As we continue, Reid talks about what motivated her to make a change in her life and career now.

“I love the sport and I want to support it so much, but that’s why this was time for me to kind of wake up. I’m 29 now and I started as a young child. I really wanted to do well with [boxing], and I really wanted to be in my community and make a name for myself so I could help my community. I knew that if I had more money that it would be a lot easier [to help the community], or if I had a bigger name, it would be a lot easier. It was just getting tougher and tougher to do those two things.

“I love the sport and want to help it, but you can only help so much when you’re not being helped.

“There wasn’t enough money behind me, and to not be able to fix an injury that happened from a sport where I’m trying to make money, it just didn’t make sense anymore. As much as I love the sport, unless you have money behind you, it’s just too tough to keep going. I’m going to raise a family and I’m going to do things in my community, so I have to be responsible.”

Reid credits her family and their support for making the decision easier.

“Oh my gosh, yes, [my family is] so happy!” she laughs when thinking about her family’s support of her decision to step away. “They are the people who have helped to pave the way, and have helped and supported me, so they are really the ones who allowed me to do the things that I did in the sport. Without them, it would have been impossible.

“They saw the unfairness, very much towards the end, that in every single time where something happened that was unfair, [I would] just bounce back up and say, ‘Okay, no big deal. Things like that in life, all of these tough things, will only make me a stronger person. Who cares if those people are bad, I’m not going to be that person.’ And they saw me go through that over and over again, to the point where you just get tired.

“I was in tears so many times throughout my career just because of unfairness, where you literally just couldn’t understand and you’re like, ‘How could this happen?’ They saw that and they’re just really happy that I’m staying positive and going on with the things that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Reid has started her own business and is working within her community to improve the lives and health of children who live in the area.

“I do have a personal training business, but I also have a lot of kids’ fitness classes and I’m a large part of a non-profit. It’s FGP, the Community Future Generation Project, and it’s for fighting obesity within our children.

“I’m really lucky and I’m really happy working with kids. I started my own business for personal training, kids’ classes and non-profits. I’m still able to give back to my community, but here it seems that now I’m able to pay the bills. And that’s important!” Reid laughs.

“I don’t need to be rich. Not that there’s anything wrong with being rich because if I had lots of money, I think that’d be awesome, but that’s not my goal. Money is not what motivates me by any means, and I think that my life kind of says that, but I want to for sure be part of my community.”

While a final retirement bout remains a possibility, Reid is unlikely to step back into the ring or cage anytime soon. For now, she is focused on her family, community and planning her October wedding.

“I’m sure [my fight] would be after the wedding,” she says. “We literally just closed on our house and I’m planning this wedding. As much as I’d love to say that it’s easy, it’s hard work day-to-day, so I just can’t imagine putting focus [into training]. When I do fight, [training] will be my focus, and I just know that until this wedding happens, I’ve got all of these other things on my mind.”

With her legacy in combat sports intact, Reid will now look to inspire the next generation of athletes in her community of Phoenix, Arizona so that they may one day follow in her footsteps and achieve their dreams through the same hard work and dedication that became a staple of Reid’s 11-year career.