If you haven't secured your ticket to the upcoming Boxing Beauties charity event hosted by Rival Boxing Gym Cochrane, you may want to jump on it.

Eleven female only bouts, including one girls' match, will take place the evening of April 27th at the Lions Event Centre and ticket sales are going well. 

Anne Garrido, Owner of Rival Boxing Gym Cochrane and Head Coach says while some people may find it odd that women are boxing in benefit of Big Hill Haven (Cochrane's upcoming women's shelter), they shouldn't. Coaching women to be strong mentally can be more difficult than training them to be physically ready. "Empowering women is helping them not to be a victim anymore and have 'victim mentality'. Boxing and leaving an abusive relationship have that in common; they make the person who goes through it mentally and emotionally stronger. To learn how to box and train for competition will make the person face deep emotions as well as fears of the known and unknown."

With just over two weeks until fight night, Garrido shares the emotions of those training to box in the ring for the first time can range from high anxiety to sheer panic. "Fighters have a hard time putting what scares them into words when they are a few days away from their first fight. Their entire body and mind are in high alert. It's a normal survival process. In order to thrive and enjoy the process, the person needs to put words on their fear by recognizing what's legitimate and what is a product of imagination."

Encouraging the boxers to embrace their fears, the uncertainty, as well as the unknown is much the same for a woman leaving an abusive relationship, says Garrido. "It makes the person face the unknown in front of them, despite the certainty that the current situation can't keep happening. It takes strength and the realization that they have the choice to leave, CAN open the door and never come back despite facing the fear that their spouse could threaten or track them or their children down."

The real win, shares Garrido, is when the women learn that empowerment is not about winning the 'fight' but accepting the challenge to embrace their own fears and fighting for the control they have lost.

Hoping to see the Lions Event Centre sell out in support of the ladies taking the challenge, will be a win-win for both Garrido and Big Hill Haven.

If you are still requiring a ticket for the all-female boxing card 'Boxing Beauties', you are encouraged to contact Garrido at Rival Boxing Gym Cochrane.