Natalie Brown was forced to take a self-defence kick-boxing class in college because she was being stalked. There she fell in love with boxing which was also taught at the gym. - Contributed

This is the second in our series on women in aggressive sports

Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Being able to throw a good punch is not exactly a requirement for the average woman. But female boxers swear by the benefits of the sport.

For about a year, Job Walters, owner of Smoking Job Walters' Gym in Anchovy, St. James, has been training six teenage girls from Anchovy High to box.

After taking males to international competitions and seeing other Caribbean countries with female teams, he decided to create one.

"Every country had girls and Jamaica didn't have any," he said. Having competed professionally for four years and being ranked 10th in the world in his heyday, Mr. Walters swears by the unmatched discipline the sport offers both sexes. The discipline taught through rugged training schedules, prohibition of drinking alcohol, smoking and the use of foul language, builds character.

FEAR

However, most parents do not want to see their daughters being punched. "The mothers are scared of their daughters taking part," Mr. Walters told Flair. An unnecessary fear, as the protective guards for the torso and face, as well as the padded gloves, lead to minimal injuries which could include busted lips and swollen eyes.

"It's safer than football. Amateur boxing is not about hurting your opponents," he said. Once the referee sees that a boxer is overpowered, she does not have to be pulverised for the match to be stopped.

"But boxing gets a bad name. I did boxing and never got hurt," he explained.

Natalie 'Too Bad' Brown

Natalie Brown spars with a trainer in her gym in Canada. - Contributed

Natalie 'Too Bad' Brown, who turned professional this year, admitted that while her two-year-old son watches her train in the family's gym in Canada, she dreads the day he wants to go into boxing.

"Now I know what my mother feels," she said.

While she has not had any major injuries in her career, her husband, Jamaican born Chris Johnson, who won an Olympic Bronze Medal for Canada in boxing, received a head injury which made him stop boxing professionally.

Receiving head injuries, being knocked unconscious, or even dying, are all possibilities Natalie is fully aware of.

But getting hurt is not a constant concern as she is confident in her experience, and her husband's ability as her trainer.

Getting hurt

Vincent Ellis, who was involved in amateur boxing locally, has hung up his gloves and said he would not like his fiance or daughter to enter boxing because of the possibility of them getting hurt.

"It's a dangerous sport. You're trained to defend yourself in a certain way and not everyone is going to do it properly," he added.

Personal Development

Seventeen-year-old Sasha-Kaye Forbes signed up for the character building sport when Mr. Walters visited her school.

"I'm a person who loves adventure," noted the teenager who looks up to Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammed Ali, as her favourite female boxer.

Her friends fully support her. "They call me their bodyguard," she said, laughing. And most of the teams' fan base is male. "Initially they laughed. When they first hear about us, they don't believe, but they enjoy female boxers," she said, adding that the shorts and their toned bodies may have something to do with it.

With two medals for effort and two trophies under her belt, the young boxer hopes to take it to the highest level and eventually own her own boxing gym.

Career from Boxing

A dream which is not that farfetched, according to Natalie who helps her husband run Chris Johnson's Fighting Alliance Gym. She believes women can make a career out of boxing.

"We're not making millions like the men. But we can make a couple hundred thousand dollars if we make a name for ourselves." However, most women are involved in the sport for the love of it. Natalie, who is of Jamaican parentage and spent 12 years of her childhood living in Westmoreland, understands this drive to do well.

In 2001, she was selected to compete for a spot on the America's National World Championship team. The fight was close and the referees announced her opponent the winner. Devastated, Natalie's mother suggested she contact the Jamaica Boxing Board and enter for Jamaica. They agreed and she went on to win a silver medal in the competition.

Having a successful amateur career, winning a National Golden Gloves competition and winning another silver medal for America, Brown took a break for three and a half years to concentrate on her family.

Stereotypes such as female boxers are stupid, rough or lesbians, go with the territory but they are only generalisations.

"I'm very much a lady. I get my hair done. I get my nails done. I'm smart and well spoken. I'm not tough or masculine," said the mother of one.