Talk to Me Nice | The Sugar Show with Natalie Brown | Talkin Fight

As always Sugar is here to give you the authentic female perspective on the state of boxing and how women boxers are going about it.

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

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

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Transcribed:

[, Music, ], foreign, [, Music, ], so guess what time it is, it must be 7, 30 or around 7 30 on a Wednesday and guess whose face is in the place.

Yes, it’s me sugar, Natalie, sugar brown, and this is the show that we talk about women’s boxing.

It’S my platform me uh, former women’s boxer.

I made dust the gloves off and get back in depending on what what you know how they talk to me out here, but this is uh.

My show my platform to give you guys the authentic uh experience or the authentic world and insights of a woman boxer of a woman that has been there done it in in the industry of women’s boxing.

I’M here to share I’m here to learn.

I’M here to have a good old chat with my Misfits that show up to on Wednesday nights at 7 30.

.

So I’m looking forward to our conversation tonight tonight’s session or the title of tonight’s show is called talk to me.

Nice, yes, talk to me, nice um! You know I a lot of the a lot of the shows have been informative, have been us going back and forth about uh, the broads or the Crohn’s.

You know other things that have happened in the industry, but I don’t think I’ve ever given you guys an opportunity to talk to me nice.

You know to ask me questions about what I’ve learned and lived and actually uh done in my career, the people, I’ve, the people, I’ve met, um and, and those who have impacted me good and bad in in uh the Journey of sugar, so that I mean I Mean the night um Furious.

I I am really curious to see who chimes in and what kind of questions you guys will ask.

Okay.

Now I mean I ain’t scared.

I ain’t scared to share.

I ain’t scared of nobody right, but um we’re gon na see.

You know we want to keep it respectful.

Okay, we want to keep it to where we can uh Have and Have adult conversations um, even though some of y’all may not be adults chiming in, but let’s have a mature, not adult, because all adults – ain’t mature, hunt a but um.

Let’S have a mature conversation.

Um with a a woman boxer who has spent most of her life or all her life in the industry of boxing and and um, you know really really learned something about each other tonight.

So I’m here um my producers, my guys uh at talk and fight.

They’Re present and I’m just um grateful that they, they always rolling and tumbling with sugar and her hectic schedule out here so as y’all can see, sugar is just you know: um sugar is rough and tumble.

Tonight I didn’t even I couldn’t even get pretty for y’all, but I mean it is what it is and it’s this is uh pure organic uh concentrated all natural sugar um.

So, let’s see who shows up, but I mean I, I I’ll I’ll – continue to chat um until somebody chimes in we’re going to give it a couple minutes until some people chime in um.

But I would this is what I’ll do I’ll I’ll give I’ll give? My version of the sugar story, so um uh.

The story starts like this, so uh sometime back in night, the late 90s, something like 1998 1999.

uh me, a young girl.

I had just moved to the Dirty South to to Georgia, Atlanta um, well, the county Norcross County, which is something like Maybe uh, 35 40 minutes from downtown Atlanta.

Okay, at the time you know if you were driving, so I lived out there with my my family um and we are a typical West, Indian, family um, so to speak, so um you know Dad is in the traditional role of he’s the he was the primary Um, you know uh primary uh come on you guys.

It’S been uh, he was the primary Breadwinner for the family and my mom.

She was also um.

She was a mom full-time, but she was in school and both of my parents are very educated people.

I also I I call I mean they are my parents, they raised me so my dad um, my dad.

His name is Brent and my mom’s name is um.

Let’S just call her Pam, okay and but but y’all for y’all who really know her.

You know what we call her, we call it a large and, and that story May um you.

You may see the evidence of why we call her the large in this story but um.

So my parents, my dad and I hate to say this, but he’s not my biological dad um but he’s my dad nonetheless, because he raised me um, we we were living in Georgia and uh.

Sugar was just always a scrappy athletic young girl, okay um, my I do have some some history now in in this.

You know in in the Baltimore City.

You know, which is a hard City to grow up in you know, but I’m gon na start the story in in Georgia.

Okay, we don’t want to go back too too far, so um yeah, I had just gotten out of high school, and I was uh very young girl in um College and you know um.

I was always a loner um nerd, so to speak.

Uh had always buried in a comic book or some kind of uh mythological novel or you know it’s something like you know or or writing music I used to I.

I was very good at the violin at what at us one time: yeah uh at Atlanta, youth, symphony, orchestra level, um violinist, young violinist, and so I mean that was my life that that that was the the part of me that my family knew and – and you Know that that was just to be expected, um from Natalie and so um I’ll I’ll, give you the shortened version of the story.

So the shortened version of the story is one day I was in the student center uh Aries zodiac boxing good evening.

Hey there thanks for chiming in good evening, sir, you are my first guest how you doing now.

This is the Natalie sugar show.

Natalie sugar brown show uh Aries zodiac boxing uh.

Have you have you chimed into my show before? Please answer me talk to me: nice um, tonight’s, a q, a with sugar and uh.

If, if you don’t know much about sugar uh tonight’s, the night that you can ask uh, you can ask what you want to know about sugar, the boxer, the the woman um the fighter and um sugar sharing a bit of or sharing the story about, um how She became a boxer in in the industry.

Well, there are many stories, but I’m I’m going to share.

You know it’s just the main, the main story that um that everyone should know, and so where was I yes? So everyone just knew now that my mom would a lot.

The large would always say.

Ah, Natalie is quiet, she’s, a quiet, young, lady right so um I was in the Student Center um one morning and a guy comes up and he was an older guy.

Big muscular, older guy for sure comes up to me and he said um.

Do you have a boyfriend? So you know I’m behind my book, I’m behind my book, but sugar was still a little bit Scrappy.

So I look up and before I could say, oh Mr Aries zodiac boxing answers.

No, I saw one video of you last week, but the channel had multiple people on it, but if you’re a part of it, then I will subscribe.

Please Subscribe yes, subscribe like subscribe and share it.

Sugar, Natalie sugar brown show and listen Aries.

I like that.

You took a chance with me tonight and I should hope that this will not be the last time that you come check on your sugar.

So I’m you know I’m, and he gave me a little.

I I don’t know I’m not going to assume Aries.

Zodiac boxing gave me a little wink wink and you know I love when I love to be flirted on so thank you so anyway, um yeah, so this guy says he asked me: do you have a boyfriend just out like that? So you know I look up from a book and I was just gon na say: listen, not interested.

Like you know.

This is a grown ass man coming to me area, zodiac, Boston, Tomball, I’m here I will be watching.

Thank you, boo boo.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I like that you showed up so this this guy, I mean he’s a grown ass man teenager like around 17 18 years old, and he talking about he wouldn’t be my boy.

He asking me if I got a boyfriend um.

Well, sir, that’s not even a position that you can feel so keep your grown ass moving! You know, but before I can even reply, he said yeah your dad would want me to be your boyfriend, I’m a good guy and he writes his name.

I can’t even find him when I need them on those yellow, sticky notes, y’all know what them things are.

It’S a those those Post-its right and um.

He wrote his name and a phone number and stuck it on my book and I had like a pile of books on in front of me.

Um, of course, because I was in school and and just kind of jet.

It Off so I was like you know, I didn’t think nothing of it.

I was like you know what there’s some real bull Jive today I took the thing I took the Post-it off my book crumbled it up and threw it away, thought nothing else of it.

Okay, so about a week goes by again, you know a week goes by and I’m in the Student Center around the same time and in the student center you know there you they have the TV they have.

Where you can get food.

You can you know it’s a student center, you know, but I, like I said I was always a loner, so I was sitting at a table by myself.

So what I did was I got up to get a snack and when I came back on the table on my books and stuff was a posted and sure enough.

The post did had the guy’s name on it and the phone number.

So at this point I mean I’m still a young teenager, so I’m not even thinking of I’m, I’m really not thinking of anything and at this time to like my experience with men and boys or anything, but even now, like sugar, sugar is kind of weird when It when it comes to um, you know the encounters or dealings with the the opposite.

You know the opposite sex um.

Why? Because I guess I’m if I like you, I like you and if I, if I want you, I want you and I and I don’t like to share and I’m greedy.

I want you all the time, [ Laughter, ] yeah, so that may be a bit too much for a lot of a lot of gentlemen, because I I love the gentleman and I love the minions so um you know it.

I I come from being like a reserved, oblivious like I don’t really see you unless I see you and then when I see you I must have in in that case so um I digress.

I go back to the story so at this point I see the posted on the book and I look around and the dude’s not around like.

I don’t see him and it didn’t freak me out it just it just kind of pissed me off, because I’m like this mofo put the damn sticky note on my on my [ __ ], and I wasn’t even around who the [ __ ] does.

He think he is like when I see him the next time, I’ma cuss his ass out, like that’s what I’m thinking you know like a young um Scrappy girl, Aries, zodiac Boston, says you are super.

Fine, though hey and tell everybody.

What’S that a chocolate bar, stop it and then put sugar and another wink, listen, we we got to keep it, you you, you touching all the right buttons and you better stop it because we on live.

Don’T you get me in trouble on here Aries zodiac boxing and I and I I tend to like Aries men’s – I mean I like them all, but Aries man’s is something there’s a fieriness about you, Aries men’s.

That is just so effective um.

But I I digress.

Listen we’ll talk about we’ll talk about that at another time that that’s that’s like that’s like one of those um.

I guess special subscriptions, but anyway back to the story back to the story, so um yeah, I’m I’m thinking you know what does this guy think he is um area, zodiac box and saying smile One Time, Sugar, I’m not gon na, be on here.

Listen! Look at me smelling: stop it Aries, stop it Aries, zodiac boxing and I I’m smiling and I’m blushing, so listen, um yeah.

So this happens and I think nothing of it.

So I continue my little life.

My little nerdy life I’m going to classes, I’m you know still at doing what I need to do on campus and and stuff like that, still a loner, and so maybe two weeks after because y’all got to know the progression.

This happened in a in a semester.

Okay, so um, I’m in class, like I’m in a lecture and someone like Taps me on my shoulder, and I look because I’m like don’t nobody know me or you know like what you need anyway and then the person hands me a folded, yellow, sticky, note yeah.

So I just you know how you just take something.

As you know, I just kind of took it because I thought maybe during lecture someone needed to ask me something so they wrote it down.

You know what I’m saying so I opened it dude’s name and dudes number.

So, needless to say now I am freaked out.

Yes, I’m freaked out, because how he I, how the hell do he know where I’m at I’m in class, I’m in class right now how he know where I’m at you know what I’m saying so um I get up in the middle because Sugar’s animated, if y’all Haven’T seen my shows or if y’all haven’t hung out with me, um enough y’all should know that Sugar’s animated okay.

So I get up.

I stand up and I look around to see if dudes in the class are standing at the door or something because my heart’s beat now and if it’s fight or flight sugar gon na fight right.

So I had like, I was feeling like listen, you know, I’m.

I now I might have to fight somebody, no one was there so then I I asked the guy not this is during this is during lecture.

So I said who gave you this? Who gave you this where’d? You get this from so dude points to the dude to the person behind him.

I said where’d you get, it is just like in a movie, I’m not even making it up the person points behind them.

The person somebody points beside them until the person at the end of the the back row goes, a guy gave it.

Somebody gave it to me and then my the the professor who was leading the lecture this little old uh Jewish lady.

She was so damn pissed.

She was like like she she after you know the the lecture and everything she asked me to sit down and after she, she cussed my little ass out and told me how um disrespectful it was, and everything like that, and you would think that that was the Time for sugar for Natalie to say, ma’am, you know this is happening to me and I was scared because, but I didn’t say anything I was more focused on the fact that I had embarrassed myself by interrupting or disrupting this lady’s class.

So you know I took the L apologized and you know it was just it was on my mind for a very long time after that, so I stopped going to the Student Center.

I s you know like, I became paranoid because now it’s like, I don’t know, somebody’s watching me and but I I didn’t say anything I was embarrassed.

I was embarrassed.

It’S like I felt like I should be able to control, or I should have been able to control what what went on and I didn’t, and so because I didn’t have a solution for what happened until I have a solution.

I I I was just going to keep it to myself, which was the worst thing I could have ever did so um.

It didn’t happen for a while.

You know, like I said I changed my habits.

I stopped going to the Student Center um.

I I I was just kind of more recluse.

I didn’t I was not I didn’t.

I went to just school and back you know like.

I didn’t really hang out on campus like that, because I I was afraid that I wasn’t.

I didn’t have a handle on this situation and and that this guy would be there and he was watching me and stuff like that.

Anyway, the end of the semester um, we all had the exam for the same class that I’d gotten this.

The post did um in the library which is kind of a walk um.

How it was set up how the campus was set up is the library was like away from the main uh building where the Student Center was so um, and you know, of course we had it’s a.

It was a um typical college campus.

So you know we had Security on campus and things like that, so [, Music, ] um, going to the exam.

I was at the Student Center that early that morning because it was an early morning.

It was a exam I had to take in the morning and I was like damn it.

I didn’t.

I didn’t really drive you know at the time, so I got dropped off and I was like [ __ ].

I ain’t trying to walk all the way to the damn library from here.

So there was like a shortcut that you know cut the time tremendously from the um Student Center to the library, but it was it.

It was uh a walkway or a path that no one really took so it was, and it was kind of like um, a tunnelish type of thing and so um I was, I said, you know, didn’t think about didn’t think about the this guy or anything like That because it hadn’t happened again, so I I just you know I I walked uh to the um to the library, no problems, nothing like that.

Didn’T really see anybody walking through the tunnel or anything, but I walked really brisk not mean um.

So I went to the um yeah.

I went to take the um, goodness y’all, I’m sorry skipped way way ahead and – and this was I mean that I’m telling you the last part of the story.

We want backtrack before the at the end of the semester.

So one night, this is what Happened.

One Night um I was taking a late class.

I had like a eight o’clock class and it it was like a hour and a half class two hours class, and so when the class dispersed, everyone was leaving from the one building and, of course, I’m supposed to walk to the Student Center to um get.

You know from my from my dad to pick me up at the time and um as I’m walking.

I don’t know if you guys have ever walked somewhere been out somewhere and you you, you know you’re alone, but you feel like you’re, not alone, like you feel like someone’s around, so that was what was happening to me.

You know the the class was over.

Everyone dispersed uh sugar thought.

Sugar was cute at the time, so I had my heels on and my you know my bag and all of that stuff really cute, and so I’m walking down the hall to leave the building.

Click, click, click, click, but I feel like I’m not alone, and then I hear hey, you never called me.

So I turned around and sure enough.

It was dude now this is the first time I’d seen dudes since he put the posted on my book.

So you know I looked at him.

I said I’m I’m not interested.

I thought I thought I’m I’m not [ __ ] interested leave me alone right.

He wasn’t even trying to hear what I had to say.

So he goes you you didn’t you never even you.

Never even can called me and I would have been a good boyfriend for you, you and, and he kept going.

You know just kept talking.

I would have treated you so nice, you [ __ ].

You know, like he’s coming he’s talking to me now and cussing me out so now I realize because, as I’m talking, you know I’m trying to act like I’m bad and everything like that.

I’M, like you know, you don’t talk to me like that and all of this stuff and he’s as he’s talking, his footsteps are being getting faster and I’m hearing this [ __ ] and I have my heels on so I’m, like click click, click not interested anyway.

I hear his footsteps speed up into like a a jog now, like he’s trying to he’s gon na, come catch up to me and when I heard that right I mean I’m Jamaican.

So that was my cue for lift up, meaning I I took off the heels off through my books and my book bag and lit bolted.

I know it’s kind of like a corny play on words, but yeah you would have thought I was Usain Bolt right.

High knees straight up stride, I was out okay to the Student Center as soon as I busted, through the the students at the doors I said, he’s trying to try to he’s trying to get me right and at the time now I I was I I mean I’M not going I’m not too my own horn, but I think I I was always an attractive young lady, so I had enough people who were interested or knew of me in in that worked there to know who I was so when I ran through the door Screaming, like that, you know they came to security, the campus security, the police or, whatever.

You know the guys that I knew came and he was like they were like who who what’s going on? Who you know.

I said the guy’s name, I’m not going really.

That’S gon na come out in the book.

Okay, I was like looked outside.

They look behind there like Natalie, there’s, no one outside who who is this guy? Who do you know? Who I you know? I kept saying the guy’s name, because that was the name that was written on posted okay anyway, I looked a damn fool that night, especially back in those times, because it just felt like nobody really took a young girl like that seriously.

You know um the police officer from the um campus, the the campus um station police station came and was asking me questions and I’ll.

Never forget him saying this to me.

He said, what did you do to make him think that um he could be your boyfriend? Did you lead him on, and I was like like mind you, I’m like 17 18 at the time.

I’M like.

Why, like what kind of question do you ask? Somebody, like is, is it my fault that this that this guy did this to me? Is it my fault that he came up to me? Is it my fault that he followed me to my classes? Is it my fault that he ended up now chasing me? Although this is my fault, I did something to justify his actions.

You know like that’s where I was like.

Not not.

As you know, I not as eloquent, as I just said it you know, but those are the con.

Those were the confusing thoughts in my mind where it’s like you know.

I start questioning myself as a young woman.

Did I cause this on myself.

Well, anyway, they made a note of it.

You know they made a report of it, they didn’t catch anybody or anything like that.

My dad came told my dad what happened um and my dad.

You know he spoke with the campus security about his daughter and everything like that.

Uh Aries, zodiac boxing chimes in and says he sounds like a creep.

He has great great taste, though beautiful and Jamaican I’m loving your storytelling and glad that you weren’t harmed.

Thank you.

Aries uh zodiac boxing.

I think he was a creep to be honest um, because I I was a teenager at the time and I’m not gon na lie to you.

This man was like in his maybe early 30s.

You know um, and I know I’m we’re human men see beautiful young ladies beautiful women and all of that stuff, but to act on it in this type of way, especially knowing that this was a young girl compared to who you are as a man in your Age, yes, you’re a a damn creep.

Now you know what I’m saying: um, that’s where I am coming from.

I don’t judge anybody.

I’M grateful like Arizona, zodiac boxing, I’m just uh every time.

Someone compliments me in any way.

It’S to me, that’s the greatest gift.

Someone can can give to me why, because that that that means something that means they thought of uh, these wonderful things to say they they they find pleasure in in something that I have naturally and and I’m so I’m grateful for that.

I it’s it’s a blessing for me that someone would share that.

So, yes, um going back to the story, though okay and thanks for thanks for chiming in Aries zodiac boxing so um.

You know that happened and the it was just noted right and so the semester carries on and I now I take you back to where I decided to walk to the library.

For my last for my exam and um, I walked to the library, nothing happened.

You know it, nothing really went on and then um like before the exam was over.

One of the campus security came and um asked the professor if they can, if I could come out and speak to them, so in my mind I didn’t even line it up to that, because I’m not gon na lie to y’all like I’ve um.

I I had borrowed the car at times.

You know what I’m saying and I’ve and I had parked in places that maybe the car shouldn’t have been parked, so I had gotten some ticket.

You know stuff like that.

So, like I’m thinking it’s more along the lines of that like they didn’t cut up to me.

So that’s what I thought you know, because I you know, I’m a teenager, I’m a kid.

I don’t know any better like right, so um, the the secure the the police campus police said uh, you know um Miss Brown uh.

We we need you to come to the the campus um police station after your exam.

Please finish up and uh.

You know I’m like okay, you know about to you know just thinking of the story about the tickets or in my mind, I’m like what else.

What could it be? Because once again, I didn’t think about what happened with this guy anyway.

I I head over to the campus uh police station security station, and I don’t know if I mean I’m gon na say it but did y’all are.

I hope you all are familiar with these glasses that you can see you can see through the glass, but the people that are sitting on the other side of the glass can’t really see the through to you on the other side of the glass.

I must I I’m not sure if y’all are familiar with those type of um like mirrors or glasses anyway, um I was invited, I I was told to come into a room where it was one of those glasses and when I walked into the room I went You know like right because, as soon as I walked in the room, there was the guy sitting talking to another campus police officer, just casually sitting back in a chair and talking right and so my heart’s beaten, because I’m thinking, oh my gosh, this is the guy.

I didn’t realize that you know it was one of those glasses, so the um, the police, the campus police guy, says he said you know.

Don’T you know, don’t worry about it.

We we wanted to ask you, or we need to ask you if this guy looks familiar, and so I said this is the guy.

You know I’m like.

That’S him, that’s him.

I was saying his name, that’s him and so um.

They said.

Okay, we just needed.

You we we, we just need you to make a statement or we just need you to say you know who he is and and just um pinpoint.

You know just to confirm what he did to you that evening um.

So I did um was somebody else coming in.

I swallow come you [, __ ], all right, I’m going to say it ice wallow come now that was really cute for you to name yourself that um and if, if we go on, you know if we want fool people into saying naughty things, because I mean I may or may not in my free time, but you could kiss my entire ass.

If you want to come on my show and and be disrespectful, okay um, it says, keep up the good work would appreciate a shout out.

So there go your shout out.

Um ice swallow ice, wallow come and he said Legend in your own in your own got dag on mine.

Bye-Bye, I’m glad I could give you a little thrill in your life.

Keep it keep it moving.

Now you could, you could tell when they ain’t got.

Nobody in their life or ain’t never had nobody.

They do little dumb stuff like this like.

Why would you you know? What are you like? 12? The way you still your your hands.

Are your girlfriends uh.

You feel you know you do stuff like that anyway, I’ll entertain, we all human you’ll grow up.

One day, uh you got to shout out on the sugar show um yeah.

So if y’all want to laugh at that, I guess it’s funny.

So I’m gon na go Dory so this the um, I gave my statement and you know learning further about what my statement had had done.

What happened was um? This guy had assaulted a couple of girls previously um one.

He beat up really bad and one.

He actually sexually assaulted and what how they found him or what happened was um.

They were.

They were actually on his tail or on his case previously, and they must have seen that this guy was at the bridge or hanging out at that.

That tunnel thing that I was telling you that I was walking to the library and they they saw him there and uh.

Just casually ask him to come with them to the to the count: uh campus security, uh police station office or whatever it is, and they were just asking him questions it turns out this man was not a student at the school never went to the school, he Assaulted uh a couple girls previously, I think maybe like two either two or three girls previously um and disappeared and came back and disappeared and came back.

So this was something that he would he he was doing and just I guess by divine grace I he had.

He had measured me up to be one of his victims and he was just wasn’t able to follow through with what his plans were for me and because of that um.

Because of my statement, and because of everything that came together, he he was able to like.

They charged him, he was charged and um.

I think he even got some jail time.

So moving on to how I got into the boxing was, I have a I had a friend at the time and he was a kickboxer okay, um cute guy cute young guy.

He he remind me of, and I’m not even I’m, not by no stretch he looked like Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Yes, he did and we had a class together.

He was older than me too, like he was like in his 20s early 20s right, and I thought it was so cool because, like he was a friend of mine and like we chat during you know during the course of the day when we’d see each other, Because we took some closet together, of course, me being a nerd and me you know he.

I would help him out with certain things and stuff like that, so he he talked like this he’s talking like this, so he was like.

You know what Natalie it’s really, you know really messed up with what happened, because I told him I don’t know he might have even been a low-key Stoner.

I don’t know because it’s just the way talking anyway, he said um, you should come.

Take some classes.

You should come to my dojo and take some kickboxing and I was like yeah.

That’S what I need.

I need that I need to.

I need to learn how to defend myself, because I mean I told you before I was young and Scrappy, so I wasn’t scared to fight, but I what I realized in the whole situation was: if this man had caught up to me, he would have been able.

He probably would have done what he wanted to me and I didn’t have a plan.

I didn’t know how to defend myself.

I knew how to fight other people.

You know I knew how to fight uh, the youngins in the streets or whatever.

It is like that but like when Natalie locks in you know when I lock into something like I’ve, I’ve become, like top tier, so I said yeah, that’s a good idea like in my mind.

I knew that I was gon na become a machine, so I started taking kickboxing classes, and so these classes at the dojo um were authentic kickboxing classes.

They taught you know, teaching you how to grab someone kick Round House straight.

I I was doing.

I was doing well too, I got so good at it.

They were like you know what Natalie um.

We should put we’re going to put you in a tournament.

You know because they had me.

I was um.

They had me sparring and stuff in the evening and – and I was going in there with them with the males in the class.

You know, because I was I I had this.

I was always athletic and very strong for my size and and so I was handling people in my class now, so they put me in um.

They put me in this tournament and what happened was right because I would I was.

I was going to be a kickboxer like I was loving it best shape of you know, getting in good shape, feeling empowered and uh sugar got some legs like, like my legs, aren’t even what it used to.

I had some Thunder legs.

Okay, that was the strongest part on my body, so um I um signed up.

You know I have my little boyfriend at the time now.

You know feeling a little Jiggy and we drove to the tournament met Marshall and um met.

Um did the Sensei of the dojo there because I was fighting out of their dojo and you know they put my ghee on me and everything like that.

So it wasn’t like uh like a kickboxing kickboxing tournament.

It was, I think it was more like a Taekwondo.

I didn’t know, I really didn’t know anyway um.

They put me against this little young girl living she’s, a cute little young girl too.

Like my age, she looked like.

She was a teenager.

She had her hair in this nice cute little blonde ponytail and she was just a badass.

You know I see her doing her kicks and and [ __ ] and I was like wow.

You know this is about to be real anyway.

You know they.

They put us to to face each other off and you know I had the plastic things on my hand.

They weren’t gloves.

They were like those Taekwondo plastic things, and then you know those plastic things they put on your feet: [ Laughter ].

So you know I was you know I did.

It was real nowaday.

It was real anyway um.

What so we there, and you know she she you know, got her stance going, but I didn’t really.

All I knew all I’ve ever done was taken.

The kickboxing like in a row you know, like a kickboxing class, I don’t know what she doing like this is like she, a whole colored belt.

Maybe – and I you know, I just have a couple um classes under my belt.

You know what I’m saying so I go, you know to go and that [ __ ] boom she [ __ ].

Kick me in my chest and the ref said point looked around.

I was like wait.

A minute.

Wait a minute! Wait a minute.

What? Oh? Oh okay, okay, you know what I’m saying and she got a point.

Okay, it’s really real! Now right, so we go back again and so now I’m I’m locked in I’m locked in I’m locked in and she she back on it because I’m she she knows.

She finna kick me and my damn chest again, but not this time, because I told y’all if it’s going to be fight or flight sugar gon na fight, so all bets are off.

I have decided at this time.

Okay, we’ve been uh.

I decided that we’ve been to take it to the parking lot we in the streets now we’re not in a tournament, so she come back and said fight.

I go to her step she’s going to kick me in my chest.

I said I went like this knocked her foot down and said yank this right here this right here.

This right here has always been that thunder clap anyway.

I I feathered my right hand and I hit her like right between here and her eyes crossed and she looked at me and then she collapsed to her knees and started crying, and I was like in that, in the doing of that, Marshall erupted: yeah, yeah yeah, But you could hear a pin drop in that gym, [ Laughter ].

I was like Marshall’s the only one celebrating the Sensei standing there like this and Cedric Sports training, uh chimes in what up champ just checking in thank you Sadie.

First for checking in uh.

It’S a q, a tonight and I’m just giving the you know, I’m I’m telling the story about like my first like how how I I got into doing this, you know how I got into um the idea that I I would be a boxer, so um yeah.

You you went like a little bit down into the story if you hang around um, but thanks for chiming in seti um, so uh.

Where are we at we yeah? So I’m not like.

I I stopped her and she did her crying and in a puddle of herself and um I looked around and people were looking at me like you, man and then the referee you know backs me up and Marshall comes to me.

He was like you’re, not you.

You were like think that I was supposed to do that and he was like.

Don’T worry about it, don’t worry about it anyway.

I knew something was wrong.

Referee comes back and says, disqualified.

I got disqualified for using unnecessary roughness.

In my first point.

Fighting Taekwondo kickboxing tournament and that made me decide that um.

I don’t think this is for me, so Marshall then oh, that was my friend.

His name is Marshall.

My friend, then you know, after that I stopped.

I stopped going to the the dojo, because I was embarrassed and everybody knew that, like you go back, everybody knew that I was gon na, go to the tournament and – and you know, represent the dojo, and I mean like when you look when I look at Cobra Kai on Netflix and whatnot, like that, like I’m, like you know what I did that I’m like I was in that right it it brings back these these fond memories.

You know I thought my life was over because I I went and embarrassed the damn Dojo at the tournament um everyone’s asking me how I did, even though they know how I did.

I got disqualified for knocking a little broad out.

You know and stuff like that and so Marshall then um said you know what Natalie I’m going to the boxing gym going uh Atlanta to the boxing gym.

This is worth real.

[ __ ] is, and I was like yeah he was like yeah.

You should come with me.

I want you to come with me so me and my little boyfriend um, because he had a car at the time like he was whipping whipping sugar bro well whipping Natalie around at the time so like that was my ride.

So we we drove downtown to uh biggsmore what was Biggs Morrison boxing gym on North Avenue in Atlanta, in the city of Atlanta, okay, and at this time this was when that gym was a kitchen okay, we call it a kitchen when it’s a bunch of killers.

In there, like wins a bunch of great fighters in there and so uh, you know to name a few.

You know this.

The Sims twins, um, there was [ Music, ], um Vernon forest.

Was it in there um a heavyweight named Cedric Boswell Olympic bronze, medalist and um Contender uh light heavyweight Contender Chris Johnson, at the time um Israel, uh Aries boxing zodiac Boston, says I was about to go to the store, but I’m really into your story.

Thank you.

Thank you, hun yeah.

That could wait.

Wait you go to the store for whoa what you gon na get you want to get us something good, um yeah.

So it was a real kitchen during the time you know like there were some badasses in the gym, and so I went with Marshall first and um my friend, and I he had a one he bought at Marshall.

Is this this? I ain’t gon na lie like he.

He he’s like a rich white kid at the time right and, like I said, I’m like this Scrappy girl or whatever um so now he’s taking personal training sessions with an Olympic bronze, medalist badass boxer, and you know I get to go with him.

So I went and um for some reason because Chris Johnson, Chris Johnson said hey, you know, let me let me see how you feel on the past and boom boom boom.

He holding up the pants and I’m shoot, I’m I’m running my hands now and and them damn pads, feel good them.

Shits feel comfortable, like you know, and you know when you feel like you home, I was home right.

I was like wow, I’m not kicking, which I was good at kicking, but it felt good their pads felt good on my hands now so uh Chris Johnson said well, you know he not even put he was like I’m.

Not even you know, I’m I’m not even gassing you up, but you’re really good.

You could be really good.

You could probably go to the Olympics.

Bing, bang, Bing Bing.

That’S all he had to say what I can do something like that and he wasn’t a lit like they remember, I’m a teenager, so you like you, went to the Olympics and you telling me because you’ve been there, you tell me I can go too like I, I’M I could be that good.

What I got ta do sign me up anyway.

Um you know we left and yeah.

I felt good.

I I had to get back down there, so I went back down there by myself um a couple days later, but the same people weren’t there right.

It’S the different people, different group of people, but I hadn’t seen any females in the kitchen.

It was just all these like tough, bad, looking mother suckers in there like they.

You don’t wonder you don’t even want your eyes to really rest on anybody too long, because they’d be like yo what you looking [ __ ] you looking at.

You know it was some bad.

It was some bad dudes down in that kitchen.

We, it was down south now with the bamas yeah.

We you know down in Georgia and at the time we’ve you know them.

Pimp.

Hats was in and Bama’s anyway um.

I went back and there was a coach named coach Jackson and I’m saying this name because he’s passed on rest in peace, coach Jackson, but this is what coach Jackson did that really lit.

My uh lit me on fire that I had to do this um.

I come in and I said I want to sign up for boxing.

He looked at me.

He said you want a box, he said.

No, you don’t want a box boxing ain’t for you, you’re too pretty to box.

You need to find you a boyfriend.

That’S one body: that’s gon na fight for you because you don’t you don’t want a box.

Oh my gosh.

I don’t know why.

But I it it just pissed me off and I don’t know if it was that he told me I don’t want to do it.

Um, if it’s that he told me, I needed to find somebody else to do it right or it’s the it’s.

The total disrespect that I, like he gon na, tell me I’m too pretty to do something.

I took that as a challenge because listen in my family, like we, I don’t know if it’s Jamaican or what but my pre in my family, pretty non said nothing right.

You got ta, you got ta, be able to do something right, meaning putting us and nothing meaning your prettiness ain’t.

You you, you ain’t gon na get by on your looks in my family right.

I I don’t want to toot my own horn or whatever, but like I would say that the the women in my family are very attractive.

Okay, so my grandmother, my dad they’re all attractive but they’re, all badasses, I’m not even gon na – lie no punks in my family, especially the women right um, but we know our place.

We love to be treated like women, but if it come down to it right and and if we got a scrap, you got a scrapper anyway.

My my grandmother taught me how to fight um.

So I digress.

I go back um anyway, I said no.

I no sir, I think I’ma sign up um.

Please tell me what I got to do to sign up.

He said: well, it’s ten dollars a month.

Okay got that right.

The first month I show up to the gym.

I’M like okay where’s the classes at no classes, this ain’t, no Dojo, bro, okay, so they wouldn’t know dojo.

I went there first that it just stood around and just watching Everybody ignored me.

You know what I’m saying like they kind of felt.

Like you know, I out they, they really wanted me to feel like.

I was out of Place coming there, but I said you know what I’m going to do this, so I showed up the next day and I looked at what the guys were doing and you know in now in this kitchen I didn’t have a pair of gloves Or anything yet so there was, I don’t know if y’all ever been if y’all been to an authentic kitchen, an authentic boxing gym the real one right, not the new one, the real one smiling at you, sugar.

Thank you, baby Aries, zodiac box and thank you if you’ve ever been to a real kitchen, I’m talking about Real Kitchen, not no Crunch Fitness, like not none of these commercial joints, a real boxing kitchen, you going here, the timer Bell.

You gon na smell that stank because it stinks in there okay you’re, going to see that spit bucket.

Okay and you’re gon na see a pile of funky ass gear.

That’S either left the shoes that people done left gloves that are old are sitting there old, ass headgear, something like that.

You won’t see either a pile of it or you gon na see it on a you know on the wall somewhere and oh I’m saying I’m telling you all this, I would advise y’all to bring your own [ __ ], but this was before covid and all Like my whole thing about that is, and especially when covet came, I said: listen if I survived using that [ __ ] covet ain’t got covet, can’t get ain’t got nothing for me right, because these are gloves that everybody then sweated in everybody, then bled on everybody.

Then spit on, like this gear, everybody, the Vaseline and the old crusty basily everything everybody done been through this and then done done had all all the body fluids come out in these things, and I looked over at the pile I didn’t have a pair of gloves.

So I went to the pile – and I picked two gloves that matched and put them on my hand, mind you.

The gloves were still damp and cold and stank from the previous users.

That was using it okay, so it was all Squishy in there and it stunk.

But there were gloves nonetheless, okay, so I’m in business, okay, my mom would have would have had a damn fit if she knew her young daughter who she used to put in little beauty, pageants and all of that stuff was now in the boxing gym.

With these nasty decrepit gloves on talking about she gon na learn to box, okay, so um yeah, I I put them on and since nobody was telling me what to do, I just figured the [ __ ] out right.

So I saw the guys and Bing and when the bell rang, they were hitting the bag and I saw guys putting punches together and stuff and I’d look and I like copy the punch, the combinations that I would see and I’d keep going.

And I keep going and I notice the the the clock: yellow [ Music ].

We training in three minute rounds, ain’t no, two minute John’s going on.

That’S fun! That’S for the punks! Okay! So – and you know 30 seconds and some of them would burn out, some of them will burn out.

Some of them would go ham on the bag, and you know for those last 30 seconds.

So I did.

I did what I saw them.

Do I’m burning out and I’m hitting that bag and I’m swinging and then Bing rest looking around and I see some guys, snickering and laughing at me.

I see Mr Jackson ignoring me, and you know after you know, after a couple days of doing that, then you have some guys um come by because they seen that okay, this this this little broad, is it looked like she’s she’s gon na keep coming so they’d Show me how to throw my punch right or they’d show me that they tell me you got to keep your hands up.

You drop in your hands and they’d start to tell me certain things that I I needed to do to you know, start being real start learning it, and it’s not that oh we’re going to teach or coaching you, but you know they start just helping me as As as a fellow boxer as someone who they saw trying, I’m so grateful to those guys, some are still alive.

Some are not you know, because this is an environment where, like these guys were from the street in the streets from the streets, you know some of them.

You know work great.

Some of them were, you know just trying to let some some some anger out.

You know what I’m saying, but after a while, I believe you know I started showing up.

Mr Jackson was ignoring me, ignoring me and then finally, one day he said You Gon na Keep Coming ain’t you.

I said yes, sir, he said you ain’t gon na quit is you I said nope.

He said all right, I’ll, show you something and started showing me and and teaching me and and um.

I thought I was doing great [ Music, ] um.

Then you know this.

Another, you know a a fight comes up uh.

This was the state championships.

Now I am the only young girl in the kitchen, Israel was there right, and I mean there are stories about them.

Gals too, there was Israel, uh gigra in the gym.

Y’All can look her up female champion from back in the day, Corinne van right, the good they called her goose female fighter from back in the day, Nina Allen female fighter from back in the day, Susie Taylor female fighter from back in the day and some other Ones too, okay, but uh story can only go, but for so long at the time they were all pros and they came and went yeah.

I never really paid no attention than it did than Natalie.

So I was an amateur and first state championships comes up and they had to find like they had to find someone that I could fight um and then two gals, two broad showed up one Broad and one Crohn showed up okay, so first night go in there Hands going bopping all all my dudes from the gym and everything came to see me fight and stuff Chris Johnson, there steadying them.

I think Vernon even came, you know what I’m saying boom the girl out, and I didn’t not that I knocked her out with a combination.

So you you know, you couldn’t tell me nothing.

Okay, all right finished it off with that hook all right, so I felt good.

I felt good.

You know what I’m saying it’s it’s real now right, I just I’m just knocked the girl out in an amateur boxing fight, USA, boxing at all buddy and Bo Davis.

There R.

I.

P mom mama Beau, you know what I’m saying next day, this tournament ain’t over.

Remember, it’s three bar bronze, all right uh.

I fought the first one.

The second one now was a crone.

So the second day I weigh in okay – and I seen her way into with nobody, paying a no mind.

Oh shoot.

I just knocked.

I just knocked the last brother and you all old and you old you finna, go sooner.

That’S what I was listening.

You couldn’t tell me nothing: okay, so that night, okay, my time to fight okay, my bout comes up, and now everybody doesn’t come everybody’s interested.

Why? This is the first time everybody in the town or anybody, and everybody has seen women boxers on that level.

Number two Natalie Natalie fighting: okay, all right, so you know like it.

This is some history making some Synergy stuff happening right.

So I feel it’s pressure on your girl, but I felt good because I had a good night the night before so um.

We in the middle of the ring we come to the middle of the ring.

Uh coach, I mean ref Franklin, the Franklin’s, our family, a marvelous family of referees for USA, boxing and um the father, Mr Franklin uh.

He was very Stern and everything like that and at the time um I’m showing y’all these, because at the time they were very, very protective of women of females or women’s fighting.

They thought you know the boobies needed to be protected.

So there was this.

Like plastic thing that we used to have to put into our bra that that damn near look like uh the front, the the front end, bumper of of any car that did uh on one of them, Hyundais out there, one of them cars that you would see With with that bumper coming out, we had to stick that in our bra.

So you know the the titties would stay safe, okay, but at it was very uncomfortable to fight in.

So I didn’t put the um, you know the the bra breast protector in my bra in the thing.

Okay, I didn’t anyway how the refs would check if you had your titty protector in, was they go top top? They knock your titties and it’d have to make that it’d have to make that plastic sound right that sound right.

So uh referee Franklin said I’ll pop on my titties and and all it did was bounce bounce boom and he looked at me yeah.

I just pissed.

Look on his face and um, I know like in my mind, I’m like: please don’t stop it.

Please please.

Let me fight, please.

Let me fight because I didn’t have a titty protected that night and it would have been the fight would have been over.

He looks at me and he has these eyes.

He has this look and he rolled his eyes and he told you know he went on with the with the um.

You know meeting in the center of the ring.