As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Monday, April 23, 2018

It's Been Called Off... Monday, April 23

Today I got word that my May 13th fight is a no-go. I had agreed to fight the W.I.B.A (Women's International Boxing Association) fourth ranked minimum weight female fighter as an underdog for an insulting pay check that would basically just pay for my training and all the medical and legalities to get my Korean pro license switched to a Filipino one but I was okay with that. It wasn't about the money for me. 

This marks the second fighter to cancel a fight with me here in the Philippines and it's so completely frustrating. I love this country but what's a fighter if they're not willing to fight?!

The fight was my much-needed goal. After all, why would I be killing myself at training day after day and jeopardizing the growth of my business if I didn't have something big like this. I'm not interested in losing weight and I really don't have the extra cash to even pay for all this pre-fight training. I switched boxing clubs, switched coaches, took up walking about 55kms a week so that I could better prepare for this fight and agreed to dropping 17lbs. Now it's been called off. Not cool. 

Heading into boxing to tell my coach the news was also so not cool.  I've only been working with him for about a week and a half now but I know he's designated a lot of effort and attention into prepping me for this would-have-been and should-have-been fight.  Me not having the fight means I don't get paid now but it also means he doesn't either.  Unlike most other jobs where you get a regular pay check, us fighters only get paid when we fight.  Sponsors help support you while you're training for a fight, but they usually only provide a service or product, like with the case of Supreme Diet and then providing me with food.  The pay check comes with the fight.  No fight, no pay.  It's that simple, that blunt and that brutal.  

Here's to hoping they'll find me an opponent and put us on the May 22nd fight card.

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