Neely Black: “The last year was very difficult, after winning the world championship I fell apart”

Neely Black, the world champion in Thai boxing, kickboxing and the most decorated fighter in Israel, was a guest on the podcast “WSP – the voice of female athletes in Israel“, led by basketball player Noa Zlibansky. Black, 29 years old from Beit Shemesh, is a seven-time world champion in Thai boxing, a three-time European champion, a world champion in kickboxing and a silver medalist at the 2022 World Games. In addition, she has 6 consecutive wins in Ministry’s Sportswoman of the Year award culture and sports.

In the month of February, she won the title of ISKA Kickboxing World Champion and retained her title. Black entered the battlefield with a sweatshirt calling for the release of the kidnapped, with the song “Am Yisrael Chai” playing in the background. The event took place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in the new complex built in honor of the Olympics and considered one of the most prestigious in the world of boxing.

Neely Black (right) at the finals of the World Kickboxing Championship, in Paris (Photo: IMAGO/Brondani Julien via Reuters Connect)

In the episode Black talks about her path from childhood in Beit Shemesh to the highest status in her field to become world champion and shares insights from her career. “Take pain out of life, take a part out of life. All life is one big pain. If you look at something as a challenge and not as a difficulty, it’s more intriguing to think about what is hidden behind the challenge. How do you become better.”

The most exciting moment in your career?
“After the last win in the world championship they gave me the microphone and I fell apart, because of things I went through in the last year. An injury that I didn’t know if it would end my career, my father who died, the war in Israel. This fight gave me hope and brought me back to the essence of my life.”

Link to the full episode: YouTube, spotify andon the site.