by John Humphrey
Windsor’s Kara Ro has returned to the boxing ring after an 11-year hiatus and immediately served notice to opponents that she hasn’t lost a step and certainly not her devastating punching ability.
The 46-year-old former lightweight champion of the world showed no ring rust whatsoever in her first bout back. She pummeled her opponent, Elizabeth Tuani, from the opening bell of the first round enroute to winning a unanimous decision in the six-round bout at the Motor City Casino in Detroit on September 16. The one-sided fight included a knockdown of Tuani by Ro in the fourth round.
The bout was Ro’s first in over a decade since she stepped back to re-examine both her personal an athletic lives.
“I wasn’t thinking about retiring back then, but I did have to change my plans and quickly re-organize the priorities in my life,” Ro told the Lakeshore News Reporter in the weeks after her big comeback win. “I’ve actually been thinking about boxing again since 2011, when I was pregnant for the first time, and once I gave birth, I was back in the ring a month later,” she recalled. “It was always my intention to go back and fight right away but then my spouse (Dave Lester) died when our daughter was just four months old and once that happened, boxing was over for me.
“Jackie (daughter) became my number one priority in life and the only thing I could focus on was her and getting a job and making money and providing a good life for her.
For the next few years Ro continued to focus on raising her daughter, Jackie now 9, and son, James 6, with Mark, her new spouse. She also moved back to Windsor after having lived with Lester in Detroit and started careers as both a boxing and Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) coach, working with both amateur and professional athletes, on both sides of the Detroit River. In addition to serving as a television commentator for both boxing and MMA, Ro also hosted the popular ‘TKO Show with Kara Ro’ radio program on CKLW AM 800 for three years, starting in 2016.
In 2022 Ro continues to serve as a striking coach with Michigan Top Team in Southfield, Michigan in addition to pursuing her renewed pro boxing career.
Although Ro started experiencing chronic back problems starting in 2005 that allowed her to fight just four times in the six years before her last fight, a unanimous decision over Elizabeth Sherman on October 6, 2011, she never considered herself to be retired from boxing, even after giving birth twice and working in those other capacities.
“It was always in the back of my mind to come back and fight but I was always busy with other things and decided that I didn’t have the time to work on myself,” candidly admitted Ro, a native of Sudbury, Ontario – who came to Windsor years ago to attend the University of Windsor. And ended up moving here. “And finally I just decided to revive my own boxing career.” she added.
“I had been training other boxers and MMA athletes for years and then I went to Poland with one of my boxers and I went to Auschwitz and when you go to a concentration camp it is quite the emotional journey.
“When I came home I read everything that I could about Auschwitz and what everyone went through there and then and there was when I decided that I wanted to do something positive in the world and that could be achieved by doing what I do best – fighting – and hopefully inspiring other people to chase their own dreams and do their best in the process,” Ro continued. “Some people always have excuses for not going out there and chasing their goals and reams and I didn’t want that to be me.
“I decided that it was time to stop giving myself excuses for not getting back into the ring myself.”
During her time off as an active boxer Ro excelled in her role as both a boxing and MMA coach and helping her instruct so many world-class athletes gave her great insight on how to prepare a training regime for her own comeback.
She enlisted Anthony Barnes and Daron Cruickshank, two fighters that Ro has worked with for years, to be part of her own training team
I wanted to put together a close-knit group of people who already knew my own boxing style and who are knowledgeable and positive-thinkers,” offered Ro. “I don’t want to have people who are negative around me. I never have and that’s especially the case now.”
And while winning another world boxing title in the not-too-distant future is a definite possibility for Ro, that is not the motivation behind her return to the ring. In fact, world championship would be something for a by-product for her.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be an elite athlete and I’ve always known that in order for me to get there it would take a lot of work,” she offered, matter-of-factly. “I’ve always wanted to be a top athlete who represents women well and as crazy as this may sound, that is the bigger story and goal for myself than just putting another belt around my waist,” Ro continued while seemingly on a roll. “Yes, winning another world title is one of my goals again, but it is still not my biggest goal, and never has been.
“The biggest goal for myself is to inspire people and I’ve always felt that way. At age 46, I do not want to spend my days or nights watching Netflix. I want to be back on the treadmill and getting things done and inspiring people to chase their dreams, whether that be in the ring, on the athletic field or anywhere else.”
All of that said, Ro also wasn’t about to deny that she has a definite game plan in place that would include another world boxing title for herself, and on an ambitious schedule. That plan includes her next fight, back at the Motor City Casino, against an opponent to-be-determined either on December 23 or 30, before starting to look at challenging for a championship, likely a regional, intercontinental or national title, and then hopefully fighting for another world title.
“It won’t surprise if I get a call and offered a big fight sooner rather than later because of my previous undefeated record and after I have a couple more wins,” Ro candidly admitted. “I think people are going to stand up and take notice that I am focused and serious about fighting again.”
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