i'm at the park hill boxing club and i'm
about to step in the ring with the
fiercest most decorated female fighter
of all time born in carolina puerto rico
and raised in brooklyn new york amanda
the real deal
[Music]
i'm about to get my butt kicked
[Music]
amanda has been doing this for a very
long time following in her sister
cindy's footsteps she's been around the
sport since she was 12 and now has 44
pro fights under her belt with only one
loss she actually holds a guinness world
record for most championships held
across several different weight
divisions yet despite her undeniable
success in the ring she hasn't received
nearly as much money or attention as her
male counterparts there was times where
i was a five division world champion and
not getting paid in fact it wasn't until
her recent collaboration with jake paul
that this started to change and now the
biggest fight and biggest payday of her
career is just around the corner
you have the first headlining fight at
msg
for women's boxing ally frazier fought
twice rocky martial all these bits is
the pressure higher than it's ever been
or you're cool is it cute no pressure no
pressure really yeah of course there's
pressure you know because you know we're
getting this spotlight and i know where
me and katie taylor are two women to do
that to showcase women's boxing the
skills the heart and i know it's gonna
be a hell of a fight it's gonna be a
great fight katie taylor is another
trailblazer in women's boxing she's an
olympic gold medalist current undisputed
lightweight champion and
undefeated
[Music]
given her new platform there was one
more thing amanda wanted to address
currently female championship boxing
matches are limited to ten two minute
rounds whereas men go for twelve three
minute rounds apparently this
controversial decision was based on
studies that showed women get
concussions at higher rates than men but
critics say that shorter rounds have not
been proven to keep women safer and this
research has largely been weaponized
against women's boxing the wbc also
stated that women's boxing matches have
to be shorter as a result of the
menstrual cycle having tremendous impact
on the body of a woman
from a medical perspective that makes
zero sense when it comes to fighting in
mma female and male fighters have the
same time in rounds and female fighters
are thriving in the sport so amanda
thought she'd make a special request
during the pre-fight press conference i
think we should just continue and make
this fight iconic make change in this
game if katie taylor is willing i'm
ready and able to make this an equal
fight 12 rounds three minutes when women
are fighting we hear the commentators
and we always hear the spectators the
people talking oh it's only 10 minutes
keep in mind the ladies they go two
minute rounds it's two minute rounds and
i figured it would just bring the fight
at a bigger
magnitude so i was like let's do it
katie are you up for it twelve three
minute rounds let's do like the men
i don't really feel like that that will
make a huge difference too
this event is already i can't do it she
was quick so it was yeah
no at least now it's out there
[Music]
probably the most impressive thing about
amanda is her monk-like existence her
life is boxing and family that's it she
does not drink she does not smoke she
does not party she claims to never have
owned a cell phone ever she claims to
have never had a boyfriend
ever she eats sleeps and breathes the
sport and has dedicated her entire
existence to it
modern life is a greatness requires
sacrifice i started boxing at 18. i
decided this is what i want to do i want
to make a career out of it so i'm going
to sacrifice in my mind i'm like i want
to be great i want to make history while
amanda is an athlete she's also a
warrior getting in the ring is no joke
and presents true danger and the only
way to mitigate that risk is through
hard work and dedication i'm nowhere
near the warrior that amanda is but i
can attest the mental struggle of the
sport is real too you're training on
days you're spent you're getting
criticism left and right
and giving up does seem attractive at
times but it's the progress that keeps
you going
[Music]
no matter your prior success negative
thoughts and self-doubt still do creep
in how does a world champion deal with
that you're basically to me a superhuman
your ability to fight and your ability
to control your mental health what do
you do on the days when you are
questioning yourself when you are in a
dark spot you're like maybe i can't win
maybe i can't do it do you sit with
those thoughts do you fight against
those talks do you speak to a family
member about that what's your strategy
yeah i definitely try not to sit and
dwell on them because then they will
just drive you off the wall there's
times where i would speak to my sister
i'll sit down and speak to her or or
jordan my manager trainer brother-in-law
don't look back and point out videos or
point out things that i wasn't able to
do but i didn't i didn't think i was
able to do it but i've done it and then
that will always
overpower the negativity so i just look
in the mirror like before fight and i
say myself you a badass b word you could
say say it say it no like don't say it
say yours
those things amanda just described are
actually three research-based strategies
we use and study in psychology every day
social support validation and
visualization are widely endorsed by
sports psychologists worldwide it's no
surprise that amanda has been so
successful over the course of her career
[Applause]
it was time for me to square up with
this badass b word is it like my magic
microphone
magic mic plus 15 pounds i just hope you
have a good please though
no because you have nothing to do
in sparring amanda i had no idea what to
expect i'm a novice fighter and she's a
champion do i go all out to show what
i've learned do we just get cool footage
well she answered that question pretty
early on by asking me to hit her in the
face
[Music]
being in the ring with the champion is a
surreal experience her punch is stinging
her movement crisp her gaze penetrate i
literally caught myself imagining what
katie taylor would feel like come april
30th my jabs kept flowing at the
direction of her coach jordan one time i
nicked her straight on and she just
laughed it off
i had one last question for amanda how
long do you want to do this for i gave
myself a timeline i said by 35.
now once i retire i can say it was all
worth it because look what i've done
look what i have now making my biggest
payday so i'm definitely gonna invest in
property and invest and once i'm retired
i can just have to kick my feet up and
be like it was all worth it yeah april
madison square garden you have to watch
you have to watch amanda toronto become
undisputed champion i'm watching i'm
going to be there congratulations
everything you've accomplished she's a
real champion warrior and like i said
super human thank you check out my
reaction video to tick tocks i give the
worst medical it's like look at this
guy's arms it's kind of ridiculous click
here to check that out and as always
stay happy and healthy