You should have heard the story of Patricia Manuel back in 2009. That was the year that the bruising boxer, then 24 years old, impressed in a quality showing at the Continental Championships, defeated the British lightweight champion in London and won the U.S. Nationals title. For the fourth time. It was a landmark year for a rising star, and heads began to turn.
Manuel started training with the best in the business, and undefeated pro fighter Javier Molina dubbed the slugger "Peanut" because of her shaved head. But even with impressive accolades and an amateur record that now stands at 47-12, few outside the tight-knit boxing world took notice. "It's annoying when you succeed and the only ones noticing are the people you already see every day," she says. "If no one knows who you are, then what do promoters want you for?"
So Peanut kept her amateur status, putting her professional dreams on hold. These days she works two jobs to pay her way through training and rehab, but Manuel says that remaining amateur was "a no-brainer." Just a few weeks after that decision, women's boxing became an official event for the 2012 London Olympics, for the first time since 1904.
"This time they're going to see a whole different beast," she says. Manuel will have her chance at the spotlight, and could very well become the first woman ever to represent the United States as an Olympic boxer.
The opportunity also strikes a personal chord. Manuel describes herself as an out butch lesbian, and proud of it. She decries recent hate crimes, regularly works with the non-profit Brown Boi Project and hopes to one day start her own organization to assist the LGBTQ community. A boost in exposure could create a new platform for the Golden Gloves winner to serve as a role model outside the ring.
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