Muleskinner

Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Features

Sarah Childers - Muleskinner - Holly Shores (right) in the ring against her opponent. Shores has fought seven matches and had four technical knock-outs.

Holly Shores is a little nervous. Sure she's done this before, but the fear of not knowing what's going to happen is almost too strong to overcome. She does not want to fail. A quick pep talk from her trainer eases her mind but doesn't cure her anxiety. She stands before a dark tunnel and listens to 3,000 boxing fans cheer as her name is called.

She steps forward and the crowd gets louder as she makes her way to the ring. She's fighting another woman, Shelly Pierce, who outweighs her by almost ten pounds.

The referee brings the two women together and puts them face to face. Shores doesn't blink. She stares directly into the eyes of her opponent. Nervousness is a feeling she still has, but an expression she isn't wearing.

"I want a good clean fight," the referee says.

A bell signals the beginning of the first round and the violence of boxing ensues. She isn't nervous anymore.

Coming to be

At first glance, Shores isn't the kind of girl who fits the boxing stereotype. At 4'11'' and 95 pounds she is hardly intimidating. Ask any one of the four women she has knocked out in her boxing career and they'll tell you her little body packs a big punch.

Knocking people out in front 3,000 screaming fans is somewhat new to Shores. She actually began her athletic career as a gymnast in high school, but after budget cuts eliminated the gymnastic program, Shores began looking for alternative ways to stay in shape.

"I saw this flyer advertising boxing," Shores said. "I knew it was something I could do to stay in shape like gymnastics."

"When she came to me and said she wanted to be a boxer, I was a little shocked and wondering why she wanted to be a boxer," said Rob Calloway, Shore's trainer and owner of Team Calloway health club where the boxing flyer was posted. "She looked like a little girl. I thought she was about twelve and I was looking around for her parents.

"It didn't take long for me to realize how serious she was. She's very dedicated."

Dedicated is a word Shores takes seriously. Dedication is what has helped her to become an undefeated boxer after seven matches with four technical knock-outs (TKO's).

Continued...

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