|
|
Ring Leader
Cary Williams-Nunez
 While she was studying botany at Sac State, it is unlikely Cary Williams-Nunez (Environmental Studies ’96) ever envisioned she would trade in her garden gloves for boxing gloves. But soon after graduating she found herself captivated by the sport.
Now as one of only a handful of female boxing promoters in the world, Williams- Nunez is the CEO of Sacramento-based Prime Time LLC, the parent company of Prime Time Boxing and Fitness, and Prime Time Productions, businesses she cofounded.
In July, she promoted “Rumble at Raley Field,” the biggest professional boxing event ever held in the Capital Region. Fourteen boxers competed in seven fights with special guests including the 1996 IBA World Super Heavyweight champ Eric “Butterbean” Esch, and famed referee Richard Steele. And she brought a decidedly female perspective to the event by including female bouts and male ring cardholders.
Not afraid to step into the ring herself, Willams-Nunez earned her Level IV Olympic Boxing coaching certification in 2001. As a coach, her petite frame and ladylike voice is deceiving. “Everyone keeps expecting me to be this large woman who looks like a man. That’s unfortunate,” she says. “I think strength can be looked upon as a feminine trait.”
And there is no doubt that Williams- Nunez is tough. “I was taught to get up and brush myself off (if I fell down),” she says.
And when she falls, she falls hard—such as the time she fell 40 feet into a Santa Monica lake as a competitor on NBC’s “Fear Factor.” “I basically got pulled on a speeding raft with a helicopter overhead, reached up and climbed a rope as far as I could,” she says of her 2004 appearance.
Williams-Nunez is also a fitness expert and model. She appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness Hers in August. And she is working on a “Knocking Out Obesity” campaign by developing boxing programs for kids. “Boxing,” she says, “is a life-changing experience.” And she would know.
|
