The world of boxing is replete with stories of fighters who grew up hard, learning life's lessons by taking their licks on the mean streets of cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. From the tale of Sonny Liston escaping his abusive home only to land in prison to the turbulent life of Nicaraguan gang leader Ricardo Mayorga, boxers from the most deplorable conditions, are often the best in the ring. This isn't by happenstance, toughness is a boxer's greatest ally, growing up in a dire situation is one way that toughness is forged, but are there other ways? Can a girl from a small town in south western Minnesota really have the heart and the fortitude of say, Arturo Gatti?
If you asked Rachel Schley, the answer would be yes, and she would point you to the members of her team. If you asked anyone who has stepped in the ring with her the answer may be less modest. The 5'2" 125 lb 24 year-old out of Uppercut Gym in Northeast Minneapolis didn't grow up fighting in the streets of Brooklyn but to question her toughness would be an act of sheer lunacy. Currently ranked the number five lightweight in the U.S. this fighter attributes much of her toughness and success to the role models she has in her life, namely her older brother and her trainer Gina Campbell.
"My brother is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and into martial arts…he always needed someone to beat up on, that was my role that was how I started the mentality of fighting." To say that Rachel has the mentality of a fighter is an understatement. Rachel is a fighter, a self proclaimed addict to the sport. When I sat down and talked with Rachel she fondly recalled the first class she ever took at Uppercut Gym, and the twenty five minutes jumping rope the class did as cardio warm up. Only a fighter could love the rough equivalent of running a 5k the first day out, this would be enough to scare many 18 year old kids, but not Rachel, she was hooked. The fact her class instructor that night was none other than Gina Campbell speaks volumes for Rachel's love of the sport.
Compared to her training regimen today that first night of jumping rope must feel like a leisurely stroll around Lake Calhoun. Currently training for the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida beginning July 9th, she has spent the last year doing ten rounds of work and running three miles every day five times a week, and will continue to do so until two weeks before the tournament when she will increase the intensity and length of her workouts to between twelve to fifteen rounds of work and three to five miles of running six days a week. This type of work takes tremendous discipline, the discipline to stick with it, the discipline to forgo the indulgences of many of her peers. "You can't drink, you can't smoke, you can't stay out late, it's a Catholic living, only for real." Most people do not have this kind of discipline. For Rachel it seems like a second nature, probably because of her mentor Gina.
"Gina…she is so scientific and precise and everything she says works." For Rachel there is something about seeing Gina practice what she preaches that gives her inspiration. When she starts to think that the lifestyle is impossible she needs to look no further than Gina who has been doing it for years.
"So you have to swallow your pride, drink your protein shake and cry in the corner cause your not gonna get pizza for a long time." It is that will power that has facilitated her success in the ring.
But boxing isn't just about discipline and self-sacrifice; a boxer must also be tough. Boxers deal with pain, after all, the one inevitable truth to all boxers is that someone is trying to hit them in the face. If you ask Rachel what is the hardest thing about boxing is she will tell you: "The mental toughness you have to have on a consistent basis, sparring when your body hurts, feeling like your nose is going to implode or just getting into the ring when you know that fighter is better than you and you are going to have take your punches from them" The ability to get past that is what separates a boxer from everyone else, and Rachel has that ability.
Many would wonder why anyone would want to put themselves through the agony of training and the pain associated with it, but boxing is a test of heart, and for Rachel her test came on March 8th 2006 in Colorado Springs, CO at the U.S. Championships, when she squared off with the number one ranked lightweight in the U.S, Carrie Barry, out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Fighting at a heavier weight than she was accustomed too, facing a fighter with ten times the ring experience, who had boxing legend Lucia Rijker in her corner, in the thin mountain air, Rachel lost on points to Barry
Wins and losses rarely tell the true tale of what goes on in the ring. To say that Muhammad Ali beat Joe Frazier in 1975 or that Meldrick Taylor lost to Julio Cesar Chavez in 1990 would not only be telling part of the story but would also be disrespectful to the fighters who put their very lives on the line in the ring. The same can be said for Rachel's fight with Barry.
If facing the best fighter in her weight class wasn't daunting enough, the sight of boxing immortality in an opponent's corner couldn't have made the fight easier. "Are you kidding me, It was like playing one on one with someone who had Michael Jordan on the bench" Rachel said of Rijker.
Faced with long odds, Rachel showed the heart of a warrior and came out and won the first round. But this wasn't a fluke because in the second round she held serve and fought to a draw. But as the thin air began to take its toll, Barry took control winning the third round. Normally the fight would have ended there, however at the U.S. Championships the bouts are four rounds rather than three, and instead of standing in the middle of the ring awaiting a close decision by the judges, Rachel had to come out and fight for the win in the fourth round. Unfortunately for Rachel it was two minutes too many, in her own words she said: "I thought my lungs were going to collapse, I thought I was going to die." In the end she lost the round and the decision.
But don't feel bad for her; the effort was enough to prompt Rijker to tell Rachel after the fight that "[you] could have won." This was one of those fights where the experience is more important than the result.
Given many opportunities to make excuses, Rachel does not. "She is a great fighter," said Rachel of Carrie Barry, "It was a great fight." In a different time and place one only wonders if the result may have been different. Though she lost on points, she left me with the impression that she was happy with her performance and looks forward to having the opportunity to fight Barry again, although the two will probably not get the opportunity to fight at the National Golden Gloves tournament in Florida, because Rachel will be fighting at 125 pounds in the feather weight division, Barry at 132 pounds in the lightweight division. Though she may have lost the fight, she certainly gave fans a glimpse of what she is capable of, and why she does it.
For Rachel the sacrifice and hard work are all worth it. Perhaps it is "temporary insanity" or if the paychecks increase a possible career, but the one thing that she is proof positive of: toughness can be found in the places you least expect to find them, even in a girl from a small town in South Western Minnesota.

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