'My looks are my secret weapon': Model-turned-boxer on her knockout image and success in the ring
For Anna Kournikova and David Beckham, the sporting career came before the modelling opportunities. But for Patricia Alcivar, a career on the catwalk preceded what is now a promising one as a professional boxer.
The 33-year-old, from New York, who has only just made her professional debut, once walked the runway and appeared in campaigns for Gatorade and 24 Hour Fitness before discovering her talent in the ring.
Now she already has her sights on the WBC Super Flyweight title, currently held by Anna Maria Torres.
Good looks and good hooks: Patricia Alcivar gave up a career as a model to become a professional boxer - and already has her sights on the world title
Miss Alcivar, who is known in the ring as 'Patty Boom Boom' and keeps her weight between 113 and 115lb, believes her looks are an asset because they cause competitors to underestimate her ability.
She told the New York Daily News: 'That's my secret weapon - the looks. People don't expect what they see in the ring.
Describing her first fight at Madison Square Garden in another interview, she said: 'That day my baby face got me more attention that I ever imagined.
'The crowd was literally screaming for me not to fight the "Scary Girl" in the ring,' she told author Anthony Vultaggio.
'I kept hearing the people from the crowd say things like, "Oh my, somebody save this little girl."
Fighting fit: Miss Alcivar, who is known in the ring as 'Patty Boom Boom', believes her looks are an asset because competitors underestimate her ability
'The funniest part of the story is that I knocked her down several times for eight counts in the first round. The crowd was insane. They were screaming for me. I instantly became the crowd’s sweetheart.'
Miss Alcivar, whose parents are from Colombia, grew up in an abusive family home. But she says that her childhood trauma gave her a confidence and fighting spirit.
'Through all of the hardships in my life, my father’s sexual, physical and verbal abuse, my mother’s denial and verbal abuse, never feeling supported, I learned to rely on a something much stronger,' she explained.
'I learned to believe in myself and grew in my faith. Athletics and competing became my outlet. I moved out of the house at 15 and supported myself ever since.
Childhood trauma: Miss Alcivar, pictured in her boxing gear (left) and modelling (right) says that an abusive family background gave her a fighting spirit
'When most kids in the neighbourhood would fool around or head to clubs, I would run or go to the gym. I never turned to drugs or alcohol to bury my past. I learned to fight, literally.'
She added that the thought of her opponents winning fuels her aggressive approach.
'I just visualised her raising her hand [in victory] and I went nuts,' she said.
'I can box, but when it's time to really turn it on, it's really an aggressive boxer-brawler style.
'My goal is to own the world title and get this itch out of my system.'
Miss Alcivar now trains with Manhattan boxing gym-owner Martin Snow, 51.
He described his protegée as bloodthirsty.
'She had a little compassion in the amateurs but in the pros she's blood-thirsty,' he said. 'She's out there to kill somebody.'
No comments:
Post a Comment