Muay Thai In Mexico: Interview With Mariana de Lira

 

 

Mariana de Lira is a Mexican Muay Thai fighter training under Carlos Singto Navarro at Baan Singto Muay Thai gym in Guadalajara.

 

Mariana de Lira’s stats:

 

Record: 11-1
Fight Weight: 55 KG
Legal Name: MARIANA DE LIRA ROSALES
Fight Name: FURIA
Date Of Birth: 24/01/1986

 

Please tell us about your Muay Thai history.

 

I started training Muay Thai about 5 years ago. I just got to some MMA gym because a friend told me just to go to exercise ourselves. I trained very irregularly in that gym. Then I started listening to comments of one particular Muay Thai professor Carlos Navarro. Good comments and also comments about being very strict. So I started having curiosity of this professor. One day I took a free class with him and I loved it. From that day till now, I train with him. 6 months later I made my debut in Muay Thai. I was crying so much before that fight, I was so scared and nervous, but I just saw Carlos’ face and I knew he was going to quarrel me,

 

I remember his exact words, “Ya deja de chillar y ya es tu turno” (Stop crying and it’s your turn).

 

I was going to back away, but I was more afraid of Carlos, of what he would had told than for the real fight. So I went up there and did it; it was my first win. And then a haven’t stopped fighting. Since that day, every fight I had, I feel a little bit less jitters.

 

 

 

 

What is the current state of Muay Thai in Mexico for women?

 

Women’s Muay Thai in Mexico is increasing each day more and more. It is easy for an amateur to have fights. Even though I have to mention that I had to fight against the same girl 3 times. As I already mentioned, women Muay Thai is increasing each day, but there are not a lot of women. Or sometimes it has been difficult to get a fight because there are new girls fighters coming out, but they have 1-3 fights, and in my case now I have 12, so sometimes they don’t want to. And there is no money to get girls from outside Mexico.

 

I really don’t know the answer about if it is easy to be accepted in another gym because I have just been in 2 gym. And in my actual gym I was quickly accepted because I was the girlfriend of one of the loyal students in that school.

 

I think women are taken seriously in Muay Thai because we have earned the respect of our teammates, our professors and all the people that surrounds this sport.

 

And as time passes by, we (women) are becoming as important as men.

 

 

Are there any changes you would like to see made about the current state of Muay Thai in Mexico?

 

To educate people that are in this sport, as well as people in general, to respect and not talk behind the others.

 

What is an average day for you like in Guadalajara?

 

I wake up around 6:30-6:45, I go to have a run, lift weights or do cross fit. I come back around 9:00 to my house and take a bath, have breakfast and go to work. I work with my dad as human resources. Around 3:30 I go to my house and eat, then I come back to the office and I go out at 6 o’clock. Everyone thinks that because I work with my dad I really don’t work that much, but it is the opposite. Then I come home and I walk my dog, then I just chill out a little bit and then I go for my Muay Thai training. I wait all day for this hour to get up and train Muay Thai. I do my training depending if I have a fight coming out or not. I finish, get home, have a very big dinner, a shower, watch a little bit TV and get a good sleep.

 

What do love most about training?

 

What I love the most is when a big fight is coming, make very good sparring and feel that and winning that battle. That feeling after that training is so satisfying that I have no words to express it.

 

 

 

And about fighting?

 

I really hate the feelings I have minutes before my fights, so when I am up there, giving the best I have, when they have raised my hand because I won the fight, it’s like heaven.

 

What has been your greatest challenge?

 

My greatest challenge has been keeping me fighting, sacrificing a lot of things so I can be the fighter I want to be. Sacrificing, I mean no parties, not staying out late, always trying to get good hours of sleep, leaving beside friends and sometimes family. I don’t stay at my boyfriend’s because he’s a fighter as well, so he always supports me on what I do.

 

Who has been your toughest opponent?

 

My toughest opponent has been a girl named Mariana Ramos. She is heavier than me, so I have to come up 2kg more and she had to cut down a pair of kilograms. In that time she had twice the experience than me. I went up there and gave my best. I lost, everybody talked about that fight being erroneously stopped. Even though I lost, the opponents were talking bad things about me.

 

Do you have any closing comments for your fans?

 

I am really grateful with all my friends and family and even though I sometimes don’t see them that much, they are always in my fights shouting my name.