Kickboxing 'Queen of the Ring' punches above her weight

Friday 04 January 2019

After becoming the first British female kickboxer to win a world title, a local athlete, who disguises herself as an accountant during the day, is now on the way to equal success in boxing with her fists instead of her feet.

39-year-old ‘Queen of the Ring’ Monika Markowska took part in her first boxing competition in December, finishing on a split decision against England’s Number 2, Nicola Hopewell.

Even though she lost her match, Monika was pleased with the result.

"It was a big compliment for me that the judges were split, because it meant that I can translate my level in kickboxing into boxing,” she told Express. “My first fight, against Spanish boxer Mariluz Peral Hernandez, had been pretty stressful. I won, but I had to 'find myself' in the ring. Normally it’s my home but I've had to adjust my ring craft for boxing.”

Monika’s sport of choice for the past 14 years has been kickboxing, a discipline in which she won big. In 2011, she was the first British female fighter to ever win the World title in the WAKO World Championships and the first female K1 fighter to represent Great Britain in the K1 division in the World and Europeans Championships. 

After 2017, one of her best years that saw her named 'Queen of the Ring' after she finished in the top three females across all ring disciplines and weight classes, Monika was ready for a new challenge. She therefore decided to start training in boxing.

“I had always wanted to try but I was so busy with kickboxing,” she explained. “It had been a wish for a long time. I train with the Leonis club so I talked to my coaches, Tony Burt, Ian Dunbar, Kevin Baudains and Miguel Ferreira, and we started adding boxing more.”

Emboldened by her good results in her first fights, Monika is determined to do more boxing in 2019. She is looking to join the Elite category and will be competing in Sweden at the end of the month. 

But Monika hasn’t given up on kickboxing and still trains in her favourite sport. In November, she represented Great Britain at the WAKO Europeans Championships in Slovenia and brought back a bronze medal. “I left with a bitter taste,” Monika said. “The fight was very close - each minute the scoring was changing, travelling from my side to her, and then back.

Pictured: Monika won her first ever boxing match against Spanish boxer Mariluz Peral Hernandez.

“Until the last second, the win could have gone either way. Unfortunately, when the final bell rang, the scores were in her favour, with the difference of one point for one judge and two for the other. It was a medal position as promised, just not the colour I really wanted.”

To fight at such a high level in two different sports, Monika has had to spend gruelling hours in the gym. In preparation for her first boxing bout, she was training three times a day, in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening, for a total of three hours.

It takes a village to raise a child, but in Monika's case it takes a village to make a champion. On top of her training with Jersey Leonis ABC, Monika also trains with Rob Staples (Graccie Barra Channel Island BJJ & MMA Academy), Francisco Blasco (LH Gym), and coaches the Tae Kwon Do Jersey Club five times a week. 

"I fight as an individual, but my fighting depends on all the hard work all coaches put on to train me, their time, and passion, all for the love of this sport. That includes training me very early in the mornings, like at 06:00, giving up their lunch hour, or staying with me after the last evening session, when the gym is empty and cold and all the normal people are at home relaxing."

Pictured: After her first successes last year, Monika is ready to do more boxing this year.

Despite the apparent craziness of such a programme, which includes a full-time accountant job, Monika makes it all sound easy. “It takes lots of time and commitment. But the key is a good schedule. You have to plan everything well. I have my job to be able to travel and chase my sports dream.

“February will be a solid month of fighting with competitions every single weekend but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Lead photo: The 'Queen of the Ring' captured by John Liot.