NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Training three times a day is nothing for Stevie Morgan.
This boxer is conditioned to take pain. To push her body to the limits and beyond. But put her on a poster alongside one of the top boxers in the world, and that’s something she’ll have to get used to.
This Tampa native is about to show off to the entire boxing world. She’s on the undercard of YouTube sensation-turned-boxing champion Jake Paul’s latest fight at Amalie Arena.
“I’m born and raised here, so I know people are going to show up and show out, and I’m excited to perform win front of our city,” she said.
Morgan is training for the biggest fight of her young boxing life. Only two years since she turned pro, she’ll be taking on the current featherweight champion, Amanda Serrano. She’s the Apollo Creed to Morgan’s Rocky.
“It’s really a dream come true for her,” said Monyette Flowers, owner of Flowers Boxing Lab, where Stevie trains. “She deserves everything she gets, and it’s just her time. Her time to shine.”
Morgan grew up surrounded by sports. She played basketball and ran track at Gaither High School. She also played tackle football at one point. But boxing tapped into a strength she didn’t know she had. It taught her how mentally tough she is.
“Our brain is our protective mechanism, so of course your brain wants to tell you, ‘Woah, woah, woah,’” Morgan said. “But every day when you’re pushing it past your mental, that’s how you get stronger.”
And that strength is on display for all to see. Morgan is acutely aware that there will be young girls watching her fight. And that she will be an inspiration for some who will want to be just like her.
Morgan’s out to prove that boxing isn’t just a man’s world.
“That’s what we do it for,” she said. “To show other girls and women that you can do it too.”