Britney Teasley boxed for the first time in April in the U.S. Forces Europe boxing championships, where she won two fights and was named most outstanding female boxer.

Did you have to get yourself feeling mean and angry to go into the ring?

No. (Laughs) One thing about me, when it comes to any kind of sport I’d rather do it when I’m not angry.

Why?

I learned from the past from other sports such as basketball or softball that if you play mad, you don’t, like …

But the other person is trying to hit you!

Right, but I depend more on my skills in sports than anything.

What is it like to connect with a really good punch?

A thrill. (Big smile.) When you connect with a really good punch, it kind of pumps you up a little bit more.

Do you feel sorry that you hit somebody?

No. I feel gooood, actually. That’s what you’re in there for.

On the other hand, what’s it like to take a good punch?

With me, half the time I don’t feel it. I can feel the effect like if my head goes one way, but feeling, like, a sting? No, I’d be too pumped up.

What’s the hardest thing about boxing?

Breathing. Keeping your wind. If you’re like me and have a natural talent, if you can move and hit, then breathing is the hardest thing you have to worry about. If you’ve never fought and you don’t have any natural talent, then everything would be hard. Like taking hits, and hitting.

Why breathing — because you’re nervous in the ring?

No. I think it’s one of the toughest sports there is. People say you just go in there and box and you’re not doing much, but moving and keeping your breath and moving around and taking hits, even getting hit in the low body area, takes breath from you.

Have you ever been bloodied? Bloody lip or bloody nose?

No.

You ever give one?

No.

So neither of these two women you fought, you saw blood?

No.

Did you want to?

Yeah.

That’s horrible.

That’s what we’re in there for.

Do you have a hero boxer?

I like Mike Tyson a lot. He goes in the ring and does what he’s got to do. The way he fought, he fought more out of hatred and anger than anything.

Did you ever bite anybody’s ear?

No.

Are you going to continue to box?

Not sure. If it comes down to it I may. It is a very dangerous sport. If I’m not making money doing it, or if it’s not launching a career, if I can’t do something big with it, then probably not.

If you punched me, would it hurt?

Would it hurt you? Probably.

Pfc. Britney Teasley

Age: 21

Title: Boxer (Day job: Communications specialist, 52nd Signal Battalion, Stuttgart, Germany)

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