Meet The REAL Million Dollar Baby

Maureen "Moe" Shea Is Fierce, Yet Feminine

By John Mooney

Although Maureen "Moe" Shea played a key role in preparing actress Hilary Swank for the movie Million Dollar Baby, don't think for a second that she has "gone Hollywood." The 26-year-old professional boxer is refreshingly down-to-earth and still lives in the Bronx, where she spent much of her youth.

Her dad is a retired NYPD detective and former marine, while her mom, of Mexican heritage, worked in the airline industry. Moe was always a bit of a tomboy, both athletic and rebellious. Her older brother followed a much more traditional career path - he went to college and became a pharmacist. Initially, none of the members of her family were enthusiastic about her decision to pursue boxing.

Boxing Beginnings

Moe took up the sport for physical and mental fitness, rather than to work towards a championship belt.

"I was in an abusive relationship. I was a shell of a woman. I was afraid and had no self-esteem," the boxer said. "It was a tough time. I had difficulty getting accepted into college because I left high school during my junior year."

Shea quit smoking cigarettes and started working with a trainer at Omni Health and Fitness in Pelham Manor. It was a decision that helped turn her life around.

"It felt great to hit the heavy bag. Eventually, my trainer couldn't take me to the level I wanted to be at because I wanted to compete as an amateur," she explained. "I felt like I was on a mission."

Initially, Shea's family was not thrilled with her decision to pursue the sport. Her parents preferred that she concentrate on working and going to school.

"My father was tough on me. We bumped heads a lot," Shea said.

"My mom and dad would come to my matches, but then ask, 'How long are you going to do this for,' That was until the Golden Gloves," the self-described rebellious child said. "When I got to the finals of the Golden Gloves, I think he realized and appreciated how hard I worked. It was hard, but I won his respect. The sport has brought us together."

Million Dollar Baby

When Clint Eastwood began looking for someone to help train actress Hilary Swank, he first contacted Angelo Dundee, who had trained Muhammad Ali, among others. Dundee referred him to Hector Roca, who had prepared John Leguizamo and Jennifer Lopez for boxing roles and trained world champions including Arturo Gatti, Buddy McGirt, and Hector "Macho" Camacho.

Swank, a natural athlete, learned the basics of boxing from Roca and then watched and learned from sparring with Shea inside the ring.

"Hilary wanted to understand the fundamentals, and how it feels to actually be a boxer," said Moe, who is ranked in the top 10 by both the WBA and WBC. "I shared my story with her -- my passion, my struggles, and what motivates me to sacrifice the way I do. Women have to fight just to get inside the ring."

The intelligent, yet tough-as-nails boxer sees a lot of herself in the character of Maggie "Mo Chúisle " Fitzgerald.

"When I was an amateur I didn't have a sponsor my travel expenses to fight in nationals. I bought my own equipment. Hilary definitely incorporated part of my story into the role," she said. "In the scene where she counts all the money she scrimped to buy a speed bag, it really connected with me. I get emotional over the movie."

One day while sparring, Swank tagged Moe, who was boxing with a deviated septum, with a right to the nose, causing it to bleed. The actress apologized, but was told that was a no-no in the boxing ring.

"I told her that we're not friends in the ring, we're friends outside the ring," said Shea, who believes that Swank had the talent to become a contender if she put her mind to it."

The real life fighter went to the movie premier, but didn't go to the Oscars. She was in school and working and couldn't afford to take the time off. However, she and Swank spoke that evening.

Golden Gloves

One of Shea's few disappointments in the ring was losing the finals of the Golden Gloves championships at Madison Square Garden, where her former sparring partner, who had flown in from California, cheered her on.

It wasn't a Hollywood ending; the winner that evening was Ronica Jeffrey, a hard puncher from Brooklyn, who also trains at Gleason's. Jeffrey, also a college student at the time, won in convincing fashion with a 5-0 scoring decision on the judges' cards.

Erin Go Brawl

Now that she has turned professional, the 5-4, 127 lb. super featherweight is 9-0 with 4 KOs. Everlast, the boxing equipment manufacturer, provides gear, but she is looking for additional sponsors. Shea is scheduled to be one of the featured matches of the "Erin Go Brawl" boxing card headlined by John Duddy-Anthony Bonsante match. The bouts can be seen via pay-per-per view and, of course, live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, promoted by Irish Ropes.

Meanwhile, Shea works at Hitachi America Ltd, in the corporate import/export division and helps Irish Ropes with publicity, while still attending Iona College. She favors Keats and Edgar Allen Poe and is also a fan of Greek mythology, particularly The Iliad. A true Renaissance woman, Moe also is an award-winning flute player. In her little spare time, she plays with her cat, Pandora, and enjoys shopping and getting facials, manicures, and pedicures. ("I'm a girl's girl," she says.) Since she doesn't eat red meat, Moe likes to cook fish, vegetable and tofu dishes.

Shea's friends from Iona and from high school attend her matches, as does her best friend from kindergarten, who cried the first time she went to see Moe fight.

A classy representative for women's boxing, Shea does not tell strangers what she does for a living unless it comes up in conversation. First, she'll say that she is an athlete, but won't mention the sport until she is pressed further.

"You're too pretty to be a boxer!"

"A lot of times people will say, 'Oh you must do kick boxing, you're too pretty to be a boxer.' When people tell me that they don't like to see girls boxing, I say to come see me fight and then tell me how you feel. I have won over a lot of fans," said Shea, who really didn't have any boxing heroes.

"I didn't know about boxing until started doing it. When a saw the Fernando Vargas- Felix Trinidad fight, I admired Vargas because of his heart," she explained.

Moe has become friends with the legendary Roberto Duran and has watched some of his fights on tape with him. Since she converses fluently in Spanish, the two fighters had a ready-made natural bond.

"I turn heads when people hear me speaking Spanish. Sometimes I get funny looks. I tell people I picked it up at Gleason's," she joked.

"I am able to adapt to both the Irish and Mexican cultures. They're so different, but boxing is something they share."