- Avril Mathie is back in the gym after surgery
- The Australian boxer has a professional record of 8-1-1
Australian boxer Avril Mathie has opened up about the impact breast reduction surgery has had on her fighting technique.
The 37-year-old started boxing in 2012 and currently has a fight record of 8-1-1.
In February 2023, Mathie fought for the vacant IBF intercontinental super bantamweight title against Ramla Ali, but suffered the first professional defeat of her career at Madison Square Garden.
The Australian boxer, who also won the prestigious Miss Swimsuit USA International crown in 2014, recently revealed she had undergone surgery to remove her breast implants.
Now that she’s recovered, she’s returned to the gym and spoken out about how her ‘biomechanics work differently’
‘Today was my first day hitting anything in over two months (since before the explant surgery), and for the first time ever in my boxing life, my forearms will be able to defend both my chin and my body at the same time, and I will be able to throwing straight punches longer and faster now that the implants aren’t in the way and forcing my elbows out,” she wrote in a caption alongside a video of her hitting a bag during training.
Avril Mathie has opened up about the changes a breast reduction procedure has had on her boxing technique
Mathie returned to training after surgery and claimed her ‘boxing biomechanics worked differently’
She took to Instagram to speak out about the changes in her body, claiming she would be back to her best in ‘a few weeks’
“But old habits die hard, so here I am doing reps upon reps to teach my elbows their new position and I think we’ll stick to the basics here for a while,” she said, adding a “smiling face.” emoji.
“But give me a few weeks and my boxing is about to get tight.”
Mathie was scheduled to fight Ebanie Bridges in 2023 following her defeat to Ali, but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. She was replaced by Miyo Yoshida, who defeated Bridges in what was considered a major upset.
Mathie, meanwhile, elaborated on the change in her body’s biomechanics, claiming she felt boxing could now be ‘easier’.
“My elbows can now touch my chest while my hands can protect my face for the first time in my life,” she said in a post. Q&A published on her YouTube channel.
“I’ve always had a stop block in the road, so it was always a choice between, ‘Do I want my hands to protect my ribs or protect my face?’ Coaches always yelled at me.”
She added: “I feel like my life as a boxer is going to be a lot easier and have more opportunities.”
Mathie previously opened up to getting the implants when she was 19, but opted to remove them on the advice of her doctor.
Mathie says her recovery from the surgery hasn’t been easy, but she’s very happy it worked out
Mathie (pictured right) explained that she now ‘feels great’ after her recovery
‘I actually got them when I was 19 because, I think, I was brainwashed by the culture I grew up in to think I was out of proportion.
‘I was super self-conscious. It’s not like I was one of those girls who said, “Oh my god, look at my boobs. I have boobs now,” or who liked to wear revealing tops.’
But during the YouTube video, Mathie revealed the reason why she chose to remove her implants.
“When I saw girls posting on social media about their decision to remove, most of these girls were doing it because of a breast implant condition – which I didn’t necessarily think I had,” she said.
“This information prompted me to do some research.”
She went to get hers checked before her doctor told her that while it wasn’t an emergency, she “should consider removing or replacing them if given the time or opportunity.”
Mathie also explained that the recovery had been “really brutal and I wasn’t really prepared for it.” But despite that, she said she now “feels great.”