Boxing is more than a sport for unique athlete
by tony balandran and joe arce

Outside the ring, E-Lisa Moreno is an energetic, unpretentious young woman with an attractive personality.

When she enters the ring, the story is different. She becomes a mean, quick right-hander known for throwing tough body punches
“I love the rush you get the second you step into the ring,” Moreno told Hispanic News. “I would have never guessed I would end up in boxing, not in my wildest dreams. But I love every part of it. The second you step into the ring, the adrenaline builds up and you think this is the time to go to work.”

At 20, the 5-foot-2½-inch fighter is preparing for her second professional fight after spending years training and gaining experience as an amateur boxer.

For Moreno, the sport, which she once considered a way to pass time many years ago, has become her second religion.

Her interest began about 5 years ago, when she was a student at Shawnee Mission South High School, which had a women’s basketball team that towered above her.

“I’m not the thinnest girl so for me cheerleading was not an option,” Moreno said. “I’m not very girly. I like being in shorts and a T-shirt. That’s where I’m most comfortable.”

With basketball by the wayside, she started to watch the boxers accompany her younger brothers to their practices. “My mother and the coach of Turner Boxing Club asked why I was just sitting there.” So as a way to exercise, she donned the gloves and stepped into a ring.

In a few months, she dropped from 180 pounds to 145, which she maintains for fighting. And although she considers herself to be in good shape, Moreno knows she has more work ahead, combining strength and speed as well as sharpening her combination punches.

“I’m pretty smart about my defense. I’m not going in to be somebody’s punching bag. I love the feeling of getting in the ring and throwing punches at someone else,” Moreno, laughing at the notion. “But I still have a long way to grow.”

Moreno acknowledges that she is an uncommon athlete – a young woman boxing. There are few role models for her to follow, but she is inspired by local boxer Mary Ortega, whom Moreno believes has great power and super speed.

“If I had to pick a role model, it would have to be her,” Moreno said. “Some day I hope to be at her level and hope to compete with the best.”
Over time, boxing has had its influence on Moreno. She feels closer to her family and friends, who are her constant supporters. She teaches younger boxers some of the techniques she has learned. She listens carefully to more experienced fighters to pick up new pointers. And her bond with her father is even stronger – primarily because he is her coach.

Once an amateur boxer many years ago, Leo Moreno said he fills two roles – the coach who will shout instructions at his daughter from ringside and the father who flinches whenever he sees her getting hit.

“My goal is to go in there and help her regardless,” said the elder Moreno, who coaches at Turner Boxing Club.

He said the beginning boxers start young, some as early as 5 or 6 years old. Parents bring them so they can learn defensive tactics to protect themselves and “and the next thing they realize is that their kids are having fun.” And some stay long enough to realized boxing as a highly disciplined sport.

Moreno said his daughter continually trains, striving to be a better boxer every day.

At her first professional fight in August, the judges favored her opponent. But from that defeat, came an important lesson, he said.

“I want her to know that it’s tough out there, that you have to work hard to win,” he said. “It was an experience, an eye-opener. She knows there are no chumps out there. They are tough girls, and we are going to have some tough fights out there.”

E-Lisa Moreno said her father’s coaching has taught her a great deal – how to survive inside and outside the ring.

“He is like my best friend,” she said. “There is not one thing he doesn’t know about me. If I made a mistake, eventually either he finds out or I tell him.”

Moreno said boxing has given her a more disciplined perspective about life. She said without the sport, there would have been many wrong paths to take in terms of education, health and relationships at a young age.

“My mind was set on boxing and I didn’t think of leaving the house at all. Boxing keeps your mind on the right track.”

The sport, she said, “is something I think I will do for the rest of my life.”

For now, she is ready to face the new challenges as a professional fighter. “I’m going to give it a hard three years – just get what I can out of it and have fun while I’m doing it. Then quit and focus on coaching other kids and helping them.”

And when she advises younger fighters, she always emphasizes the life lessons. “Boxing teaches you to respect someone else because you never know what you’re going to end up in front of. And you have to respect yourself before you can go anywhere.”

Moreno’s next professional bout is Friday, Sept. 10 against Jerri Flint of St. Joe, MO at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.

She said she will be ready. “You get a bigger rush when you have tons of people out there cheering for you, especially people you don’t know. That just brings you up so high, and that helps motivate you and then you fight.”

Win or lose, Moreno said, she will continue to move forward, to keep working, to keep training and “and keep going as hard as I can. … You have to get your body ready for war.”

The boxer added, “I have to keep moving forward because I have a lot of things to work on. It’s all about having fun and enjoying life.”