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Shelly Vincent had been in big fights before. She fought Heather Hardy twice, once on NBC Sports Network and once on HBO. That rematch with Hardy was in Madison Square Garden, and with a world title on the line.
But none of that compared to Vincent’s eight-round win over Shelly Barnett in the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield on November 27. That was probably her biggest fight ever.
“It was the most important fight for my mental health and for me,” said Vincent, who was making her first start since an August 2019 win over Karen Dulin. “I could really give a f— less about what happens with boxing now. It’s more for me, like it was when I started.”
Oddly enough, it was a little over a decade ago that Vincent made her pro debut, defeating the same Karen Dulin on October 7, 2011. She was a late starter in the sport, debuting at the age of 32, but she was a quick study, piling up win after win while becoming a legitimate ticket seller on the New England boxing scene.
Ultimately, she became a contender and built up a nice rivalry with Hardy. When the two finally met in 2016, they put on one of the best fights in women’s boxing history. But the end result – a majority decision for Hardy – still doesn’t sit well with the Rhode Islander.
“The first fight, the judges really did me dirty on,” said Vincent. “Still, I don’t care what anybody says, I beat her, I hurt her. If you watch it, you clearly see I won. The second fight, she won, okay, hands down she won. But you know I’m gonna speak on that first one.”
She laughs, admitting that the second decision Hardy took over her more than two years later was legit in her eyes. Despite the results, though, Vincent’s stock didn’t drop, and she ran off three wins before walking away from the sport. The decision surprised many, but Vincent went along with the suggestion of longtime coach Peter Manfredo Sr. that it was time to walk away at the age of 40.
“With him it was just the number,” said Vincent. “I never really wanted to retire. Pete was like my dad, and he kept telling me, ‘You’re old, retire, go out on top, don’t be one of those people who stick around too long.’”
Vincent took her coach’s advice, but almost immediately, it didn’t sit right with her. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and her mental state got worse.
“Boxing has always been like therapy for me,” she said. “So, to take that away from me, that was just too much. And then COVID hit, and I’m not gonna lie, my depression got really bad being locked up in the house.”
Ultimately, she decided she was going to make a comeback. Manfredo Sr. was out of the picture, but the two parted amicably.
“Me and him went back and forth, back and forth with it, but he really doesn’t want to see me fight anymore, so I got a new trainer,” Vincent said. “Me and Pete are great, but he doesn’t want to be there if I ever do get hurt. I tried to explain to him that it’s different for women. It’s not like guys – the danger isn’t there, we don’t have the one punch knockout power, at least not many of us, and women’s bodies are different. But he just didn’t get it. I understand, and we decided to keep our friendship and keep our relationship.”
Enter Dave Keefe.
“I approached Dave Keefe, who was Demetrius Andrade’s old trainer, and we started working,” she said. “And it worked. I feel like I look sharper than ever. I really look sharp. And I did it southpaw.”
Yes, Vincent returned to the ring, and in her 29th pro fight, she did a reverse Balboa (in Rocky II) and turned southpaw. And truth be told, she looked sharp without a hint of ring rust in shutting Barnett out, even if she has a little secret to reveal.
“I was born left-handed,” she said. “My mother turned me right-handed because my grandfather told her that left-handed is wrong-handed. (Laughs) But when I draw, I draw with my right hand and color with the left hand. If I played guitar, I played with the left hand. When I played basketball, if I was on the right side of the court, I shot with the right hand. If I was on the left side, I shot with the left hand.”
And now she can fight left-handed, and even at 42, it appears like there’s enough left in the tank to make another run. Is that the plan? Maybe, but not exactly. After fighting Barnett at 124 ¼ pounds, she hopes to return early in the new year at 122 pounds, then drop to 118 for what she hopes is a title fight. Sounds like a plan, but she’s also playing it fight by fight.
“It could be two or three fights; it could be a year or two – it all depends on my body and my legs,” she said. “It never goes by the age; it goes by the age of the legs. And my legs are good.”
More importantly, her head is in the right place and the heart that was always in it is still there. All the rest doesn’t really matter.
“I already did everything that I wanted to do,” Vincent said. “I fought for women to be on TV, we got on TV, we fought for equality and the women are getting treated better. I just wanted to show little kids that were like me – raped, abused or suicidal and depressed – that you could fight your way out of anything and you can change things around. It was always that, and showing my mother that I was the person that she was trying to make me and not the kid that she got that was all lost and messed up.”
Vincent’s mom, Tania, who tragically passed away at 37 from leukemia, would certainly be proud of what her daughter has become, especially seeing that her boxing journey isn’t just for her, but for those going through the same trauma she experienced.
But the million dollar question is, now that Shelly Vincent is back, is she at peace?
“I’m always closer to peace when I’m boxing and doing what I love,” she said. “I felt pressure coming off my heart when I got back in there.”