“When I say I’m a professional boxer, people laugh!”

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

Her fists fly tirelessly through the air. One after the other hits a black punching bag that squeaks and swings in the middle of the Basel boxing club. Gabi Balboa Timar (36) dances back and forth, wipes the sweat from her face and continues to work the punching bag with precisely placed punches.

Born in Romania, she will do her last training on Wednesday before fighting for the European Boxing Union (EBU) title at the Volkshaus Basel on Friday. She was at this point a year ago, this petite woman nicknamed Balboa because she trains just as hard as legendary movie character Rocky Balboa. At that time she had to compete against the French Cassandra Crevecoeur. She doesn’t want to go through that again. “I prepared perfectly. I’m physically fit and I want this title.” It would be Gabi Timar’s previous highlight in a career that was anything but ordinary.

The fight against clichés

Only at the age of 28 does the law graduate start with the sport. Friends take her to the Basel boxing club. “It was clear to me from the first second – that’s my thing.” Gabi Balboa devotes herself entirely to sports and after training goes to the gym until midnight. Because she wants to keep up with the men at the boxing club? Balboa waves it off. “Because I just wanted to be good. Boxing has no gender. The same rules apply to everyone. Boxing is boxing!”

And yet, at least when you look at it, there is a big difference between women’s and men’s boxing. “When I say I’m a professional boxer, people usually laugh,” she says. “People see my painted nails, my bag, my make-up. That doesn’t fit the image that most people have of boxing.”

A great role model

In her title fight on Friday, the winner receives prize money of approximately 3,000 francs. For men, it would probably be three times that. “Even after her first fight it was clear: Gabi’s career is financially a negative thing,” says her trainer and sponsor Angelo Gallina. But in Basel they believe in the combative Romanian. Club and coaches invest money and time, Balboa owes it to them with strong performances in the ring.

Much of Balboa’s life now takes place in the boxing basement. She teaches classes, often just for women. Nearly 40 percent of boxing club members are now women, and the trend continues. Is the potential European champion the reason for this? She is certainly a role model for young women, she says modestly. Her coach Angelo Gallina is more specific: “The people in the course have brutal respect for her. The recognition is huge.” It can get even bigger if Gabi Balboa Timar brings the European Championship title to Basel in front of his own audience on Friday evening.

Source : Blick