I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase countless times when listening to someone talk about a person with exceptional skill at a sport. I know I have. Especially being an athlete for the past 20 years, when someone really wants to impress me or emphasize ones talent and ability, they always use this phrase. I always shake my head and laugh inwardly when I hear that. Most people have no idea what it means to “be a pro.”
So let me give you a little honest, raw insight on what it’s really like to be a professional athlete. People only see the glamorous part of sports like being on TV. But there is so much that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see. As a professional boxer for 7 years (meaning I got paid to fight other girls my size in organized, sanctioned matches), life was tough in a lot of ways. Here are some of the reasons:
- I trained 6 hours a day getting ready for a fight and at least 2 hours a day when I didn’t have a fight (6 days a week).
- Female fighters don’t get paid NEARLY the same amount as males so most of us had to maintain other jobs on the side to make rent.
- Nursing an injury or training while injured
- Getting hit every other day for 7 years. (That can’t be good for the brain…)
- Most boxers don’t have managers so they must do their own promoting. I was fortunate to hustle up some good media attention from the start and I milked every moment. If a girl is pretty AND she can fight, she will sell more tickets and get more fight opportunities. If she can speak well to the media, she is worth her weight in gold.
- Sex sells in boxing just like it does in anything and the boxing skills of the female fighter is only 50% of the equation. The other half is if she can sell tickets and if people will pay to watch her. I figured this out early on and learned to sell myself to the crowds and fans. I might not have been the best fighter, but because of my fan base and my ability to “work a crowd,” I got a LOT of great fight opportunities.
- Traveling to out-of-town fights can take its toll on a fighter. Flight problems, sleeping in a hotel room and eating casino buffet food can wear a fighter out, especially if trying to make weight.
- Being away from my own gym always made it hard to get a quality workout and having to pack my own equipment everywhere we went got old.
- Being the out-of-town boxer (the “opponent”) was never fun since we were automatically hated by the hometown crowd as soon as we got off the plane. The media can be cruel and it’s hard to not let it screw with your head.
- Many fighters have experienced a broken relationship due to the strain of their career. Either their partner wants them to quit due to injury reasons or due to time commitment to the sport reasons. Early in my career, I suffered a severe breakup because my partner chose to no longer support my career choice.
- Money. Unless your last name is Ali, Mayweather or Pacquiao, there is never enough to go around after paying your trainer, your manager, gym fees, doctor bills, ring clothing, equipment costs, room and board, etc.… And if there was ever any left over, scrounging up some traveling money to go see family was at the top of the list.
- Being professional fighter is a full time job.
But despite all of the above drawbacks, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. My boxing career caused some heartache but it also brought me MANY opportunities that I never would have had otherwise. I competed in and excelled at a sport that very few people ever attempt. And that’s a career I can hang my hat on.
So next time you hear about someone wanting to become a professional athlete, just know is always a price to pay for the bright lights and cheering crowds. The price might be a brain injury, mounting debt or a broken relationship. And that person will need to decide if those risks are worth the reward of signing autographs.
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