The insult, “You punch like a girl.” just got a new meaning. It turns out the insult has a different connotation. These lady bearcats are bringing a new meaning to the strength of women. This is shown by the female athletes at Goat Shack Boxing Club.
Goat Shack Boxing Club is a local boxing club where eight students in our school go after school to train, sharpen boxing techniques, and work with Coach Jo Bubia.
“They’re just joining for different reasons, whether it’s self defense or they just want to get in shape, or sometimes they just want something to do because they’re kind of introverted and don’t know how to break out of that. So this gym gives them a chance to kind of make new friends while learning a good martial art and getting in shape,” Subia said, who has owned Goat Shack since 2020.
The boxing world has always had a majority of men in their population. Boxing is traditionally known as a male sport with only a recorded 31.8% of athletes being women, according to Zippia.
Junior Tiana Basulto is a Bearcat that is training at Goat Shack. She is a young woman who is challenging the assumption that women train with male boxers. She spoke of her determination and drive for the sport.
“I really like boxing, just because I’ve done wrestling my whole life. I guess they’re kind of the same, just because they’re not like a team sport. And I’ve always enjoyed that about boxing and wrestling. It’s more of a mental battle than a physical battle. And I just, I really like working hard and then being able to show that and put all my hard work into the ring,” Basulto said.
Junior Frida Bejar Rico also trains at Goat Shack with Basulto.
Basulto aims to break the stereotype as she trains. Her constant training and her drive to become a better boxer fuels her cause.
“There’s a lot of times where girls are under looked just because, for example, boxing, wrestling, they’re looked at as a boy sport. it’s more masculine. But me, personally, I’ve been around a lot of these people since I was little, who do boxing, who do wrestling, and with boxing, I think that a lot of people, yeah, do have a stereotype on girls doing boxing. They think that it’s not meant for girls to be fighting, and that girls are not meant to be going in the way boys are going in the ring and fighting.”
This determination and fervor have brought great results since she started. Viewing Basulto train displays this. Her speed is quite noticeable, particularly when she does Mitts. An exercise where the boxer follows certain combos displayed to them. Heavy bag definitely showed her technique and the combos she is working on, the basic 1,2,3 combo being on.
For years women have been deemed “unfit” for fighting. The boxing industry has had a male-dominant scene.
Girls like Basulto that go to Goat Shack and train slowly beat down the stereotype until it is a pulp. With more women like her, this assumption will no longer be so prominent.
“If you are willing to put in sweat, tears and hard work you should be able to do anything especially fighting,” Basulto said.
