With an eye on Olympic gold, Bia Ferreira is crowned for her boldness in professional boxing: “I like to make history” | boxing

Bia Ferreira never get tired of making history. O world title achieved last Saturday placed the Brazilian boxer with the possibility of being the only athlete to be world champion in professional boxing and win an Olympic medal in the same year.

According to her, the possibility of this unprecedented feat in the history of world boxing will serve as fuel and not as pressure for the Olympic dispute.

“It doesn’t give me pressure. In fact, it was something that had never happened and that I had wanted all along. I had this opportunity, so why not take it? I really like doing things that no one has done, I really like winning things that no one has won to show that we are and that we can achieve. If no one wins, how will we know, right?”

— It’s a very important title. It is the first time in history that there is a professional world champion who will compete in the Olympic Games and who will fight for an Olympic medal. I really like making history, showing that there are many things to achieve, that there are many things to happen and that we can believe, we can achieve, we have boxing for that. You have to have desire and discipline and go for it.

“I challenged myself, and mission given was mission accomplished, I managed to come out with victory. I didn’t fight the way I wanted, but the final objective, which was to emerge victorious with the title, was completed successfully. Experiencing this here is extremely importance for my maturity as an athlete and for my self-confidence”, he said.

In November 2022, after her Olympic success in Tokyo, Beatriz made her professional debut and beat compatriot Tayna Cardoso by unanimous decision. Since then, she has had three more fights and emerged victorious in all duels, remaining undefeated.

She considers that the learning achieved in the professional sport has contributed greatly to increasing her range of options in Olympic boxing.

— We’re talking about the same sport, but it’s totally different. Professional boxing is another approach, Olympic boxing is another way. But I can feel really good. I train a lot for the pros and that helps me when I need to get back to the Olympic style. I feel more comfortable. It’s much more exhausting leaving Olympic boxing to go professional. I believe I will use this as additional training.

Despite her excellence and titles in the 60kg category, where she is the favorite for Olympic gold, Bia Ferreira preaches that it is necessary to improve even more. The athlete, raised in Juiz de Fora by her father Sergipe, who was also a fighter, is the current Olympic runner-up and now wants to climb to the top of the podium.

— It’s impressive, but we always have to improve. Boxing is a box of surprises and the more you fight, the more people get to know you. In both Olympic and professional boxing, the girls study me a lot, so we have to always improve, always adjust things and always have something new. Boxing is chess, so we can’t let ourselves be surprised and we have to surprise.

Now, Bia Ferreira is preparing to fight at the Paris Olympic Games, between July and August, where she will say goodbye to dedicate herself once and for all to professional boxing.