New York City Firefighter Nicole Malpeso and NYPD Officer Nisa Rodriguez, both amateur boxers, are well-known for breaking glass ceilings during the day — and jaws at night.
The two fighters will face off with each other at NYC’s Battle of the Badges at Terminal 5 in Hell’s Kitchen on Friday and bust up another barrier by becoming the first female boxers to ever compete in the storied rivalry.
But for these two, it’s another day at the office.
“It just seems like every other day, especially with the departments we’re in,” Rodriguez, 31, of the Bronx, told The Post during Tuesday’s weigh-in at Mustang Harry’s, an Irish pub around the corner from the legendary boxing Mecca of Madison Square Garden. “We’re in male-dominated sports, male-dominated fields. It’s just something else for us to show off.”
The Friday night fights will not only resurrect the Battle of the Badges, which pits cops and firefighters against each other in friendly competition but has been on hold in NYC since 2015 because of scheduling problems and the pandemic.
It will also showcase two rising female fighters who’ve done it the hard way.
And hopefully, it will encourage parents to sign their girls up for lessons.
“It’s going to be the fight to watch – the fight of the night,” said Malpeso, a 30-year-old from Staten Island who’s with the Upper West Side’s Engine 76 and boasts a 15-5 amateur record. “I think a lot of people the next day are going to be like, ‘I’m putting my daughter in a boxing program’ after watching this.”
Pat Russo, founder and head of Cops and Kids Boxing gym, says the same thing.
“We want girls to get involved with the sport,” Russo said. “We need more female involvement.”
At the weigh-in, each fighter wore the headgear from their chosen profession. Rodriguez wore her police hat, while Malpeso donned her firefighter’s helmet. They posed for the typical mean-mug face-off shot, then smiled through other pictures, side-by-side.
The proceeds from the 11-bout fight card go to NYC Cops and Kids Boxing and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which gives mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders, Gold Star families and catastrophically injured veterans.
Still, Malpeso will have no easy task.
A 13-year veteran of the ring, Rodriguez is an eight-time NYC Golden Gloves champion, a gold medalist at the Central America and Caribbean Games and fights for Puerto Rico’s national boxing team.
And the 1st Precinct cop has already beaten Malpeso twice.
Malpeso said that doesn’t matter. She’s ready.
“The better the opponent, the better your opportunity to rise to the challenge,” Malpeso told The Post. “I hope to rise to the occasion with someone who is an eight-time Golden Glove champion, Puerto Rican national champion. That’s only going to make me better.”
Bobby McGuire, president of the FDNY’s boxing club, sees it the same way. After 32 years of competition, the cops and firefighters are dead even, he said.
And the women’s fight could decide who steals the night’s bragging rights.
Malpeso has her work cut out for her, McGuire added. But he thinks she’s good to go.
“I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting fights of the night.”
