HOLLAND – As Emily Martinez picked herself up, she was determined not to let anyone, or life, knock her down like that again – especially in front of her kids.
It was the end of an abusive relationship and the beginning of Martinez’s journey as a boxer, one that has her within reach of a Michigan State Golden Gloves championship.
“I started about five years ago,” Martinez said. “I was in an abusive relationship and got hurt really bad in front of my kids. I told myself that would never happen again. So I came in here and started boxing. I didn’t ever want to feel defenseless ever again.”
Martinez, 28, found the Eli J Boxing Club in Holland, and it has turned her life around, battling abuse, anxiety and depression.
“For me, what kept me around was being around safe males. Here I am with these guys. They have helped boost my confidence and uplift me. They don’t know how much they have helped me get to this point, having all of those positive people around me,” she said. “Eventually you start believing.”
Martinez started believing.
She didn’t let a broken nose spoil her debut, and she heads into the May 2-3 Michigan Golden Gloves tournament at Aquinas College with a 2-0 record.
“I broke my nose in my first fight, and I felt it. I didn’t quit and I ended up winning the fight. My second fight, same thing, but it felt smoother. I see my potential now and want to live up to it. Now I feel in control and I feel confident,” Martinez said. “It wasn’t until I was fight training that I finally got that confidence. I was initially getting stronger and losing weight and was able to protect my kids. Then I knew how to defend myself and Eli (Paquette) saw something in me and encouraged me to compete. I was so intimidated when I started sparring, especially boxing with the guys. After a month, things started to click for me and I realized I could do this.”
And it isn’t just boxing that Martinez is doing. It was the ability to add boxing to her already busy life – and thrive.
Martinez has two children: Anderson, 10, and Olivia, 8. She works a day job at a bank and bartends on the weekends and somehow finds time to train and be a mother.
“It is 9-5, then training from 5-7:30 p.m. every day. This is the only thing I have for me, which is why I am so dedicated to it. I work a lot and I am a single mom. On the weekend I serve and bartend just to get by. This kind of keeps me sane,” she said. “They go to school. There is day care ar the gym, but they are a little old for that now, so my mom helps out and my sister helps out.
“This is the one thing I found that I am actually good at and it keeps my head right.”
That is the power of boxing, something Paquette has seen time and time again being around the sport.
“Boxing saves lives. When she came in four years ago, I knew she had strong convictions and that her life had been hard. I knew that boxing would help her. She knew nothing about it, but we built her from the ground up. It has helped her build that confidence. I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Paquette said.
The latest step was coming to terms with her anxiety and depression.
“I learned that I could do it all on my own as a single mom. Eli reminds me that nobody is at my level with everything they are balancing. That is what gives me clarity,” she said. “I work seven days a week. I get tired. I hit bottom a few weeks ago and told my doctor that I was depressed. I got the help I needed and boxing is my outlet.”
Now, she has a change to take a huge step toward joining the professional ranks.
“She is here every single day and she will go pro in five more fights. We could turn her loose now in the pros and she would get wins,” Paquette said. “It would be a massive win for her, for the team. Female boxing is so big and she is known all over Michigan and she has only had two fights.Now you have girls looking up to Emily and saying to themselves that if she can do it, I can do it. She is a role model.”
That is something Martinez doesn’t take lightly.
“I want this to inspire more girls. We need more girls to get up and do this,” she said. “With all that I deal with, I feel like I already won. I have all the odds against me and you have to embrace it. This made me who I am and nobody has this (going on).”
That continues to fuel her fire.
“I am so competitive because I don’t want this to go away. I don’t want anything to take this from me,” Martinez said. “It took me until I realized I actually had talent in this. Over the years, it helped me build my confidence back up and find myself. Now I realize I am actually good, which is hard for me to think about. I see a future in it and I know I can do it. I just started believing in myself.
“The biggest match for me is state Golden Gloves. You just know when it is your time, and it feels like it is finally my time.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Emily Martinez battled abuse, depression to become Golden Gloves champ
