((PKG)) FEMALE BOXER
((TRT: 08:14))
((Topic Banner: The Champion))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: Mike Burke))
((Map: Leesburg, Virginia))
((Main character: 1 female))

((Sub Characters: 2 male; 1 female))

((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My name is Tori “Sho Nuff” Nelson. I’m first a child of God. ((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
I’m a mother of two children,
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
a 13-time world champion in five different weight classes.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I always tell people I didn't choose boxing. Boxing chose me. But I mean, I guess it was a calling for me because I had no idea to first to become a world champion, but then to become a world champion 13 times. That’s crazy.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I was a single mother.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
I was driving school bus and I was working at IHop [restaurant].
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I started boxing at like age 29.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Most people started like in their teens but I started very late. But that's to let you know, it's never too late to do anything you want to do.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I went to the gym just to train because I had gained weight from my children.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
And I went there and just wanted to get the weight off. That's why I met my coach because he owned the gym at the time. And I asked him if I wanted to come here to just lose weight. He was like, “Yeah. That’s the best workout. You’re going to lose weight all over and everything.” So, I was like, “Okay.”
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
And so he said, “What do you want out of it? If you compete, what would you want out of it?” And I was like, “I want to be a world champion.” And he was like, “Okay, wait a minute now. Like you’re moving too fast.” But mind you, I was a big girl
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
and boxing just, I mean, it helped me so much. It changed my life, like my attitude, my eating, for my health. It was the best for everything.
((NATS: Announcer))
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
Excited crowd here at the Turning Stone Resort. And here comes Tori Nelson.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
The walk to the ring, I call it the walk of death because my anxiety would take over so bad, that most of the time I would throw up before a fight.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
So, when they said, “Nelson on deck”, that's when you know you're next. I would get sick to the point where my coach was like, I had to throw up one time, he was like, “Just swallow it T. We got to go.” And I'm like okay.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
Mike Tyson said it very clear, “Everybody has a plan until you get hit in the face that first time.” That first punch is your wake up, “Oh, this is for real.” So, once I get hit the first time, I'm like, “Okay, it's down now. Let's get it.” Like I'm smiling. I'm happy because I'm like, I'm up now and it’s fight time.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
We can still be moms. We can still carry our houses and be the person that we would be. But I mean, we’re women and we can still come and do the same sport that the men do.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
That’s like mashed potatoes. Huh.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When it comes to training, I like to laugh, like keep it, like keep it fun.
((NATS: Tori Nelson and Kalvin))
That’s how we count when breathe.
I want you to do how it’s supposed to be done.
You good.
Sounds like he’s stomping [cock]roaches.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Because if you get so serious, you wear yourself down. One girl, she threw me off. We were in the pocket and she said, in the middle of the fight, “Your hair smells good.” Yes, that's what goes on in a fight. People think that we hate each other. Now, in some situations, it is bad blood between people. But
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I'm telling you, when you’re in that pocket, people are talking and we’re talking to each other.
((NATS: Coach))
You’re trying to chop with those punches. Extend your arms.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My favorite of all times is my coach and I. Craig Fladager was my coach.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
My coach and I traveling. I think I stopped boxing at 43. I had a training camp at the time that my grandma was sick and then during training camp, she passed. It took a lot. It took so much out of me. And so, that was it. My kids was like, “Mom, like this is it. Like this is the time.” And I said, “Okay.” And so, I dedicated my last fight to my grandmother. Sorry.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My daughter is 23 and my son is 26. Poor babies. They didn't have a childhood, I would say, to go outside in the evenings. When we got home in the evenings, they had to be ready to go for a ride to D.C. and to go to the gym. And by God's grace, you know, it’s good people, because once I got to the gym, like the trainer or the owner of the gym, his wife would help with the kids’ homework or other fighters would help my kids do their homework while I was training.
((Simon Barnes
Daughter))
When my friends first meet my mom, first it’s, “She's so young. She's so pretty. Like that’s your mom? I thought that was your older sister.” And then we don't, like introduce her as a boxer. So, when later down the road, when they find out that she is a boxer, they're like, “Your mom is so cool.”
((ABQ
Son))
Almost every morning, I just wake up with praying she don't get hurt like
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
in most of our fights. But by the end, it's really a blessful thing that she’s achieving her accomplishments.
((Simon Barnes
Daughter))
I would like to say to her, “Congratulations on all your accomplishments with many more to come. Just because you're retired doesn't mean the grind stops. The accomplishments and the flowers keep coming.” I hope she gets all her flowers while she can.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
Harder. Let’s get it. One. Slip. Three. Four. Ah, oh!
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Now, I personal train.
((NATS))
I love working with children, especially the younger females. Boxing really builds your confidence. It will make you feel like you’re King Kong. Most girls that I’ve trained feel like they can’t even throw a punch. They can't at the beginning. But once we finish, their confidence soars through the roof.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When I'm not doing speaking engagements or I'm not working out at the gym myself or I'm not doing personal training, I’m here at Lowe’s [Home Improvement store].
((NATS: Tori Nelson & Customer))
Did you find everything okay?
I did.
Good.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I get to meet different customers. Every day, I get to talk to different people. They come. All my employees are wonderful. I have the best boss. It’s really a fun place to be.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
Have a blessed day.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When I first started, the employees, the people did not know who I was. They didn't realize that I was a boxing champion. But now, all the employees and the customers know that I'm a World Boxing Champion. Oh, they love it. Now as a retired boxer, I keep training for my figure.
((NATS))
My exercise mate is Calvin Mends. And he's a beast, you know. He's a big guy.
((NATS: Calvin Mends))
Here we go. Come on.
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
It's fun, man. Training with Tori is very interesting.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
I ain’t going nowhere. I’m in here. Let’s get in.
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
She pushes me to really dig in and get the best out of it. That way she can get her work as well, you know what I mean? So, she makes me better. I’m making her better.
((NATS))
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
I started boxing when I was 22. So, I was relatively new to it. You know, in boxing years it’s very new. Since she's been a game for so long, she's always had my back. She told me what to do, what not to do, what kind of people to hang around, what kind of people to avoid.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
You think about it, boxing is like life. You fight. You have to fight to get through life sometimes. I can't say boxing is my everything because God is my everything. But I love boxing and I will always love it.
((NATS))