PORTLAND, Ore. – Don't worry, Laila Ali. Amy Drew has nointention of becoming a professional female boxer. She's simply inthe ring for the exercise. Drew, director of communications for theCredit Union Association of Oregon, has been heading to aneighborhood gym for almost eight years to warm up, then gets inthe ring for a round of boxing. She credits a good friend forgetting her involved. “She lived next door to me at the time andshe learned about boxing classes available for women at the localcommunity center. I hadn't heard about the classes, but I had beenreading in a few magazines there was a trend to women exercising byboxing,” Drew recalls. “I was interested in finding out about thatand my friend told me she had located a class and asked if I wantedto try it out with her.” Drew and her friend discovered they werepioneers. The class was small the first couple years, with onegroup of perhaps five women meeting two nights a week. Today thereare two classes in a row four nights a week and each session ispacked with 12 to 18 women. Participants sign up for Monday andWednesday or Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. or 8 to 9 p.m.Drew has been active in sports throughout her life, but neverenjoyed going to a gym simply to march from station to station.Boxing holds her interest and provides a good workout. “It's thesame instructor and the same workout given to folks who areactually training to be professional fighters. It's different everytime you go. I've made friends and we have fun. The guy who iscoaching it is a professional fighter,” she explains. The womendon't fight each other. They punch the large and small bags, liftweights, do sit-ups and pushups, toss a medicine ball, then finallyeach get into the ring for a three-minute round with the coach. Howdo people react when they discover she boxes? “It's a mixedreaction,” Drew says. “I've been doing it so long most of thepeople I already know aren't surprised. They're starting to seeMohammad Ali's daughter and other women boxing. But when I meetsomebody new, the first thing they ask is, `Kickboxing?' Kickboxinghas become such a trendy thing to do. I have to explain I'minvolved in `real' boxing. “After taking this class, I realize howmuch goes into it. Every part of your body has to be toned up andyour mind has to be right there to remember how to breath, whatdirection to move and what to do,” Dres says. -

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