Meet Professional Female Boxer – Nur Shahidah Binte Rosli

Nur Shahidah Binte Roslie chose a career path most women in Singapore would not have thought of – professional boxing. The 28-year-old graduated from University of Western Australia with degrees in exercise and health and sports science, and has been on the national amateur boxing team since 2009. With 10 years of boxing experience under her belt, Shahidah decided to turn professional with Juggernaut Fight Club earlier in February this year.

How did you get involved in boxing?

I was already into martial arts when I was younger, and when I was in secondary school at Gan Eng Seng, I took up taekwondo and eventually earned my black belt. But I felt that I needed something more. During a school project at ITE, where we had to shadow and observe a coach, I was introduced to kickboxing and I started learning kickboxing and boxing altogether. Two years later, I got my first fights within two weeks. The first was boxing and second was kickboxing and from there, I was able to gauge my strengths and weaknesses and see which I preferred. After some time, I did more boxing than kickboxing and in 2009, I got into the national team and focused more on boxing. Eventually, when the opportunity came to turn professional, I knew I had to take it.

What are the biggest misconceptions of boxing?

It’s amazing how people expect you to be a bit disfigured and deformed, or maybe boyish and manly and masculine in some way when you’re a female. I’m actually quite the opposite. I can be like that during training, but outside, I mean, I like pink and I love Hello Kitty. I can be very feminine as well and people have these stereotypes that we’re not feminine. There were also a lot of questions on whether my parents would be afraid I would not be able to get married, that typical girls would have to settle down. Fortunately for me, my parents and relatives don’t ask these questions so I’m not sure how to answer that.

Nur Shahidah Binte Roslie poses for a photo at Juggernaut Fight Club on May 24, 2016 in Singapore. Photo: Lim Yong Teck

What has been your most memorable experience in boxing?

Training with my teammates. Every time I get injured or knocked down, it can be a painful experience but I see it as a memorable moment because it’s a learning experience as well. You get injured so you have to think, ‘What went wrong?’ So you sit down and think it through and you share it with your teammates so they can avoid making the same mistakes. And my teammates are all very encouraging and that keeps me going.

And your most heartbreaking?

The SEA Games loss was pretty heartbreaking for me. It was the first ever match that I almost won internationally. I always lose in the international matches that I’ve competed in by unanimous decisions. At the SEA Games, I thought I did well, but for some reason, it was a split decision and the victory was awarded to Vietnam. I was heartbroken, but it may be my own mistakes as well. I wasn’t exactly being very aggressive and I was focusing on my techniques instead. Most of the times, being aggressive in amateur boxing helps and I guessed I lost out on that. That is also one of the reasons why I decided to go into professional boxing because I feel that I fit in here more.

Nur Shahidah Binte Roslie (L) trains at Juggernaut Fight Club on May 24, 2016 in Singapore. Photo: Lim Yong Teck

Was there a time when you felt like walking away from boxing?

Yes – it was during the amateurs when there was no fights for a period of time. Sometimes, when I made the weight for a fight, there would be no opponents at all. It’s unlike professional boxing, where it’s definite unless your opponent pulls out and you know who your opponents are going to be. In the amateurs, you were made to cut your weight down to 57kg for example, wait until the weigh-in day and after you’re exhausted and starving, you’re told that you have no opponent and that feeling is not good. It happened two or three times in a row and I almost wanted to give up. Most female boxers would have faced the same situation at some point of time but I think it’s getting better now.

How far do you think boxing has developed since its inauguration?

When I first stepped into the ring, there were only a few female boxers. When the SEA Games was approaching, I heard of many more female boxers stepping into the ring and trying out for the national team. The SEA Games actually helped a little, because after the Games concluded, there was a good growth in the number of female boxers. The standard of female boxing had also improved a lot.

Nur Shahidah Binte Roslie (L) trains at Juggernaut Fight Club on May 24, 2016 in Singapore. Photo: Lim Yong Teck

What kind of challenges do you foresee in your professional boxing career?

Definitely financially, because I’m trying to pay off my education loan. When I graduated, I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do and I worked with Arvind, the head coach here at Juggernaut, for a while. The opportunity to turn pro presented itself and I thought I’d give it a go. Not many people in Singapore at my age can get the opportunity to do what they really want and get paid for it. Of course, you start slow and you don’t get paid well at first, but I believe that when you put in the hard work and eventually everything else will come. At this point of time, I’m not worried about that and for now, this is my peak and I want to do something about it. And plus the fact that the female boxing scene is growing, I want to create a path for future female boxers to do this professionally. Even if I’m not earning thousands in my boxing career, at least I know that I paved the way for the younger generation to follow. Hopefully in time, they’re earning the thousands. Someone has to start it and I don’t want Singaporeans to think that there’s no future in boxing.

There was also this once, in the Philippines, I went to get some training done at Elorde Boxing Gym and at the end of the session, the instructor asked if I wanted to turn pro and fight for them. I had to decline because at that point of time I was still holding a job with ITE as a lecturer. After that incident, I had thoughts of going overseas to turn pro before Arvind actually offered me. For now, I don’t have any overseas plans and if Arvind can provide me with the opportunities and help me keep the momentum going, I won’t be going anywhere.

For my parents, they probably disagree with my career choice but they’re still supportive in what I do. Financially, it’s tight, but I think it’s going well for me so far and I think I can still afford to continue boxing professionally.

Nur Shahidah Binte Roslie (L) trains at Juggernaut Fight Club on May 24, 2016 in Singapore. Photo: Lim Yong Teck

What advice would you give to young aspiring boxers?

First and foremost, you have to take care of your own body and your own future. I’m not saying that you have to prioritise studies, but you have to balance out education and the sport. You can’t be a full-time athlete when you’re still studying and instead, you should use your youth to gain boxing experience through training and probably small tournaments. Studies is important because you have to secure your future that way. You need something to fall back on if it doesn’t work out, such as getting injured when you turn pro. That’s what I did. I focused on my studies first, and when I graduated and the opportunity came, I can do it without fear.

How can people get involved if they’re interested in boxing?

There are many gyms offering boxing classes today, although these classes may not be very cheap. If they have the means, go to the gyms and try it out. For the younger generation, try to push for boxing co-curricular activities (CCA) in schools. But for that to happen, the right coaches are necessary because boxing requires a lot of safety. For a start, gyms should work on training coaches so that eventually, the Ministry of Education would be willing to help set up boxing as a CCA in schools.