Katz kicking up a fuss

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This article was published 14/11/2023 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The discipline of Muay Thai has always been a family affair for Jersey Katz, but it might never be more important to the Winnipeg teen than later this month when she makes her debut on the global stage.

Katz, 16, will strap on the gloves for her second career fight in the women’s U18 135-pound division at the Muay Thai World Cup in Calgary on Saturday, Nov. 25. Her older brother, Brendon Paukovic, 23, also makes his World Cup debut in the 160-pound category.

Katz has enjoyed some early success, winning the North American championship belt in the 135-pound division in Iowa in June. There are still relatively few female teen athletes in the discipline, contributing to her rapid rise.

Fighting on the same card as her brother will be a dream come true.

“My brother was definitely a big inspiration for this. He’s been fighting for many years. I really looked up to him and I wanted to get in the ring and fight (on the same card) as him,” Katz said.

“It’s really exciting. I’m definitely nervous a bit but I think I’m more excited than nervous.”

Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing, is a crossover of boxing and kickboxing that also allows fighters to strike with their elbows and knees and grapple the upper body. The combat sport is often a prerequisite for fighters in mixed martial arts competitions, most notably the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Katz has been around the martial art since she was five years old but didn’t apply herself to the craft until a couple of years ago. She’s thrown a flurry of punches since that time, now training twice a day, six days a week, while juggling her school work.

“I put a lot of dedication into this sport and I feel like it definitely is a big part of my life. I’m either at school or the gym. The gym is my second home, it’s my second family,” she said.

Katz trains out of Winnipeg Kickboxing and Muay Thai, and has enjoyed the distinct advantage of learning from her mother, gym owner Trisha Sammons, a two-time women’s Canadian Muay Thai champion.

Sammons, who opened the business in 2007 as a women’s-only gym before expanding to all fighters, said she enrolled her kids in Muay Thai to build their confidence and teach them self-defence.

Now, she recognizes some of the same qualities in her daughter that Sammons’ former coach, Larry Sharp, saw in her as a 21-year-old taking up the martial art for the first time.

“(Jersey) definitely has the ‘it’ factor in this sport,” said Sammons, who has more than 40 career bouts to her name. “She reminds me a lot of myself. She’s mentally strong, stays focused, (while still doing her school work, getting good grades, training six days a week — it’s a lot.

“Jersey picked it up pretty quick — like, as soon as she started I knew she had the potential. She was also a natural. Her and my son, Brendon, are very alike in this way.”

As a coach, Sammons has remained calm as the biggest fight of her daughter’s young career nears. She conceded her motherly instincts have put her in a stranglehold, at times.

“As it gets closer, I get the biggest knots in my stomach putting them in there. It’s stressful,” she said.

As for Katz, she’s risen to prominence much quicker than she had originally planned. However, she’s not going into her first World Cup just to test the waters.

“I want to win,” she said. “Win or lose, I’m stepping in the ring, which takes a lot of encouragement to get in the ring. So, I think that alone is a win for me.

“I was definitely envisioning getting a couple of fights and boosting my record, but the fact that I’m going to the World Cup on my second fight is surreal. I’m just very excited and very grateful for this opportunity.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

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