Meet beauty queen who leads double life as a competitive boxer

London, Apr 11 (ANI): Mallory Rogers a.k.a Miss Murray from Utah, is not only a pageant princess, but also a competitive boxer whose dreams of winning a Golden Gloves trophy after being inspired by the movie 'Million Dollar Baby'.

For most pageant queens, dressing up in beautiful gowns and diamante tiaras begins in childhood as a fancy and endures in adulthood through scrupulous attention to self preservation and constant beautification.

But for Rogers, becoming a beauty queen meant first taking off the protective helmet and padded gloves, spitting out the mouth guard and hiding the bruises.

According to Deseret News, as a young girl she didn't know she wanted to box but when at the age 15 she watched the Oscar-winning film, her life changed forever.

Though boxing ran in the family blood, as a child, she had preferred ballet and danced all the way through high school as well as taking gymnastics, acting, sewing, horseback riding and art lessons.

In an interview with the Salt Lake City paper, her father, Scott Rogers, recalled the day she told him of her decision to box.

"When she got off the plane, the first words out of her mouth (were), "Dad, I've gotta find a gym to fight"," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

Fighting in the ring, the young beauty queen explained, was a challenge that forced her out of her comfort zone, like 'violent chess'.

"It's not about beating somebody up. It's not about hurting your opponent. It's about besting them, about out-strategizing them," she said.

But though boxing would prove to be more than just a fad as her mother had suspected, it wasn't the only hobby that captured her attention.

Despite not being "your typical pageant girl", Rogers decided to enter the Miss Murray contest and found she enjoyed the fact that they were judging her not just on her appearance.

Determined to win, just as in the ring, she competed four times before stealing the coveted crown.

Now she divides her time running between opening ceremonies and galas and boxing tournaments and while other contestants are slimming down to fit into their pageant outfits, Miss Murray is making sure she gets the 2,800 calories she needs to stay fighting fit.

Not only that but she teaches yoga to drug addicts and is still a full time student - an inspirational beauty queen indeed. (ANI)