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Raise Your Game: How did you get into sport?

Cathy Brown: I did cross-country running at school, but I wasn't pushed into it. I don't know if it's because I had other things on my mind but I never gave it 100%. I think some of the teachers pushed certain people and showed favouritism - and obviously I wasn't one of the favoured ones!

I left school and did a degree in photography and didn't do any sport whatsoever. I turned into a couch potato for about 4 years. Then someone said I should try kick-boxing because I'm quite assertive and speak my mind. When I want something I go for it.

I thought kick-boxing might help me focus. I got really drawn into the whole training side and started feeling really strong within myself and I started to see my body change. And I loved it. I wasn't a gym bunny at the time - the gym didn't interest me. But with kick-boxing you're learning combat and getting fit at the same time. I did that for about 7 years and competed and reached a high standard.

I was approached by a boxing promoter in 1998 and he said I should try boxing because there was only one other woman in the whole country who did it and I'd be good at it. I always take opportunities full on by the horns because I think they come along for a reason. It's opened up a whole new world for me and I've never looked back.

RYG: Tell me about the discipline involved.

CB: You have to have a clean diet and cut down on sugars and saturated fats. But at the weekend, if I've trained really hard all week, I will let myself have a treat, something I crave. It's important to reward yourself because if you have a strict diet 24/7 you're more likely to give up.

You have to follow a quite strict regime. And make sure you get down the gym 2 or 3 times a day. So you've got to be really good at time management because you've got to schedule your day around your training.

RYG: On top of your own boxing training, you also train others. Do you enjoy that?

CB: If I'm teaching someone I love seeing them progressing or changing. I get a great sense of achievement by seeing them become happy with themselves and becoming stronger mentally and physically.

Personal training is a lot like counselling for a lot of people. When people come to me, although they're working out, they talk to me about their problems. They come out and feel really good because they've got their problems off their chest. Instead of just coming in and running or doing weights, they're learning something new, learning techniques and actually get to hit something and release all the stress and worries.

RYG: What motivates you to keep going?

CB:To be the best at what I do in my category. I've got competitions to work towards. I'm going over to Italy for the WBC Flyweight World Title in August (2005) to fight Stephanie Bianchini. So when I'm on the running machine and finding it hard I just try and visualise the fight in my head and think about the whole competition.

The WBC is a male organisation - it's one of the top players in male boxing, but they've just embraced female boxing. This is the first time they've held the title fight in Europe so it's a big one for me.

RYG: What are you most proud of?

CB: I competed in the WIBF Title in Germany against the world champion who'd had 54 fights and I'd only had 14 at the time. Everybody feared her and said 'oh my god, you're going over to fight her!? Are you doing it just to make some money?' and I said 'no, I'm going over to win!'

She's a good fighter and knocks everybody down and had never been knocked down herself, but I went over and I knocked her down. I fought well and felt strong and we went the whole way. Even though I lost I was really proud of myself because I fought really well. I think I'd underestimated my skill. Sometimes it's not the winning that counts but how you perform on the day.

RYG: Are you ever scared?

CB: Every single time I fight! I get really nervous. I think fear is a good thing - it makes you sharp and more aware. If you're too comfortable and something happens, you're not prepared for it. Acknowledge that you're fearful and what you're scared of. Don't try and block it out because fear can enhance your performance because you're alert.

I try to relax as much as possible. I tend to do breathing exercises and listen to some music. My way of relaxing is to pace up and down - I walk and walk and listen to music. I try to visualise the fight and talk to myself saying 'come on Cathy, you can do this, you trained really hard, you're strong enough, what's the worst that can happen?' And I'll go through the training I've been doing and technique I've been working on. And visualise if she came at me with different moves how I would counteract that.

When I get nervous it's not because I'm scared of losing, it's because I'm worried about my performance. If I lose, as long as I've performed at my complete best then at least I know within myself that I did well. I had a fight a couple of weeks ago and won by a knockout in the 4th round.

There were a few moves and techniques that I'd been working on with my trainer that I hadn't used in a fight before. The first couple of rounds I didn't like and there were only a few segments of the fight that I was happy with. People said I fought well throughout but it was those sections of the fight that came off really well and worked that I was really happy about.

RYG: How hard has it been to gain acceptance in women's boxing?

CB: Very hard. There are a lot of guys who can't accept that women want to fight and they think that women need to be looked after. We are genetically, physically weaker than a man of our own size, but we work on that. People do underestimate some women and their physical and mental strength. We need to educate society that segregation is wrong whether it's racism, sexism or ageism. I don't want to get in a ring and fight with a man, I just want to be good at my sport as a female.

It's been hard for me to find a promoter and a decent trainer who wants to take on women's boxing because they don't want to stick their neck out and be different. It's peer pressure. It's hard to get on boxing shows or get any sponsorship in this country so it's hard to encourage other women to come through, hence there are only about 4 of us boxers in this country with professional licenses because we're not given any support.

It's bad because it means women will go underground to fight and they haven't got any medical supervision and they're not looked after properly. Women in America and Europe are looked after. They've got sponsorship and support and great trainers and promoters who will put them on. I've got to do most of my fights abroad because there are only about 2 promoters in this country who will pay to bring opponent fighters over to the UK. That doesn't help promote it in the UK.

The last fight I had here I had to sell 120 tickets myself to ensure it covered the cost of her travel, visas, purse, trainers etc. It puts quite a lot of pressure on me. On top of doing your training and being on peak form you've got this sales job to do.

RYG: How dedicated do you have to be to box?

CB: 500% dedicated! If you've got dedication and determination you can do well at anything. You can't half-heartedly get in the ring with someone who wants to knock you out. It becomes your life and everything else has to fit around it. But it's not forever. I can't box forever.

RYG: What are your hopes for the future?

CB: I'll probably only be boxing for another few years, if not one year. I want to get the world title and get my next platform set up for when I finish boxing. A lot of the girls I'm fighting are young whippersnappers!

My next goal in life is to do some extreme sports presenting. I've done bits and pieces of TV work and I've finished my show reel so I've just got to push myself out there.

I use a lot of communication tools to let people know about what I'm doing, my training, and to get sponsorship and TV work. I use my laptop a lot for the internet and to update my website and use Photoshop for my photography.