By: Dan Horgan
www.wban.com
Twenty-seven year old Bernadette Robinson is not your typical amateur pugilist. The Harlem based social worker, who will take part in the New York Golden Gloves Competition this March, is already well known amongst boxing fans and insiders everywhere despite not having taken place in one bout.
The reason: Robinson is a key vanguard in the rapidly growing online boxing community on Myspace.com. Through Myspace, Robinson has made a name for herself by keeping fans and boxers alike up to date on today’s boxing world, and by writing feature pieces on lesser known fighters. Her efforts have lead many people to dub her the “Myspace queen of boxing”.
In November of last year, Robinson, fascinated with the fight game, decided to lace up the gloves herself in order to see what it was really like to step into the ring. She signed up at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, and has yet to look back since. Training under former Guyanse light-welterweight champion Dillon Carew, Robinson has worked her way into excellent condition, and feels super sharp as she prepares to thrown down in the 176 pound division in this year’s New York Golden Gloves tournament. WBAN recently caught with Robinson to discuss her new endeavor.
DH: Why the decision to start boxing?
BR: Back in 2004, I started taking lessons, and I stopped because I had hip surgery. But I had always wanted to get back at it. Sometime in November, as a small project, I started going to different gyms in the New York City area, and I had some friends come in from out of town who asked me to compare their styles of training with the ones that I had seen. I was going to write a piece on the matter, but before I did that, I thought I should walk in the shoes of a training boxer.
DH: How many days a week are you training?
BR: Six
DH: Have you been sparring?
BR: Yeah, although I haven’t sparred in three or four weeks because of an injury, but I’ll be back sparring next week.
DH: Have you been sparring with women or males?
BR: So far just males. But once I start back sparring again I’ll be sparring with women.
DH: Have you been doing roadwork?
BR: Yes I have. I usually run around the Brooklyn bridge throwing in sprints and punches as I run. I usually run three to five days a week.
DH: What has it been like to train under a former Guyanese national champion in Dillon Carew?
BR: To me, it’s an honor to train with him. I really appreciate him taking the time out to teach me the things he’s done in his career. Sparring with him has been great — he’s actually my best sparring partner. He’s been around so he knows different styles of fighting. He’s been teaching me a lot of practices that have never been done here in New York. I’m working twice as hard because I’m his first amateur fighter in the USA.
DH: I know Gleason’s Gym is a hotspot amongst Brooklyn boxers. Have you been training with any big name fighters?
BR: Yes, I’ve been training with cruiserweight Wayne Braithwaite who recently scored a knockout in Florida, and Zab Judah has been training there as well.
DH: Thanks and best of luck!
Visit’s Bernadette website at myspace.com/bernapril20
DAN HORGAN
(Horgan is a 17-year old Boxing Journalist, who also contributes stories to Boxingmag.com, Doghouseboxing.com, Irish-boxing.com, and womenboxing.com . To check out Dan’s archives at
Myspace.com/danhorganboxing)