On the 166th episode of Listen In With KNN on Fox Sports 1340AM, host Kelsey Nicole Nelson welcomed professional boxer Mia “KillerBee” Ellis to the show.
Recently, she defeated Myasia Oglesby in 46 seconds in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as part of Christy Martin Promotions, which is a promotion company named after boxing champion Christy Martin.
“I tell a lot of people that I don’t go into a fight looking for a knockout. That just how it ended. I went in relaxed and I placed my punches good and I guess she couldn’t take them. The fight was over,” Ellis said.
Her boxing journey takes her back to West Baltimore, Maryland, where she was born and raised as the youngest of three siblings. Ellis developed a love for boxing at a young age as her father, Kenny Ellis was a boxing coach and she would shadow boxers when she was a one year old.
“My father being the coach and with him being at the gym everyday. I spent time with my mother also but I was more interested in boxing. So when he went to the gym, I went to the gym,” she said. “We watched boxing tapes and I latched on to the sport and stuck to it.”
When she was seven, Ellis began training as a boxer with her father being her coach. The elder Ellis has been very supportive of her boxing aspirations.
“He tells me all the time that if you don’t want to do it no more, then you don’t have to. It was my choice and this is what I like. He’s not worried about danger because my father wouldn’t put me in any predicaments where I would get hurt,” said Ellis. “He knows what’s best for me and knows what I’m ready for.”
Ellis’ drive to being the best boxer didn’t impact her childhood because she knew how to find balance in her daily life.
“I knew when it was time to fully lock in and focus on boxing. I had times where I could relax and hang with my friends. It didn’t take away from my childhood and I lived a good childhood. It didn’t take away from my childhood because I knew how to balance it out and still live a normal life,” she said.
In 2008, the West Baltimore native made her amateur debut at age eight and won. Then, she became a professional at age 17 and made her pro debut at 19 years old on the Premier Boxing Champion Showtime Boxing Show at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The show was promoted by TGB Promotions and Mayweather Promotions.
“It actually felt good because I didn’t expect my first professional fight to be on such a big call like that. (Baltimore native) Gervonta Davis gave me the opportunity to showcase my talent on his undercard. I did that and went on from there,” Ellis said.
She feels that women’s boxing is more exciting than the men’s if people watch it.
“We just have to keep promoting it and showing that we are capable of doing the same thing that males are doing. For some reason, they don’t understand that we put in the same amount of work that they do and train just as hard. They need to treat us the same way,” she said.
Ellis wants people from West Baltimore to see that she never gave up no matter how hard her boxing journey was.
“That’s what I’m most proud of because there were times where I felt like it was a waste. I feel like it’s finally paying off and I’m glad I didn’t quit when I felt like I should. Some people always doubted me and I’m glad I didn’t give up.”
http://player.audiostaq.com/allskinserrrything/the_future_of_b
