MF: You’re a trainer and boxer: So, what does it feel like to hit somebody?
CW: It’s exhilarating.
MF: How was the first time you got punched in the face?
CW:It hurt. [Laughs] It makes you really think, "Do I want to do this? What the hell am I doing?"
MF: Ever knock anybody out?
CW:No. It’s really hard for females to knock out other females unless they’re in the really heavyweight division. Women are just built differently. But I do have a mean hook. [Laughs] Yeah. I dropped a girl with my hook one time.
MF: You married a boxer [retired pro Angelo Nunez]. Are women attracted to guys who can hold their own against another guy in the ring?
CW:I think so. In nature, women look for strong men. That’s what we’re supposed to do. We look for the hunters. And boxing is such a demanding sport-you have to be so strong physically and mentally that I think women are drawn to that.
MF: So you like your guys to be very macho?
CW:No, outside the ring, most boxers aren’t. They’re very reserved, very humble, and that’s very attractive. When you know that you can knock somebody out, you don’t really need to walk around with your chest up and your chin high. That’s just an animalistic behavior that men have to make themselves feel confident and strong. And when you already know that you are, it’s not a necessity.
MF: How’d you get into boxing?
CW:After he retired, my husband and I opened a gym [in Sacramento, Calif.], and I ended up training guys who were trying to become boxers. But it seemed hypocritical to try to tell somebody to do something when I hadn’t even stepped in there myself. It just seemed ludicrous to me. So I set a goal for myself to get into the ring.
MF: Think you could really beat up a guy?
CW: I really don’t know. Men are just so much stronger than women. Maybe if a guy was at my weight and had zero boxing skills, I could take him. Honestly, I would never step up to a man and think that I was going to beat him up. It’s not realistic.
MF: But what if you had to defend yourself?
CW:I could definitely break a nose. [Laughs] That should deter most guys enough for me to turn around and run.
