Interview by Pattee Mak on March 29, 2012
Lightweight Carla “Dynamite” Wright of Belfast, Northern Ireland hasn’t yet stepped into the squared circle to be challenged in the professional sport of boxing but the time will come as she is looking for the right opportunity to show the world what 22 year old Carla “Dynamite” Write can do.
Let’s start off with your amateur career and where it all began and move into where you are presently at:
Pattee Mak: How did you get into boxing and at what age?
Carla Wright: As a teenager I was always aspiring to be a top athlete of some description, winning many awards at many different sporting categories, at elite level. It was at the age 15 when I found the sport that was to unravel my true and natural talent, which was boxing. This sport became my main focus with me putting in full time hours while still at school. Hard work and dedication resulted in me building the coordination and skills at a rapid rate allowing me to enter competitions all within my first year of amateur boxing. It was tipped by local papers that I was going to be the next top female boxer. Within this first year I won the following fights and also trained with the Irish Squad.
County Antrim’s – 46kg, stopped opponent in first round winning a county title.
Ulster Amateur – 48kg, again stopped opponent within seconds of 1st round, winning a larger title at the age of 17.
Northern Ireland Youth Games – 50kg, stopped opponent in 2nd round, winning the first women’s youth game title.
Irish Intermediates – 52kg, stopped opponent in 1st round becoming an all Ireland champion.
However at age 18 I stopped boxing until now (age 22) due to college and then working as a personal trainer.
Pattee Mak: Who is your trainer? How many days a week do you train and what is a typical week of training like for you?
Carla Wright: Since putting the gloves back on and joining Gleann ABC Boxing Club, I have been training with my boxing coach, Gerard McManus and also my strength conditioning coach, Paul McIlroy. Gerard is also the trainer of Paddy Gallagher a commonwealth gold medallist in whom I regularly train with. Currently as I am still in full time employment I train twice with Gerard combining pad work, head movement, bag, technique and sparring. Then I also train twice with Paul working with kettlebells and a mixture of heavy weights such as bench press 80kg, dead lift 140kg and pull ups 90kg. With sponsorship or funding I would be able to train full time enabling me to achieve all my goals at a faster rate.
Pattee Mak: Does your trainer train you differently than he does your male counterparts?
Carla Wright: Gerard sometimes forgets I’m not one of the male boxers! He treats me just the same. In fact most if not all my sparring and training is with male boxers and most times much heavier than me but that doesn’t stop me as there has been times I’ve made a few of them vomit into their gloves. I like being treated this way as it pushes me harder and makes me ready for any female bout. Gerard feels my aggressive and powerful style and overall boxing abilities are equal to a male boxer.
Pattee Mak: I think its great that you can make those males vomit in their gloves.
Pattee Mak: How many amateur fights have you had?
Carla Wright: Surprisingly I have only 7 fights on my card to date as an amateur. Most people do not believe this, as it does not show in the ring. I always say, just imagine what I’d look like if I had 70! This has been primarily due to receiving many walkovers, as people will not fight me in Ireland. Since I started back to boxing I have won the following titles:
The Irish Intermediate was my first fight back in 4 years so there was an element of ring rust however I won 15-8 against a much more experienced fighter and made a great impression on those in the boxing scene in Ireland.
After winning the Intermediates the next step for me was the Irish Seniors. This just so happens to be the World Champion Katie Taylor’s category and a title that she has held for 7 years and one that NO ONE was willing to fight for, so I thought I would have a go! I took off work the months leading up to the fight in order to get in as much training as possible. I was training 6 days a week, twice a week and was in the best shape of my life with such a build up of people, very excited for the fight! Both my name and Katie’s was put up on the website to fight so it was official however when I went a few days later to weigh in for the fight I was informed that Taylor had pulled out! This came as such a huge disappointment as I had put so much work into it and I felt I was ready. To get a walkover from a 3 time World Champion was huge and stirred up a lot of talk and managed to get me on Hatton TV. With being the first person to now hold the Irish Senior Title at 60kg in 7 years, I am very honored and I now hope to move onwards and upwards.
Pattee Mak: Where have most of your amateur fights taken place?
Carla Wright: All my fights have been in Ireland however as I find it very hard to get fights now I am searching for fights in other countries however again this takes a back seat when I have no funding to allow this to happen.
Pattee Mak: Who was your toughest opponent thus far?
Carla Wright: Toughest opponent?? I’m not sure to be honest Katie Taylor however would have been.
Pattee Mak: Olympics??
Carla Wright: I am actually going to the Olympics this year but unfortunately just as a spectator. They have already picked Katie Taylor to represent Ireland this year so I will be there to support. I have also not had the opportunity to get sponsorship/funding to train enough to go to the world qualifications in China.
Pattee Mak: Once you turn pro is their someone that you have your eyes set on for your first fight?
Carla Wright: If I was to get the chance to turn professional this would be a dream come true however I would need to be careful as I could never return to the amateur game. I know I am much more suited to the pro game as my style of fighting lends itself well. To be honest I’m not very educated in the female pro game so as to who I would like to face if I did turn pro? I’m not sure but maybe this is better, to be honest I don’t mind. I train to be the best I can and beat all competitors despite who they are.
Pattee Mak: Are you an eat, sleep, boxing kind of person?
Carla Wright: I most certainly am an eat, sleep, boxing person. It is my life and my drive behind even my job as a personal trainer. Boxing is in me and that is why I feel I have done so well in the short time of my boxing career. The strength and power I have is defiantly not normal for a girl. Even when I was 15 I went for runs early in the morning before school and was always the first through the door of the boxing club and the last out at night. I have a driving passion inside me and I truly believe if given the right opportunities that I can achieve big things! I have to be seen to be believed it’s hard to explain in text but if you seen one of my right hands or body punches you would understand.
Pattee Mak: Whom do you compare your style of fighting too?
Carla Wright: Ann Wolf is someone that has inspired me throughout the years. I feel her aggressive come forward style is quite similar to mine. She is also very strong which is something I have a lot of.
Pattee Mak: There has to be only a handful of females in your division. Are you concerned about this or would you possibly think about increasing or decreasing your weight.
Carla Wright: I am quite used to this but if I was able to train full time I would want and be able to fight at the most popular weight and also move within categories once achieving.
Pattee Mak: Whom do you admire most in the boxing world?
Carla Wright: When growing up I was always a Ricky Hatton fan however currently it has to be Floyd Mayweather. He has greatly inspired me as he has moved throughout weight categories winning numerous titles. I also admire his strong work ethic and his training is incredible.
Pattee Mak: Has anyone looked at you with “those eyes” as to say “You’re a boxer?”.
Carla Wright: I have always had the look of a strong and natural athlete not only from my physique but also just my personality and views on training etc. Working as a personal trainer has aloud me to pass on and also gain much knowledge. I’m not the tallest of people but you would be hard pushed to find a stronger female at my age. I’ve also been told that from the back I look exactly like a male boxer, which I’ll take as a compliment.
Pattee Mak: I read on the internet that you have been compared to the Ireland’s New Boxing ‘Million Dollar Baby’. Tell me more about this comparison.
Carla Wright: To be honest the ‘Million Dollar Baby’ was a title my coach put on it at the start not knowing it would reach so many people. I go now under the name of Carla ‘Dynamite’ Wright but I suppose the comparison is quite close as all I need is for someone to see the ability that I have and give me the tools I need to make it big all over the world which I have no problem in doing. I just need that chance.
Pattee Mak: What would you like to say to your fans out there?
Carla Wright: To the people that support me I am so so thankful. Up until now you have only seen a small aspect of what I can achieve. I trust and believe that I will get the chance to represent my country and achieve big things to come.
Pattee Mak: You can check out her videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNYmsOnyydM , http://www.dynamitewright.com/, http://vimeo.com/31056103,
Pattee Mak: A special thanks to Kenrick Mahadeo for making this interview possible. Should you wish to have Wright on your venue in the United States, please feel free to contact her United States contact Kenrick Mahadeo via email at mahadeo.kenrick@yahoo.com.
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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.
