By admin 
ROCK HILL, S.C. (WJZY) — A Rock Hill woman is chasing her dream of becoming a champion bare-knuckle boxer.
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Taylor Starling trained Monday at Modern Warrior MMA.
When asked what she’s thinking about when she steps in the ring, Starling answers, “The hardships of life and how this is my opportunity to go in here and let it all out of my system.”
Starling says she had a rough upbringing, getting bullied and fighting a lot.
It pushed her on a path to becoming a professional boxer with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, a combat sport not sanctioned in North Carolina.
“I can flip a switch and get in the ring and be a killer, but I am the biggest, most sensitive baby in the whole entire world,” Starling said.
Starling holds a 6-4 record in her six-year career. She’s a flyweight who’s fought for championship belts.
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Next month, she’s on the card to fight in an event at Fenway Park in Boston.
“This fight is one step in the direction to getting back to that title shot,” Starling said.
Starling is also a wife and mother to two sons, ages 8 and 10.
“To my kids, I’m Mommy,” she said. “I’m not a fighter. I have to give them this speech, ‘Mom‘s coming home after a fight. I might have black eyes, I might not.’ They’re so supportive. They just always want me to be ok.”
Starling’s been beaten up badly, but somehow, she calls it fun.
“I want to do this,” she said. “I have the drive, the passion for it and here I am. I made a life out of it.”
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One of Starling’s trainers is a former bantamweight champion.
Her husband is a BKFC photographer.