Midtown Mom Takes Up Boxing, Wins Golden Gloves Championship

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A local mother started boxing to just get fit, but it has since become her calling.

As CBS2's Weijia Jiang reported, when Adrienne Ford, 33, took up boxing, she had no intention of becoming a fighter.

Ford, of Midtown, just wanted to lose a few pounds, and indeed she has lost nearly 50. But it also turns out she is a natural-born boxer.

And that accidental discovery turned into an addiction, which led her winning in a New York Golden Gloves championship at the Barclays Center.

It is the biggest amateur contest in the country.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed. I'm just happy I got my Golden Gloves!" Ford said after the bout.

But "Golden Gloves champion" is not the most important title in Ford's life. Rather, that title is "mom."

She said raising 6-year-old twin boys Aiden and Austin is tougher than the rigorous training in the ring. The boys went to see their mom at the Barclays Center – for the first match they have ever seen.

"It was very important to me to win in front of them -- for them, for myself, and my family," Ford said.

Ford is used to performing under pressure. She is the associate director of the CBS coverage of the NCAA Tournament, and balancing everything is no doubt "madness."

Her sons motivate every moment.

"I hope it gives them a vision of what it means to be ambitious," Ford said.

As much as she would like to, Ford cannot box forever. The cutoff age for those who want to get into the ring is 35, so Ford has two more years to win two more titles.

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