BOSTON -- Long before "Million Dollar Baby" won Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, women at Boston's Ring Boxing Club were trying their hands at boxing.
NewsCenter 5's Anthony Everett reported that women at Ring Boxing Club in Boston are part of a growing genre of educated and dedicated women who love to box. They said they do not want to do it as a career.
"I always wanted to do boxing. Something just appealed to me," said Lauren Bateman, who started boxing about three months ago.
Bateman is a senior at Boston University majoring in archeology and biology. She hopes to be a paleontologist. She said she loves the way boxing makes her look and feel.
"I've definitely gotten a lot more muscle and lost weight," she said.
About half of the members at John Hazard's Ring Boxing Club are women. He said compared to other countries, American women have been slow to warm to boxing, but that has changed in the last five years. He encourages women, but said sexism still surrounds the sport.
"Unfortunately, there are still some places outside the city that are not women-friendly and they make that very clear. Some of the old-timers still believe that women should not be boxing," said Hazard.
Natasha Perez is not sure she will ever compete, but the commercial real estate broker said boxing has already given her a lot.
"I have got a lot further in my career and where I want to go because I do have discipline and drive -- the drive that it takes to be an athlete," she said.
Hazard said he would not be surprised to see increased interest in women's boxing after "Million Dollar Baby" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Anthony Everett Reports On Boxers
