Alumna steps into the ring to fight cancer

As she entered her 50s, Dr. Elizabeth Martelli thought she was done with life goals. Going to college? Done. Earning a doctorate? Check. Becoming a professor? Mission accomplished. What else was there?

"My whole life had been about the next goal. And then you reach the mountaintop and it's like, 'Well, then what? Then what do you do?'" she said. "I could not fathom that the rest of my life was just going to be like, 'Well, this is it.'"

Then she found Haymakers for Hope.

The nonprofit empowers people to train for and compete in sanctioned charity boxing events, all while fundraising to support cancer research, awareness and those impacted by the disease.

Globally, roughly one in five people will develop cancer in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. Combined with families and caregivers of those battling the disease, approximately 92 percent of the world's population is affected by cancer at least once.

Martelli is part of that percentage.

She lost her grandmother to leukemia when Martelli was a teenager. Years later, Martelli's mother would be diagnosed with breast cancer.

"First, she faced an aggressive form of breast cancer and survived. Thirteen years later, she had a second diagnosis of lung cancer. She fought again with the same determination, grit and courage that defined her life. Eventually cancer took her from us, but it never took who she was," Martelli said. "My mother taught me many things, but among the most important was this: Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is showing up anyway. Fighting anyway. Refusing to give up, even when the odds are unfair."

For Martelli, boxing feels like the perfect metaphor for those impacted by cancer.

"Both require people to put their bodies on the line. Both demand resilience, endurance and the willingness to keep going when things feel impossible," she said. "While every fighter ultimately steps into the ring alone, no one gets there without a corner."

Martelli's introduction to boxing can be connected back to her time at St. Cloud State University. She enrolled at SCSU after deciding to go back to school, and earned her master's in English in 2014. While on campus she took part in the South Africa study abroad program, and it inspired her to launch a study abroad pilot program when she went on to another university for her PhD.

"I’ve often reflected on how my time at SCSU helped shape the educator, writer and person I would become," she said.

Martelli went on to George Mason University to pursue her doctorate. She is now a professor of composition at George Mason.

"I'm exactly where I wanted to be. I really enjoy teaching composition. I teach English 302, which is an upper-level general education English course that everybody has to take at George Mason. I'm their last English teacher. I want to jump up on the table sometimes and say, 'There have been at least 13 other teachers before me begging you to write and express yourself, and I'm the last one,'" she said. "You're going to have to write for the rest of your life, more so now than even before because of email and text messages and all of these other ways we write to communicate that are so vital. AI is a tool that is out there now, but it is only as good as what it's been fed. It's feeding off of us. Being able to express yourself as a human is one of the most human things we can do. So to give people tools to be able to do that better is just phenomenal; it's one of the coolest things you can do."

Martelli initially became interested in boxing while working on her PhD. A mentor of hers from SCSU advised her to find a physical outlet for the stress she was under while pursuing her doctorate.

"She said I should do something physical, and she suggested combat sports," Martelli said. "It was great for my mental health."

Martelli joined a UFC gym in the Washington, D.C., area.

"I was doing that for physical fitness," she said. "I saw these people getting ready for a fight and I was just like, 'I'm in my 40s. It's too late for me to do that.'"

She had been posting social media updates throughout her fitness journey, when one post prompted a fellow female boxer to reach out to Martelli to see if she'd be interested in fighting as a part of Haymakers for Hope. She was immediately intrigued.

Following a few years of either life events or a lack of another woman in her age class being available to fight, Martelli finally got a matchup scheduled for September 2026.

As she fundraised for her bout — raising over $8,500 in total — Martelli said it's been cathartic to connect with others who have been impacted by cancer.

"I don't know that I know anybody who hasn't been affected by cancer in some way. If it's not a direct family member, it's very close friends. It's nice to be able to do something and put yourself out there in a direct way. Since I've been doing fundraising, it's been really eye opening and moving to talk to people, because they're sharing their stories with me," she said. "Everybody, unfortunately, can share a story of this nature. It's a lot. It's kind of heavy, but it's also really an honor. It's an honor when somebody shares those kinds of stories with you, and it's an honor go through this process with other people."

Training for the match has been interesting for Martelli, especially as her coaches have encouraged her to appear more intense and menacing in the ring.

"I'm just southern nice that went to Minnesota and became Minnesota nice," she said. "I've got to get meaner about this. It's really hard. But that's probably a good psychological effect — if you get punched and you smile, right?"

In addition to honoring her loved ones who faced cancer head-on, Martelli also wants to honors the caregivers and support systems.

"Cancer doesn’t just happen to one person. It happens to families," she said. "My sister stood in my mother’s corner as her caregiver through treatments, fear, uncertainty, appointments, long nights and the thousand invisible ways cancer changes a family. Like so many caregivers, she carried burdens that often go unseen. Caregivers are in the fight, too."

There are multiple layers to the impact Martelli hopes to make through fighting in Haymakers for Hope. In addition to raising money for cancer research and support services, she hopes to also inspire other women as well as those in their 40s, 50s and beyond.

"I think it's really important for women to be in combat sports. I think it's really important to know that, I don't want to go around beating people up, but to know that it's okay to take up space. Men don't apologize for taking up space, for hitting each other. To be in this male-dominated space and taking up the same physical space as a guy — and guys who are 20 years my junior — is also something," she said. "Because as you age, you get this very strong message of 'Time for you to be invisible now. You gave us your 20s and your 30s and now you can go over there in the corner.' So to take up the same amount of space — even as you did when you were in your 20s and 30s — is kind of a big deal."

Ultimately, Martelli is proud to fight in honor of her loved ones and for anyone else impacted by cancer.

"I’m fighting for my mother. I’m fighting for my sister and for caregivers whose courage is often quieter but no less extraordinary. I’m fighting for friends and family members taken too soon. I’m fighting for the families currently sitting in waiting rooms, holding their breath for good news. I’m fighting for the people who have heard the words, 'You have cancer,' and for everyone who loves them," she said. "Every mile walked, every jump rope session, every hard round in training and every sore muscle has become part of something bigger than me. I’m honored to step into this ring with Haymakers for Hope and raise money to support cancer research, because fewer families should have to endure these losses, and more people deserve the chance to keep fighting."