Russian born Natalia Ragozina is a beautiful boxing champion, but she never dreamt she would become a world class fighter.

Natalia wanted to be a stewardess when she was young, but when she boarded a plane, she realized she was afraid to fly! She then set her sights on becoming a famous model. After sending photos and applying to several Moscow modeling agencies, she became quickly disappointed that she was not getting many results from the modeling world. So she changed her focus again; this time on martial arts.

She was first invited to the gym by some male friends. They handed her some gloves and she jumped into the ring. Her first bout ended with a broken nose and a bloody lip, but she was hooked. That first defeat inspired her to continuing training so she could beat the boys. She soon became a strong, talented athlete and then the modeling agencies and movie directors were knocking down her door. She continued to focus on her sport, winning many championships, but likes to act and model on the side. She is looking forward to competing in the 2012 London Summer Olympics now that women’s boxing is included in the games.

She is known for wearing a unique boxing outfit in every fight, like a schoolgirl uniform or some other cute getup involving a short skirt. She says, “Women’s boxing should look nice and feminine,” and remarks that she likes “to do things with beauty and grace.”

These are interesting comments considering the core brutality of the sport. What if her pretty face gets badly injured? She says she knows she will need her appearance more than her strength in the future, so she tries to keep her distance and not let her opponents get too close to punching her face.