In the 7th episode of the  Women Box podcast , we bring you Go For It: Life Lessons From Girl Boxers, co-hosted by actor Rosie Perez. The hour-long special chronicles a year in the lives of the groundbreaking women (including 17-year old Claressa Shields) who fought for a chance to go to London for the first-ever Olympics to include women's boxing. 

Included: the inside-story of teenage boxer Claressa Shields journey from Flint, Mich., to London; a look at  the risk of head injuries and why women boxers choose to fight, regardless; a portrait of boxing moms from around the world (Kenya, India, New Zealand and Venezuela); a visit backstage at the qualifying tournament for Team USA to witness the tears of a fighter whose years of training to make the Olympics ended when she failed to make the team.

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In the 6th episode of the  Women Box podcast , 16-year old Claressa Shields tells the story of her journey from high school junior in Flint, MI, to Spokane, WA for the first US Olympic Team Trials for women boxers.

There are many layers to Shields' story, produced by Radio Diaries, but one focus for Women Box is how hard it is, financially, to make it as an amateur boxer. We hear Claressa and her coach, Jason Crutchfield, asking a Flint church for help. And middleweight boxer Franchon Crews recalls how easy it was to forget she was a National Champion upon returning to her apartment after a tournament and finding ... (Want to know? Take a listen.)

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The fifth episode of the Women Box podcast tells the story of the final days of the Olympic Team Trials for women's boxing in Spokane, WA. It also includes well-wishes and a warning from professional fighter Christy Martin, the only woman ever to land on the cover of Sports Illustrated or to make a million dollars boxing (not on one fight).

Tyrieshia Douglas, flyweight from Baltimore, MD, fights her way out of the loser's bracket to compete, in her final bout, against Marlen Esparza of Houston, TX. Douglas describes the glare of the lights and how everything drops away when the bell rings. We also hear from an 11-year old boxer who says the sport makes her feel better about herself.

Finally, a conversation with actor and boxing fan Rosie Perez and three female boxers at the Jerome L. Greene Space. 16-year old Claressa Shields, Brooklyn amateur Heather Hardy, and four-time world champion Alicia Ashley talk about everything from the risk of brain injuries to the ban on boyfriends in Claressa Shields' life.

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In the fourth episode of the Women Box podcast, we spend some time with boxers who have trained for years to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and have dreamed for years of going to the 2012 Games in London. Boxers train their bodies to fight and train their minds to believe they can win. But in this episode, Tiffanie Hearn of San Diego loses by a point. Alex Love underestimates her opponent. Others lose their chance to compete because of injuries. 

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Check the brackets for the latest standings.

The third episode of the Women Box podcast includes news of Baltimore boxer Tyrieshia Douglas' first loss, knocking her into the challengers bracket at the first ever women's boxing Olympic Team Trials. 16-year old Claressa Shields fights again. In her phone message before the bout, Shields shows no sign of worry. And she wins again.

Boxers around the world are hoping London 2012 will bring attention to to professional female fighters as well as the Olympians. This episode takes us to the Brooklyn home of Heather Hardy, an amateur boxer who hopes to go pro. "I want to be a world champion," she says any chance she gets. Hardy trains at the legendary Gleason's gym, where we meet a trainer who calls women's boxing "a disgrace."

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Check the brackets for the latest standings.

In the second episode of the Women Box podcast, 16-year old Claressa Shields of Flint, Michigan fights Franchon Crews of Baltimore, Maryland, ranked number one in the country. Shields goes into the fight with calm and confidence and beats the more experienced boxer, 31 to 19. 

Also in episode two: stories from the first time women boxed. And why they box. "I like the fact that I'm feminine outside on the streets and I may not seem like a boxer," says Mikaela Mayer of Los Angeles, "But, really, I am a boxer and I have that side to me. I can be a woman and an aggressive athlete." Tiara Brown of Fort Myers, Florida puts it this way, "I have abs of steel. And then I have these sexy, luscious lips." Don't miss it.

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Check the brackets for the latest standings.

The first episode of the Women Box podcast, includes words of wisdom and some historical perspective from pioneering women boxers, including Lucia Rijker. And we bring you the life story of flyweight boxer Tyrieshia Douglas, as told by Tyrieshia Douglas.

When Douglas was a teenager and living with her cousin, she asked him if she could box like her brothers. He told her, "No! You're a girl." "It's against the rules to have as many muscles as I have," Douglas says.

Monday, February 13, the week-long Olympic team trials begin. Twenty four women are competing for three spots on the first US women's Olympic boxing team. The Women Box podcast sets up upcoming fights and previews what's next.

Men have boxed in the Olympic games since the ancient Greeks adopted the sport more than two thousand years ago.  Women, never. That changes this year. In February, 24 fighters will compete to make the very first US Olympic women’s boxing team. Three will succeed.

The Women Box podcast takes you inside the lives and minds of the contenders as they fight to make history: who they are, why they box, and how they got this far. We'll also follow their progress at the Olympic trials. These fighters challenge the prevailing wisdom that girls don't play rough. Women Box tells their story. Listen above for a preview.

Hosted by WNYC Reporter Marianne McCune, the Women Box podcast runs the week of the women's Olympic trials: from Monday, February 13th through the end of the week-long competition.

Women Box is produced by Sue Jaye Johnson and Marianne McCune.