Eight time World Boxing Champion Jelena Mrdjenovich guest stars on The Shift Show this week. She talks about the many things in life that have gotten her to this point: supportive parents, passionate and caring coaches, and being the best version of yourself, to name a few.
Jelena has a self-titled documentary on YouTube and she also opened a boxing studio in Edmonton called Champs. Her 50th fight takes place on April 28th at the Shaw Conference Centre. Tickets are available at Champs in Edmonton or online through Eventbrite (search K.O. Boxing).
YouTube: Jelena
“Training doesn’t stop for life,” Jelena says. “You have to keep training.”
“You have no idea,” Jelena speaks about the emotional toll boxing takes. “You have to get punched in the face and not be upset about it. It’s just someone’s job.”
“There is good that comes from the bad,” Jelena says. “How you carry yourself and what you do after the bad news and the bad events is how you will be perceived.”
“It was a pivotal part in my life, never mind my career,” Jelena says about being cut from her Junior High basketball team. But when the Senior High basketball coach approached her, he offered words of wisdom that stuck with her throughout life.
“He took me into his office and he said, ‘everything happens for a reason. When a door closes, another one will open and it’s what you do with that open door and that opportunity.’” And although she didn’t play on the Senior team much that year, she learned a lot and it changed who she was, and who she could have been.
After blowing out her knee in the sport when she was just 18 years old, she worked hard through physio and then found boxing. The rest is history.
