By Minnie Larry
In preparation for this interview, I began by watching a documentary of a 5-year-old pugilist out of “Charm City,” Maryland. The professional- astute awareness is apperceive and unmistakable. There’s a specialness, a discerning appreciation with every blow thrown by this tiny tot. From the push-ups to the bag work, this fighter encapsulates the “It Factor,” that thing that sets fighters apart. That athletic acumen mixed with the perfect amount of skill, sprinkled with just the right amount of attitude. This “IT,” this talent, is the very thing that supersedes, time, age, or gender. “Killer Bee” is her name and she’s made fighting a girl game.
Mia Ellis (2-0, 2 KO’s) began this journey at the ripe old age of two. The toddler told her dad, famed boxing trainer Kenny Ellis (while the two were watching a boxing match), that one fighter wasn’t throwing a jab. “She said, ‘daddy, the one in the red shorts is not jabbing.” This acute awareness caught her father’s ear because Mia was so incredibly young at the time. This insight paved the way for the father-daughter duo, forging an 18-year partnership that led to her becoming a professional boxer.
Mia’s byname is a testament to her desire to hit people at her desired target, the nose. Mr. Ellis explains, “Mia was named Killer Bee when she was little because she was determined and strong, but mean, like a bee. Yeah, her personality was like she can do almost anything, lol (laugh out loud), and didn’t want any help.”
In a dominating debut on December 28, 2019 against Uneaka Best, Killer Bee scored a 1st round TKO, cementing her place at the table. As Coach Calvin sees it, “Mia has a very different build than a lot of the women. Mia has been training since she was a toddler. Mia is really strong and has unbelievable reach. Mia is going to be a problem in her division.”
Yet, after the fight, Mia sits alone, off in a dimly lit corner. Something about this young lady grabs at you, makes you notice her. The unassuming 20-year old isn’t concerned with the excitement enveloping the room. She’s somewhat shy, serious, and off in thought. You become keenly aware that there is so much more to her than her brutal strength.
During our talk, Mia began reflecting on a series of events that led to the Baltimore riots, in response of the death of Freddie Gray. Freddie Gray died while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department in April 2015. The four police charged in his arrest were subsequently exonerated, resulting in some Baltimore residents taking to the street to protest. While the protest remained civil for the most part, agitators mixed among the peaceful protestors, causing mayhem. Buildings, businesses, store fronts, were destroyed. Mass looting and violence against police took center-stage. Baltimore was set ablaze. On April 25, 2015, reporters Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Stephan Babcock chronicled the destruction in their New York Times’ article, “Scenes of Chaos in Baltimore as Thousands Protest Freddie Gray’s Death.”
Although a teen at the time, she recounts the beginning of the protests that lit her town on fire. While sitting in class, school administrators made the shocking announcement.
“When the riots had gone on in Baltimore over Freddie Gray, it’s crazy because that was on my birthday. I was turning 15. I was in school and we just got a call saying that we were going to get out early because people were starting to riot. And with kids getting out of school early, that added to the fire because the kids joined into the riot! So, I would say for about three or four in the evening, everything was on fire. Everybody in the streets throwing stuff, fighting, breaking into stores. For about a month or two everything was just shut down because stores that were messed up, or empty. A lot of places to this day haven’t opened back up because of the damage.”
Living in the middle of the madness would leave a profound effect on the teen. “Like I said, I lived in like; dead in the center of it. So, I saw everything. It was probably the craziest thing I ever saw in my life. I never saw that before.” Even at the age of 15, trying to make sense of the world around her, she is keenly aware of the communal pain felt behind Gray’s untimely death. She also understands the agony the rioters felt. Ms. Ellis also believes there was a much different technique some agitators could’ve used to channel their rage. “I understood that they were angry, but that wasn’t a reason to you know, damage people’s business. I understand why they thought that was okay to go in and steal, or set stuff on fire. But, I mean, you can’t blame your anger; you can’t use your anger for everything you know?”
Mia wishes the rioters (not the protestors exhibiting their constitutional rights) thought more deeply about the effects of joining in on the devastation, “Because so many people could have got hurt that day. You know like, what if a police officer would have shot those kids because of the stuff they were doing, they would wish they didn’t do it. Yeah, when you do something wrong, you oftentimes wish you could just go back and fix it, but it’s too late. You should have done the right thing in the beginning. Just think before reacting. Make sure it’s the right thing, or go over what you want the possible outcomes to be, good or bad, but you know you just gotta do the right thing all the time.”
She sees the boxing gym as an outlet to help heal pain. Everyone in the gym is treated as an equal. A place where one must earn respect for and from others, while simultaneously learning self-respect. “Some kids in the gym, they could going through something rough at home and the coaches at our gym, you know they take them in as if this is their own child, and it really helps them. I will tell you so many people came into the gym and it changed their life. You know saving them from street violence. It’s just a place for them to go when they don’t want to be home. It’s place to get away from troubles and get somebody to talk to like a mentor. My father takes so many young men in. For example, a young man here (at the gym), a lot of people think he’s my father’s son, but he took the man in when he was younger.”
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Mia wants for the women boxers. For years, female boxers like Christy Martin, and Lala Ali, to and one of Ellis’ personal favorites, Clarissa Shields, showcased their skills and talents, which never matched their salaries. With the glass ceiling still looming above female athletes, Mia feels the tide is on the precipice of change. “Eventually, I would say this year, they’re going to start giving us equal pay (as the men), because I tell people I travel with this all the time, I feel Clarissa Shields is the one that’s making it happen for us. Actually, everyone in the media knows how she feels about the pay, and I agree (with her), because we work just as hard as the males, so why can’t we have the equal pay to do the same exact thing?”
If you think her moral make-up ends there, you’re wrong. Her work ethic, humility, integrity, and care for her fellow man, is her standard. On January 30, 2021, Mia would go on to destroy Andasia Oglesby (0-8) in the first round. Coach Ellis believes, “Mia is different when it comes to boxing because she’s so confident and for her weight class, she’s big and strong, and daring to be great, she just knows what she can do and wants.” Mia already has her mind set on being a champion, and with her commitment to the sweet science; her future looks is literally in the right hands.
