EXCLUSIVE Glamorous racing driver Renee Gracie reveals why she'll NEVER speak to a competitor again: 'I took it very, very personally'
Trailblazing Australian motorsport star Renee Gracie has opened up about her chaotic boxing debut against opponent Summer Perry, revealing that she's still waiting for an apology about the ugly affair.
The former Supercars driver turned OnlyFans millionaire spent months training for a boxing match against Perry at the Podcast Royale Fight Night 2.0 event on the Gold Coast in April.
The 30-year-old said that as soon as she got in the ring she could tell that her opponent hadn't trained for the bout and wasn't interested in following the rules of boxing.
Gracie was kicked, elbowed and tackled to the ground during the shambolic bout - and the Gold Coast star is still trying to make sense of it all.
'Honestly, it's been a couple of weeks now, and I still have so many questions, and so I'm so confused,' Gracie told Daily Mail Australia.
'Obviously, for me, it was something that I was so dedicated to. I was so excited for it and I put everything into it. Over five months, I worked as hard as I could have worked.'
Gracie's boxing debut turned nasty when her opponent tried to kick, elbow and tackle her to the floor
'... I honestly would love to know the answer to it, but I don't think she's ever going to talk to me again.
Not only was Gracie fouled throughout the bout, but she also claims that Perry lowered the tone of the event by 'slagging her off' during the fight.
'I took it very, very personally,' said Gracie.
'I think when you're in the position of, you're in a ring, there's 5000 people watching, and you're getting punched in the face, and you're not attempting to box, all you can use is your words.
'I feel like what was coming out of her mouth was very personal. She had nothing else to say or to do, and she surely couldn't box.
'I felt like her only plan of attack was to slander me and abuse me in the hope that it was going to make me weaker. And unfortunately for her, it did the opposite.'
Perry was eventually disqualified for her behaviour and Gracie was awarded the victory. The racecar driver says she'd like an apology, but isn't holding her breath.
Despite the shambolic scenes, Gracie says she'd definitely consider another fight against the right opponent.
'If I ever got the opportunity to get in a boxing ring with someone who's got equal experience, which isn't much by the way, I would,' said Gracie.
Gracie says she's still trying to make sense of the nightmare boxing debut
'Someone who wants to give it a crack and actually wants to have a good fight and do something fun and cool and have an awesome experience.'
While boxing is a relatively new sport to Gracie, standing up for herself is something she's been doing for many years.
Gracie says she's faced blatant sexism and harassment during her career in motorsports, which ultimately led to her quitting Supercars.
'I think a lot of people assumed that things were easy for me, being a girl in motorsport, but it was the opposite,' she said.
'And, you know, people didn't want to talk to me because I was a girl. People would tell me, to my face that they didn't think that girls should be in motorsports.
'... And it was very frustrating, because in some ways I wish that it did make my life easier being a female. But in motorsport, it was the absolute, complete opposite, from the moment I entered the sport.'
The former Supercars driver says people think things were easy for her in motorsports because she's female, when in fact the opposite is true
In 2023, Gracie returned to racing with the GT World Challenge Australia series, running her own team that is sponsored by Only Fans.
'I'm honestly still very surprised that I'm here for my third year,' Gracie said
'I know that sounds so insane. I really never expected it to be more than a one year program. The fact that I'm here on my third year, it's every day that I'm so grateful for.
'I try to live in the moment and enjoy everything, because I know that it's not going to be forever. If it could be forever, I'd be the happiest person alive, because ultimately this is what I love doing.'
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