Freshman Logan Bales, 15, came to school with a black eye a few weeks ago. The reason? A hard hit to her face. However it was not because of any rowdy fight, but while boxing in the ring.

For Bales, her interest in a boxing career appeared spontaneously when she started going to the gym a year ago.

“I just told my parents one day that I wanted to do it and that I wanted to try something new,” Bales said.

Because it was such an unexpected and far-fetched idea, her parents did not accept it at first.

“They thought it was just a phase so they blew it off,” Bales said. “Then I kept reminding them and then they finally let me do it.”

Bale’s first step in becoming a boxer was finding a place to practice.

“I go to a gym called Sparta, over in Fishers. Sparta is a gym and it has a bunch of different sports there,” Bales said.

Bales usually goes to the gym to spar on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As a sport initially meant for males, boxing was adopted by women in the 1700s, according to Sue Fox, a retired boxer and boxer historian. Womens boxing debuted in the Olympics in 2012. Being virtually the only girl in nearly a completely male sport, there are obvious challenges for Bales.

“I’m the only girl in competition boxing at Sparta. There are girls at a lower level than me but they don’t feel comfortable getting in the ring like I do,” Bales said. “Usually when I spar, I spar with guys that are at least my height, and I box with them for three rounds.”

Bales feels comfortable trading punches with boys, but when it comes to competition, her differences in gender and weight class prevent her from being able to officially compete with males.

“I like being the only girl, but it’s kind of a disadvantage when I want to fight because if the guy that I usually spar with isn’t there, then I can’t do it,” Bales said.

Bales won her first competition two months ago.

“It wasn’t official because I can’t find a girl in my weight class, but I fought with a guy, so it didn’t really count,” Bales said.

Currently being the only girl may present many challenges, but Bales is hopeful for her future competitions.

“The thing that I like about it a lot is that it’s uncommon for girls to do it,” Bales said. “But when I find someone to fight, I’m going to be very worked up and excited to go against an actual girl.”