(MAY 7) Odalys Camacho thank you
for taking your time out to do this interview with me. You are a
young female boxer striving for big things in boxing and have a
great attitude. You put yourself out there never dodging an
opponent at local and shows out of your area and you are always
wanting to fight on any card possible. I see you at my gym
Babyface Boxing when we have all female sparring and you will
spar anyone anytime. At Babyface I have see you spar with
Melissa Mc Morrow and I know how bad you want to become the face
of female boxing. You have also participated on the Beautiful
Brawlers where the “best fight the best.” dos
Where are you from?
I was born in Reedley, CA, but raised in Bakersfield,
California.
I know you are 16 years old, when did you start boxing? Why
boxing?
I started boxing in the late summer 2011, my dad signed me up
for boxing because he wanted me to be able to defend myself. I
am sixteen years old and within one year I have accumulated 24
fights with a record of 13-11 ,but my first ten fights were 1
win 9 losses and I started my novice career what you would call
open . l’d be fighting girls that had over ten fights when I
barely had one.
At sixteen you go to school and probably do the same things
every normal teen ager likes to do, what is your training
schedule like?
I go to school like every other teenager would, but my social
life and interest are very different than any other teenage
girls my age .I don’t go out on weekends, I’m always training
and my weekends are spent trying to get more fights or sparring
sessions. During week days my schedule revolves around training
, when I get out of school I go home in a rush to get my chores
and homework done before boxing so I can go running after.
Some parents feel that boxing
is for boys. How do your parents feel about your boxing ?
My parents support me to the fullest in whatever I do,
especially in boxing because they know that its where my heart
and passion are.
My parents do the best they can to help, and they believe in me
as much as I believe in myself. It’s important for female
fighters to be supported by their parents because it’s such hard
sport, and if your parents don’t support you, and don’t allow
you to fight you’ll never prosper in boxing.
Can you talk about why you think it is important for parents to
support their daughters who want to fight and why boxing is such
a phenomenal opportunity for you?
If my parents didn’t support me and let my trainer get me tough
fights, I would not be where I am today or where I want to go
tomorrow. Boxing is a phenomenal sport to me, because its more
than just a sport it’s a lifestyle that I have chosen. I love
boxing and, I truly believe I was meant to be the best female
fighter of all times. It’s my everything it’s constantly on my
mind, I’ll be at school thinking of combos or training or
tournaments that are coming up. It’s even in my dreams, rare is
it when I don’t have dreams with boxing in it. It’s phenomenal
because I feel like I have found my life calling, the reason I
exist at such a young age. The best part is that they’re dreams
worth chasing, other than it being my favorite thing to do and
my life passion, I know I can and will accomplish big things in
boxing.
What was it like the first time you had a fight? How much
experience did you have before you got in the ring?
My first amateur fight was a day in history for me. I was a
nervous wreck that got beat up and stopped that day because I
gassed out and went with little conditioning. After that fight I
was determined to go back and beat the girl who had stopped me
with no complications, and do double the damage she had done to
me (I did a few fights later). This was when I started to pick
up in training and realized that I had something in me and that
I wanted to go back and train harder to get better so I could
fight again. I had sparred and trained before my first fight,
but it was just a different experience to actually get in the
ring for an amateur bout. I fight whoever whenever I can because
I just love boxing, I love every minute before and after the
fight.
You have fought on the Beautiful Brawlers all female boxing
card. Can you tell me about your experience boxing on an all
female card?
The only all female card I’ve fought for is the Beautiful
Brawlers, and it was the best experience as far as tournaments
go, to see so many girl fighters that were as dedicated to
fighting as me. It gave lots of possible matches, and
connections for sparring partners .I’m looking forward to
competing in it again this year.
I often get in the ring for sparring with professional female
fighters, because I like a challenge, and I learn a lot from
them since the professional style is different than an amateur
style, it gives different looks and allows me to learn new
things.
What are you goals in boxing? What do you want to accomplish in
the amateur ranks?
I want to be the face of woman’s boxing because this is the
sport and lifestyle that I love and I want to be the best that I
can possibly be. I know one day I will achieve big things and
when I do I plan on giving back to the sport that has given so
much to me. I was born with this and when I’m not boxing I’m not
the same person, this is my life calling and it’s why I’m here.
This is how I know I will one day be the face of woman’s boxing.
Because I know I will not stop until I am the face of women’s
boxing .I’m going to show the world something they’ve never seen
in women’s boxing. I’m going to show them what a real fighter
is. I will jump up and down in weight classes to fight the best
or anyone who dares to challenge me. U will always give exciting
fights even if I have to make it a slug fest, I will give an
exciting fight to the audience. When my name is mentioned I want
it to be mentioned along the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson,
Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De la
Hoya, and Floyd Mayweather.
Who are your favorite boxers
and why?
My favorite fighters are all world champions, Ava-Knight,
Melissa Mc Morrow, and Carina Moreno, they all have different
fighting styles but they have all became my favorite for one
reason. Like true champions they go to other peoples backyard
and bring back a title. They also offer help to when its needed
I have and will spar with each of them in the future. Those are
just my favorite female fighters. Some of my favorite male
fighters consist of Oscar De la Hoya, because aside from being a
gold medalist he is a successful business owner and has done a
lot to help out the Latino community. Robert Guererro , because
after fighting against life’s obstacles ,he returns to the ring
and still shows his heart of a true fighter. Mayweather,
although he is boastful of his achievement she has never failed
to mention how “hard work, and dedication” got him there.
WBAN
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