It is relatively old news that the 2012 Olympics will include women’s boxing, but what many do not know is that, of the 26 sports in Beijing in 2008, the only sport that did not include women was boxing.
Jelena Mrdjenovich (pictured on right, punching Dominga Olivo), 27-years-old, is one more woman who is excited about the switch. She was featured on the semi-main event and defeat Dominga Olivo of Brooklyn, N.Y. It was her 30th pro fight, her 24th victory, and she has no intention of slowing down.
“It just looked intriguing. I never thought I’d compete,” said Jelena, the former World Boxing Council’s super featherweight champ. “I went to the gym because I was frustrated with my knee rehab (after two knee surgeries) and I figured there’d be nothing to boxing. I figured I could work the bag given that my upper body was fine. I didn’t realize how challenging it really was. I immediately fell in love.”
Jelena’s long time trainer, Milian Lubovac is in not just in Jelena’s corner, he is an overall advocate for women’s boxing. He told press, “When Jelena is ready, she is unbeatable. When she isn’t, she thinks she’s unbeatable. She won some of those [24 victories] fights on her will to win. You can’t always push your way through. But if you take a look at it, women’s boxing is more interesting than the men’s fights right now. They don’t save anything. They go in and give it their all; just like two roosters.”