Little Miss Hands of Stone  or is it “Eyes of Steel!”

by Sue TL Fox  Date: August 26, 2000

“I wish to express my gratitude for giving me an opportunity to discuss my thoughts on my current progress in the boxing game.  I hope you are in good health and happy spirits, and hope your web site becomes one of success, if there is anything I could do for you in the future, please let me know, and I will do my best to comply.” Irichelle Duran

TL Fox:   Now that you have had time to think about what happened with your pro debut, what do you think you would do differently?

Irichelle:  I spent seven months in a training camp in Australia preparing for this fight—so I did my absolute best physically, in getting ready for this fight.   I should have stepped into the ring and ko’d my opponent,  if it was only a physical competition.  But, boxing is not only a physical battle, it is an emotional, mental and spiritual combination.  Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed by the crowd and media and it drained me, and I was not one hundred percent walking into the ring, as I did not prepare myself in all departments, and the result was that the fight went the distance, and I gave the politics of boxing the opportunity to give an unjustified victory to my opponent. I have learned from this experience, and am currently centering my mind to deal with the strains of battle, to visualize the battle in my mind over and over, until I can only visualize victory, that way my mental, emotional and spiritual conditioning will then enable me to use my physical skills, without freezing from the pressures. And I will then show my arsenal, as a complete fighter,  ready for battle.

TL Fox:  What have you done since you had your first fight? 

Irichelle:  Looked closely at my weaknesses, as I said, mostly mental, spiritual and emotional. as far as my physical weaknesses, I will focus on two main areas, fitness and increased sparring, to increase my timing and distancing.

TL Fox:  Do you think that you will come to the United States to live while you are boxing? 

Irichelle: There is a possibility that I might live in the U.S.A. next year, but no definite plans at this point.

TL Fox:. Are you still training in Australia?

Irichelle: Yes, I will be in Sydney until December, training hard, and if I perform well in my next couple of fights, I will then sit down and workout which direction I will take my next step. one step at a time,  day by day.

TL Fox: Do you have any potential fights lined up?

Irichelle: Yes, I am fighting in England on the 6th of October.

TL Fox: . How has your family reacted after your first fight?

Irichelle:  Obviously disappointed, but they have been in the boxing game a very long time, and have seen boxing from every angle there is, from the greatest highs, to the lowest lows. So when two of the judges gave the fight to my opponent, they were not shocked, just disappointed that the true winner was not given the joys of victory.

TL Fox:  What are your strong points as a fighter? 

Irichelle: And what do you need to work on? my strongest points depend on my opponent, whatever my opponents weaknesses are, that will be the focus of my strength. I need to work on my conditioning mainly.

TL Fox: Do you plan to focus on boxing full time, or are you working on another type job, besides training in boxing?  

Irichelle: Boxing, boxing, boxing.

TL Fox: What is your goal that you want to achieve in boxing? 

Irichelle: World champion, and nothing less, nothing.

TL Fox: Would you like to say anything to the boxing fans?

Irichelle: Yes, in life we will always lose in one way or another, but there is no shame in losing, in fact, it is often the only way to improve ourselves as people, we learn what not to do in the future, under the same circumstances …….the most important thing is to NEVER BE BEATEN, NEVER GIVE UP. That way you never lose, only learn beautiful life lessons ………everybody loses, but Irichelle Duran will never be beaten………thank you very much to the people that have given me there love and support, your kind words of encouragement have given me strength…thank you all, and god bless…

Irichelle: One message I would very much like to express to everybody, is that I have asked for a rematch with Geraldine iglesias.  I am willing to fight for FREE in order to settle the controversy of our first fight.  The public is not naive,  they know the true winner was me. You must understand that, like I told you earlier, I was physically prepared but my emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of my game were non-existent.  Therefore I was only at about 25% of my game on the night, and I still BEAT her, so imagine a rematch, when I am 100% focused in all 4 departments, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. what chance would she possibly have?