t belong, and some of them kind of wanted to feel to see what it feels like to really hit a woman hit a girl, yeah right so, like i said it was like Territory, it was kind of like you know, strange territory for for us all in there.

Let me see i’m gon na give her this gut shot.

Let me see if she i should do with this yeah, that’s how that works.

So um the the the pressure was now you you get ready and then you see all your male counterparts, all your amateur brothers uh that they have fights coming up and and now you’re ready and there’s no fight or they say.

Oh, we heard of a girl.

50 miles away, she she boxes, uh.

We were trying to get you all together and then you find out.

You know this girl is a heavyweight and you’re.

You know you’re a welterweight and y’all can’t fight.

You know what i’m saying yeah, so i finally was able to get a fight, though, and uh it was a.

It was against uh.

My first fight, i it was against a tough girl um, but i came out and i knocked her out because you know i have the gift.

That’S right, miss too bad.

I knocked her out.

I felt like mike tyson what you know.

It’S like okay, this is it this is it.

You know what i’m saying: yeah, i’m the champ now right and it was the second fight that really made me who i am uh.

It’S the thing that oh it’s the fight that opened the door.

I fought uh a crone and i’m gon na explain to you what the what a crone is uh later on when i bought a crone meaning it was an older, mature woman right right that was involved, veteran veteran and she walked in.

She was bowlegged and, and she had these broad shoulders and she walked in and she looked at me.

She didn’t say nothing and you know i’m hyped.

We go to the corn, you know center of the ring.

The referee explains everything and she’s looking at me under her eyebrows.

You know i’m like yeah.

You know i’m looking at her like yeah you just oh, this old lady or whatever yeah yeah, i’m about to dust through her it’s going to be quicker than the first one, because the first girl was closer to my age.

You know right that woman beat the brakes off me, okay from round one to round four, no from one round one to round three, it wasn’t four and it was three minute rounds too.

So i had to stand in there.

I remember at round when i got tired in round two and she realized it, because i was swinging and she she there taking it.

You could tell she had a couple beatings in her life because she was taking it right, all right, all right.

She took it.

She wait until i got good and tired and then, when i took that breath she looked at me, she looked at me up under her eyebrows and she she let me know all right, all right, little girl, it’s time, she’s gon na bring in sorry beating on Yeah beating on me and then i’m going from from pole to pole.

You know and in my mind i’m the you know the crowd is now yelling people laughing.

My mom then came from out the stands: [ Laughter ] the side of the ring um.

You know i’m tired, uh coach, jim, this coach jackson.

May he rest in peace.

He’S there telling me you know you got to move now.

I’M tired! I’M! Like i’m tired.

I can’t move my mom she at the edge she said.

Natalie you got to move.

I look down, i said mom what you doing down here – she’s not even allowed to be where she is but she’s seeing her baby.

Getting.

You know beef so anyway, um um, yeah, i i i went back in and in the middle of that round, two, it was kind of like in in um what? What is that that that movie with with um brad pitt and he’s the gypsy and um? Oh goodness, ah it’s on the top of one of my favorite movies anyway, but it’s like i got hit and everything went in slow motion and i’m thinking in my mind, you’re thinking a snatch snatch there.

It is it’s a snack and i’m thinking in my mind, should i quit i should should i quit i can i can quit right now and i decided nope.

I said no, i’m gon na take this.

I’M gon na take this beating and i and i took the beating and lost and and and the crowd you know came you know they were looking.

They were laughing my my my amateur brothers, they came up to me and they were just shaking their head, and i took that l and i said to myself.

This will never happen again and it hadn’t happened.

It didn’t happen for a very long time.

I i made it to the nationals.

Okay, um and the first nationals was kind of like an invitational that i went to.

It was in midland texas, and that was the first tournament that i had gone to um my coach.

I i coached jackson had passed away and i had taken up with coach johnny gant coach johnny gant was a uh top three in the world, rated welterweight back in the 80s and so yeah his claim.

The fame he’s the dc fighter.

He fought on sugar, ray leonard and um.

He was the gatekeeper for ray leonard because after ray leonard beat him, he ray leonard, moved up and and started fighting uh championship fights right, became champion and so um i was with johnny and and johnny was telling me you’re, not ready, you’re, not ready, but i Wanted to redeem myself and everybody, you know uh.

Now you usa, boxing had a handbook that you subscribed to and you used to get it every month.

You know and you went through it and they started.

They were promoting the nationals and i’m like i’m going, i’m going because johnny told me.

I wasn’t ready.

I snuck out there anyway, [ Laughter ].

Oh that’s awesome! So uh chris johnson chris got me uh there.

There was an older lady that used to work out in the gym, and chris told the lady.

You know natalie she she’s.

You know she saw me sparring the boys and everything, and she was like a supporter for me and chris said you know: natalie wants to go to to the nationals, but she don’t know you know she doesn’t have.

She doesn’t have the means to get there and the lady paid for my whole trip and i snuck out there without johnny um with another um female that had started uh boxing she’s a light heavyweight.

Her name is cynthia lozano.

We called her styx cynthia lozano was in the light heavyweight class 178 at the time, and so she flew out there with her coach and i flew out there with them and what happened was my flight got delayed right and i guess it was the universe because I had gotten to the registration just as they closed the door, so i couldn’t register uh for that national tournament and i just i was bawling and everything looking a mess in the hotel lobby.

You know and um it was uh.

It was a great opportunity, though you know that you think things certain things are bad, but the universe works things out.

So i was able to watch and see and understand what was out here now, what the other, what the other women are doing right and and and get the expectations down really of what i need to be.

What level i need to be on where i need to be and and and i was walking through the lobby – hotel lobby – we were there, it was at a um grand hotel.

I was walking through the lobby and uncle ma roger mayweather stopped me in the lobby.

He was there and he said: um, hey you, you a boxer.

I had i i had this thing where i wear afro puffs there, and i said yes, sir, i didn’t even know it was uh uncle roger sorry.

I didn’t know it was roger mayweather.

He said you don’t look like a boxer, you need to come, you you want to work out.

I say yes, yes, sir.

I’M gon na work out, um.

Sorry, i’m just suggesting my phone and um.

He said uh come, you know come to the workout lobby.

Let me see what you got so um met up with roger and you know i’m hitting and he was like.

Oh you got some pop, he said, but you don’t look like a fighter, though right.

He kept saying that to me and it just pisses me off.

Not knowing who he was the way, he said that you don’t look like a boxer um, you know body image, issues and athletes are, you know, come from a variety of sources.

You know certain sports value, specific weights and body types more than others, and you know athletes will deal with.

You know puberty in different ways and some student athletes struggling control uh in other areas of their lives, which can lead to body image issues uh.

How? How much is that affecting women’s boxing today? Well, um: let’s talk about the the growth of it.

So when we first started it wasn’t about body image right, it was about showing up, it was more authentic.

Then now there was a diva, her name is stephanie jaramillo.

She showed up and um.

She was actually um like she.

She was vested like she.

She was from new mexico and albuquerque new mexico.

She came in um, her mom was like her momager.

You know she had she had her gloves.

She had everything together.

I looked at that girl.

I was like man, she got it together.

I just got puffs and the t-shirt and jeans, and this she’s got it all.

She has a little entourage and everything – and you know like i said you know, roger uncle roger – was like you don’t look like if i just kept saying that to me.

I took it the wrong way, though i didn’t know what he meant.

You know i i think he meant to tell me that i was actually i actually had uh an attractive face.

So i didn’t look like.

I should be a fighter right um, but i wonder no, that’s because you because you don’t get hit right well at the time i was green.

You know what i’m saying so yeah i didn’t know.

I really didn’t know about about the the dangers of of keeping this the way it is okay, so um, stephanie jaramillo came in her mom was nice.

She was, she was a sweet girl and um.

She was the first diva that i had ever met in boxing and she was like, i said um she had our people invested already don.

She was talking to don king and everything like that at the time uh she was in teen magazine.

You know she was in all of that stuff: okay, look her up, stephanie jaramillo um with a j, so um um.

I saw kenisha ely at the time, and these are legends like these are, and these are women.

These are the women that started it.

The foundation.

Okay, she was 17 years old at the time.

Okay, i was uh turning 19.

.

She was 17 at the time.

Young girl, scrappy girl, talking [ __ ] right because she was a.

She did everything she came up, she came, she was fighting from 119 and she was now like um 178.

.

She was beating everybody up, whoa yeah.

She was bad okay, um and for some reason you know we just clicked after you.

She saw me crying in the lobby and she saw me crying.

She goes.

She goes girl, wait, she’s, you know she’s from virginia.

She was from uh newport news virginia.

She go.

She said girl where you from, i said georgia.

She said all right.

After wins, we gon na go eat and so she weighed in and we went to the all-you-can-eat buffet and picked out – and you know she was just talking to me and that you know she’s, that’s where you learn the expectations too.

You know you start talking to other females and other women who would talk to you because it tends to be catty too right.

But then you know you kind of find you you find those who who take you under their wings.

So i was able to watch the tournament uh leticia robinson fought in that tournament, and i told you that was when girls were getting slumped right.

So the tisha showed up and cleaned house that tournament uh.

Then she uh she fought at 165.

uh kenisha cleaned up fighting at 178.

uh stephanie jaramillo.

I think she um, i don’t think she won.

There was another girl named jean martin from new york.

She was a cop older.

These were women at the time, but you know you see these.

These names start coming out.

Uh there was a heavyweight called cindy, zamutio, big girl and um.

You know she she she was a fighter, you know, and you just seen all the different women at all.

The different weight classes coming so there was no body image, it was just a bad broads that come to scrap right right and take the risk, and some of us, some of them, were getting slumped and some of them you know, were nice.

You saw the different styles and you saw different styles that make different fights.

There was a fighter named monet, mincy from new york that fought, and she had this smooth you just it was refreshing, seeing something like that: um from [ Music ] being in the gym of all men and seeing only men fight, so the femininity of fighting.

Yes, yes, i was going to ask about this.

Yes, so you start respecting that.

Yes, there is a place for us here right.

We are women and it’s okay, that we want to fight right.

You also respect the masculinity of it.

Definitely to know that yeah, but at the end of the day we’re gon na take and give just like the men do right right.

There’S no yeah, you know did um.

There was another movie, i’m a movie.

You know i like to quote movie where the guy says: there’s no crying in baseball right, so there was no crying and my my little silly self was there crying in the lobby.

So you know so there’s no crying, and so you know you you, you grow up and you you understand where you fit in the whole thing right and self-actualization starts happening well.

Health, healthy, healthy masculinity is just being honest, with oneself about your own feelings, needs and desires, and you know treating all others with that kindness and respect that you deserve yeah and then at the same time, both masculine and feminine of that right.

The key term is that respect exactly okay and so um that that road to self-actualization is understanding and respecting that thing that lies within you right and and and not that cookie cutter, that everyone or society tells you to be right.

I remember being on the bus.

One day i i’ve gotten a shiner after um training.

I sparring and i got in the shiner and i sat on the bus and i was riding home and the lady old lady said she says you don’t have to put up with that.

He doesn’t love you.

If he hits you like that, and i looked at her – and i said no – i’m a boxer.

No, i got this.

I got this box, then she says baby.

You have to make things up yo.

You should see him it’s! Okay, yeah! That’S what i was like.

I know yeah that was the time right now you see a little girl with the shiner.

She says: i’m a boxer, it’s a believable.

At that time it was unbelievable.

Okay, so that way you know that’s being young.

That was being a girl in it.

Now, let’s talk about now, there’s a place for it.

You walk into the gym.

You know a coach will will bring you into the program.

There’S something laid out.

You have someone to look up to.

Everybody knows now: clarissa shiel she’s, the name she’s the person that got the prize that we all were fighting for, but it’s your generation, it’s your generation and the time that you started that paved the way for the clarissa shields and the katie taylors and the savannah Martial and and all of these ladies um and the natasha jones – and you know all of these women that actually made it to the olympics um, it’s a bittersweet thing.

You know because we’re the one we let me tell you it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t.

There were no rules right, there wasn’t any rules.

You know i saw mothers flying with their with their young kids just to fight you know, and then they lose and then they you know mommy mommy.

We go home and they’re like yeah.

You know mothers that wanted to fight that showed up because it was it would they were telling us at the time that there wasn’t there’s not enough of y’all there’s not enough of y’all to take this seriously, there’s not enough of y’all to fight.

So we used our own money.

We used to use our own money.

My coach used his own money see.

This is why you’ve done this.

This is why i’m glad you you’ve agreed to join the family and do the shows with us is because realistically these stories don’t get hurt.

What you do you hear the background i live in the i mean, i’m in the city, so you know it is what it is um you finally have a platform for for this information to get out and also it’s honestly.

If, if this story doesn’t get told, then it gets lost and to move forward, you got to know where you came from, so for all these women out there that are now.

You know respecting where you know the clarissa shields and the katy taylors and the savannah marshals and everything you know.

They first have to know that it was your generation of boxing that paved the way to allow this to be what it is today and your show you’re gon na you’re gon na give them you’re gon na give them right.

So we get to talk about.

You know just like i have to respect the crone that, let me know little girl.

You got ta think about what you’re stepping into i had to.

I i remember her face till this day.

I thank her right because i wouldn’t be who i am.

If it wasn’t for that ass weapon, i got yeah, it was a lesson it wasn’t.

It was a lesson she taught me a lesson right and i’ve taught some younger girls left this very same lesson right because you know that is your that that that is your um initiation into this life yeah right, then this life is not a normal life.

No, no, it’s not a normal life, it’s a tough one and yeah.

It was a lot tougher when you did it.

It was a lot tougher.

When you did it, it was very tough because you we were making.

We were making room as we go.

We had to kick the doors down, yeah the door, sometimes the door wasn’t there.

We had to climb through a window exactly okay, yeah right, so we had to we we had to and then we were like.

Oh you here: okay yeah, we are here we’re in here you know and we fight and so um.

You know uh tom moratas.

He put together the uh first women’s national golden glove tournament, and that’s where i um.

That’S where i made my debut as a a top fighter, um that the first time was uh, where i fought a girl named mickey pryor.

Okay, now mickey prior uh, they did she.

She was a legend at that time.

You know they were talking about her and she you know, i didn’t know about mickey pryor um.

You know i didn’t know how devastating she was right, um, because i think that’s something that my coach kept away from me.

So i would, i would keep doing it because coach johnny would be like you, a punk you it’s true.

I was i in a sense because uh, my mom and dad and my family raised me to be the typical girl.

Even though there’s a part of me that was that rugged tomboy in my mind, i was conditioned to be you know the the the girl and the softness and all of this stuff.

So i didn’t i, i never visited that side of myself, and so when i boxing is the thing and that’s that’s what built the passion in me, because, as i learned that side of myself, as i learned about miss too bad, that she’s as too bad kept Coming out, i started liking her yeah right kind of like fight club.

You know yeah, it’s true too bad would come out and then, when she was done, you know i saw i saw what she left and it’s like they.

People are looking at me like damn yeah.

I was like yeah.

I did that you know anyway golden gloves.

I bought mickey pryor first time.

Somebody showed me a magazine with mickey pryor in it and um.

She saw all the knockouts saw all the countries she went to.

She won the witch club cup, which was a big tournament.

Y’All, don’t hear about these tournaments, but these are the things that used to happen.

You know.

In finland there was a witch cup.

There was a you know, that’s why we use the term crone because, like they were, they were uh, they were using these terms towards us and they were in a sense.

They were like derogatory terms, but we wanted.

I wanted to win the witch cup.

I wanted to be the witch the top witch right.

You know what i’m saying, yeah so um uh.

I lost that the uh i lost the my first uh national golden gloves to make you proud.

That was the one time after being the brakes beat off of me that i i lost and i lost, because i decided that mickey was better than me and so yeah the year coming back now we talk about the expectations.

I understood what the expectations were right and i stepped up to them and i came back and i beat mickey, i beat mickey pryor and i became the national golden glove champion and the first national level champion female in the south region right, so i made history.

You did right and another little bit of history yeah.

They put that put me in the georgia amateur boxing hall of fame.

You know so um after you win the first national, my gosh, it just becomes addictive yeah, you know it’s now.

It becomes an addiction right.

Yeah, because now i’m i’m the bad i’m the baddest yeah right, so you know bring them from california.

Bring them from the e from the west coast, bring them from up north or whatever right natalie is in this so um i became a top or an elite.

Amateur i i got my my spot on the women’s national team right um for olympic boxing um did we.

It was kind of like a play as you go.

There was a qualifier for the first women’s world championships.

Now i’ll tell you when i got started there was that they had just going to nationals was a thing.

Now we had a world championship right.

That was the thing and pan american games came.

That was a thing, so you went through the whole evolution of each tournament, bigger and bigger.

Yes, the growth, the evolution of it.

It wasn’t already there, so it was like, as you go right so um.

I got slighted uh at the usa, boxing nationals, i got slighted um, i was the golden glove champion coming in and this was usa boxing nationals.

So i had my title and then there was a fighter called jim jill emery.

She was about six feet tall, something like that.

She was tall yeah, he had a reach boy and they loved her jill.

Emery came and she was out of new york and she was a good boxer, very good boxer and i got slighted um people thought that i won, but um jill emery was the champ, so i didn’t hurt her.

I didn’t drop her or anything like that.

She survived through the fight and i didn’t get a chance to represent the usa.

So i came back home crying crying my coach and and buddy davis um, which uh he is uh, another buddy and bo davis.

They were a couple um and they ran uh.

The southern um – i guess the the southern region of georgia, usa boxing and actually they took me in like they were – i i was their daughter, buddy and bo davis.

They made sure that i was taken care of at each tournament and they you know it was like.

That’S our girl and and made me feel like i belonged so um.

He was so upset, you know and and heartbroken, because that was the chance to go to the worlds and i missed it, but, like i said you got ta figure out how to get there.

So my mom was like what no no you’re going to world championships.

You you going, you won that fight.

She saw the vhs and everything vhs.

Okay.

Yes, she said you’re going.

She called jamaica.

She called the jamaican boxing board because my mom is a jamaican woman, you’re not going to get over on no jamaican woman.

No okay, that’s kind of like an irish woman, like you know like not going to get over on those type of ways, they argue with their fists.

Yes, so she called my mom called the jamaican boxing board and she says i have your your female champion.

Her name is natalie.

This is my daughter she’s going to represent you at the world championships and um mr brown.

He said.

Oh really, she says yes um, so he he goes um.

Who is she? What is she doing? You know that jamaica had hadn’t even thought about females boxing right at all.

You know so um they they got the footage they saw.

Who i was.

They saw that i was actually you know at the top in the usa.

They’Re like okay, we’ll take her yep.

So they put that you know, i was able now to represent the country that my family is from, and i became the first female to do that.

See.

You’Ve made history there as well again again and still the only female since that has gone to the world championship, and i got a silver medal for my for my mom’s country.

For my country, um, i i got the silver medal.

I got b by russia and it is what it is.

It was the point system and she ran her hands on me and i got out pointed so: irina sinetskaya, [, Laughter, ].

You got it okay, but um.

I i had these.

I you know, i had the hammer so yeah, you know i.

I earned irena’s respect, because i tell you something too ain’t.

No, and can nobody fight like a russian woman? They you know they they, ah somebody came in parker would yeah, i i know uh melissa, hernandez.

She was around two in the amateurs.

Let me tell you something about melissa hernandez.

She fought 165 in the amateurs, wow and y’all know she’s been small.

She she came out small.

She was fighting pro.

I think she came out 120 as a pro she fought 165.

She was always she was always a hurricane okay.

She that you know she is a fighter she’s, a fighter, um uh, going back to you, know the the that amateur game or whatever.

So you know these are the things that the the world championship.

We i ended up traveling all over the world um i i ended up boxing and and seeing that boxing was real in different countries.

Yes, right, i saw where women were boxing with the hijab wow.

I thought that was cool as hell.

That is cool as well.

You know what i’m saying it’s like yeah, we end this.

We badass it’s just like.

Like i said it’s like fight club yeah, you start seeing that it’s a move, it’s i am not the only female that will scrap.

No, no, maybe yeah.

There is a body of us badasses out here and we’re doing this and we get together.

Okay, that’s right, yeah! So um! You know speeding up now in into becoming a woman in boxing hard to be growing up now you know you start.

You know you start wanting to date.

You start wanting to have relationships, boys and everything.

The average guy doesn’t understand that i can’t go out with you.

Do you know i can’t stay out with you.

I can’t you know, love it.

Everything because i got ta get up in the morning.

Fourth, and i got ta, run around stone mountain five miles.

You can’t do it right um, why? I can’t go to movies that no i’m in the gym.

You know right and and um it’s tough too.

It was tough, being a young guy at the time and had a boxer for a girlfriend.

You know so it i.

I had a boyfriend at the time and he was very supportive, um, hey, reggie, very supportive and that you met him boxing.

Didn’T you? No? No! No, no, no, he actually was someone that um.

He admired who i was outside and, and you know, um it.

We were best friends and then you know he he he supported me and he he was there.

He understood right and he was my boyfriend.

You.

Yes, yes, and i appreciate him for that.

Well, we were still teenagers, you know so um relationships.

So, being you know having growing up and then having you know my my that relationship dissolved, i i grew out of that and you know then you only chris johnson became one of my coaches and we developed a relationship and we got married yeah, okay, and so We we got married and we we had a a son.

Together we have a son together and now becoming married.

Then you know um.

I was actually going to turn pro when i realized that i was pregnant yeah on the scale.

Let’S go yeah come back with the stick.

Oh there’s two lines on the stick.

No that’s a bad test.

You can do it again.

Come back get another test, get another task yeah and that’s what happened and that’s you know when i realized and um the thing about uh finding out, then you know people are looking at me at the time and i was at the height of my my career.

Everybody thought this girl she’s gon na make it like this is gon na.

Be this.

I was the clarissa shields at the time i had all the usa boxing had.

I was athlete of the year olympic committee.

Um boxing act female athlete of the year.

I was, i was the jam and i find out that i’m pregnant, so people were asked to say: are you gon na? Have it right? You know that was the question and i decided to be a mom and you know one of the.

It was a big, it was a sacrifice.

I sacrificed that career for my son and one of the best decisions i ever made um he.

He is a gift to me even till now he goes you know.

Even i was shy to do this podcast thing and he goes here.

He said no, he said what mom he said mom they need to know about you.

You know.

So you know you know going into that and um.

You know parenting being a mom who box um having a baby in in the gym deciding to go back.

I went up to 300 pounds in my pregnancy yeah and then coming down from that.

You know so um doing that body image.

Now you you’ve got to be sexy now, um mia saint john made it now.

You got to be sexy if you’re going to fight right so now, body image and all of these things, the pressures of that are coming and um.

So you know, as a woman as a woman fighter, there’s there’s tons of added pressures that that people don’t know about man like with you know the relationships, the body image you know, uh, respecting and and getting you know, masculinity and respecting the femininity and there’s so Much things that you guys have to go through, there’s a different dynamic for us.

We, you know, we we come in and and we want to do what we want to do but they’re there.

There are these hurdles.

You know you can’t.

You still have to be a lady, you know yeah or or you know, if you’re, not a lady, you got to be.

You got to be that thing that you are.

You know you’re going to be that bad girl.

You got to be that bad right and um and you grow into who you are you grow into the villain you grow into the good girl you grow into.

You know that that character, that you’re gon na be right.

So i became miss too bad.

You know.

Yes, and then you know after a while, i’m with with the philanthropy i’ve done, i love giving back to the to the community.

I love teaching people.

What i do, i love empowering the vulnerable population.

I love fighting for that’s what that’s the sugar right.

That’S the sugar! That’S! When sugar came in that’s when they said you know what you’re so sweet, then you’re not you’re, not bad you’re, not too bad you’re you’re sweet like sugar.

They start calming sugar um.

My coach used to call me sugar, sometimes too, because my style was like sugar ray robinson.

He won he.

He he molded me to have that fighting style like sugar ray, not leonard, all the fans.

If they haven’t seen you fight, they need to go and watch your clips.

Man cause honestly, oh goodness, yeah.

I had some good days at the office and i’ve had some bad days at the office, but y’all will see it.

Yes, honestly, it’s been a great show.

So far, what uh? What can we expect for the next episode? What? Oh? Yes, so now um, you know just dropping no yeah going into the next episode now.

Thank you.

Thank you all for coming and um.

You know tuning in.

Thank you uh parker woodley, for, for you know, uh dropping that name, and yes, i i know i i know um.

The next show we’re going to visit that pound for pound list, we’re going to see who’s the baddest out here we want to talk about them.

We’Re going to see what their strengths are, what they may need to work on.

We want to talk about if they’re, indeed worthy of that pound for pound spot, that they have on the list and and and get down to the real nitty gritty of the female boxing terrain and and and how how the um level of competition now with the Second olympics that has happened is changing and how everybody is stepping up.

So yes um, that is that’s the next topic come on tune in talk to me, and you know what come in with some names i want to hear.

I want everybody to to drop some names, uh and – and let me know which who you guys see out here and who you guys want to talk about.

I i know i’m you know and and there’s not many out there that i don’t know.

So let’s talk and let’s talk the truthfulness about it.

Uh like subscribe, you know, share, you know it.

Okay, come back on on wednesdays at 7, 30 p.

m and chat with me and mike or me and and the other somebody else on the team, because we are talking about this, you want to hear the the nitty-gritty you want to hear the dirt.

You want to hear the inside of the woman’s boxing and, what’s going on in the pound-for-pound list, you’re going to join us next week, 7 30 on the sugar show with miss too bad brown, guys you’re, not gon na want to miss this.

Do me a favor jab that, like hook subscribe, knock out those comments hit up talking, fight.

com hit that subscribe and set that reminder.

So you get those notifications, so you don’t miss.

This amazing show with miss too bad brown, miss sugar natalie.

Thank you again.

That’S sweet talk, yo.

You know about the sweet science of women’s boxing.

You heard it there.

That’S it thanks for tuning in you know, good night,