\n
\n Hatice
\nOzyurt believes her striking ability will give her the edge
\nwhen she faces Jackie \u201cThe
\nHybrid\u201d Cataline at BKB 61 on Nov. 14 in London.<\/p>\n
Ozyurt is set to meet the former wrestler in a bare-knuckle boxing
\ncontest and expects Cataline to try to close the distance and work
\nin the clinch. However, the Turkish-Dutch fighter is confident she
\ncan dictate the action with her hands and believes the matchup
\ncould produce an early knockout.<\/p>\n
Beyond the fight, Ozyurt takes pride in representing her Turkish
\nheritage on the international stage while using her experiences as
\na fighter and prison senior manager to inspire others.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI leave it in God\u2019s hands. But one thing I know for sure is that
\nit\u2019s not going to be how she planned it,\u201d Ozyurt said in an
\ninterview recorded Oct. 30. \u201cYesterday I had an interview where
\nJackie made it clear that she wants to clinch with me. She can try,
\nbut it\u2019s like I said, I\u2019m not going to hug her in the fight. I want
\nto change levels with the fists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ozyurt hopes her experience will allow her to finish the contest
\nbefore the scheduled five rounds are completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s professional boxing without gloves so I hope it\u2019s going to be
\nthe fight of the night. Hopefully with my boxing skills and my
\nexperience, it will be a KO maybe in the first or second round.
\nIt\u2019s not going to last all five rounds. I hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ozyurt acknowledged Cataline\u2019s wrestling and grappling background
\nbut insisted she is comfortable dealing with that challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has a background as a wrestler, a grappler. And everyone knows
\nme. I\u2019m a professional fighter who\u2019s had almost 70 fights to my
\nname. My special background is striking. So, it\u2019s very interesting
\nto fight against a grappler, a wrestler. I hope it\u2019s not going to
\nbe a fight where she will put me to the ground. And if she takes me
\nto the ground, then we can do BKB on the ground. It\u2019s no problem
\nfor me at all. But I think the complete fighter for BKB — that\u2019s
\nme. Of course, I respect her as a fighter, as a female. But because
\nof my background as a striker, that ground is my playground.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Ozyurt expects to have the advantage in striking, she also
\nrecognizes Cataline’s accomplishments and views the contest as an
\nopportunity to showcase her skills at the highest level of
\nbare-knuckle boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born and raised in the Netherlands and my background\u2019s
\nculture is Turkish. I represent Turkey with pride, as the first
\nTurkish female fighter in the Netherlands,\u201d Ozyurt said. \u201cIt\u2019s very
\nexciting for me to be there fighting at the highest level of
\nbare-knuckle. Jackie, of course, is also a legend in her
\nbackground. I\u2019m very grateful and very excited for this fight
\nbetween us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nOutside the ring, Ozyurt works as a senior manager at a prison in
\nthe Netherlands, a role she said she has held for nearly 17 years.
\nShe believes her experiences in combat sports and her professional
\nlife have given her an opportunity to encourage people facing
\ndifficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I want to be an inspiration to them. I\u2019m a senior manager in
\nthe toughest prison in the Netherlands. We don\u2019t deal with guys who
\nstole candy from a store. We work with murderers and rapists. But
\nalso with children who are damaged by their loved ones, who never
\nhad a chance to stand up for themselves,\u201d Ozyurt said.<\/p>\n
The Turkish-Dutch fighter emphasized that her achievements have
\ncome through years of hard work and that she hopes her journey can
\nserve as an example to those she encounters in her profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done this work for almost 17 years now. With my personality
\nand who I am as a woman, who I am as a fighter, I always give them
\nthe message of where I came from. I didn\u2019t get things handed to me
\non a golden plate. I worked hard in my position as a fighter and as
\na female, in this society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ozyurt said her approach to working with incarcerated individuals
\ncenters on respect, understanding and helping them build better
\nfutures.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs senior manager in the prison, I always get respect from the
\nprisoners. They love to hear what I say because I talk from my
\nheart. Some children didn\u2019t even have a chance to develop
\nthemselves and I want to guide them when they come into society.
\nSome things are not for granted. Some things you have to work for.
\nAnd I hope that when I help them, that they take me as an
\nexample.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ozyurt, the people she works with are more than their
\ncircumstances or the offenses that brought them into the prison
\nsystem. She hopes to provide them with the encouragement and
\nsupport they may have lacked earlier in life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful that there are prisoners… I don\u2019t want to call
\nthem prisoners. They are human beings in my eyes. They are children
\nwho are damaged. I want them to get a chance. I want them to feel
\nthat there is a person who wants to hear them, wants to help them,
\nand want to create solutions for them, to become a better person in
\nlife.\u201d<\/p>\n