REGINA – For athletes around the world, the Olympics serve as inspiration to be stronger and faster at a chosen sport, and that has been true for some local female boxers.
The sport was only added to the Olympics in London 2012, but since then many more women have become interested in fighting.
“A lot of people don’t expect women to be boxers. That’s the last thing,” said Kate James, 27, who is preparing for a fight in March. “Even my parents said, ‘Why you want to box? You’re going to get punched in the face.’ ”
However, female boxers have shown they are tough and ambitious.
“People sometimes question whether they want to watch women’s boxing and I think the London Olympic Games proved that women boxers have amazing skill,” said Pat Fiacco, president of Boxing Canada.
Fiacco said between 30 and 40 per cent of its membership is female, thanks in part to the 2012 debut.
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“Most people at first might think that it’s a violent sport, but it’s not. You’re well protected and there are very few injuries,” said Fiacco.
In addition to juggling school and work, some fighters at Black & Blue Boxing train four to five times a week.
“It’s a pretty serious sport. You’re going to get punched. You’re going to get beat up,” said James. “If you’re not prepared it definitely shows.”
When Rolande Moses opened Black & Blue Boxing four years ago, he only had two women interested in fighting but he now trains almost a dozen, between the ages of 13 and 48.
“It was really hard to get women into boxing. They were always worried about what’s going to happen or how far they’re going to go with it,” said Moses. “Now they have the Olympics to look forward to.”
Moses competed in the Beijing 2008 Olympics for Granada: “I was the first novice boxer in history to go to the Olympics with only nine fights, facing guys who had 300 plus fights.”
He sees a lot of potential in his current students.
“I don’t believe in taking it easy. If you want to be the best in the world, you have to train hard,” said Moses.
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