October Athlete Interview - Lady Boxer Nicole Dean

Boxer Overcomes Small Stature to Become Golden Gloves Champion

Boxer Nicole Dean thumbail IF YOU WERE TO RUN INTO NICOLE DEAN standing naked in a well-lit alley (and you were brave enough not to run the other direction) you would notice a few things. First off, her tough, muscular physique developed through countless hours in the gym pounding heavy bags, pushing the floor, doing endless sit-up and pull-ups, and running through the streets of New York City. “Whoa, this girl loves to work out and it shows,” you might think to yourself, letting out a whistle under your breath. You would also notice her tattoos, a pair of boxing gloves on her right side ribs and a quote on her right forearm — “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.” A fitting message, since many people have called the 25-year-old boxer a “little pit bull” in the ring.

You would also see that she’s barely five feet tall and buzzing with energy. “Maybe I can take her,” you might foolishly think. But unlike most small, cute things Nicole is not to be messed with, at least not in the ring. “Well maybe I can get her phone number instead,” you might hope, “any girl running around naked in an alley has got to be fun on a date.” Then if you were lucky, she might wink and flash her million-dollar smile and you would hope like hell that she would let you write your digits across her rock hard abs.

Though Nicole (at right, in yellow) may not have run naked through the streets, she did run wild as a kid, getting into plenty of trouble. Often the smallest kid in her class she was called every name in the book from “Shorty” to “Shrimp” and was even crammed into a locker in the seventh grade.
“I was definitely a scrappy one growing up,” Nicole told me. “I guess I have that Napoleon complex.”

Looking for a healthy way to channel her complex and compete, she decided to take up boxing. The first trainer she talked to at a gym in Long Island, New York told her,
“Girls don’t compete in boxing.”
Undeterred she went home and searched the Internet for local women’s boxing, which led her to her current trainer, Lee Shacaka, who had his own women’s team. Nicole joined Team Freeform and began training for her first fight.
“Boxing really helped me get focused and get my life together,” said Nicole.

Three years later Nicole has won more than 10 fights, including three by technical knockouts. (A technical knockout is when the referee stops the fight because one person is getting completely pummeled, but for some reason not falling over). Her biggest thrill so far has been fighting for the Golden Gloves title at Madison Square Garden.
Nicole Dean in the ring “I think that was one of the most exciting fights that I had.”
That day she fought one of her first sparring and training partners, Emily Kramer.
“Every time we meet it’s a better fight. (After that fight) I had something to defend and she had something to prove.”
Nicole won the 2009 and 2010 New York State Golden Gloves at 112-pound weight class.

Emily has a lot of respect for Nicole as a fighter and a person, telling me “She doesn't let up, she has no breaks and the engine is on GO. She wants it that bad.”
Regarding what it’s like to step into the ring with Nicole, Emily said, “I remember wishing she would just give me a little room to breathe.”
Luckily for everyone, Nicole’s pugilistic nature does not transfer outside of the ring.
“Nicole is a charmer. Focused, but not too serious about it all,” Kramer commented.

For Nicole being mentally tough is as important as physical toughness. She has learned that in the ring there is no room for weakness or emotions.
“The emotional boxer never does well. Boxing is very strategic and very technical. If you get frustrated and angry it will throw you off your game plan.”
Her mental and physical preparation starts well before she steps in the ring, with double workouts nearly every day of the week. This includes roadwork and sprints in the morning and strength and boxing training at her gym in the afternoon and evening. For her the sparring at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile.

Nicole has always been athletic and competed in soccer, swimming and ice hockey in high school. She was preparing to test for her Black Belt in Taekwondo, when she decided to take up boxing instead. Though her martial arts training was helpful, learning to box was a whole new ball game.
“In boxing everything is very tight to your face and you hold your hands differently. It’s actually very different.”

In the beginning her parents weren’t really on board with her new endeavor, but they came around and now her mom tries to go to all of her fights.
“At first I think it was very scary for her to be here. Now she comes in with posters and banners and recruits a cheering section.”
Nicole is currently an amateur boxer, supporting her boxing habit by working as a Physical Therapy Aide and personal trainer and working toward getting her PHD in physical therapy. At the moment she is rehabilitating a torn rotator cuff that she received in a car accident, but hopes to be to training as soon as possible. Everybody knows you can’t keep a little pit bull down.

THE NICOLE DEAN FILE
Relationship Status: Single
What she looks for in a woman: Someone who can keep up with her (non-smokers who love the gym are especially encouraged to apply)
Something she can’t live without: Going to the gym
Greatest accomplishment: Winning the Golden Gloves for the first time (2009)
Favorite Athlete: Manny Pacquaio
Consecutive Push-ups she can do: 60