Saving ass, kicking ass

Social volunteering and top sparring

Montréal – Heather Barker isn’t just a fighter. She’s also active in the Catholic church and involved as a volunteer in social initiatives whenever she has time. What is she up to on a recuperation day?

We catch up with her in a public library. She’s involved in a book club for kids and adolescents who struggle with mental health. The activity is sponsored by the Synapses foundation, which has her friend Veronica Lillegard as ambassador and former president.

One of the kids, Dominic Tremblay, suffers from an anxiety disorder. He asks for a personal reading recommendation after a club session. Heather hands him the first volume of the Harry Potter series.

Although thankful, he has a few questions.

Dominic: “Heather. I wonder. I read criticism about the author. Should I be reading this?”

Heather: “I understand why you’re asking. The first thing is… do you agree with everyone’s opinions on social questions, on every topic? Of course not. There’s a conflict of ideas in our world and that’s normal. The book you are holding, though? It’s the first part of a series that made hundreds of millions of people start reading. Now, whether the same people read for information or pleasure, they get a lot out of it. Independently of whether they like the author’s opinions. You could join them.”

Dominic: “I see.”

Heather: “The second thing is… if the author is wrong. What then? Think about something that can happen to anyone. Are we defined by our mistakes or can we learn from them?”

Dominic: “Always learning. I think.”

Heather: “Always. See yourself as a student of life and you’ll do the right thing most of the time, Dominic.”

Dominic: “Ok. By the way. The book club. You make a living in boxing. Why do you do this?”

Heather: “It’s not about an obligation. Helping people makes me happy. If your life is better because I encouraged you to read, I’ve done something right.”

Dominic: “Hmmm. Makes sense.”

She gives him a light hug.

Heather: “Give the books a chance. I swear you’ll love them.”

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Berlin – Leyla Abdul is speaking in front of an unusual audience. Former convicts who have gone through hoops in rehab, wishing to find their path to a better life. The gig is a symbolically paid one, and she said yes because she wishes to make a difference to at least someone.

Introduced as an elite fighter, Leyla owns the theme.

Leyla: “So. You messed up. Some of you dealt drugs. You did petty crime. You made wrong decisions and you’ve paid the price for it. Life knocked you down. Now what? You wanna clean toilets in prison?”

They have a bit of a laugh.

Leyla: “Obviously not. The people who made it to this room have done enough to show that there is more to life than taking advantage of others. How do you define it? We don’t know, but there’s got to be better. Do you agree with that? Then stay here. Do you disagree with my statement? Then I give you a minute to leave the room.”

The fighter starts a timer on her phone, and notices that no one leaves the auditorium.

Leyla: “You all stayed. Good. By doing that, you agreed to fight back. It means that no matter what you did before, you are ready to make the future better. How that that shape up? Only you know it. What do you fancy? Using cooking skills to start a restaurant? Picking up an engineeering degree? What else? Give it a think. Make it happen. You only live once. Might as well give it a meaning.”

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How does training go?

In Montréal, Heather treats herself to a full six-week camp with paid sparring partners.  While she doesn’t offer the rates of a world champion, working with one of the world’s finest Lightweights and some money never fail to attract.

An American amateur Welterweight champion proves especially useful in sparring. Caitlin Brown is no Philly shell specialist like Leyla, but she does a fantastic job at reproducing her punching motions from similar angles. This makes the White Swan practice techniques that will be handy in competition.

Sylvie: “That’s it. When she throws that trailing right hook, you step outside of its range!”

Heather Caitlin 1-1
Heather Caitlin 1-2
Heather Caitlin 1-3

Having worked many times with Alesia Schumann in the past makes Heather familiar with the way the punches are thrown, given the specific technique and angles.

A good mind doesn’t hurt either when it comes to finding defensive solutions. Heather startles Caitlin by simply leaning to the left to block a right uppercut with her shoulder.

Sylvie: “Damn. Not a move you wanna repeat all the time because she’d time it, but this is brilliant.”

Heather Caitlin 2-1
Heather Caitlin 2-2
Heather Caitlin 2-3

Leyla is going through camp in Berlin as well. She recently joined the gym managed by Maxim Weiss. The coach who took on a few rebuilding projects in the past couple of years welcomed a German Lightweight champion with open arms.

Melanie Spitzer, the German Super Lightweight champion, joined for many sparring sessions.

Leyla: “How do you like my gloves?”

Melanie: “I can’t believe you’re wearing Alesia’s series of gloves with me.”

Leyla grins: “It will make hitting you more fun.”

Being in the ring with Melanie is tough, though. The blonde doesn’t have feathery hands and she’s fond of giving pain to anyone who stands in front of her, whether they are enemies or the friendliest sparring partners.

It gets competitive and rough even to Leyla’s taste. Melanie doesn’t hesitate to expose the smallest mistake or pattern. Just as Heather did to Caitlin, she finds a way to step outside to counter the right hook.

Leyla Melanie 1-1
Leyla Melanie 1-2

The Muslim boxer is, however, a true warrior. She reasserts dominance with a high work rate and a persistence that stun even a determined visitor.

Leyla: “You should have worn headgear. Gonna leave a mark or two in that pretty little face.”

Leyla Melanie 2-1
Leyla Melanie 2-2
Leyla Melanie 2-3

New pairing

It’s showtime at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver! We join the Star Sports 2 telecast. After a brief introduction by Jim and Warren, the warriors walk out and are officially presented.

Ring announcer: “Introducing first and fighting out of the red corner. She is wearing black, white and red. She weighed in at 134.5 pounds, and she is trained by former world champion Maxim Weiss at No BS Gym in Berlin. Her record stands at 12 wins, 5 of them by way of knockout, and one loss. Ranked number four in the Lightweight division, she is Leyla ‘The Volcano’ Abduuuuuuuulllll!”

She gets a polite response from the crowd.

Intro Leyla

Ring announcer: “Her opponent across the ring is fighting out of the blue corner. She is wearing black and white and she weighed in at 134.7 pounds. She is trained by Sylvie Chouinard at Boxers Inc in Montréal. Her professional record stands at 11 wins, 6 of them by way of knockout, and one loss. She is the number two contender at Lightweight… a bird with a punch… Heather ‘THE WHITE SWAN’ BAARRRRRRRKEERRRRRRR!”

Jim: “The audience is getting very loud around here and it’s understandable. Vancouver gets a pro fight card only once every few years and a young woman from their province headlines as a top contender.”

Intro Heather

Advantage Swan

Jim: “On to our battle points. I believe that you see Barker going into this one with a clear advantage.”

Warren: “You can sure read a teleprompter correctly, man. Anyway. What you see on the screen may suggest that the Canadian has a more complete skill set than her opponent. She hits harder, controls the pace better, moves more quickly, has a better defense and a strong slate of past opponents.”

Side by side Heather Leyla

Warren: “Does it mean that Abdul is getting thrown to the lions? Not quite. She can be successful in this fight if she makes it a war, which is essential to her style. While not a swarmer, she’s a trader. Today, she should take the body. Astrid Olsson has shown that if there’s a chink in Barker’s armor, it is downstairs.”

Battle points Leyla

Warren: “This makes me say that Barker should put emphasis on control to avoid getting caught in a wild battle. Her recent history is scattered with examples of injuries when she finds her range and picks her shots. That, coupled with tenacity, makes her hands dangerous.”

Jim: “Thank you. Your segment didn’t suck as much as I expected.”

Warren: “I’m so flattered.”

Battle points Heather

Who’s the boss?

Akane: “Alright girls. Come here. We went over the unified rules in the dressing rooms. This fight is scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds. There is no three-knockdown rule. There is no standing eight-count. You cannot be saved by the bell in any round. In case of an accidental headbutt after Round 4, we go to the scorecards. If you knock your opponent down, you have to go to a neutral corner before I start a count. If you foul intentionally, I will deduct a point. The second time, you’re disqualified. Protect yourself at all times. Obey my command at all times. Give us a good clean fight and remember that I’m the boss here. Touch gloves.”

Two smiling combatants give each other a friendly tap before returning to their corners.

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Jim: “Two excellent fighters are set to throw hands in a minute. Stay tuned for Round 1.”

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Pacific Conflict
Heather Barker
Heather Barker
A religious, caring and ambitious woman from Canada, now based in Marseille. One of the most tenacious boxers in the sport.
Leyla Abdul
Leyla Abdul
A Muslim boxer who doesn't mind going to war, works with the Philly shell and trades with anyone. A German Lightweight champion.