“It was hard to find girls that would actually get in the ring with me knowing my history of knocking girls out, so that made it a little rough starting out... I have power in both hands. I do a lot of things with my right hand as well. To be honest, I just want to put everybody to sleep and I won’t change that mindset,” stated female jr. bantamweight Jasmine Artega, who talked about her future plans and much more. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going?
JA: Everything is awesome over here!
PC: You are 4-0 with 4-knockouts and already got a fight under your belt this year. Is the key for you to just stay busy?
JA: Yeah, we want to stay busy always. Starting out, it was a little rough on getting fights and everything, but now, we’re squared away, so remaining busy is key.
PC: You can look too good in boxing sometimes and that could make opponents reluctant to fight you. When you say it started out rough, was that the reason why, because of how you’ve been knocking girls out?
JA: Yeah! It was hard to find girls that would actually get in the ring with me knowing my history of knocking girls out, so that made it a little rough starting out, yes.
PC: We have a lot of great women boxers out there, but you are actually putting girls to sleep. You would have to go back to a prime Ann Wolfe the last time we saw that. Is she one of the comparisons you’re drawing?
JA: Oh definitely! I feel like in women’s boxing, we have had some girls that are really good. I don’t feel like there is a girl that came out that’s had all of the ingredients. I just want to show the world what it looks like to be a female fighter with all of the ingredients.
PC: Is your power something that you work on or do you think it’s a natural thing and you place your shots well and the power just comes from that?
JA: It’s really been natural, to be honest. It’s just something that you either have it or you don’t and I have just been fortunate to have it.
PC: On top of your power, you’re a southpaw and that’s another element that some fighters avoid. So for you, it’s like a double negative aspect and that’s something else to overcome.
JA: Right! But I have power in both hands. I do a lot of things with my right hand as well. To be honest, I just want to put everybody to sleep and I won’t change that mindset.
PC: I heard Antonio Tarver came and checked you out. You’re based out of Florida. Give us a little background on you?
JA: I’ve played every sport growing up; tennis, basketball, flag football. I did all of that throughout high school and then I played for the LFL for a few years. I actually picked up boxing later, but I grew up around boxing. My dad was a boxer, so I have always been around the sport and had my eyes on the screen watching all of the fights every weekend. So I knew a little bit before I actually got in the ring. I fight at 115 pounds...115 pounds of animal (laughing). I was born and raised in Tampa. I’m strong for my size. I bench 175 pounds. It’s just something that’s natural. You can’t teach power.
PC: Do you feel like your timing is perfect because when you look at Clarressa Shields and Cecilia Braekhus and some of the other female fighters out there, it’s starting to pick up some steam.
JA: Oh definitely! It’s picking up. I think I’m right in the middle of when women’s boxing is going to explode. It just needs that face. What Ronda Rousey was to MMA, we need that in boxing.
PC: What do you feel like is missing from women’s boxing? What void needs to be patched?
JA: There are girls out there that are really good, but you have to be exciting. I feel like these girls are not really exciting. People want to see explosive knockouts and they want to see a pretty face doing it. I feel like these girls don’t have the explosive knockout power that I generate.
PC: Is there any fighters that you enjoy watching and stealing a few things from? Any boxing influences out there?
JA: I watch a lot of boxers. I wouldn’t say in the female world, no, but I like to watch Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Lomachenko. I love Mike Tyson. He is one of my favorite fighters of all time, but I like to take what he did outside of the ring versus how he fights in the ring. I like how he goes about being interviewed and his whole demeanor outside of the ring is what I like. I take some things from a lot of different fighters; Sugar Ray Leonard and the greatest, Roy Jones Jr.
PC: For someone to sit down and watch a Jasmine Artega fight or for someone who is trying to familiarize themselves with you, what do you bring to the table? What can they expect?
JA: You’re defintiely going to see knockouts, but I love to showcase my boxing abilities also. I like being flipped in the ring also, if a girl can stand the heat. I would like to definitely showcase boxing ability also.
PC: So far, no one has been able to stand the heat, like you mentioned. Whenever there is a fighter knocking out everyone, your conditioning will be questioned until we see you go deep into a fight. How is your conditioning program and your gas tank?
JA: Yeah, you’re going to get people that will question and doubt everything, so I’m not really worried about that. I train for every fight like it’s a championship fight. I train like I’m going 10 rounds. So the conditioning is there and we know it’s there because when we spar, we’re sparring 10 to 12 rounds, so the air is there. If there is a girl that can stand in front of me for that amount of time, then the world will see that I can also go the distance with anybody.
PC: What are your goals for this year?
JA: I want to fight every few months and remain busy. I’m not in a rush with my career at all. I’m young, I’m 25, I have a lot of time in the sport. I’m not rushing things at all, so whatever happens this year happens; we’ll take it as it comes.
PC: I’m sure your fighting style has something to do with it, but where did the moniker “The Animal” come from?
JA: “The Animal,” so basically my first pro fight, I knocked out the girl in 25 seconds and I could hear the crowd and everybody saying, “She’s an animal, she’s a beast,” so I had to choose a name, so we went with that. I felt like it fit so perfect to who I am. It’s always been something that I was so picky on as far as what I wanted to name myself and that name just felt right.
PC: The fans gave you your nickname. That’s cool stuff. Well, Jasmine, I look forward to following along with your career and best of luck to you moving forward. Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?
JA: Thank you! I appreciate your time.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]