When you think of a female boxer, what comes to mind? A tough-as-nails brute like character? Perhaps an Ann Wolfe or a Christy Martin? Or maybe a beautiful monster like Laila Ali.
Head on down to Tampa, Florida to Alessi Boxing and Fitness or Tiger’s World Gym and you’ll find a boxing beauty by the name of Noemi “La Rebelde” Bosques.
She has the toughness of a bar room brawler, the body of a fitness queen and the soft feminine touch of a model and mother outside of the ring.
Growing up, Noemi lived in a very competitive household where everything was a must win affair, whether it be video games, a good old fashioned foot race or a game of hoops.
Her first taste of boxing was with her father, asking her to hit his hands as if he was a boxing trainer going through a mitt exercise with his fighter. No one knew that this family horseplay would lead to her choice in career.
I asked Noemi who her influences were boxing wise. Susi Kentikian, Ina Menzer, Ada Velez and Pernell Whitaker. Aside from Sweet Pea, there are not many household names on that list.
Noemi decided to turn her attention to boxing fulltime at 18 years old. In the boxing world, that’s generally seen as a late start, but being that there aren’t many female boxers—especially not with the sparkling personality, the body, the athleticism and natural talent that Noemi possesses—there was still an opportunity to be had.
Playing basketball in high school helped Bosques with her footwork, track and field helped her with speed and endurance, and football—that’s right, a girl played football—helped out with toughness and being able to give and take physical punishment.
When asked if men were intimidated by her being a boxer she said no and that some men are really into it. She even said that some local tough guys—who are gluttons for punishment—ask for her to punch them.
I also asked what the general response to her being a boxer was, and she told me that most people say that she doesn’t look like a boxer.
Noemi sees that as a good thing.
She wants to change the image of the female boxer and for people to know that not all boxers are hard and angry looking all the time.
Bosques has parlayed her boxing notoriety into a hobby of modeling and has done several different photo shoots. All very tastefully done and sometimes mixing beauty and boxing.
This Puerto Rican princess of the squared circle doesn’t see herself as a sex symbol at all and takes any compliments on her photos in stride and has a very humble demeanor.
One of her goals is to use her notoriety to help others in her community—especially children who may have lost their way and need guidance and structure in their lives.
My final question for Noemi was one that every man reading this interview was probably dying to know the answer to. Or maybe it was just me? I asked Noemi if she was single. The answer is yes, but not really looking with the busy life of a boxer, a mother and a model as hobby.
If you are going to step to Ms. Bosques in a social manner, confidence is listed high as a desired trait. Having endless energy to keep up with her as well as being able to be spontaneous is important as well.
This past weekend, while many boxing spectators were salivating over big time matchups including Carl Froch vs. George Groves and Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios, Noemi was scoring her fifth professional KO against Savannah Hill.
Noemi is now undefeated through five fights with a record of 4-0-1. Look for her to continue dominating in the Flyweight division as she climbs the ranks.
All photos courtesy of Noemi Bosques. Special thanks to Zena The Hit Girl for helping us put this interview together.
Interested in being featured on RBRBoxing’s Women of Boxing? Know someone who might be interested? Submit photos and bio to info@roundbyroundboxing.com.
