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Sarah
[THEµKNOCKOUT]
Kuhn
by ann e. butenas | photography by jill richardson
Albany resident Sarah Kuhn is a typical young woman. She is
a reality TV fan. Pink is her favorite color. She is still a newlywed,
married to local radio personality Brian Cody of 92.3
FM’s The Fly Morning Rush show. She loves to cook and bake. She has
a great job managing the bar at Milano Italian Restaurant in Latham.
And she boxes. Professionally. And she is ranked # 6 in the world by the
Women’s Boxing Archive Network (WBAN). Okay, so perhaps she is
typical to a point, but when she is in the ring, that is where her true colors
shine, especially the pink. Surprisingly, though, a professional boxing
career was something Sarah never even entertained. After all, she has
a degree in the Culinary Arts and manages a bar. How did professional
boxing even enter the picture
“I didn’t even know women boxed,” she admitted. “But when I first
got into the sport four years ago, I realized that I had a natural talent for
it and when I realized my potential, I decided that if I really wanted to
do this, I was going to give it my all. I had always been involved in sports,
but I never really excelled at anything until I got into boxing.” And she
certainly never imagined how she would end up in the boxing ring fighting
for a world title, but her journey to this point is very interesting.
Naturally athletic, Sarah has always been involved in athletics
throughout her life. Born and raised in Schoharie, Sarah was homeschooled
all the way through high school along with her younger
brother Jesse. Sarah benefited from the love and guidance of two
very supportive parents, Frank and Phyllis, who kept both kids highly
involved in extracurricular activities, from dance to music to church and
multiple sporting endeavors. “Every day was different,” she recalled of
her growing up years.
After completing high school, Sarah studied at Paul Smiths College,
earning a B.S. in Culinary Arts and Service Management in 2005.
Her passion for this creative field of study was honed, in part, by her
musical and artistic inclinations while growing up.
“I danced for nearly ten years growing up, primarily ballet, along
with some tap and jazz, and I loved it,” she smiled. “I also played the
piano and sang. Jesse and I used to perform together. He would sing and
play the guitar, and I would sing and dance.”
When she was 14 years old, Sarah turned her attention to work.
She got a part-time paper route and also baby sat. She still pursued her
athletic interests but was not overly ambitious or competitive in this
regard. “I’m athletic and have always loved sports–swimming, basketball,
baseball–but I was never great at any one sport,” she recalled.
When she was 15, Sarah began working at the Albany Marriott as
an intern in their food service department, a position she maintained off
and on during college. She also participated in the Boards of Cooperative
Educational Services (BOCES) Vocational Program through the
state of New York while a junior and senior in high school.
“Because I was home-schooled, I was ahead in my studies and
was able to pursue the culinary arts part of BOCES, which was where I
learned to cook and fell in love with it. Whatever chance I had to bake
or cook, I was on it,” she said.
While in college, Sarah played basketball all four years but admits
to never really pushing herself. “I had asthma as a child and also
struggled with my weight. As a result, I never pushed myself to the level
where I could become really fit and lose the weight,” she noted.
Surprisingly, after college her asthma disappeared. She soon found
a local gym at which to work out but eventually found herself just going
through the motions. She was bored of the routine. She wanted some-
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