Whether she's serving up plate-sized pancakes at a Fells Point restaurant or pummeling the speed bag in an oven-hot North Avenue gym, Gina D'Andrea operates at an intensity summed up by the tattoo inside her lower lip: "Hustler."
At an even 5 feet and 110 pounds, she says that when some people look at her, all they see is "a nose and a pair of sneakers." But D'Andrea has big dreams.
Pancakes pay the bills, but boxing feeds her soul.
This week, D'Andrea will step into a ring in Hollywood, Fla., to face another amateur boxer, and if she's good enough, another one after that. Not quite two years after she first laced up a pair of gloves, D'Andrea could be the 2008 Women's National Golden Gloves champion in the flyweight division.
Her coach, Marvin McDowell, a member of Maryland's Boxing Hall of Fame, likes her chances.
"I see a national champion, if she does her best and listens to me," says McDowell, owner of Umar Boxing Program. "The skills are in there. She's got the package. All she has to do is open the package and give the gifts out."
In March, D'Andrea made the semifinals of USA Boxing's Future Stars championships, which attracted 11 current or former amateur national champions.
Born in Annapolis 24 years ago, D'Andrea led the life of a military brat. South Korea, Seattle, Germany and El Paso, Texas, were home at one time or another. Lots of things changed, but one remained constant. The family watched boxing on television.
"I've always liked boxing, always," she says.
She finished school, attended hairdressing academy and settled in the Washington area. Working out in a local gym, she met boxers and joined them on their daily runs.
While watching a fight that featured cruiserweight Darnell "Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson from Takoma Park, she thought to herself: " 'They get paid for this?' It seemed better than getting a real job."
If only. In those first bouts, D'Andrea took her lumps.
"In the beginning, being aggressive is part of everyone's game," she says. "That only works for so long. I had a couple of fights and I won them, but not with a lot of skill."
She moved to Baltimore, took a job at the Blue Moon Cafe and learned when it comes to boxing, "Umar's the word on the street."
McDowell, 48, runs a barbershop at Mondawmin Mall but returns to the neighborhood where he grew up to run Umar, his North Avenue gym.
