April 9, 2019 8:42 pm

Wednesday, Step into the Ring with World Champion Boxer Alicia Ashley, Cary Williams, and Federica Bianco

We step back into the boxing ring this week on Playing with Science as our hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice sit down with a slew of powerful women in the sport of boxing.

To start, we welcome boxer and astrophysicist Federica Bianco. Oh, we love when sports and science collide. You’ll find out if there are any areas of boxing and astrophysics that have any overlap. You’ll also hear why Federica considers boxing a “mind-clearing experience.”

Federica explains why she likes to consider fights performances. We look at ways to elevate women’s boxing to a broader audience and whether a simple influx of money would solve a lot of issues. We explore the success of female fighters in MMA and why deploying the same business strategies could also elevate women’s boxing.

Our next bout is with Cary Williams, a former Olympic-style boxer, Olympic-level boxing coach, boxing club owner, cover model, and speaker, who has now created the Too Pretty brand and #NEVERTOOPRETTY movement. Cary tells us how she first got started in boxing and opened her first boxing gym. Find out the differences between being a boxer and a trainer. Cary also tells us why training your mind, specifically controlling your adrenaline, is a big part to being successful in the ring. Cary also shares some info about her philanthropic work that empowers young women to take on the world.

Lastly, our main event. We spar with World Champion boxer Alicia Ashley. You’ll learn about Alicia’s first career as a professional dancer before she became a boxer. Find out the difference between a “brawler” and a “boxer.” She discusses the difficulties of maintaining interest in the sport as she gets older and because bouts are harder to find. Lastly, Alicia explains why, to be World Champion, you should place less emphasis on winning and more emphasis on coming back after you’ve lost. And, to the best of your abilities, avoid getting hit.

Please join us tomorrow night for Women’s Boxing, with World Champion Alicia Ashley right here on our website, as well as on our Playing with Science channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen