Bozemanite Amy Sowers is currently the best American female boxer in her 106 lb. flylight division. She earned that title this past March in Colorado Springs, CO. She is a soft spoken, charismatic, determined, and empowering woman. Her motivation and drive for her sport are unrivaled, because she trains in Bozeman entirely by herself.

Sowers grew up watching fighting on television with her dad, and she’s always had an interest in boxing. “It was always one of those sports I wanted to do in high school,” Sowers admits, but there were no boxing clubs for her to join growing up in Great Falls, and she wanted to compete from day 1.

After Sowers graduated from MSU in 2005, she boxed with the Bozeman Boxing Club, which no longer exists. Having competed in seven or eight tournaments and losing in the first bout each time, Sowers needed more. That’s when she found her current coach, Duran Caferro. However, Sowers has to travel to Helena weekly to train with Caferro. “In my opinion, he’s the best coach in the whole northwest. He’s smart about the sport,” Sowers declares. He is able to build on what a boxer is good at, and minimize their weaknesses. “He’s had a lot of great boxers come through his gym,” says Sowers. In fact, Caferro has coached two national champions, including Sowers.

Although she has great coaching, Sowers has a lot of obstacles, making her title even more substantial. Sowers is not sponsored, and has to fund the entirety of her training and travelling, which adds up. A typical tournament is a week long, so not only does she have to get herself there, but she has to lodge herself for eight days. “I’m really limited,” Sowers admits.

Sowers blames the lack of funding on the lack of community support in Bozeman. “Bozeman is not the kind of community that supports boxing,” she says. “They [Bozemanites] don’t understand it.” Sowers teaches a boxing class at Main Street Fitness to try to promote a sport that gets very little, if any, attention. “If I can get one person into boxing, then it’s a success for me.”

2012 is a momentous year for female boxing, and it will hopefully bring about more recognition for the sport. London will be the first Olympics that women will box in. “It’s a huge year for female boxing,” Sowers says. “It’s the only Olympic sport that doesn’t have a female counterpart.” Until this summer.

Aside from travelling to Helena, being self-employed, and teaching her boxing class, Sowers trains multiple times daily at the gym, entirely by herself. “Even though it’s an individual sport, you need other people to train with,” Sowers admits. Training on her own is a struggle, she says. There is no one cracking the whip on her workouts, and, Sowers says, it’s only human nature to not challenge herself as much when training alone. Not to mention all of the social endeavors that she has sacrificed because she has to train. “Boxing is a sport of deprivation,” she says, “it’s impossible to have a life.” She admits that cutting weight is really hard, especially during the summer when friends are having barbeques and she is unable to attend. Furthermore, Sowers is among the oldest in her sport. “I have to make up for it in sheer determination,” she proclaims, admitting that she is stubborn. Yet, she plugs away, day in and day out, and has 2 National titles to show for her grit.

Sowers would love there to be more of a boxing interest in Bozeman. “It’s not what people think it is,” she says. Because Bozeman has so many athletic opportunities and no boxing club, Sowers believes that boxing gets completely overlooked, and thinks that Bozemanites are ignorant to the sport because there is no exposure. “I’m never afraid I’m going to get hurt,” Sowers says about her sport. “I wish there were more kids interested in it,” she says.

Instead, Sowers’ fears come from within. “My only fear is letting myself down, really,” she says. She admits that she has a hard time adapting through a fight, particularly if she is up against someone she has not yet fought. “I rely so much on my coach,” Sowers says about being in the ring during a bout. She says it’s very hard to make adjustments during a fight.

Despite her adversity, Sowers is a very empowering individual with lots of confidence in herself. “Your body will do anything your mind tells it to,” she says. She will continue to train through the winter, playing ice hockey and boxing with her coach, to condition herself for the 2012 National Championships in March in Colorado Springs. If she wins again, she’ll qualify for the Women’s World Championships in China, which would be her first International Competition, and she’ll have to cross the funding bridge when she gets to it, she admits. She also wants to do some pro matches in the future. “I’m just going to focus on myself,” she says.

Amy can be found at Main Street Fitness teaching her class and working out. To find out more about boxing, visit www.usaboxing.org, or contact Amy at Main Street Fitness at 406-556-2200. Her next boxing class begins in January.

Jamie Kujawa lives and works in Bozeman and spends most of her free time outdoors. Aside from writing, her passions include her dog, swimming, skiing, and yoga.