how much to eat and crunches and how many endless hours of training will it take to win. why are you here every day? because i want to win. this is my life and this is what i do. like and i can honestly say, like this is who i am. you see it. this is what i do. >> reporter: marlen is a trainer in boxing. >> i've seen her come in and she's all like just pouring down with sweat and when she is training really hard, i'm like, marlen, you want to eat something? she is no, i can't, i can't. she makes me want to cry when she does is that. >> reporter: the family struggles to find the money for national tournaments. >> i've gone even far as here at work to say, hey, we, you know, we don't have the money to send her. even the girls here at work have said, you know, here's 20. here's 60. >> reporter: it all has to add up. the money, the training, even her lunch. marlen is a fly weight. she has to weigh in at 112 pounds at 5'3". >> i'm 21 and i already have like all of these injuries and i'm like always sore and always tired. i've been doing this since i was like 11, so i've been doing this for a really long time with intense workouts so i have to make sure i treat my body right. >> reporter: before boxing, she was the chubby younger sister of four and a trouble-maker. >> i always had the last word. >> reporter: mousy? >> yeah, very, very quick tongue. people would get frustrated. >> reporter: you were smart but mouthy? bad combination. then her parents got divorced. her siblings began to move out. boxing sustained her. >> probably if i didn't have boxing, it would have probably messed me up like mentally because, you know, i don't care what anybody says, to have all your family just like go off in one shot, it's hard to deal with. >> reporter: marlen ended up living with her father david. she dedicated her life to training. >> for the past three or four years, she's grown up and she didn't have a chance to go out and meet a boyfriend and go with the girls and dance and have a good time. she never have time for that. >> reporter: her coach, rudy silva, took a central role in her life. what is her greatest weakness? >> i mean, sometimes she goes after you so much that she'll stay a little high, but that's not even that -- that bad. >> reporter: sounds like you're saying you have no weak ns? >> oh, i have a lot. i hear them all the time. >> reporter: what is he saying are your weaknesses? >> like something every day i get. whatever is wrong that day ♪ i was like 16 or something, they presented me with the most promising mexican. >> reporter: she became a national champ at 16 and dreamed of the olympics but women couldn't box in the game, even though they compete in every other sport. >> this one is heavy. every single national tournament i've entered, i've won. >> reporter: she also became an academic star. >> i was like on the debate team. i was in the national honor society. i was president of my class. i was an all a.p. classes and i had like a 4 four six something. >> bam. >> reporter: then some exciting news. the olympics decide to add women's boxing for 2012. >> when i was like in elementary, like i was really into greek mythology and stuff like that. i always thought like the olympics games are and i wanted to go and it just ended up being boxing. >> reporter: marlen postpones college to pursue olympic dreams. >> just another day. >> boxing for me has always been my number one sport. i was born in mexico. my kids are mexican americans and making the olympic, that will be something any parent, i don't care who it is or what race they are, they going to feel what i'm feeling right now. and we don't know how to behave sometimes. >> marlen esparza! >> eight spots at the olympic trials as the national champion, she is offered the first. >> the olympics is a big goal. >> yeah, it's huge. i honestly truly feel if i go to the olympics and medal, that i could probably be totally happy for the rest of my life. yeah, like completely happy. >> reporter: marlen is on her way. when, suddenly, her competitors sue saying marlen should have to fight them first for one of the coveted spot. >> it's stressful. it's something that i've been working for my whole life, and then not only did this come out of nowhere, but then there's the pressure not that anybody puts direct pressure on me, but i know that people are expecting from me. >> reporter: usa boxing decides to schedule a box-off. >> one thing about boxing, anything can happen. i beat all of them fairly easy. the closest bout i ever has was against christina cruz. >> reporter: christina cruz, just one of the champion fighters marlen will have to face. what happens if you lose in colorado? >> i don't even know. that would be horrible. i'm sorry. i'm going to cry! because it's just so weird. i'm sorry. i haven't lost in like nine years. and that would just be like -- like the worst thing that could ever happen to me. and i don't deserve it either. i mean, i work really hard, so i'm okay, like i know that i've done what i'm supposed to do. ♪ at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. 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[ male announcer ] ber one. ♪ marlen esparza trains in a gym that stretches along a lonel houston i-10 in houston. >> she was in alternative school and not doing well at all and behavior wise. >> reporter: she brought her brothers to box, but they hated it. marlen begged rudy to train her. >> he laughed at me. >> the first thing i told her, was, well, i don't train female fighters. she walked away. >> reporter: she kept coming back so he tested her against the boys. >> i actually tried for about two weeks to break her, to try to make her quit. i was pushing her so hard. left hand up. left hand up. >> i kind of in my head was thinking like, ha, ha, he thinks that i can't do it and i so can. >> in a few weeks, instead of trying to make her quit, i was making some of the guys quit! >> reporter: at first, boxing was more challenging than she let on. >> i remember getting beat up like every day for like the first three years i was boxing and i was like, what is going on? i'm trying really, really hard here. i'm doing everything i'm supposed to do. >> reporter: but eventually she started winning. did you know then you had a championship on your hands? >> yes. this girl is going to make it. she has the heart of a champion. >> reporter: to make a champion, rudy has taken charge of marlen's life. do you let her have a boyfriend? >> no. >> reporter: is she allowed to party on the weekends? >> no. >> reporter: is she allowed to take a few days off and not train when she is worn out? >> no. >> reporter: that's a lot of no's for a 21-year-old girl. i mean, she's a young woman. >> i remember when she was 18 years old. she went to prom. i was at her house with her dad waiting for her to come home from prom. >> reporter: you were at her house? >> yes. >> reporter: with her father? >> with her father. >> he's been worse on me and it's been more difficult to actually have him in my life than my dad. yeah. for sure. because my dad really laid back. and my life would have been actually a lot more stress-free like, yes! life! but with rudy, it's like, why is this happening to me? >> reporter: there's a reason rudy is so tough. he's a police officer at jefferson davis high school, not far from the neighborhood where he grew up. you must look at this kind of poverty and think about your own childhood? >> reporter: coming from seven brothers and sisters, including my mom and him, that's nine people in a one bedroom apartment and a neighborhood very similar to this. >> reporter: boxing kept rudy out of trouble. he won the local golden gloves four times. >> i was like really focused. so there was quite a few times where that's what made the decision of me not going out to a party or going out to the movies, or just going and hanging out. no, i need to be at home. if i want to win this fight. >> let's go, let's go, let's go! come on, man. you're going to be late. >> reporter: these days. >> did you see the student come up there? >> reporter: he faces off with the kids at jefferson davis. >> you need to get to class. late again? you got to wake up earlier than that. you tell me you were going to be doing better. >> reporter: can boxing help them? >> i mean, you're talking to a boxing coach so i'm going to say yes! >> reporter: he uses boxing to keep the students focused. >> we made ring magazine this year. >> reporter: oh, right. that's great. kind of a wall of fame here. >> yes, it is. whenever they get more involved in the boxing, it seems like they start doing so much better in school. i know it did that for even my own little boy. elbows in. elbows in. >> reporter: yeah, he's focused. >> oh, and you should see his grades! his grades, i mean, he's a straight a student. >> reporter: marlen could be rudy's biggest accomplishment. >> he is like 90% of the reason why i am where i am. >> reporter: what is the 10%? >> 10% is just the fact that i alt with it because a lot of people don't stay with him because of how hard he is. the longest i've ever seen anybody stay with him consecutively is like two or three years. >> reporter: do you think that number is right, that percentage? 90% you and 10% marlen? >> i would say like 94. >> reporter: 94% you? >> yes. >> he is conceited. >> reporter: wow. wow. now, rudy needs to prep her for an unexpected challenge. a fight in colorado that will decide who gets a first shot at the olympic trials. but there's another latino boxer working with the same goal in mind. christina cruz. what would the olympics mean? >> oh, it would mean the world to me. >> reporter: why? >> just because everything that i've sacrificed for it, even like my trainer, the sacrifices he made. it's not only for me, it's for my team. and, you know, i just wake up every day thinking about it and it's just constantly goes through my mind. >> reporter: christina is also aiming for colorado. gunning for marlen esparza's crown. >> this is a sport where someone has to lose. ♪ ♪ pop goes the world ♪ it goes something like this ♪ everybody here is a friend of mine ♪ ♪ everybody, tell me, have you heard? 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[ with the azerbaijani we didwrestling team.riment ♪ can febreze air effects defeat the smelly air in their gym for good? [ man ] what can you smell? [ inhales deeply ] a lot of flowers. it's on the zingy side of floral. potpourri factory, maybe. you can take off your blindfolds now. oh my gosh. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] success. victory over odors, for good, both here and in your home. febreze. breathe happy. i thought i was going to training camp and now i have to fight. >> reporter: there's a lot of stake at the box-off in colorado springs, home of the u.s. olympic team. >> i guess, to put it bluntly, i'm a little bit pissed at them at what i am having to do. that covers it. i'm angry. >> reporter: just eight female fly weights will go to the olympic trials. these boxers came ready to fight for marlen's spot. >> oh, so ready. >> chosen. tears. >> that's why we are here. because we're ready. >> reporter: many u.s. boxers are working class latinos and african-americans used to fighting for what they want like tyresha. >> if it wasn't for boxing, i wouldn't be here. both of my parents are on drugs when i was 16 and i broke a jaw and broke a nose and hit a nerve and had to do community boxing. >> rah me dah is from idaho. >> a lot of my friends back home are latino. they are already married with kids and stuff. never went to school after high school, and, me, you know, having boxing, it's, you know, coming on a better path. >> in the red corner, marlen esparza. >> reporter: marlen beats her first box-off opponent, alex love. >> there you go, girl. very good. >> like i felt like i was fighting a 12-year-old kid. >> reporter: but she's more worried about christina cruz. >> the girls that we have to worry about are the girls that are like here, that have been fighting and know the point system like christina cruz and that is why she wins. >> number one in new york. number one. all right? christina news, number one. >> reporter: christina is the puerto rican kitchen defeating marlen. she gets to fight in front of joe frazier at madison square garden. boxing has changed her life. >> way to go. watch that right. that a girl. >> reporter: her family is on her side now. her mother cheers at her fights. but christina's mother was in jail when christina was growing up. >> let's go! >> reporter: her father asked her maternal grandparents to help raise christina. they were boxing fans. >> yeah. yeah. >> reporter: my grandmother, he was -- >> my grandfather, he was very much a part of it. he never got to go to any of my fights but he always made sure i was, you know, like good and even just cooking right food for me and always asking me about my fights. >> reporter: your grandparents have died? >> yeah, both of them passed about two years ago. >> reporter: oh, it's upsetting. i didn't mean to make you cry. they made you who you are? a tough girl? who is going to win at the garden? ♪ there's a hero >> reporter: the night before the fight, christina seeks camaraderie. a fellow boxer sings "hero" to keep their spirits high. ♪ ♪ finally see the truth that a hero lies in you ♪ irks oh, my god! >> yeah. >> why are you crying? but rudy keeps marlen far away at a hotel. >> she is probably going to go eat some really good food and just relax and go over film with these boxers and get some strategy. >> reporter: u.s. olympic boxing coach gloria peek has come to the box-off to get a first look at the future olympic hopefuls. >> good luck, baby. okay, lady, good luck. >> reporter: after 33 years of coaching men, coach peek has her eyes on the top two women, esparza versus cruz. >> i think out of the 112, these are the two top girls. christina, her frame and her size and everything makes her perfect for international boxing. however, marlen has learned all of the tricks of the trade for boxing internationally, so, you know, clash of the titans. >> reporter: these two women are bracing for a fight. >> christina runs, runs, runs, 1-2, runs, runs, 1, 2, runs, 1-2, like the same thing. >> reporter: how about marlen? what kind of a boxer is she? >> she likes to come forward. she's a pressure fighter. she likes to stay on top of you. >> reporter: the day of the fight, christina is relaxed, getting wrapped and ready at the gym. marlen arrives quietly. >> christine cruz boxes as a hobby. i box as a lifestyle. >> we're in the same weight class and we both want the same thing. this is a sport. someone has to lose >> reporter: just as marlen predicted, christina runs. amateurs box with head gear and only score points with a clean hit to the face or chest. 4-1 christina. >> that's good, that's good. >> reporter: 7-5, christina. and the winner is? oh, you're good! hey, did you know that honey nut cheerios is... oh you too! ooh, hey america's favorite cereal is... honey nut cheerios ok then off to iceland! let's go! keep your hands up! hands up! come on! >> pa, pa, pa, pa! >> stop! >> good job. >> was that good? >> and the winner is christina cruz. >> marlen has lost. >> my first loss in nine years. >> anything bother you at all? >> nope. feel great. >> told you that would be a clash of the titans. and it was. >> christina will go compete for the first olympic trial spot at the pan american qualifier in venezuela. >> yeah, i'm very excited. going tonother country to fight. representing usa. >> it's very early in the process. do you understand? >> i don't really know. that's weird. like, i don't feel like i really lost. it's weird. >> it is her first loss in the united states in nine years. since she was 13 years old. >> i don't know. like, i feel kind of blank. i don't really know. >> reporter: if christina wins in venezuela, she takes the olympic trial spot usa boxing had reserved for their national champion, marlen. >> not that we're waiting for this to happen, but she still has to win the qualifier, because if she doesn't, it defaults to marlen, that spot. >> bye. >> reporter: marlen goes home to await the results with her family. >> for a few days, it was kind of, like, sad and, you know, she's not used to losing. she has the perfect record up till then. the kind of kid that gives their whole life to a sport, the next thing you know, you take a loss, it's devastating for a little bit. but then marlen is a person that she's so strong, all that is going to do to her, bring her back stronger. >> she had planned to start training for the olympic trials. now she needs to raise money to continue competing. >> good. >> david esparza is a supervisor at this manufacturing plant. he works seven days a week, 12 hours a day to fund marlen's dream. >> i've been doing this. >> reporter: paying for her boxing? >> paying for her boxing. >> reporter: what's the biggest expense? >> it's been since she started going to the nationals. setting myself up to bring her by myself with a separate room and airplane tickets and rental cars and food and all that. >> reporter: expense, expense, expense. >> expense, expense, expense. it's been costing me, like, $20,000 to $25,000 a year. >> reporter: these blue collar parents had white collar dreams for their four children. why was that important to you? >> want them to be, you know, that success that i wasn't. that's how i feel? >> which parent don't want a kid to succeed? i came from mexico when i was 18 years old. the thing that i have learned about this country is that if you don't have no money, you're not going -- you're not going to make it in this country. >> we're going to do it, okay? >> reporter: carmen wanted doctors like her bosses at work. >> i told all of them that if one of them decided that they would go for dental, you know, a dentist, that i would go get two jobs or three jobs, whatever it took to pay for their school. >> okay. let me see. >> reporter: their oldest, delilah, came close. she went to lamar university to study nursing. >> you want an orange, too? >> she got pregnant and she didn't finish her school. it was a devastating thing to me. i think i got three years in one day. >> you aged three years? >> i aged three years. >> this is like the stage area's cafeteria. >> reporter: instead of nursing, delilah had four children in four years. today, she manages school construction projects. >> i wanted my children to have siblings like i grew up with, marlen and deg diego and beetle and me. if my mom can do it with four, i can do it with four. i did get divorced young. but, you know, i take care of my kids. i'm a single mom. they're happy. they're happy. >> reporter: david jr. chose cooking school. diego quit college to pursue music. >> my dad wanted me to be an engineer. in his family, like, from mexico he had, like, politicians and lawyers. he looks up to that kind of stuff and he expects that we should -- we should aspire to, you know, go to what he looks up to. >> i look like diego with short hair. >> yeah. >> reporter: marlen's parents are divorced, but they are together when it comes to their children. did you think you'd have four kids who were all in college at this point or graduating from college? >> yeah. >> that's what i thought it was going to be. >> reporter: does it sadden you that you don't? it does? >> yeah. because delilah started out that way. diego started out that way. marlen didn't because of the boxing. ♪ >> reporter: marlen has been offered an exhibition match against the mexican national team. this is her first fight since the loss in colorado. the victory restores her confidence. but she's not the only one seeking glory. christina cruz has also dedicated her life to getting to the olympics. and she is putting up a fight in venezuela. >> i feel pretty confident. i think i have everything i need to win. >> reporter: will christina win the first shot at team usa? double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... 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[ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. i am the minority right now because i'm mexican and a lot of people don't respect it. but as soon as i get a gold medal, people are going to be like, hey, it's okay to be mexican in the u.s. >> ladies and gentlemen, it may be a little warm out here but we've got a great, cool event. >> i think we're in the red. >> let's go. they are weighing the guys in already. >> reporter: today, rudy and his fighters compete in the heart of tex-mex, houston. >> representing elite boxing. >> bend your legs. >> there you go! >> right here! right here, girl! there you go. back down when you finish. >> our winner out of the red corner, elite boxing! >> good job. good job. >> i like saying that i'm mexican. i'm proud of it. >> reporter: the community is excited about marlen's olympic prospects. >> the mexicans are totally going to love it. they're going to freak when it happens. very cool. thank you! >> now, ladies and gentlemen, none other than marlen esparza! ♪ >> boxing's big in hispanic culture. >> the hispanic fighter, they fight with a lot of heart. >> reporter: her family is there in full force. >> get up! get up! >> your winner -- >> marlen esparza! >> congratulations again. >> reporter: so are the little girls from the gym. >> when i grow up, i want to be just like her because she's very inspiring. >> ian take those out if you want to go ahead and start getting ready or start putting your make-up on. there's a mirror over there for you to get ready. >> everybody just tells me i don't look like a boxer. >> reporter: today, marlen is dressing up to speak at rice university. >> the girls who box look less feminine than i do. but just because i box doesn't mean that i can't get dressed up or that it didn't fit me or that i can't do this just like anybody else. >> see, it looks good. i like it. >> reporter: marlen once pursued admission to rice university. but postponed college for boxing. >> find something that you really love to do and the rest of your life will follow. i really just want to leave you with the idea that, yes, it's cliche, but anything's possible. >> reporter: marlen doesn't have an olympic trial spot yet. but the sponsors are lining up. >> i just found out a little while ago that they made their decision for the 2012 apac athletes. marlen, guess what? >> shut up. >> yes, they selected you as one of them! >> shut up. are you serious? >> yes, i am serious. can you believe it? >> coca-cola will pay her as much as her father's salary. >> congratulations, marlen. >> she also has nike. >> right now, i don't have no worries. >> see, look. these feel good. cool. this is when you start to feel like rocky. ♪ >> primer. moisturizer. look at her eyelashes. >> you're supposed to just look like you're hanging out training. drinking a coke. >> look over there. >> looks great. >> i guess you could take it as recognition or pressure. whichever you want to grab first. either way, with them or without them, i would be planning on doing the same thing. >> her sponsors' investment will only pay off if she makes it to london in 2012. >> oh, yeah. nice. >> reporter: she's training harder than ever. >> why am i doing this? it's like torture. >> reporter: the pressure continues. christina has won the first olympic trial spot after her opponent is disqualified. >> i always wanted to be in the olympics. me and my younger brother would watch the gymnastics, swimming, all the other sports and always think -- you know, always thought that it was cool. >> reporter: to get one of the remaining spots, marlen must return to colorado. fighters who medal at the nationals also qualify for the olympic trials. >> i guess i really just hope that i pull a difficult bracket. that way no one can say, oh, she won again but only because she had an easy bracket. >> welcome to the 2011 usa boxing national championships. 112 pounds, women. tyrieshia douglas, cynthia marino, alex love, marlen esparza. >> my goal here definitely as this national championships is just to make a statement. i don't want to sound so harsh saying this, but i basically want to crush everybody's dream right now. i don't want to make anything close. that way, everybody knows deep down in the back of their head and in their heart, like, okay, there's no way. this is marlen's. that's it. >> reporter: marlen also wants revenge. christina cruz beat her out of the first olympic trial spot. now christina is in colorado gunning for marlen's national title. >> today's marlen's first fight. so obviously i'm going to -- i'm nervous. big-time nervous. >> you'll be okay. >> okay. all right. >> love you. >> jab, jab, jab! there you go, marlen! clean shots, marlen! perfect. go, marlen! go, marlen, go, go, marlen! >> yeah, nice job! >> she did good? >> yes, she did. >> all right. she won, she won. thank god. >> your winner, out of the blue corner, marlen esparza, region eight. >> reporter: she plows through her opponents all the way to the quarter finals. >> out of the red corner, marlen esparza. blue corner -- >> reporter: the winner of this fight goes to the olympic trials. if marlen loses, it all ends here. ♪ why not make lunch more than just lunch? with two times the points on dining in restaurants, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] gillette. the best a man can get. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. 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[ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ >> your winner, out of the red corner, marlen esparza. >> reporter: marlen has won. she has the second spot at the olympic trials. but this pressure fighter is still under pressure from the ring next door. >> your winner, in the blue corner, christina cruz. >> reporter: marlen will fight christina cruz in the semifinals, the only boxer to beat her since childhood. why do you want to beat her so badly? revenge? >> it's revenge. and it's a lot of, just, like heart and mentally. just to get me back to where i was before. because i feel like it put me back. >> reporter: olympic coach gloria peek sees the fight this way. >> i believe that christina's going to have a very hard time. part of that is because she doesn't have the right type of people that know enough about her to help her over the -- the difficult areas. >> reporter: marlen has rudy in her corner. and her father. >> out of the red corner, marlen esparza, houston, texas. out of the blue corner, christina cruz, new york, new york. >> reporter: marlen comes out swinging. then lets christina run. >> come on, christina! >> there you go! >> yes! >> your winner, out of the red corner, marlen esparza, houston, texas. >> you beat her easy, man. easy. easy. >> because i was like, man, i was like, if i lose to the same person in a row, when i've never lost to anybody twice in my life. >> my timing was a little off. towards the later rounds, i was getting tired. she put more pressure on me. this time she waited a little, which i didn't expect. >> reporter: how did it feel? >> it felt really good. i think after she beat me, a lot of people were thinking maybe i'm not the one that's going to win anymore. and i think after that one, it was kind of like, it was just an accident. it was just a mistake. >> anybody checking in to vip? >> welcome to the 2011 usa boxing national championships. >> after i beat christina, i was done. i was like, i won. i kept having to tell myself, marlen, you're still fighting. get with it. you're still fighting. you're still fighting. >> reporter: marlen, christina, and two other flyweight boxers at these national championships will meet again at the olympic trials. only the winner joins team usa. the field is now full of latinas. >> marlen esparza! >> reporter: in the end, it all has to add up. 112 pounds. four two-minute rounds. a chance to shatter the olympic glass ceiling. >> this is the last great domain of men. and we've broken through the last great domain. >> marlen, good! >> go high! go high! you got it! she's tired already, marlen! >> i was kind of just like, get it done, get it done, get it done. and i saw her, and i saw it in her eyes, and she didn't have anything left. >> beautiful, beautiful! >> ladies and gentlemen, your winner will be a 27-16 decision. and the 2011 women's flyweight national championship, out of the blue corner, marlen esparza! >> reporter: marlen has won her sixth national championship. >> when they raise my hand, it's definitely my favorite part. >> i know this started, like, 10 or 11 years ago. but i still feel like when she won her very first title. it still feels so awesome, you know, it really does. >> surprise! >> this is crazy. >> reporter: what does your life look like? married? kids? >> fat? >> reporter: you're just going to want to eat a sundae when the olympics is done. >> i know i want to go to school. i want to go to med school. >> i was wondering where you were at! >> don't let rudy see that. >> reporter: what do you think her future looks like in ten years? what's she doing? why can't you answer that? you probably know her better than anybody. >> i think she's going to get something big out of this. i think she's going to turn pro and she's going to be a world champion. >> reporter: rudy thinks that after the olympics -- >> rudy's crazy. >> reporter: what does matter is who she has in her corner. what's boxing given you? >> boxing has given me a lot of self-esteem. a lot of self-worth. when you're in the ring with people, you just figure out who they are. the only way that you're going to beat somebody is if they gave up on themselves. some girls are better than me. they just don't know it. so i win.