By PETER ANOSIKE

United States-based female professional boxer, Joana Nwamerue, has said that one thing she is passionate about is seeing wayward youths turn a new life.

The hard puncher who has a Nigerian father and Bulgarian mother was speaking ahead of her clash with Jaica Green at Hard Rock Casino, Soundwaves, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. She said that her dream is a world that would be free of violence, adding that it beats her imagination why some people should be showing aggression on the streets and going to jail, while they could do that in the ring and make good money.

According to her, this is why she started introducing juveniles in the prisons to boxing.

Her words: “My mission is, I want to help kids who have tough life. I want to show them that the gym is open and they can come and hit the punching bags. They should transfer their street aggression to the ring. So, I like to work in prisons to help the inmates to see life better through sports, most especially boxing. The reality is, those who really know how to fight, avoid fighting on the streets. They fight inside the ring and make a lot of money. That is why I said that people should start doing sports because it helps you to control yourself, your anger, get out of bad situations and also help you to help the people around you.”

Joana said that she makes the youths in prisons to understand that through sports, they could do a lot, but not on drugs or street aggression.

This, she disclosed, is why she organises boxing tournaments with the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice where prisoners who committed lesser offences do compete.

She said that at the end of the tournaments, the participants would not only get a lot of gifts but would go to see their families for some hours.

The objective of the tournament is to give the inmates purpose, Joana Nwamerue revealed.

“During the tournament, we give the inmates the opportunity to compete with rules. It does not matter whether he loses or wins. We just want him to know that he has the potential to be a better person. That is the philosophy. You have to be a better person through sports and they are learning that not on aggression. The tournament is for minor offenders, the dangerous criminals are not allowed, just the ones who have good behavior and lesser criminal records. They are allowed to compete. Seeing a person who wants to change and the opportunity he has to do that is boxing sport makes me melt. Half of the people who got out of jail connected with me on social media,” Ms Nwamerue said.

According to her, when those who have got out of prison see her on the street in Bulgaria, they would be thanking her for the opportunity.

She said that they would be saying that because of sports, they are out of prison, out of trouble and can see their families.

She also disclosed that she gets letters from people telling her that she is the light that took them out of the darkness of the prison.

On the advice that she has for young people she said: “The world is so big and you can make a lot of impacts, but you must work hard. Nothing good in the world comes easy. Everybody has different dreams. Everybody has different movies in their head. Whatever movie you have in your head, you have to try to make it successful through hard work because money does not fall from the sky.”

Joana said that she would want to be remembered as someone who believed that anything possible.

“I want to be remembered as somebody who believes that everything is possible and that is the reason when people tell me, ‘Joana, you can’t do this’, ‘I will say watch me and take pictures for remembrance’,” she said.