Third-year law student excels in classroom and in the ring

Kristina Perry attended the first day of classes this semester with a patch covering her left eye and a severely bruised lip.

She was defeated by technical knockout on Jan. 10, by a boxer in a heavier weight class who will likely go pro this year. Tuesday was the first day she was able to fully see out of her left eye.

Perry is in her final year at the University of Richmond's T.C. Williams School of Law. In addition to boxing and having a busy class schedule, she works at the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, bartends for University of Richmond Catering and is the current editor-in-chief of the Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business, one of the four scholarly journals published by law students at Richmond.

"I am a really busy person and have a lot going on," Perry said. "I get really stressed out. Boxing is a way to relieve that stress. Some people run or exercise. I box."

Perry first started boxing in Northern Virginia two years ago, after her first year of law school. A graduate of Virginia Tech University, Perry found I N'Motion Boxing in Midlothian, Va., when she moved to Richmond. When she first started, Perry thought boxing would serve as a way to stay in shape.

She soon decided she wanted to fight competitively. She won her first boxing match in December 2007 during the Women's State Amateur Welterweight Championship in Virginia Beach, Va. She would have defended her title last December, but was unable to fight because of an injury. Perry has also trained for several other fights, but was unable to compete because there was no one to fight in her weight class.

Perry said she hoped to make the sport more popular among women.

"As a female boxer, it is really frustrating when you have no one to fight," Perry said. "A lot of girls do kickboxing, but hardly ever decide to pursue boxing and very few are willing to spar against someone else."

Perry does not box with anyone from Richmond. She has brought her friends and family to the gym before, but "they usually get scared away."

"I don't mind doing it alone," Perry said. "Besides it gives me time to be by myself and also to meet new people in the gym. The people in my club that I spar and train with are like my family."

Skylor Fitz-Coy has coached Perry for the past two years.

"Kristina is a very hard worker," Fitz-Coy said. "She's always willing to go the extra mile in her training. Kristina is always willing to go beyond what it is required and to do more than most men in our gym. She regularly spars against men like me, twice her size. There have been times where our other fighters watch her work and they copy her ideas. She doesn't think much of it, but Kristina's drive to succeed is a very admirable quality."

Although Perry has no intention of pursuing boxing as a career, she does intend to do amateur boxing as long as she isn't seriously injured. But she has wanted to be a lawyer since she was in fourth grade, she said.

Perry said she hoped to compete in the 2009 Virginia Golden Gloves Championships in March and the Virginia State Championships in December. She will most likely have to train and study for the Virginia Bar Exam at the same time.

Both Perry and her coach think boxing will help her as a lawyer. Perry thinks that having boxed with people from all professions and areas of life will help her develop a connection to future clients in labor and employment law, the field she aspires to work in, she said.

"I definitely think her drive and dedication to detail will take her far in the legal field," Fitz-Coy said. "Courtrooms and boxing rings aren't so different. You need to hit your opponent harder and more often, yet in other cases you just need good defense. There are times when your back may be on the ropes and you're forced to respond. Most importantly, you have to perform well in front of the judge, or jury, to get your decision."

Contact reporter Nick Mider at nick.mider@richmond.edu