LEFT-WRIGHT COMBINATION ASPIRING AMATEUR BOXER MIGHT JUST HAVE WHAT IT TAKES.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Kristy Wright makes a living directing airplanes. However, the U.S. Marine-trained air-traffic controller hopes someday to make her career directing punches.

So far, the 24-year-old amateur boxer seems to be hitting her targets. She's ranked 10th in the nation in the 139-pound division by USA Boxing, the sport's national governing body.

Wright, a junior welterweight, never expected to succeed so soon, having taken up the sport in April at the Estrada Boxing Club in Palmdale.

She started taking kick-boxing classes as a Marine for exercise - and her interest grew.

``I needed a challenge,'' said Wright, who fights next on a professional undercard Jan. 31 in San Diego. ``I got sick of just punching air and I just decided I'd try it. It's a great workout, it's the toughest thing you can do.''

Wright already has been tested. At her former Marine base in Camp Lejeune, N.C., she recently found herself in the ring with Kanicia Eley, the top-ranked women's boxer in the world in her weight class and a nine- year veteran. And though Wright lost a decision, her strong showing caught the attention of amateur boxing officials.

``They didn't think she had a chance,'' said Wright's trainer, Greg Barnes, ``but she did so well. Everyone was really impressed.''

An accomplished softball player from Geneva, N.Y. - she played amateur ball - Wright wishes she'd began boxing years ago. The Marines since have added women's boxing.

She lives in Lancaster with her 3-year-old daughter, Alyssa, who enjoys watching her mom fight.

``She likes beating me up, too,'' Kristy said of her daughter, who grew up on the Camp Lejuene base.

Although she's completed her active service, Wright remains on Inactive Ready Reserves until 2004. She could be recalled into active duty at any time, with military action in the Middle East a strong possibility. The idea of being separated from her daughter has her anxious.

However, amid the uncertainty, Wright continues to hone her boxing skills. A student of the sport, she acknowledges she has a lot to learn but has come a long way since her first sparring session over the summer.

``I was so nervous,'' she said. ``I remember turning to my trainer and I was like, 'I can't feel my arms.' I don't even know how to explain it.''

Despite her inexperience, Wright's natural ability has impressed her coaches.

``She learns quick,'' Barnes said. ``She's got good instincts and she's real aggressive. She's not like a typical women's fighter; she delivers her punches straight, with more leverage. The only thing I think she's missing is head movement and some attitude.''

Wright hopes her hard work will translate to hard currency. The national amateur champion was awarded $1,000 this past year and there is money to made as a professional. And Barnes said a lot of the money in women's boxing is earned outside the ring.

``If you're smart, you'll go after the endorsements,'' he said.

That's in the distant future, however. For now, Wright, like all young fighters, must take her lumps - both physical and emotional - as learns her craft.

Wright laughs when she talks about the violent nature of boxing. She doesn't mind taking some punishment - or giving it. Although she understands she must always keep her emotions in check.

``There's some bloody noses here and some black eyes there,'' she said with a smile. ``It comes with the sport.

``... If you go in there with anger or resentment, you just threw everything that you've been training for out the window, because then you're going out there trying to brawl and that's not what it's about.''

The intense physical conditioning and self-discipline she developed as a Marine have helped her boxing career. Still, she's challenged.

She said the grueling training regimen is much more difficult than many realize. She trains two hours daily six days a week. The program includes hundreds of sit-ups, dips and sparring.

And she believes few are aware of what it takes to be successful in the ring.

``It's a lonely place in that ring, and fighting an actual fight is so different from sparring,'' she said. ``When you're sparring, your trainers are there and they're guiding you through your movements and they can stop the fight if anything's happening. But when that bell rings for the fight, you're by yourself and all you have is what you've been taught and you just better hope you remember it and do your best because they can't do anything. They (trainers and coaches) can't help you.

``It's just you and that other person and you're fighting for your life in there. It's no joke; it's tough.''

Wright's mother, Roxanne Serrett, didn't find her daughter's most recent athletic venture a laughing matter.

``I thought she was crazy,'' Serrett said. ``She's a mom and she has a full-time job.''

However, it didn't surprise her. She remembers her daughter coming home with broken bones playing softball. Wright also suffered a concussion.

``That's just the type of person she is,'' Serrett said. ``She's a leader. She always wants to do things first and I'm very proud of her.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Kristy Wright, a 24-year-old Marine and a mom, has tossed a blossoming boxing career into her busy schedule.

(2) Kristy Wright works out two hours a day, six days a week at the Estrada Boxing Club in Palmdale.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer