Carmel Magazine-Spring 2022

Boxing Strong A Journey to Empowerment and Strength B Y M I CHA E L CHAT F I E LD T he most apt adjective to describe Masha Cavazos is strong. She has conquered hurdles in her path that would trip up most, but her drive and determination lent her the impetus to thrive, not merely to survive.The latest manifestation of that strength is her new business, the aptly named Boxing Strong, a training facility devoted to pro- moting fitness through the ancient sport of boxing. A native of Sevastopol, Crimea, Cavazos arrived in the US in 2006, armed with a business degree from Hotelschool the Hague in the Netherlands, a university that focuses on the hospitality industry. She land- ed in Los Angeles, securing a position as night manager at the Westin LAX, then transitioned to managing offices in the medical field before pur- suing her MBA at USC, where she earned a spot on the dean’s list. She didn’t know how to drive, so finding that driving school was spendy in LA, she bought a used car and taught herself to drive in empty parking lots. Ever practical, she prepared in case she needed to return to her home- land.“I purposely got a stick shift, because that’s all we had in Crimea,” she says. Cavazos juggled all this—with style, grace and grit—while also being the single mom of an infant son. Always athletic, Cavazos turned to training after giving birth. “I started working out to get back in shape, going to the gym, running, etc,” she says.That led to an introduction to boxing, at first not as a fighting game, but as a fitness regimen. She took to it like a fish takes to water. “Surprisingly, I found that the sport of boxing is respectful toward women,” Cavazos says. “I could prove I was just as strong as anyone.” 148 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2