HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) – A fighter who spent much of her life training others, including a Hollywood star, stepped into the ring and under the lights at Hard Rock Live.
A day before her Friday fight, two-time world boxing champion Maureen Shea sat down with 7News.
What a lot of people don’t know is that the Delray Beach native first met and then trained actress Hillary Swank to box for her iconic role in Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby.”
“We became sparring partners, and it was a great experience,” she said. “You know, the respect I have for Hilary is because she really owned the role as a fighter, but she worked her butt off. She was in that gym for hours.”
Being a part of the Academy Award-winning film got Shea noticed by boxing trainers. She went from amateur fighting to the pros.
Now, at age 43, she’s still in the fight game, with a 32-2 record and 13 knockouts.
“I’ve got to stay busy. I mean, I think the most important thing is to stay busy [with] fights,” she said, “and also, it’s not about about stepping up at this point, because I’ve already fought at the highest levels, and I have the résumé to prove that I’m deserving of another world title.”
Her next fight is just another checklist.
“I don’t do this ’cause I have to; I do it ’cause I want to,” she said, “and I think that’s most dangerous than anything else.”
Three of Friday night’s seven bouts at Hard Rock Live will be for titles. For Shea, aka the real Million Dollar Baby, it was another fight to win another championship.
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