By Pattee Mak on January 2011
Thirty-five year old female middleweight Tori “The Full-Nelson” Nelson 5-0-1 from Ashburn, Virginia and current WBC female middleweight champ will be fighting on Saturday, February 11, 2012 for the vacant WIBA Women’s International Boxing Association middleweight title against Vashon Living 5-2-0 at the Patriot Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Nelson is currently ranked number one in the U.S. and number two in the world according to Boxrec.com.
Who says a girl can’t survive in a man’s world!
I’ve never seen Nelson fight live and in person but I did watch a few of her fights on youtube and you can definitely put money on it that I will NOT be sparring with her anytime soon, unless of course I put the disclosure out there and we only box at 50% capacity.
I had the chance to speak to Nelson via the telephone recently. Nelson has a lot of heart, is full of life, has a strong faith in God and was definitely a pleasure to speak with.
Pattee Mak: Hello Tori.
Pattee Mak: This is the 1st time that you’ll be meeting up with Living. What can you tell me about her?
Nelson: I watched her box her last fight. She comes forward and she swings wide so I just have to be quick in order to beat her but she doesn’t look like she’s that fast.
Pattee Mak: Your fight is right around the corner. Up until what day will you continue to be training for this fight?
Nelson: Thursday. Well Wednesday maybe. Wednesday night I may move around in the ring. But probably Wednesday night.
Pattee Mak: Who will be working your corner on the 12th?
Nelson: My manger and trainer, Craig Flabager along with Bill and Kay will be working my corner.
Pattee Mak: How long have you’ve had Craig as your manager and trainer?
Nelson: From day one. I’ve been boxing for 5 and ½ years. From the beginning.
Pattee Mak: On BoxRec you are ranked number 1 out of 4 in the United Sates and number 2 out of 18 in the world. How does this make you feel?
Nelson: Blessed. That is the only word I can say. When I first started he [Craig] asked me what I wanted to be and I said the world champion. Craig thought I was crazy. And now I’m blessed to be the WBC world champion.
Pattee Mak: On 7-29-2011 you won by split decision the WBC female middleweight title. You fought Lorissa Riva in Trinidad And Tobago. When will you be defending your title?
Nelson: Hopefully March 31, 2012. I would love to fight on any big card. I’m not picky. HBO, ShoBox, and ESPN, they can all give me a call. I would love to defend my title on any given day on any televised boxing card.
Pattee Mak: Are you getting frustrated that there isn’t enough of female fighters in your division to go up against? Sooner or later you’ll be fighting the same opponents.
Nelson: Yes. I get frustrated because I’ll have to fight the same girls over and over. I fight in 2 different weight classes.
Pattee Mak: You will be fighting middleweight this fight?
Nelson: Yes.
Pattee Mak: What is your other weight class?
Nelson: I fight Jr. Middleweight and middleweight.
Pattee Mak: Because there is a shortage of female boxers in both weight classes would you consider dropping down in weight or increasing your weight. Of course being a female I can’t believe I even suggested increasing your weight.
Nelson: No.
Pattee Mak: Is there anyone you would like to call out for your next fight?
Nelson: Anybody who is willing to fight.
Pattee Mak: You appear to me to have strong faith in God. How does your faith work for you in the ring or when you are preparing for your fight?
Nelson: Before I fight what gets me going is listening in my dressing room to gospel music and I read my bible. Prayer gets me through it. I know God is with me when I’m in the ring so I don’t worry.
Pattee Mak: Is there a particular bible passage that you read before the fight.
Nelson: I have quite a few. When I walk to the ring I have shirt that states “Fighting with Faith” on it. It has a pair of boxing gloves and they are upside down in the shape of a heart and Jesus’ cross is in the middle of it and the bible versus on it is 1st John, Chapter 4, verse 4. [You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you in greater than he who is in the world – New King James Version Bible] That one gives me confidence.
Pattee Mak: Do men find you intimidating?
Nelson: Yes.
Pattee Mak: You’re 35 years old, do some people think you should give up on boxing and move onto a different career?
Nelson: No. I’m 35 and I’m still doing this. Older ladies like a boost and makes then feel good that I’m still in the ring fighting like 20 year old girls.
Pattee Mak: What does your family think of you as a boxer?
Nelson: Love it! My family loves it. They are so supportive.
Pattee Mak: How old were you when you started to box and tell me about your amateur boxing career.
Nelson: I was about 29 when I started. I fought about 15 amateur fights but I only lost 3 of them.
Pattee Mak: How did you get into boxing?
Nelson: I went to the gym one day with my husband at the time to work out. My ex husband used to box in the military. So it was a good exercise to keep you in shape. So I signed up but of course he didn’t.
Pattee Mak: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. Keep the faith and definitely let me know the outcome of your fight.
Nelson: Thank you.
Should you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free to comment below or locate me on facebook at http://facebook.com/PatteeMak.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
What a great interview. I will be at the Feb 11th fight to support Tori as much as i can. She is an insperation to so many including those she drivers a school bus with!!!!!!
I would love to go where will she be? Love ya twiggy!