It’s hard to imagine that in a sport as brutal and primal as boxing, there’s a cerebral element to it as well. But Hagar Finer Smoelfield might well be the thinking man’s – or woman’s – fighter, who considers a bout to be a chess match as much as a slugfest.

Hagar Finer Smoelfield

“I like technique. I like to be smart. I like to break an opponent in the head, not the body, psychologically,” she said on the phone from Israel.

Smoelfield, 26, is part of the under card at the upcoming “Rumble at Rama XIII,” a boxing event at Casino Rama on Oct. 30. Headlining the five-card fight will be Canada’s former world cruiserweight champion, Troy Ross, who will take on Carl Handy.

Smoelfield will defend her Women’s International Boxing Federation (WIBF) bantamweight title against Julia Sahin, a German boxer who defeated her in 2006. Smoelfield vividly recalls that match, which was fought in Germany and which she believes she won, except for the judges’ decision.

“All the audience booed” when the verdict was delivered, she said. “It was obvious she didn’t win.”

The revenge factor is being touted prior to the contest at Rama, and although she agrees Sahin “is very tough,” Smoelfield is confident she will prevail.

“I know it will go all the way, because she won’t go down and I won’t go down,” she said.

Smoelfield has won 21 fights, six by knockout, lost seven and drawn three. She attributes her record and her never-say-die spirit to her first love, karate and the martial arts, as well as her own obsession to be perfect.

“I started training in martial arts when I was 13, and at age 18 I won the Israeli championship in karate. Then my trainer told me I should continue in fighting as I had good potential to successful, but in boxing.

“So I moved to boxing.”

What is it about either sport that attracted her?

“I took it up for self-defence. When you live in Israel, the national security is not so good. You have to protect yourself. I fell in love with martial arts. I like the discipline, the way you learn, that you have to repeat every exercise many times.”

“You have the responsibility on yourself,” she continued. “If you practice not so much, you are not so good. The more you work, the better you get.”

Her parents were not particularly happy at her choice of sports. “They didn’t like it,” Smoelfield acknowledged. “They’re still afraid about it… I told them, ‘Either you’re with me or I’ll be alone.’”

They now come to watch her fight occasionally. “My mom always cries,” and her sister “worries about me.”

It’s not like you can avoid injuries when you’re an internationally ranked fighter. Smoelfield admits to some rib injuries – she brushes them off as minor inconveniences – but a few years ago she was was hurt pretty seriously. During one match, a fighter bumped her head against Smoelfield’s face, breaking a bone near her eye socket. She suffered nerve damage and was out of action for a year. “I couldn’t feel part of my face,” she recalled.

Yet that hasn’t dissuaded her. “In the ring, I never give up,” she said. “I get that from martial arts training. You never give up, never give up. You always have a chance, right to the end.”

And that’s where the cerebral side of the sweet science comes in. “You look at who you’re standing against and go opposite your opponent’s strengths. It’s like chess,” she said.

Looking back, she recalls a match against Regina Halmich, a German fighter who was ranked number 1 at the time, as “the fight of my career.

“I was much better than her, but she was such a good opponent, she brought out the best in me.”

Her performance launched her career and opened lots of doors in the boxing world.

Interestingly, Smoelfield considers boxing more of a hobby than anything else. Although a professional, her main source of income is from a martial arts studio she runs in the heart of Tel Aviv,  where she teaches karate and krav maga, the Israeli army’s hand-to-hand combat techniques. During her one-week visit to Toronto and Rama, she expects to meet local martial arts fighters and train with them.

“I know I’m going to hit, but I don’t know who,” she quipped.

Smoelfield wears her Israeli heritage proudly – ones set of blue trunks are adorned with a white Star of David. She’s a real fan favourite and even in Germany, when she fought the local hero, “I had Germans who picked up Israeli flags” and waved them.

“That’s the best. I give all the champions the best fight they had.”