Five years ago, I decided to pursue professional boxing and fight for a World Title. It was a crazy notion. Writing this now, I mustn’t have been thinking straight, but it was something I truly believed I could achieve. I never considered myself as talented, and I had limited amateur boxing experience, but I was always the hardest worker in the gym. I wish I had something more interesting to tell you but I didn’t grow up with a combat sports background and I felt I’ve had quite a wholesome upbringing. I’d simply found an avenue I enjoyed and thought I’d level-up. I had quit my full-time job and put my career on hold to throw myself into this idea that I could somehow be the best.
I had quit my full-time job and put my career on hold to throw myself into this idea that I could somehow be the best.
Four years down the track, I got my world title shot. Several times in those four years, I thought I should throw in the towel. There were intense periods where I had back to back fights, and I was in desperate need of a holiday. I was tired, and it wasn’t solely due to the fighting. It was the financial burdens I had to bear, the breaking down of my health and body, and the mental strain of not only having to perform at an elite level but also carrying the demands of a proficient niche marketing agent with less than moderate success. It was all taking its toll. The only thing keeping me in the game was that tiny glimmer of possibility that I could get that phone call. And I did.
They set the date - 22 June 2019 in Denmark for the WBO Women’s Super Bantamweight World Title.
After my WBO world title fight in Denmark against the current champ, my team and I had some reassessing to do. It was my ultimate goal, four years in the making only to exit the ring with nothing but respectful applause. Everybody has experienced the pains of loss, but as a fighter, it cuts deeper. I believe you lose a part of yourself every time you fight. It’s not just the emotional reckoning from not having your hand raised, the physical reminder of battle every time you look into the bathroom mirror or the constant questioning of your abilities and worth. It’s that part of yourself you leave in the ring that you know you will never get back.
I thought I’d be more upset not experiencing the fruition of my dreams - to hold a world title and call it my own. This was different. I couldn’t help but smile and think to myself, “I did it”. It may not be the ending I had hoped for, but I was centre ring, face to face with the champion. I felt nothing but gratitude.
1. Give the event an alternate meaning
How you perceive your situation goes a long way in how you feel about it. The cliche is that “You never lose. You either win, or you learn.” I like to think that you are always learning regardless of the outcome, and this sets you up for progress. If I wrote out my roadmap to where I am today, I could physically see that I’ve had enormous achievements in a short period. Putting things in perspective gives you clarity, and so instead of losing this one fight regardless of its prestige and standing, I’ve been winning this journey.
2. Change your focus
Focusing on one goal can be tiresome, especially when it appears you have either hit a wall or reached its end. There is nothing wrong with taking a detour provided you make your way back on track. Instead of primarily focusing on myself, which I had done for the previous six months, I put the majority of my efforts into helping the people around me. Give yourself a chance to recharge and an opportunity to be stimulated differently.
3. What’s done is done and move on
I’ve become surprisingly good at this over time. It’s easy to dwell on past events even though you know you can’t change what happened. Upon reflection, there are always going to be things you find you’d have done differently. Having a personal connection to an event is hard to shake but give yourself a deadline.
I had a surge of motivation, a new strategy in my training and new goals to accomplish.
Four months after my world title clash, I received news of fighting in December in a lower weight-class, more suited for my build. I had retained a high enough ranking, and this was my opportunity to establish myself in a new division. I had a surge of motivation, a new strategy in my training and new goals to accomplish. No doubt I was heartbroken when I had fallen ill only a week before fight night and regrettably had to withdraw.
4. Put yourself first
An old coach gave me the best advice when it comes to combat sports. “You put yourself at risk every time you enter the ring.” The statement is blatantly obvious, but you’d be surprised how often combat athletes forget. This risk was always at the back of my head when it comes to my training, my nutrition, my recovery and my overall health. It is your job as a fighter to minimise those risks by becoming the best athlete you possibly can be on fight night. But, when your health is compromised, you have no business being in the ring. I understand some fighters still fight when they are sick, and they have their reasons. Heck, I’ve even fought when, looking back, it was a dumb idea. At the time, I did have a title at stake, but I now know no fight is worth putting yourself in harm’s way when you can’t deliver.
5. Stay positive
When you think you were back on track and ready to make your mark again, but it all falls to pieces, you sometimes can’t help but wonder if you are supposed to continue. I’ve learned to be thankful for closed doors, detours and roadblocks because they lead on to other opportunities. Some things aren’t meant to be rushed, and some experiences aren’t meant to be yours. There is always something else around the corner if you stay ready.
Over the Christmas break, I had been given the opportunity to fight in Mexico for a WBA Oceania title. Hallelujah! This news was the best Christmas present I could have received. I felt like I was back. My gym was closed, everyone else was enjoying the ‘silly season’, and I had less than six weeks to prepare, but all that didn’t matter. I trained myself in the lead-up to this fight because this was my comeback. During a time when you usually let yourself go and allow yourself to breathe, I still had to be on. It was hard. But I’ve been here before numerous times and every time; I had made it through. Or so I kept reminding myself.
...the only thing you can do is keep going, obstacles are there for a reason and sometimes the path you are meant to be on leads you in a different direction.
6. Control what is within your means
The situation and environment surrounding this fight camp were less than ideal. It felt rushed and unorganised, and I had an inkling of doubt that this fight was never going to ensue. All I can do was be ready. That’s what I had been trained to do, and that is all I can do. I do catch myself stressing over scenarios that are outside of my control, but what was that ever going to achieve? I can’t control other people, their decisions or outcomes, but I can choose how to respond to them.
My experience in Mexico will be one I will always remember. Fight week did not come without its challenges being in a foreign country with a slight language barrier and doing things a bit differently than usual. Winning the WBA Bantamweight Oceania title brought me closure and a strong sense of self that no other fight had given me. That the only thing you can do is keep going, obstacles are there for a reason and sometimes the path you are meant to be on leads you in a different direction. Yes, you do lose a part of yourself with every fight, but sometimes you also gain something much more.
This post was proudly sponsored and supported by EDGE Electrolytes
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