Carson Crawford, a former Hollywood visual effects artist, is stepping into a new arena — professional boxing.
At 33, Crawford, originally from Denver and now residing in Los Angeles, is known for her work on blockbuster films like Creed II and The Walking Dead. She is transitioning from behind-the-scenes magic to the ring, driven by a passion ignited unexpectedly in a Santa Monica gym.
Crawford’s journey began in Utah, where she studied computer animation at Brigham Young University, obtaining a BFA.
“I fell into the program,” Crawford said. “It was competitive, but it led me to LA, working on big projects in visual effects for five years.”
In 2016, a fitness trend in LA introduced Crawford to boxing, as her friends began to train at Santa Monica’s Box ’N Burn.
“I got hooked,” Crawford said.
It was there she met her first coach, David Imoesiri, a retired fighter who instilled confidence in her.
“David saw potential in me,” Crawford said. “He pushed me to compete, even when I felt boxing wasn’t in my DNA.”
Meanwhile, she had a demanding career that saw her literally in the dark. As a compositor, she sat in darkness to check for the true colors for visual effects for 12-14 hours until completion.
“Visual effects is a tough industry,” Crawford said. “We were always at the tail-end of the production pipeline, so by the time the footage reached us, we often had just a fraction of the time we were originally promised to complete our work. It wasn’t unusual to be told on a Monday that we’d need to pull 14-hour days all week to meet a deadline.”
The pressure wasn’t just about long hours; it was about competition.
“If we didn’t meet those demands, the work would just go to another studio willing to push their team even harder,” Crawford said. “There was no room for asking for more time – it was always, ‘How quickly can you do it?’”
“I’d start each day feeling optimistic, but by the end, I was emotionally drained. I wasn’t finding the love for the work that I thought I would.”
In Crawford’s own words, her demanding career in visual effects “wasn’t sustainable.” While this was going on, Crawford pursued amateur boxing under Imoesiri’s guidance.
“I did my first fights with him,” Crawford said. “It was a balancing act, working long hours and training, but I managed.”
By 2018, she was exhausted.
“I thought I was done with boxing,” Crawford said.
Crawford didn’t initially plan to leave her career in visual effects, but by the end of 2018, she found herself at a crossroads.
“It was an interesting shift,” Crawford added. “I didn’t leave visual effects thinking, ‘I’m going to box every day now.’ It just happened.”
Crawford had spent years working on high-profile projects, including Creed II, her last project, where her skills as a visual effects artist were in high demand. Yet, the industry’s relentless pace took its toll.
“I was burned out and unhappy,” Crawford recalled. “I’d been going to therapy, and my therapist suggested I take some time off to figure out if this was really what I wanted to do.”
Crawford had the flexibility to step away, and at the end of 2018, she decided not to pick up another project.
“I just didn’t reach out to anyone,” Crawford continued. “I turned everything down. I needed to figure out if this career was truly sustainable for me.”
During her break, a friend introduced her to Gloveworx, a fitness boxing gym in Santa Monica. She had a boxing background now and had always enjoyed fitness.
“I thought, ‘That sounds kind of cool,” Crawford said. “I could see myself doing something like that.”
What started as a temporary gig quickly became a turning point – and possibly a new milestone in her life. On her first day at the gym, Crawford met Omar Villanueva, who would become her coach.
“He told me, ‘I’ve seen very few people with your work ethic. If you have the desire to box, you could be really good,’” Crawford said. “He said, ‘Maybe it was fate that you ended up here.’”
By spring 2019, Crawford was training with Villanueva’s amateur team, fully immersing herself in the sport and finding it less stressful than the high-pressure environment of visual effects.
“I was training full-time and supporting myself by doing personal training on the side,” Crawford said. “Boxing had always been in the back of my mind, and now it was becoming my main focus.”
The COVID-19 pandemic further solidified Crawford’s shift away from visual effects as she started picking up more clients who wanted her to train them. By 2021, Crawford was back in the ring, training with Villanueva and competing in amateur tournaments, even national tournaments, with her Marina Del Rey address standing out on the bout sheet.
Her first major tournament was a shock to the system. Crawford faced off against Stephanie Simon, a formidable opponent who would leave a lasting impression on her amateur career. Simon is now her teammate at Churchill Boxing Club in Santa Monica.
Crawford, who was a fully-fledged adult and taxpayer at the time of going to national tournaments, vividly remembers the atmosphere of that tournament, particularly how different it felt from local shows.
“The national tournaments are extremely organized, and things start on time,” Crawford said. “During the pandemic, when it was so quiet with limited spectators, it added a lot of pressure.
“I drew Stephanie Simon in the first round. She’s an absolute beast, and we were fighting at 152 pounds, which was heavier than either of us usually fought. It was the only weight class with room, so I went for it.
“It was my most challenging fight to this day. My lung capacity was pushed to the limit, and it was a very tough bout, but I held my own. Stephanie clearly won, but we became close friends afterward.”
Despite the loss, the experience only fueled Crawford’s determination. She felt she could hold her own.
Crawford secured a major tournament win at the Summer Festival, defeating Stevie Morgan, now best known for being stopped by Amanda Serrano in two rounds in July. That bout was in the finals and it was a mess for Crawford.
“We were late getting to the venue, and I was rushed in my warm-up,” Crawford said. “Despite everything going wrong, I managed to pull off the win. It showed me that I could hang with these women who had far more experience than I did.”
Determined to push the limits of what she can achieve in boxing, even as she turns pro at nearly 34 years old – a late start by most standards in the sport. She is fueled by something she has heard over and over again – that she is outworking everyone.
“I want to go as far as I can with this sport,” Crawford said. “Starting late can feel like a limitation at times, but I truly believe in my potential and my ability to keep growing as a fighter. More than anything, I believe in my work ethic. I know that in any gym, I can be the hardest-working person there.”
Crawford’s ambitions are clear — she wants a title.
“I want to get some belts,” Crawford said. “I may not be considered young, but I don’t see that as a limitation. There are strengths that come with being more mentally and emotionally mature, having had time to work on myself, and understanding what I believe I’m capable of.”
Crawford is eyeing opportunities to compete on big stages and fight for world titles, but for now, she has to take what she can get — and for starters, that will be regional fights. As Crawford prepares for her professional debut, she has flipped the switch from a professional creating magic via the silver screen to trying to create memories for fight fans on a TV screen.
“I don’t have a date locked in yet, but we’re talking to a couple of promotions here in LA, and there are a few possibilities for October,” she said. “Nothing official yet, but I’m hoping to debut in October.”
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