WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.160 I want you to take a second and just imagine 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:04.200 something for me. Okay. Close your eyes if you 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:07.480 have to. I want you to picture yourself stepping 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:09.359 into a professional boxing wing for the very 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.080 first time. Oh, wow. Terrifying. Right. You are 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.140 standing in your corner. Your hands are wrapped 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:18.920 tight in gauze and tape. The canvas under your 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.780 boots is hard, completely unforgiving. It's not 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.199 a trampoline, that's for sure. Exactly. The lights 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:26.960 above are blindingly bright, generating this 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.620 intense heat right on your shoulders. Outside 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:32.479 the ropes, the crowd is roaring. It's just this 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.939 chaotic wall of sound. And directly across the 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:38.500 ring, staring a hole right through you, is an 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:41.240 opponent whose sole objective for the night is 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:43.969 to render you unconscious. Which is a lot to 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:46.789 process. It is. Now usually when we hear stories 00:00:46.789 --> 00:00:48.990 about professional athletes making their debut 00:00:48.990 --> 00:00:51.289 in that kind of, you know, adrenaline -fueled 00:00:51.289 --> 00:00:53.729 environment, we picture a teenager. Right. We 00:00:53.729 --> 00:00:56.969 picture a 19 -year -old prodigy. Exactly. Or 00:00:56.969 --> 00:00:59.329 maybe someone in their early 20s who has been 00:00:59.329 --> 00:01:01.649 entirely consumed by the sport -punching heavy 00:01:01.649 --> 00:01:03.729 bags since they were barely old enough to walk. 00:01:03.929 --> 00:01:06.290 Yeah, the kids who basically grew up in the gym. 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.590 But I want you to imagine stepping through those 00:01:09.590 --> 00:01:13.269 ropes. into that visceral, violent reality. Not 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:16.689 as a hungry teenager, but at nearly 30 years 00:01:16.689 --> 00:01:19.129 old? I mean, it completely shatters the deeply 00:01:19.129 --> 00:01:21.409 entrenched sports narratives we've all internalized, 00:01:21.489 --> 00:01:23.650 doesn't it? Total. When you are staring down 00:01:23.650 --> 00:01:26.450 the barrel of 30 in any professional athletic 00:01:26.450 --> 00:01:29.430 endeavor, but specifically in combat sports, 00:01:29.950 --> 00:01:32.250 the conventional wisdom dictates that your window 00:01:32.250 --> 00:01:34.909 has completely closed. Right. The story we are 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:37.310 told is that your physical prime is either already 00:01:37.310 --> 00:01:39.939 in the rear view mirror, or the sand is running 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:42.519 through the hourglass so fast that making a meaningful 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.659 impact is statistically impossible. Entering 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:48.299 the professional boxing ranks at that stage requires 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:50.799 a level of self -belief that most people would 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.579 categorize as totally unreasonable. And that 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.700 completely unreasonable self -belief is exactly 00:01:56.700 --> 00:01:59.180 what we are exploring today. We are unpacking 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.819 the Wikipedia page of a fighter who looked at 00:02:01.819 --> 00:02:04.760 that conventional wisdom, scoffed at it and proceeded 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.799 to forge one of the most unique legacies in modern 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:09.680 combat. sports. It's such a great deep dive. 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.199 It really is. We are talking about the incredible 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:16.960 Carolina Raquel Duer. Yes. Now if you are deeply 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.360 embedded in the boxing world, you might know 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.020 her by her monikers. She goes by LaTurca or the 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:25.379 absolutely brilliant Iron Barbie. Such a great 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:27.979 name. We are looking at a fighter who ultimately 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:31.259 racked up 29 professional fights, secured 20 00:02:31.259 --> 00:02:34.379 wins, and captured world championships across 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:36.879 three different weight classes. Which is astounding 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.000 on its own. But what makes her story elevate 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.360 from just, you know, a great sports trivia answer 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.659 into a profound case study is the context of 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:47.900 who she is outside the ring. Right. This isn't 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:50.159 just a linear narrative about training camps 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:53.919 and weight cuts and title belts. It is a masterful 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.800 study of intersectional identity. Yeah, that's 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.400 the part that really hooked me. We are looking 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.719 at an Argentine woman of Syrian descent who is 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:03.539 deeply rooted in the Jewish community. She navigated 00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:06.699 these profound ancient cultural backgrounds while 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.099 simultaneously bleeding and sweating in a world 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:12.020 of professional prize fighting. It's wild. She 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.620 shattered every arbitrary timeline the sports 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:17.740 world tries to enforce and she did it while representing 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:20.800 a crossroads of culture and faith that you almost 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.500 never see under the arena lights. Okay let's 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:25.939 unpack this because we really have to start at 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:28.319 the absolute beginning. Yeah we do. To really 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.080 understand the grit it takes to become a multi 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.740 -division world champion you have to look at 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:36.969 the soil she grew from. Carolina was born on 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:40.069 August 5, 1978. In Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires, 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:43.169 Argentina. And her background is this beautiful 00:03:43.169 --> 00:03:46.969 complex tapestry. She is the daughter of Syrian 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:49.789 immigrants, which makes her part of the Argentine 00:03:49.789 --> 00:03:52.110 Syrian Jewish community. What's fascinating here 00:03:52.110 --> 00:03:54.310 is we really need to pause and appreciate what 00:03:54.310 --> 00:03:56.610 that specific community looks like in Buenos 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:58.770 Aires. OK, set the scene for us. Well, Argentina 00:03:58.770 --> 00:04:01.189 has one of the largest Jewish populations in 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:04.030 the Americas, and the Syrian Jewish diaspora 00:04:04.030 --> 00:04:07.030 within that is incredibly tight knit. There is 00:04:07.030 --> 00:04:10.750 a massive emphasis on tradition, on family enterprise, 00:04:10.949 --> 00:04:13.849 on cultural preservation. Carolina was deeply 00:04:13.849 --> 00:04:16.149 embedded in those traditions from a very young 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:19.050 age. Yeah the sources say she attended the Jane 00:04:19.050 --> 00:04:21.709 Najman Bialik primary school in Buenos Aires 00:04:21.709 --> 00:04:24.209 which is a Jewish day school. Exactly and she 00:04:24.209 --> 00:04:26.250 was an active participant in the Maccabi club. 00:04:26.569 --> 00:04:28.649 Now for listeners who might not be familiar with 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:31.040 the Maccabi movement. What does that represent 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.699 in this context? So the Maccabi movement is this 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.800 international Jewish sports and community organization. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.439 It's essentially the hub of athletic and social 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.199 life for Jewish youth in many countries. It's 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:47.139 where you go to play basketball or soccer and 00:04:47.139 --> 00:04:49.199 really connect with your heritage. So she was 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.879 an athlete early on, but within this very structured, 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:54.540 community oriented environment. Furthermore, 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.420 she celebrated her bat mitzvah at the Iona Hebrew 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:01.829 Center, which is a noted in Buenos Aires. I have 00:05:01.829 --> 00:05:04.149 to jump in here, because I've been to conservative 00:05:04.149 --> 00:05:06.910 bat mitzvahs. Yeah. They are beautiful, deeply 00:05:06.910 --> 00:05:09.910 spiritual, traditional ceremonies. Yeah. But 00:05:09.910 --> 00:05:12.529 they do not exactly scream, you know, next stop, 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.449 Medicine Square Garden for a 10 -round bloodbath. 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:19.069 Exactly. The juxtaposition is completely jarring. 00:05:19.790 --> 00:05:22.730 If you trace the trajectory of a young girl growing 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:25.930 up in a traditional immigrant community, attending 00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:29.089 a conservative synagogue, learning Hebrew, participating 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:33.149 in the Maccabi club, the expected path is usually 00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:35.649 higher education, family business, perhaps a 00:05:35.649 --> 00:05:39.310 traditional profession. It rarely, if ever, leads 00:05:39.310 --> 00:05:42.110 to a boxing gym in Buenos Aires. Yeah, that's 00:05:42.110 --> 00:05:44.959 quite a pivot. There is a profound tension between 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:47.279 the quiet devotion of her religious upbringing 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.680 and the chaotic, visceral reality of a boxing 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.540 ring. And yet, she didn't abandon one identity 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:55.639 for the other. She synthesized them. And you 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:58.160 see that synthesis perfectly in the aliases she 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.279 adopted when she started fighting. Let's talk 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:01.860 about the nicknames, because they are iconic. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.699 They really are. First, you have La Turca. Now, 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.420 in many parts of Latin America, individuals of 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:09.560 Middle Eastern descent, whether Syrian, Lebanese, 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:12.259 or otherwise, are colloquially referred to as 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.839 turko, or turka. Because early immigrants often 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:16.980 arrived carrying passports from the Ottoman Empire. 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:19.699 Exactly. Some might see it as a reductive label, 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:22.639 but she completely owned it. She walked to the 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:25.819 ring as La Turca, wearing her Syrian heritage 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:28.500 -like armor. It's an aggressive reclamation of 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:31.680 her identity. By claiming LaTurca, she forces 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.040 the boxing world and the Argentine public to 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:36.120 acknowledge exactly where she comes from before 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.300 the opening bell even rings. But then she has 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.180 this other nickname that I am just obsessed with. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.759 Iron Barbie. Iron Barbie. Just think about those 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.120 two words slammed together. Yeah. You have Barbie, 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.879 this ultimate, almost stereotypical symbol of 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:53.399 conventional, pristine femininity. And it's attached 00:06:53.399 --> 00:06:58.089 to iron unyielding, cold, industrial, unbreakable. 00:06:58.189 --> 00:07:00.329 It's a masterclass in psychological framing. 00:07:00.889 --> 00:07:03.029 Nicknames in combat sports aren't just marketing 00:07:03.029 --> 00:07:05.350 tools. They dictate how an opponent perceives 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:08.089 you. Oh, for sure. If you walk in as the assassin 00:07:08.089 --> 00:07:10.990 or the destroyer, you are leaning entirely into 00:07:10.990 --> 00:07:13.990 the violence. By adopting Iron Barbie, she is 00:07:13.990 --> 00:07:16.370 forcing everyone to deal with cognitive dissonance. 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:19.279 I love that. She's essentially telling her opponents, 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.980 I refuse to abandon my femininity to exist in 00:07:22.980 --> 00:07:26.060 this violent space, but do not mistake my femininity 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:29.839 for fragility. I will break you. Wow. It forces 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:34.019 you as a spectator to confront whatever subconscious 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:37.779 biases you might have about what a female combat 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:40.480 athlete is supposed to look and act like. And 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.680 she wasn't just a catchy nickname either. She 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.980 was an absolute terror in the amateur ranks. 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:48.740 Let's look at her amateur record, because it 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:50.600 sets the stage for everything that follows. Let's 00:07:50.600 --> 00:07:53.279 hear it. She fought 20 times as an amateur. She 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:56.819 won 19 of those bouts. Yeah. 19 out of 20. That 00:07:56.819 --> 00:07:59.399 statistic is staggering. But let's break down 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:01.300 what an amateur boxing career actually looks 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:03.339 like, especially in Argentina, because it's very 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:05.040 different from the pros. Yeah, tell us about 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:07.300 that. Amateur boxing is about scoring points. 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:09.839 You are wearing headgear. The rounds are shorter, 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:11.980 usually two minutes instead of three for men, 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.199 though women's rounds are often two minutes across 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:16.560 the board anyway. The gloves have more padding. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.980 The objective isn't necessarily to knock the 00:08:18.980 --> 00:08:22.300 other person out, it's to land clean, undeniable 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.500 strikes that the judges sitting at ringside can 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.500 easily see. It's a game of physical chess played 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:32.259 at lightning speed. So to go 19 -1 in that environment? 00:08:33.370 --> 00:08:36.269 What does that actually require? Is it just raw 00:08:36.269 --> 00:08:39.350 power? No, raw power gets you disqualified or 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.470 out -pointed in the amateur. Really? Yeah. Because 00:08:41.470 --> 00:08:43.990 if you're just head hunting, a smarter, faster 00:08:43.990 --> 00:08:46.370 fighter will pepper you with jabs and rack up 00:08:46.370 --> 00:08:49.309 the score. Going 19 and 1 means her fight IQ 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:51.929 was off the charts. Go ahead. It means she understood 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:54.610 distance, pacing, and defensive responsibility 00:08:54.610 --> 00:08:57.149 better than almost anyone she faced. She wasn't 00:08:57.149 --> 00:08:59.409 just surviving the chaos. She was managing it. 00:08:59.590 --> 00:09:01.710 Managing the geometry of the ring? Precisely. 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:04.860 Yeah. is crucial. You don't get to 19 wins without 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:07.519 spending thousands of hours doing the unglamorous 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:09.980 work. Right. Jumping rope until your calves cramp, 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.039 hitting the speed bag until your knuckles bleed, 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:14.820 sparring against different styles. So she has 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:17.340 this incredible pedigree, this near flawless 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:19.700 amateur run, and then she decides to take the 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:22.000 headgear off, drop the padding from the gloves, 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:24.700 and turn professional. And this brings us back 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.440 to that staggering fact we teased at the start. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:32.679 Yes. She turns pro in 2007. Born in 1978, turning 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:36.679 pro in 2007. Doing the math. She was 29 years 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:38.820 old. 29. Now, we touched on this briefly, but 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:41.779 I really want to press you on this. Is 29 actually 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:44.440 biologically too late to start boxing, or is 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:46.779 that just an entrenched sports myth she happened 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:50.279 to expose? It's a combination of biological reality 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.240 and systemic sports bias. Let's look at the biology 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:56.240 first. OK. Boxing is one of the most anatomically 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.460 demanding activities a human being can undertake. 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:01.799 When you hit your late 20s, your cellular recovery 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:04.659 time naturally slows down. Right. The micro traumas. 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:07.429 and your joints take longer to heal. Your fast 00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:09.789 twitch muscle fibers, the ones responsible for 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:12.610 explosive speed and reaction time, begin a very 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:14.870 slow natural decline. So you're fighting an uphill 00:10:14.870 --> 00:10:18.269 battle against time. Exactly. Most fighters want 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:20.309 to front load their careers in their late teens 00:10:20.309 --> 00:10:23.009 and early 20s because they can recover from a 00:10:23.009 --> 00:10:25.049 grueling eight week training camp in a matter 00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:29.250 of days. At 29, your body holds on to the inflammation. 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:32.429 The aches stay with you longer. So she's fighting 00:10:32.429 --> 00:10:35.190 her biology from day one. She is. But it's also 00:10:35.190 --> 00:10:38.750 the systemic side. Promoters want to invest in 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:40.470 a 19 -year -old because they can build them up 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:42.990 over a decade. Sure, it's an investment. If you 00:10:42.990 --> 00:10:45.690 walk into a promoter's office at 29 with zero 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:48.070 pro fights, they look at you as a liability. 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:51.129 They assume you have maybe a three -year window 00:10:51.129 --> 00:10:54.210 before your body breaks down. Wow. So she wasn't 00:10:54.210 --> 00:10:56.389 just fighting her opponents. She had to fight 00:10:56.389 --> 00:10:59.250 the skepticism of every trainer, manager. and 00:10:59.250 --> 00:11:01.769 promoter in Buenos Aires who looked at her driver's 00:11:01.769 --> 00:11:04.690 license and said, thanks, but no thanks. And 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:07.029 the incredible thing is she actually silences 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:09.129 the doubters right out of the gate. She did. 00:11:09.409 --> 00:11:12.549 She makes her pro debut in September 2007 and 00:11:12.549 --> 00:11:15.529 gets a woman named Augustina Davaye Eibar. It's 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.230 a four round fight and Dewar wins it by unanimous 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:20.889 decision. A solid start. Then just three months 00:11:20.889 --> 00:11:24.149 later in December, she fights Eibar again and 00:11:24.149 --> 00:11:26.409 knocks her out in the third round. So she's 2 00:11:26.409 --> 00:11:29.019 and 0. The late start doesn't seem to be a problem 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:31.480 at all. She's the Iron Barbie. She's unstoppable. 00:11:31.820 --> 00:11:34.220 But professional boxing is a notoriously cruel 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:36.460 teacher. Yeah. Just when you think you have it 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:38.860 figured out, the sport introduces you to a new 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:40.960 level of suffering. And that suffering arrives 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:45.100 in 2008. If 2007 was the dream, 2008 was an absolute 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:47.440 nightmare. Let's look at the data for that year. 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.620 Right. On August 8, 2008, she travels to Club 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:54.100 Huracán in Tres Arroyos to fight Iván Anahí Córdova. 00:11:54.190 --> 00:11:57.169 It's a four round fight and Carolina loses by 00:11:57.169 --> 00:12:00.210 unanimous decision. All the judges saw her losing. 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:03.259 If we connect this to the bigger picture, a unanimous 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:05.419 decision loss early in your career is a wake 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:08.480 -up call. It means there is no controversy, no 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:10.879 bad judging, no lucky punch. You were simply 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.059 outboxed for 12 minutes. You have to go back 00:12:13.059 --> 00:12:15.340 to the gym and completely re -evaluate your fundamentals. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.379 So she goes back to the gym. She tries to correct 00:12:17.379 --> 00:12:20.220 the errors. Less than two months later, on September 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:23.799 27, she steps back into the ring against Natalia 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:27.059 del Pilar Berga. And she loses again. But this 00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:30.570 time, it's a majority decision loss. I want you 00:12:30.570 --> 00:12:33.190 to explain that to the listener because the terminology 00:12:33.190 --> 00:12:36.649 here is so important for understanding how agonizing 00:12:36.649 --> 00:12:38.769 this must have been. In professional boxing, 00:12:39.129 --> 00:12:41.590 there are three judges scoring the fight at ringside. 00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:44.909 A majority decision loss means that two of those 00:12:44.909 --> 00:12:47.710 three judges scored the fight in favor of your 00:12:47.710 --> 00:12:50.370 opponent, but the third judge scored it a dead 00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:52.889 even draw. So she didn't get blown out. She was 00:12:52.889 --> 00:12:55.309 literally on the razor's edge. Exactly. It is 00:12:55.309 --> 00:12:57.330 arguably more agonizing than getting knocked 00:12:57.330 --> 00:12:59.409 out. Really? Oh, absolutely. Because a majority 00:12:59.409 --> 00:13:01.429 decision means you were one round, maybe one 00:13:01.429 --> 00:13:05.370 clean punches away from salvaging a draw. It's 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:07.610 been the next month awake at night replaying. 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:10.009 every single missed jab, every time you let your 00:13:10.009 --> 00:13:12.289 hands drop for a second, knowing that if you 00:13:12.289 --> 00:13:14.730 had just pushed 3 % harder in the third round, 00:13:15.129 --> 00:13:16.889 your record wouldn't have a loss on it. It's 00:13:16.889 --> 00:13:19.429 a psychological torture chamber. And she is still 00:13:19.429 --> 00:13:21.190 stuck in that chamber when she takes her next 00:13:21.190 --> 00:13:24.889 fight just two months later on November 29, 2008 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:29.210 against Yanina Natalia Acuna. And she loses for 00:13:29.210 --> 00:13:33.350 a third time. Another four round majority decision 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:37.519 loss. Let's tally this up. She started at 29. 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:40.720 She is now 30 years old. Her professional record 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.779 is two wins and three losses, three straight 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:47.120 defeats. The walls have to be closing in at this 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:50.100 point. This is the exact crucible where 99 % 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:52.759 of athletic dreams go to die. Put yourself in 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:54.860 her locker room after that third loss. Yeah. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.860 You unwrap your hands. Your knuckles are bruised. 00:13:57.940 --> 00:14:00.179 Your face is swollen. You've sacrificed time 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:02.340 with your family. You've alienated yourself from 00:14:02.340 --> 00:14:04.480 the traditional expectations of your community. 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:06.879 You've pushed your 30 -year -old body to the 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.039 absolute limit. And the result is a losing record. 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:12.220 Exactly. The whispers in the gym start. The community 00:14:12.220 --> 00:14:14.980 members might be saying, with love, Carolina, 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.500 you tried. It was a noble effort. But maybe it's 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:19.539 time to come back to the real world. Right. I 00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:21.299 can only imagine the well -meaning aunts and 00:14:21.299 --> 00:14:23.269 uncles saying, You've had your fun, LaTurca. 00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:26.029 Come work at the business. Settle down. And no 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:28.429 one would have blamed her for walking away. If 00:14:28.429 --> 00:14:30.690 she quit at two and three, she would still be 00:14:30.690 --> 00:14:33.370 a formidable woman who tried her hand at pro 00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:36.350 boxing. The psychological weight of a three -fight 00:14:36.350 --> 00:14:39.210 losing skid is crushing. I can't even imagine. 00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:41.909 It makes you question not just your technique, 00:14:42.009 --> 00:14:44.830 but your fundamental worth as a fighter. Do I 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:48.250 have a glass jaw? Am I too slow? Was I arrogant 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:50.710 to think I could start at 29? But she doesn't 00:14:50.710 --> 00:14:53.509 walk away. And this is the moment this specific 00:14:53.509 --> 00:14:56.789 decision in early 2009 where she transcends from 00:14:56.789 --> 00:14:59.950 being just a boxer to becoming a legend. The 00:14:59.950 --> 00:15:03.230 turnaround. Exactly. Yeah. Remember Janina, Natalia 00:15:03.230 --> 00:15:05.870 Acuna, the woman who just handed Dewar her third 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:08.470 straight loss, pushing her to the brink of a 00:15:08.470 --> 00:15:11.049 failed career. Yeah. Dewar doesn't go to a promoter 00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:13.269 and ask for an easy rebound fight. She doesn't 00:15:13.269 --> 00:15:16.330 ask for a tomato can to pad her stats. She demands 00:15:16.330 --> 00:15:18.549 a rematch with Acuna. That is the essence of 00:15:18.549 --> 00:15:20.309 a champion's mentality right there. She wanted 00:15:20.309 --> 00:15:22.309 to run straight back into the fire that just 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:25.110 burned her. So April 4, 2009, they run it back. 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:28.649 Acuna versus Dewar 2. And Dewar wins. But it's 00:15:28.649 --> 00:15:31.389 not a blowout. She wins by a four round split 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:34.429 decision. And she isn't satisfied with just evening 00:15:34.429 --> 00:15:38.009 the score. On October 3, 2009, she fights Akuna 00:15:38.009 --> 00:15:40.710 for a third time, a trilogy fight against a woman 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:43.970 she already lost to once. Right. And Dewar wins 00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:46.169 the rubber match by another four round split 00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:48.350 decision. We need to dissect this. What is a 00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:50.169 split decision and what does it tell us about 00:15:50.169 --> 00:15:52.610 the nature of these fights? So a split decision 00:15:52.610 --> 00:15:55.429 is the most dramatic outcome in boxing. It means 00:15:55.429 --> 00:15:58.330 two judges scored the fight for you and one judge 00:15:58.330 --> 00:16:00.529 scored the fight for your opponent. It means 00:16:00.529 --> 00:16:03.649 the fight was so incredibly close, so tightly 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:06.309 contested that the professionals sitting inches 00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:09.500 from the action couldn't agree on who won. When 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.580 you have back -to -back split decision victories 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.059 against the same woman, it tells us that these 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:16.500 were absolute wars of attrition. Blood and guts 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:19.139 kind of fights. Exactly. There was no massive 00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:21.100 skill gap where Dior just danced around her. 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:22.940 She had to stand in the center of the ring and 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:25.460 bite down on her mouthpiece. It means she had 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:28.039 to stay mentally locked in for every single second 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:30.820 of every single round. If you lose focus for 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:33.000 10 seconds and take a clean combination, you 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:34.860 lose the round on the judge's scorecards and 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:37.659 you lose the fight. To win two split decisions 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:41.200 requires sheer unadulterated willpower. She had 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.220 to analyze her 2008 loss to Akuna, correct her 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:46.299 mistakes, and implement a completely new game 00:16:46.299 --> 00:16:47.960 plan against someone who walked into the ring 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:49.720 with the psychological high ground of knowing 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.559 they had already beaten her. She exercised her 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:55.019 demons in public, and coming out of that Akuna 00:16:55.019 --> 00:16:57.840 trilogy, Dewar is a completely different animal. 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:01.080 The forging of Iron Barbie. Yes. The self -doubt 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.580 is gone, she knows she can swim in the deep waters, 00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:07.200 and those two grueling victories spark a massive 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.240 run. In early 2010, she picks up two more unanimous 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:14.160 decision wins. Nice. And that momentum propels 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.519 her to a date with destiny. December 17th, 2010. 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:20.720 Doerr faces Loredana Piazza for the vacant world 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:24.380 boxing organization, the WBO female super flyweight 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:27.019 title. Let's contextualize this. The super flyweight 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:28.980 division means these women are fighting between 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:32.640 112 and 115 pounds. At that weight class, speed 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.980 is the primary currency. The punches come in 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:39.019 blistering combinations. And now she is fighting 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:41.900 for the WBO belt, which is one of the four major 00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:44.660 recognized world championships in boxing, alongside 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.480 the WBA, WBC, and IBF. This is the pinnacle of 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.000 the sport. The absolute top. She fights Piazza 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.859 for 10 rounds. And remember, she's used to fighting 00:17:53.859 --> 00:17:56.920 four or six rounds. Now she has to go 10 championship 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.819 rounds. That cardio demand is huge. And she wins. 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:04.200 A unanimous decision. The judges all agree. Carolina 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:06.680 Dewar is the champion of the world. The historical 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:09.279 significance here cannot be overstated. With 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:11.839 that win over Piazza, Carolina Dewar became the 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:15.319 eighth Argentine woman to hold a WBO boxing championship. 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:18.079 Amazing. That alone guarantees her a page in 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:20.279 the history books of a country that treats boxing 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:23.119 with a near religious fervor. But the second 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.440 milestone is the one that echoes far beyond Argentina. 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:27.799 Yes, tell us. She became the first Jewish woman 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:30.940 to ever hold a WBO crown. I want to really sit 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:32.640 with that for a second. Let's loop back to the 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.569 beginning of her story. from the halls of the 00:18:35.569 --> 00:18:38.190 Jane Nodgman Bialik Primary School, from the 00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:40.650 youth programs at the Maccabi Club, from reading 00:18:40.650 --> 00:18:43.789 the Torah at the Iona Hebrew Center, to standing 00:18:43.789 --> 00:18:46.970 in the center of a bloodstained canvas with a 00:18:46.970 --> 00:18:49.990 massive leather and gold world championship belt 00:18:49.990 --> 00:18:52.869 strapped around her waist. It is an unprecedented 00:18:52.869 --> 00:18:55.950 cultural collision. Think about what that image 00:18:55.950 --> 00:18:58.309 meant for the Syrian Jewish community in Buenos 00:18:58.309 --> 00:19:02.190 Aires and for Jewish athletes globally. Historically, 00:19:02.329 --> 00:19:04.650 the Golden Era The era of Jewish boxing was the 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:08.009 1920s and 30s in America fighters like Benny 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:11.009 Leonard and Barney Ross. But a Jewish woman in 00:19:11.009 --> 00:19:13.910 the 21st century holding a major world title, 00:19:13.950 --> 00:19:17.150 it was entirely unheard of. She broke an immense 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:19.670 invisible barrier. She really did. She proved 00:19:19.670 --> 00:19:22.210 that deep cultural and religious roots do not 00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:24.289 preclude you from marching the absolute apex 00:19:24.289 --> 00:19:26.869 of a combat sport. And what's wild is that she 00:19:26.869 --> 00:19:28.789 didn't just win the belt, take the photo op and 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:31.690 cash out. She did become a paper champion. No, 00:19:31.690 --> 00:19:34.190 she was actually She became one of the most active, 00:19:34.410 --> 00:19:36.690 dominant, fighting champions on the planet. If 00:19:36.690 --> 00:19:40.089 we trace her reign from 2011 to 2012, her schedule 00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:43.769 was relentlessly punishing. Most champions defend 00:19:43.769 --> 00:19:46.230 their belt maybe twice a year if they are active. 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.130 It takes a massive toll on the body to go through 00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:51.130 a championship training camp. Well, Dura defended 00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:54.130 her title six times in two years. Six times? 00:19:54.150 --> 00:19:57.130 That's absurd. Let's look at the murderer's row 00:19:57.130 --> 00:20:00.970 of women she faced to keep that belt. March 2011, 00:20:01.250 --> 00:20:03.990 she beats Aziza Ubaita by unanimous decision. 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:07.529 Just four months later, in July 2011, she fates 00:20:07.529 --> 00:20:10.250 Jenji Fleiss, and Dewar destroys her. She gets 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:12.549 a first -round technical knockout. A first round 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:15.190 TKO in a world title fight is incredibly rare, 00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:18.710 especially at 115 pounds. For the listener, a 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:20.269 technical knockout means the opponent didn't 00:20:20.269 --> 00:20:22.690 necessarily get knocked unconscious, but the 00:20:22.690 --> 00:20:25.049 referee had to step in and physically stop the 00:20:25.049 --> 00:20:26.869 fight because the opponent was taking too much 00:20:26.869 --> 00:20:29.009 undefended damage and was in serious danger. 00:20:29.170 --> 00:20:31.250 To do that in the first round means Dewar came 00:20:31.250 --> 00:20:33.349 out of the corner with absolute murderous intent. 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:35.230 She didn't feel the opponent out. She overwhelmed 00:20:35.230 --> 00:20:37.349 her instantly. She keeps the momentum going. 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:40.049 In November 2011, she gets a third round TKO 00:20:40.049 --> 00:20:43.000 against Maria Jose Nunes. then we hit 2012. Right. 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:45.059 She defends the bill three more times against 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:48.079 Milena Toronto, Karina Karlescu, and Marisa Johana 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:51.200 Portillo. And then at the end of 2012, she caps 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.619 off this insane run by facing Marcel Lacuna and 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:57.160 winning another 10 round unanimous decision. 00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:59.599 When you look at the totality of that championship 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.500 run and you analyze her overarching fight record, 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.039 you get a very clear picture of her physical 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:07.359 mechanics and her tactical style. What does the 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.099 data show? Out of her 20 professional wins, 14 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:12.779 came by way of decision and six came by knockout. 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:15.319 What that tells a boxing analyst is that Dewar 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.680 was primarily an endurance heavy tactical vol 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.079 - puncher meaning she wore people down over time 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:23.279 rather than relying on one lucky punch precisely 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:26.180 she had the cardiovascular capacity of a marathon 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.859 runner to consistently navigate those deep waters 00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:31.759 and win ten round unanimous decisions you have 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.740 to be able to throw combinations with the same 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:35.779 speed and velocity in round nine as you did in 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:38.019 round one it requires phenomenal conditioning 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:40.799 she was a ring general she dictated the pace 00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:43.809 But as we saw with the TKO against Fleiss, she 00:21:43.809 --> 00:21:45.829 wasn't just slapping for points. No, definitely 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:47.970 not. If her opponent showed weakness, if they 00:21:47.970 --> 00:21:50.650 dropped their guard, Dewar possessed the finishing 00:21:50.650 --> 00:21:53.369 power and the killer instinct to close the show 00:21:53.369 --> 00:21:56.109 violently. She was a spectacularly well -rounded 00:21:56.109 --> 00:21:58.750 champion. But eventually she essentially clears 00:21:58.750 --> 00:22:01.150 out the Superflyweight division. She's beaten 00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:02.950 everyone they put in front of her. So what does 00:22:02.950 --> 00:22:05.430 a true competitor do? This up. They look for 00:22:05.430 --> 00:22:08.990 a heavier challenge. In July 2013, she decides 00:22:08.990 --> 00:22:12.130 to abandon the division she rules and move up 00:22:12.130 --> 00:22:15.089 in weight to the bantamweight class. Now she 00:22:15.089 --> 00:22:18.390 is fighting between 115 and 118 pounds. Right. 00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:21.650 She challenges Mayra Alejandra Gomez for the 00:22:21.650 --> 00:22:24.690 vacant WBO female bantamweight title, and she 00:22:24.690 --> 00:22:27.950 wins it by a 10 round unanimous decision. She 00:22:27.950 --> 00:22:30.150 is now a two division world champion. I really 00:22:30.150 --> 00:22:32.589 want to emphasize how incredibly difficult it 00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:34.549 is to move up a weight class and instantly win 00:22:34.549 --> 00:22:36.809 a world title. Yeah, explain that, because three 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:38.730 pounds doesn't sound like a lot to the average 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:40.950 person. People hear three pounds and think it's 00:22:40.950 --> 00:22:43.190 nothing, but in the lower weight classes, three 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:45.549 pounds is a massive percentage of your total 00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:48.269 body mass. It completely alters the physics of 00:22:48.269 --> 00:22:50.430 the fight. because the women naturally fighting 00:22:50.430 --> 00:22:53.769 at 118 pounds are cutting down from 125 or 130. 00:22:53.769 --> 00:22:56.450 They're significantly bigger. Exactly. They have 00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:58.509 broader shoulders, thicker necks, and they hit 00:22:58.509 --> 00:23:01.109 substantially harder. When you move up, you're 00:23:01.109 --> 00:23:03.269 usually giving up a strength advantage. Right. 00:23:03.549 --> 00:23:06.130 The challenge for Dewar was maintaining her super 00:23:06.130 --> 00:23:09.029 flyweight speed and cardiovascular engine while 00:23:09.029 --> 00:23:11.029 carrying the extra weight and figuring out how 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:14.150 to absorb punches from women who naturally possess 00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:16.769 more power. And she did it. The fact that she 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:19.730 seamlessly transitioned to bantamweight and dominated 00:23:19.730 --> 00:23:22.690 Gomez for 10 rounds, speaks volumes about her 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:24.930 physical foundation and her defensive brilliance. 00:23:25.210 --> 00:23:27.869 She proved her skills scaled up. She defends 00:23:27.869 --> 00:23:30.750 that bantamweight title in December 2013 and 00:23:30.750 --> 00:23:34.509 again in July 2014. She is at the absolute peak 00:23:34.509 --> 00:23:37.109 of her powers. She is a multi -division world 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:40.329 champion, an Argentine icon, and a pioneer for 00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:42.430 her community. At the top of the mountain. And 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:44.970 right when most fighters would be screaming for 00:23:44.970 --> 00:23:47.430 the biggest possible payday, looking for cross 00:23:47.430 --> 00:23:49.710 -promotional megafights, Doerr does something 00:23:49.710 --> 00:23:51.910 completely unexpected. Yeah. She puts the gloves 00:23:51.910 --> 00:23:55.609 away. After her 2014 title defense, she steps 00:23:55.609 --> 00:23:58.220 out of the ring to be become a mother. This introduces 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:01.980 such a profound human layer to her athletic narrative. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.819 The decision to step away during your absolute 00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:08.220 prime is incredibly rare in combat sports, because 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:10.440 the fear is that if you leave, you can never 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:12.859 get that magic back. Right. And we have to talk 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:15.140 about the physical reality of what she chose 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.920 to do. The immense physiological toll of pregnancy, 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:22.299 childbirth, and postpartum recovery cannot be 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.339 overstated, especially for an elite athlete. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:26.660 Because a boxer's body is basically a sports 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:29.359 car. It's finely tuned for very specific functions. 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:32.180 Exactly. It is calibrated for explosive speed, 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:34.940 fast twitch muscle recruitment, and most importantly, 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:37.920 absorbing concussive impact. During pregnancy, 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:40.599 your body undergoes massive structural changes. 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:44.759 Your core muscles separate. Your cardiovascular 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:48.140 base completely shifts. Your body releases hormones 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:51.000 like relaxin, which literally loosens the ligaments 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:54.240 in your pelvis and joints. Wow. To undergo those 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.119 massive biological shifts and then to rebuild 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:59.640 that body, not just to look fit, but to return 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:02.200 to world -class championship -level fighting 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:05.119 conditioning is a monumental undertaking. It's 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:07.200 starting from below zero. Which makes what happens 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:10.000 next one of the most inspiring sequences in modern 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.920 boxing. Yeah. Because here's where it gets really 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:14.039 interesting. She didn't just have a child and 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:16.420 retire gracefully. No, she didn't. After stepping 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:19.140 away, after giving birth, after that grueling, 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:22.319 agonizing process of rebuilding her core, regaining 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.880 her cardio, and hardening her bones again. She 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:28.180 makes her return. On August 26, 2016, Carolina 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:30.619 Dewar steps back through those ropes. She faces 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.259 a tough Brazilian boxer named Aline Scaranello, 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.099 and they aren't fighting a tune -up bout. They're 00:25:36.099 --> 00:25:38.420 fighting for the interim IBF World Bantamweight 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:41.440 title. For clarity, an interim title usually 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:43.460 happens when the current champion is injured 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:46.380 or unavailable to defend the belt, so the sanctioning 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:48.819 body creates an interim belt to keep the division 00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:51.900 moving. The winner is universally recognized 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:54.279 as a world champion and usually guaranteed a 00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:56.559 unification fight with the full champion later. 00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:59.740 Right, so the stakes couldn't be higher. And 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:01.779 Dewar doesn't just squeak by with a cautious 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:04.960 decision. She absolutely dismantles Garinello. 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:08.880 In the seventh round, Dewar unleashes a barrage 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:12.220 of strikes, the referee steps in, and Dewar wins 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:14.440 by technical knockout. Yeah. She returns from 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:17.119 maternity leave and violently claims the IBF 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:19.900 World Title. That outcome is staggering. To return 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:21.859 to the professional ring after childbirth is 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:24.440 a massive achievement in itself. To return and 00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:26.759 immediately fight for a world title is extraordinary, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:29.799 but to win that world title by a late round technical 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.940 knockout, that is a definitive, terrifying statement 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:35.420 to the rest of the division. Why specifically 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.420 the seventh round stoppage? Why is that so impressive 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:41.960 to you? Because a seventh round TKO proves that 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:44.920 her physical endurance was completely undiminished. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:47.720 It wasn't a lucky early knockout where she caught 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:50.880 Scarinello cold. Right. She spent six grueling 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:53.799 rounds wearing her opponent down, absorbing damage, 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:56.480 managing her oxygen, and maintaining intense 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:59.119 offensive pressure until Scarinello literally 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.980 couldn't defend herself anymore. Incredible. 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:03.279 It proved her punching power was intact, her 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.519 chin was intact, and her killer instinct was 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:08.670 as sharp as ever. It completely obliterates any 00:27:08.670 --> 00:27:11.309 archaic narrative that motherhood somehow softens 00:27:11.309 --> 00:27:14.650 a fighter's edge. For Dewar, it seemingly only 00:27:14.650 --> 00:27:17.369 sharpened her resolve. She became more dangerous. 00:27:17.809 --> 00:27:20.730 She was later elevated to the full IBF champion. 00:27:21.230 --> 00:27:23.329 And from there, we enter the latter arch of her 00:27:23.329 --> 00:27:25.549 career, which becomes a testament to unbelievable 00:27:25.549 --> 00:27:28.190 longevity. Yeah, the later years. Now, she doesn't 00:27:28.190 --> 00:27:30.980 stay undefeated forever. Boxing always exacts 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:33.619 its toll. She loses the IBF title in her first 00:27:33.619 --> 00:27:36.579 defense in August 2017 to Maria Cecilia Roman 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:39.180 by a split decision. They run it back a year 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:42.339 later in August 2018 and Roman wins another split 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:44.589 decision. Notice the recurring theme here. Even 00:27:44.589 --> 00:27:47.009 when she loses, she loses by split decisions. 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:49.210 Yeah, good point. She is never being blown out 00:27:49.210 --> 00:27:51.609 of the water. She is always incredibly competitive, 00:27:51.710 --> 00:27:54.250 always making the judges argue over who actually 00:27:54.250 --> 00:27:56.690 won. Exactly. And she just keeps fighting. Most 00:27:56.690 --> 00:27:58.829 fighters would lose those two title fights and 00:27:58.829 --> 00:28:01.869 say, I'm 40 years old now. I won titles in multiple 00:28:01.869 --> 00:28:04.190 divisions. I have a child. I'm done. Hang up 00:28:04.190 --> 00:28:07.309 the gloves. Not do her. In October 2019, she 00:28:07.309 --> 00:28:09.910 travels to enemy territory in Mexico to fight 00:28:09.910 --> 00:28:12.569 Mariana Juarez for the WBC Bantamweight title. 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:15.670 She loses a unanimous decision, but goes all 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:18.190 10 rounds. Still going the distance. In November 00:28:18.190 --> 00:28:22.190 2019, she fights to a 10 round draw against Marianela 00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:25.329 Soledad -Ramirez. She picks up a win in August 00:28:25.329 --> 00:28:28.650 2021. And then we hit the most recent fight listed 00:28:28.650 --> 00:28:32.960 on her record. April 29, 2023, she fought Gabriella 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:36.660 Bouvier for the vacant interim WBC female super 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:38.660 bantamweight silver title. What weight class 00:28:38.660 --> 00:28:40.460 was that? Super bantamweight. So she's moved 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:43.099 up again fighting between 118 and 122 pounds. 00:28:43.180 --> 00:28:46.519 Wow. She loses a hard fought 10 round split decision. 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:49.059 But I want to remind the listener of her birthdate. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.880 August 1978 in April 2023, Carolina Dewar was 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:57.039 44 years old. That's just wild. 44 years old, 00:28:57.140 --> 00:28:59.440 stepping into a professional boxing ring, moving 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.099 up another weight class and going 10 rounds for 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:05.039 a WBC title. It is a phenomenal testament to 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:07.359 her absolute passion for the craft of boxing. 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:11.380 Think about the timeline. She turned pro in 2007 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:14.640 at age 29 when everyone told her it was too late. 00:29:15.369 --> 00:29:19.269 16 years later, she is still fighting at a championship 00:29:19.269 --> 00:29:22.430 level. Even in her final recorded bouts, she 00:29:22.430 --> 00:29:24.210 wasn't taking exhibition matches or fighting 00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:28.089 novices. She was fighting 10 -round title eliminators 00:29:28.089 --> 00:29:31.250 against world -class contenders. And she was 00:29:31.250 --> 00:29:34.009 losing by split decisions, which means at 44, 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:36.789 she was still technically and physically capable 00:29:36.789 --> 00:29:39.170 of outboxing women a decade younger than her 00:29:39.170 --> 00:29:41.609 for large portions of a fight. It's unbelievable. 00:29:41.829 --> 00:29:44.250 It shows an athlete who was not solely motivated 00:29:44.109 --> 00:29:46.269 motivated by the vanity of holding belts, but 00:29:46.269 --> 00:29:49.210 by the pure intrinsic challenge of testing her 00:29:49.210 --> 00:29:51.490 absolute physical and mental limits against the 00:29:51.490 --> 00:29:53.470 very best in the world, over and over again. 00:29:53.529 --> 00:29:55.630 And as if conquering the boxing world and rewriting 00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:58.789 the rules of athletic aging wasn't enough, Dewar 00:29:58.789 --> 00:30:00.910 also managed to carve out a completely unique 00:30:00.910 --> 00:30:03.289 space for herself outside the ring. Let's talk 00:30:03.289 --> 00:30:05.349 about the television stuff. Yes. Let's look at 00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:08.109 her expansion into media and television, because 00:30:08.109 --> 00:30:10.430 LaTurca was building her brand in some truly 00:30:10.430 --> 00:30:14.109 wild, unexpected ways. In 2013, Right in the 00:30:14.109 --> 00:30:16.970 middle of her WBO championship reign, she signs 00:30:16.970 --> 00:30:19.650 up for a reality TV show in Argentina called 00:30:19.650 --> 00:30:22.509 Celebrity Splash. Oh my goodness. Now, if you 00:30:22.509 --> 00:30:24.809 aren't familiar with this global franchise, it 00:30:24.809 --> 00:30:27.089 is a show that literally teaches celebrities 00:30:27.089 --> 00:30:29.809 the art of high diving into an Olympic pool. 00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:32.369 That's amazing. She was a contestant and she 00:30:32.369 --> 00:30:35.049 made it to round two, part three. before being 00:30:35.049 --> 00:30:37.509 eliminated. You have to laugh at the sheer absurdity 00:30:37.509 --> 00:30:40.150 of the pivot there. Right, from dodging left 00:30:40.150 --> 00:30:42.750 hooks to trying to execute a reverse pike off 00:30:42.750 --> 00:30:45.819 a 10 meter platform. It's brilliant though. From 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:48.140 a brand building perspective, it is a fascinating 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:51.059 and highly effective move. Participating in a 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:53.779 mainstream, lighthearted reality show like Celebrity 00:30:53.779 --> 00:30:56.740 Splash while she was actively defending her brutal, 00:30:56.900 --> 00:30:59.519 violent boxing titles helped transition her. 00:30:59.960 --> 00:31:02.160 Well, she went from being just a famous athlete 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:05.019 known strictly to hardcore boxing purists into 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:08.200 a broader mainstream cultural figure in Argentine 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:11.319 living rooms. It humanized her. Yeah, that makes 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:13.539 sense. It allowed the public to see the Iron 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:15.930 Barbie in a completely different different vulnerable 00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:18.750 context. She was learning a new skill, facing 00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:21.029 a completely different kind of fear, the fear 00:31:21.029 --> 00:31:24.089 of heights and water, and participating in family 00:31:24.089 --> 00:31:27.970 entertainment. It expanded her demographic exponentially. 00:31:28.069 --> 00:31:29.630 And she didn't just stay in front of the camera 00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:32.529 as a reality contestant. She moved behind the 00:31:32.529 --> 00:31:36.329 microphone. In 2014, Dear began to announce boxing 00:31:36.329 --> 00:31:39.230 on national public television in Argentina. She 00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:41.930 literally became the broadcast voice of the sport. 00:31:42.130 --> 00:31:44.049 Which is a transition that raises an important 00:31:44.049 --> 00:31:45.990 question. about the life cycle of professional 00:31:45.990 --> 00:31:48.660 athletes. How do you stay connected to the sport 00:31:48.660 --> 00:31:50.839 that has defined your entire identity when you 00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:52.740 know you can't fight forever? You have to find 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:54.740 a new avenue. Moving to the announcer's desk 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:57.319 is the smartest play you can make. And a fighter 00:31:57.319 --> 00:31:59.799 of her specific caliber brings an incredibly 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.539 intimate, visceral knowledge of the ring to the 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:05.099 broadcast. Because she isn't just reciting stats. 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:07.640 She knows exactly what the fighters are feeling. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:10.539 Exactly. When she sits ringside and watches two 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:13.519 fighters exchange blows, she isn't just describing 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.960 the action for the audience. She understands 00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:18.660 the exact the exact cardiovascular strain the 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:20.579 fighter in the blue corner is feeling in round 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:24.259 eight. She recognizes the subtle tactical adjustments 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:26.779 a fighter makes when their lead hand gets tired. 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:29.539 She knows the psychology of suffering a deep 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:32.220 cut over the eye or the sheer panic of being 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:34.279 backed against the ropes by a heavier puncher. 00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:36.960 She lived it. It allows her to translate the 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.680 violent reality of the sport to the audience 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:41.000 at home in a way a traditional broadcaster never 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:43.900 could. It built her a sustainable post -fighting 00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:46.779 career while cementing her authority as a premier 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:49.500 voice in Latin American boxing. And she clearly 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:51.569 caught the television bug. because the list of 00:32:51.569 --> 00:32:55.410 her appearances just keeps going. In 2014, she 00:32:55.410 --> 00:32:57.789 appeared on an intense physical competition show 00:32:57.789 --> 00:33:00.390 called Combat, acting as a trainer and mentor 00:33:00.390 --> 00:33:02.630 for the green team. Giving back. And even more 00:33:02.630 --> 00:33:05.670 recently, in 2023, the exact same year she was 00:33:05.670 --> 00:33:08.690 still fighting for a WBC silver title at age 00:33:08.690 --> 00:33:11.710 44, she appeared as a contestant on the Challenge 00:33:11.710 --> 00:33:14.990 Argentina, El Disafio, though she was the first 00:33:14.990 --> 00:33:17.349 eliminated there. When you synthesize all of 00:33:17.349 --> 00:33:19.809 this media presence alongside her boxing record, 00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:22.930 you start to see a much broader, much more fascinating 00:33:22.930 --> 00:33:25.789 portrait of Carolina Dewar. Yeah, it's not just 00:33:25.789 --> 00:33:28.309 about fighting. She isn't just a boxer. She is 00:33:28.309 --> 00:33:32.529 a multifaceted entertainer, a coach, a broadcaster 00:33:32.529 --> 00:33:36.150 and a deeply curious public personality who continuously 00:33:36.150 --> 00:33:39.170 seeks out new arenas to test herself. Exactly. 00:33:39.390 --> 00:33:41.170 Whether he's coaching a team of young athletes 00:33:41.170 --> 00:33:44.230 on combat, analyzing a championship bout on national 00:33:44.230 --> 00:33:46.660 television or subjecting herself to the physical 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:49.240 obstacle courses of the challenge, she demonstrates 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:52.259 a relentless insatiable desire to push beyond 00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:54.680 her comfort zone. It's that same drive. It's 00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:56.880 the exact same psychological profile that allowed 00:33:56.880 --> 00:33:59.539 her a walk into a boxing gym at 29 years old. 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:01.920 She fundamentally refuses to be defined by a 00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:04.720 single label. So we have covered a massive amount 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:07.079 of ground here today. We've explored the rich 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:09.579 cultural foundations of her Syrian Jewish upbringing. 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:13.340 We dissected the rocky agonizing start to her 00:34:13.340 --> 00:34:15.510 pro career and those three three devastating 00:34:15.510 --> 00:34:18.650 early losses. The Crucible. We tracked her championship 00:34:18.650 --> 00:34:21.670 glory across the Superflyway and Bantamweight 00:34:21.670 --> 00:34:25.110 divisions. We marveled at her incredible post 00:34:25.110 --> 00:34:27.409 -maternity knockout return, her unbelievable 00:34:27.409 --> 00:34:30.389 longevity fighting into her mid -40s, and her 00:34:30.389 --> 00:34:32.769 expansion into a beloved television personality. 00:34:33.650 --> 00:34:35.849 Looking at the totality of the life and career 00:34:35.849 --> 00:34:38.530 of Carolina Raquel Duerre, what is the ultimate 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:41.099 takeaway? The ultimate takeaway is that Carolina 00:34:41.099 --> 00:34:44.099 Dewar is a living, breathing masterclass in defying 00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:46.940 expectations. Every single time the prevailing 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:49.500 narrative, the sports science, or the cultural 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:52.840 norms suggested she should fail, she simply rewrote 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:55.940 the script. She successfully balanced distinct, 00:34:56.219 --> 00:34:58.900 deeply rooted cultural identities while dominating 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:00.900 a space that is almost never associated with 00:35:00.900 --> 00:35:04.039 her background. She proved that the path to absolute 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:06.960 greatness is rarely, if ever, a straight line. 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:09.820 You can start your professional athletic career 00:35:09.820 --> 00:35:13.579 at 29 years old. You can lose three consecutive 00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:15.739 fights in your first year. Which would break 00:35:15.739 --> 00:35:18.539 most people. It would. You can step away from 00:35:18.539 --> 00:35:20.820 your physical prime to start a family. And you 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:23.019 can still return to become a multi -weight world 00:35:23.019 --> 00:35:26.420 champion, a media star, and a historic icon. 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:31.440 Her legacy is undeniable proof that sheer resilience 00:35:32.150 --> 00:35:34.670 adaptability, and an irrational belief in yourself 00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:37.969 are infinitely more valuable than following society's 00:35:37.969 --> 00:35:40.690 conventional timelines. That is incredibly powerful. 00:35:40.809 --> 00:35:42.590 I want to turn this directly to you the listener. 00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:45.449 Take a moment and think about your own life, 00:35:45.730 --> 00:35:48.130 your own goals, and the arbitrary timelines you 00:35:48.130 --> 00:35:50.190 might be imposing on yourself right now. Yeah, 00:35:50.250 --> 00:35:52.250 think about that. How often have you looked at 00:35:52.250 --> 00:35:54.909 a dream, a career pivot, a new language you wanted 00:35:54.909 --> 00:35:56.789 to learn or a physical challenge you wanted to 00:35:56.789 --> 00:35:58.769 undertake and thought, I'm too old or it's too 00:35:58.769 --> 00:36:00.809 late for me to start or people from my background 00:36:00.809 --> 00:36:03.099 don't do things like that? Carolina Dewar's story 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:05.400 completely and utterly shatters those excuses. 00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:07.860 It absolutely dismantles them. And I want to 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:09.679 leave you with this final provocative thought 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:11.940 to mull over today. Let's hear it. If a woman 00:36:11.940 --> 00:36:14.099 can step into a professional boxing ring for 00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:17.760 the very first time at 29 years old, suffer three 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:20.159 agonizing defeats in a row right at the beginning, 00:36:20.739 --> 00:36:23.079 take time off to have a child, and still conquer 00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:25.460 the world to become a multi -division world champion 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:28.380 and a historic pioneer for her community, what 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:31.579 arbitrary It's too late for me. Narrative in 00:36:31.579 --> 00:36:34.400 your own life is completely fundamentally false. 00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:37.119 Wow. What could you achieve if you stopped looking 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:39.239 at the calendar and just stepped into the ring? 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:42.340 What a profound question to end on. Thank you 00:36:42.340 --> 00:36:44.360 so much for joining us on this deep dive into 00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:47.500 the extraordinary, expectation -defying life 00:36:47.500 --> 00:36:50.820 of La Turca, Carolina Dewar. Keep questioning 00:36:50.820 --> 00:36:53.239 those timelines. Keep discovering the incredible 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:55.480 stories hidden in the margins of history, and 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:57.340 we will catch you on the next deep dive.