I was going through my old Word files on my computer and came across a random interview transcript I had. The interviewer had called me to ask me and Snickers about boxing and this interview was conducted a couple of years ago.
PERSON BEING INTERVIEWED: Me
Where are you from?
I am originally from a small city just an hour outside of Toronto, Canada but my family is Polish/Austrian.
How long have you been boxing?
I started boxing in Canada, about a year and a half before I moved out to Korea. I wasn’t familiar with any boxing club in Korea so it wasn’t till my third year here in Korea that I started boxing again. In total, I’ve been boxing for about 4 years here in Korea.
What made you choose the sport boxing?
I didn’t really choose to get into boxing, it was more or less chose me. I say this because back when I was a university student I use to work as a head bartender at Toronto bar/club that was gang-affiliated. We had security but that didn’t stop many of the male customers from stirring up trouble. I had kept my job a secret from friends and family, and because I was living on my own, it was pretty easy to do so. However, getting into fist fights started to become a weekly routine and so hiding bruises and scratches became harder and harder to keep a secret. Then one Sunday afternoon I got into a rather brutal fight with one of the club’s security guards. The fight ended with both us having to go to the hospital, me for a broken hand and he for groan injuries. I kept it a secret by no getting a cast put on and attending my brother’s wedding, but friends found out when I returned from the wedding and agreed to cast it. Questions and concerns spread like wire fire among my friends and that’s when one of my friends Mark Simmons approached me. He suggested I take up boxing to defend myself and was willing to teach me (he went to the Olympics for boxing). When I declined his offer he found out where I worked and sent someone else to approach me about boxing. The person who approached me then became my coach, Egerton Marcus – Olympian silver medalist.
What challenges does a female boxer face in the sport?
The challenges faced by me as a female boxer are different now that I’m a female boxer in Korea. Being a foreign female boxer in this country gets me a lot of attention – both positive and negative. When I turned pro I was living in Korea. I became the first foreign female to turn pro while living in Korea so the media has given me a lot of attention because of this. However, because of Korea and it’s very distinct gender specific roles, I get a lot of negative comments. Teammates joke and call me a guy, other females at the club consider me some kind of freak of nature, and now that I am married, there’s my husband’s family questioning why I even do it. I know they mean no harm by their joking or questioning, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt at times. I know I don’t fit the social norm of what is expected of me as a female here in Korea, so I know I face a lot of opposition. Moreover, female boxing in Korea is definitely lacking in financial support and interest, and this is reflected in the fact that I really have no choice but to spar with my male teammates and wait months for a fight. I really could care less about what Korea thinks of me as a woman but I know my fellow female boxers who are Korean and who are living in Korea do care about it. I have a ton of respect for them -- THEY are admirable women.
What advice would you give any person or gender trying to enter this sport?
My advice for anyone trying to enter this sport would be to do it only if you really love it. You have to really love it because your commitment and passion for it are going to be tested in more ways than you ever thought it would. It’s easy to stay in love with the sport when you win, but it’s getting to that win or picking yourself up after a loss that your passion for the sport is really put to the test. You have to be a very hard-headed, thick-skinned female in Korea to get into boxing here. As for anyone anywhere getting into it, boxing takes more than just hard training to be good. It, along with so many things in life, takes a lot of self-discipline, self-respect, and passion if you want to take it beyond just doing it as a sport.
PERSON BEING INTERVIEWED: Snickers
Your story is very unique and inspiring. Give the readers a bit of your history and success as a boxer/fighter.
My story as a boxer really began when I got caught for street fighting and was sent to jail. The courts had sent me to the Cheonan jail, the only jail in all of Korea that had a boxing club located inside its’ walls. I started boxing at age 20 while serving my jail sentence and during my sentence I had 10 games in total; 4 amateur and 6 professional. Being assigned a fight was a big deal to me because it meant that I got to leave the jail walls behind and see my family. Getting to touch my mother motivated me to train hard. For my amateur games, I was allowed to leave the jail for 4 days, but I only got to leave for 2 days when I had a professional game. It wasn’t until July 7, 2008 that I won the title of Korean Super Lighweight Champion. In total, I’ve had 11 professional fights – 10 wins (9 by KO) and 1 loss.
Do you think more Asian (Korean), boxers will be recognozed in the future?
To be honest, I hope so but I think it will be hard. Our country doesn’t really support boxing. Being a professional athlete isn’t considered a serious job (a 'real' job) so almost all professional boxers here have to get another job to financially support them self and their family.
Who is your favorite boxer?
Prior to starting boxing during my jail sentence, I didn’t really pay much attention to boxing, but in jail the first boxing fight I ever saw was of Julio Chavez from Mexico. The jail only stocked old videos, so it was old footage of an early fight of his. It was basically one of the few boxing videos I had available to watch so I watched it so many times.
How often do you train?
I box five days a week and I go running about 4 times a week. At boxing, I also do some weight training.
What is a typical workout like when preparing for a match?
A typical workout in preparation for a fight would consist of me waking up really early and going for an hour run. I like to run the river path outside my house and sometimes I go running up one of the local mountains nearby. Morning exercise is then followed by a good morning nap and the followed through with training at the boxing club in the evening. Because of the fact that there are two other Korean champion boxers at my club, I’m able to get in a lot of hard sparring in. I usually spar a couple times a week when I have a match set. Later in the evening, much later, I then go outside and do natural weight training at the park beside my apartment. By natural weight training I mean I use my body weight as supposed to free weights, and such exercises include things like pull-ups on the monkey bars. I had a large transport truck tire that I use to train my back with but the city garbage men took it away.
Is being married to a female boxer challenging?
Is it challenging?... no! It’s a lot of fun but we both view boxing and box for different reasons. Because we’re both professional boxers, we go training at the boxing club together and go jogging together but we get very competitive, more so Amy than me. We can understand and relate with each other, so preparing for a game (ie. the hard dieting and need to increase our training) is met with lots of support from the other person. The one thing that I must say is challenging is watching her, my wife, fight. She deals with the stress and pressure of having to drop weight and increase training while working a full time job but she takes her fights too personal. I am always telling her to enjoy the actual fight but I can’t enjoy watching her fight and seeing someone punch her. I feel heartbroken.
Do you have any advice for the future Asian (Korean) boxers?
My only advice is to try to enjoy it. It is important to enjoy it and do it because you love it. When you stop enjoying it, stop doing it.
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