And in this corner, in the black and orange trunks . . .

Anju Reejhsinghani '93 graduated with a degree in history and a certificate in the creative writing program. But since she left Princeton, Reejhsinghani has taken up boxing and has opened a gym in Seattle. She recently spoke with 'Prince' Executive Editor Michael Koike.

'Prince': How did you get involved in boxing?

Reejhsinghani: I went to the London School of Economics and I was on the boxing team — well you could call it a boxing club, really. That's how I really started getting in to it. My brothers and I . . . used to pretend we were different boxing stars when we were growing up like Marvin Hagler. But I didn't really have any skills until 1994, and that's when I really got interested in it. Women's boxing was illegal until 1993 in the States, so before that there wasn't really the opportunity. Right now I'm an amateur boxer. I have been competing the last couple of years. I think I'll go pro, probably not within the next year, but maybe I will.

P: Is women's boxing an Olympic sport?

R: Not yet. They are trying to make it one. The problem is that it's really only popular still in North America and Western Europe. Eastern Europe a bit and maybe even Russia, possibly Australia and New Zealand. But it's not all over Asia or Latin America.

P: Do you have any Olympic aspirations?

R: It really depends on when they are. There has to be a decision in the next year or so because there are people who have been amateurs for a while and now want to go pro. Personally, I would love to fight in the Olympics. It would be a dream. But to get into the Olympics, most of the sports have held world championships for years. The first women's boxing world championship is coming up late next year. I am fighting bantamweight, which is 113 to 119 pounds . . . I'm a little on the short side. I'm five-foot, two inches tall.

P: In boxing, having a longer reach is an advantage. So how much of a disadvantage is your height?

R: For some people it helps to be taller — a longer reach is always a good thing. But a lot of times tall people don't have a lot of power . . . I fought a girl once who was five-foot, 10 inches, and I won because it has a lot to do with strategy and power and footwork. It really depends on the fighter. Mike Tyson is very short . . . He's probably only about five-foot 10 inches or so, and he's fighting men who are much taller than he is all the time.

P: How often do you train?

R: I train about six days each week and probably three or four hours per day. I run about three miles every day, either distance or sprinting, jump a lot of rope, usually about 20 minutes of abs. Then I do the medicine ball for about 10 to 20 minutes, several rounds of the bag. I usually spar about two or three times per week. All my sparring partners are men, so mostly I spar with bigger guys, usually about 30 to 80 pounds heavier than I am . . .

P: Describe the gym that you own.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

R: I'm the co-owner of the 10th Avenue Gym. It's in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. It's actually one of the more popular areas around here . . . We just opened it last September, so we just celebrated one year. Kind of a weird thing for a Princeton student to do (laughing) . . . [The gym] is a pretty good size, about 3,800 square feet. We have a ring that's raised about three feet off the ground, several hitting bags. We also do kick boxing. There are both men and women. The youngest kid is about 15, and he's getting ready for his first amateur fight. We are very welcoming to all sorts of people, whether or not you have boxing aspirations. Some people come in and say they don't want to be hit in the face. Others come in and say they want to spar instantaneously. Right now we have about 35 active members.

P: When is your next fight?

R: October 20 in the Seattle area. There's going to be what we call a "smoker," which is when you have a lot of amateur fights. Hopefully, I'll be fighting in that, but there hasn't been a set fight for me just yet. They put out the rankings recently, and I was excited because I was fourth in the weight class. I'm really one of the only ones in the Northwest right now. Hopefully, I'll get to number one soon. There is also going to be another national tournament in December in New Orleans. That will be my Christmas break, beating people up (laughing) . . . There just isn't a lot of competition especially in my weight class. I'm a little bit light, so I've missed [some tournaments] a few times because someone is a little heavier than I am. I'm really looking forward to that tournament. In a tournament you can fight up to four or five times in about four days, whereas a "smoker" is just one fight and then you don't fight for another few weeks. But "smokers" are great preparation for the next tournament.