The bell shrieks. Neither looks cute mid-lunge. Female fights are infrequent and seldom an even match, because there simply aren't many female fighters. The fight against Jackie is Monique's ninth career bout. If she were a man, says Steve, training for as long as she has, she'd have had 50 fights by now, easy.
Men have to fight seven or eight times just to make it into a local tournament.
Despite the sanctioning of women's boxing eight years ago, it's still very much a man's world, and women fighters very much a curiosity. This has never fazed Monique. Two and a half years ago, she walked determinedly into O'Mally's Boxing Gym in Quincy and told the old fighter behind the desk that she wanted to learn. There were no women training that day, just sweaty, focused men sparring with each other, working the bags or shadowboxing wherever they could find the space. Cups of spit lay on the ground.