Bertha Aracil is one of 24 women who will be competing for 3 spots on the first USA Women’s Olympic Boxing Team. “Boxing is not a soft sport. I don’t believe it’s a violent sport but it’s not a soft sport. You gotta have guts to go in the ring and throw a punch and receive one.”
Bertha defeated Liz Leddy at the Police Athletic League Tournament in Toledo, OH in October, 2011 to qualify for the Olympic Trial Team. “When I land a punch, I feel like I’m controlling her,” Aracil says. “‘You weren’t supposed to let me punch you there.”
Julia Irman won the German National Championship three weeks after giving birth to her son. Here she poses with a young fan. “In a couple years I want to have another child. A girl. A boxer like me.”
Franchon Crews backstage before her championship fight at the USA National Tournament in Colorado in June 2011. She won. “I’m not doing it for the camera, I got my team, my city, but at the end of the day, it’s me in there. It’s me.”
Franchon was a contestant on American Idol. She swore that if she didn’t make history singing she was going to do it boxing. She is ranked number one in the country. Here she entertains her teammates at a tournament.
Mikaela Mayer is one of 8 women competing for the lightweight (132/60kg). “I like the fact that I’m feminine outside on the streets. I may not seem like a boxer, but really, I am a boxer. I can be a woman and an aggressive athlete.”
Mikaela Mayer winning her final bout at the Golden Gloves National Tournament to secure her place in the Olympic Trials. She says she was a “bad kid” growing up - until she started spending Friday and Saturday nights at the gym.
Tiara Brown at the International Duel, Oxnard, CA 2011. “Boxing makes me believe that I can do anything. I feel like boxing is in my blood. I am in love with it. I could be married to boxing.”
Tiara Brown says guys in the gym get jealous of her body. "I have abs of steel. And then I have these sexy luscious lips. And then I’ve got these guns on my arms. I'm a boxer. And I'm a girl boxer."
