By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Getting punched in the mouth elicits a number of responses.

Some people take their first shot and never again go near a ring.

Others land a few of their own and don’t stop until they’re world champions.

But for Jill Morley, inspiration went in a slightly different direction – a documentary.

“Once I started boxing and started meeting the amazing women around me, the idea of the film came into play,” she said. “Having already made one feature doc, I knew that it would be extremely difficult, time consuming and expensive. I was extremely hesitant about it. But, the women were so inspiring.”

Now a full-time resident of California, the New Jersey-born and Philadelphia-educated filmmaker is the creative force behind “Girl in the Ring” – a feature-length film project that tells unlikely stories of healing and recovery through boxing for herself and three other women.

“I'd like to say that I am a boxer who made a film,” Morley said. “However, I have only been boxing for four years and writing and making films for over 10 years.”

A dual major in communications and theater at Villanova, Morley pursued a lifelong passion in 2007 and trained to fight in the prestigious New York Golden Gloves.

But sparring stirred muscle memories of childhood beatings at the hands of her mother. Ensuing flashbacks, panic attacks and nightmares were so overwhelming that she attempted suicide and spent two weeks in a mental hospital, where she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

With the help of her husband, therapist and newfound boxing friends, Morley fought her way back into the ring to successfully compete in the Golden Gloves.

Her other subjects are no less compelling.

• Maureen Shea originally went to the gym to look better for an abusive boyfriend and eventually became Hilary Swank's main sparring partner for “Million Dollar Baby.” Today, she’s won 15 of 17 pro fights and continues pursuit of a world title.

• Susan Merlucci-Reno discovered the sport as a way to release pent up anger after failed pursuits in art and acting, and found success as an amateur. She’ll compete in the Gloves for the final time in 2011.

• Kimberly Tomes was adopted by a white family and struggled with childhood racism focusing on her Asian descent. Later, while working as a stripper, she was knocked out on stage by a customer and took up boxing to get rid of her “glass chin.”

“We started filming four years ago when I started training seriously,” Morley said. “I met a lot of female boxers during that time and wanted to pick girls that would be open with me about what they went through in their lives. Women boxers are used to having to suck it up, be tougher than the guys and prove themselves in the gym.

“I needed them to be vulnerable with me in order to make the kind of film I wanted to make. I also wanted to pick women who had some sort of goal in the next year, thinking it would take one year to make. Each of their stories unraveled unexpectedly, including mine.”

A joint fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday night in Los Angeles to benefit both Morley’s project and a non-profit organization – Knockouts for Girls. Money raised will go toward Christmas gifts for orphans who’ve been jostled around the foster system. It will also go towards finishing funds for the film.

As the charity’s director of boxing classes, Morley organizes and teaches boxing classes to at-risk girls.

“We are very close to a good cut of the film and should have a final cut within two months,” she said. “Still, we need to raise money to do a color correction, sound design, scoring, etc. After that, we will enter it into film festivals and hope it does well and catches the attention of cable distributors like HBO, ESPN, the Documentary Channel, etc.”

Meanwhile, Morley remains confident women’s boxing will catch on as a whole.

“I believe it can happen, why not,” she said. “We just need something in pop culture to highlight it and bring attention to it. The boxers themselves are a colorful lot. There are great personalities and stories to be mined if only people would pay attention.

“Not to mention, the talent pool is growing and getting deeper. It's not such a subversive thing for a woman to box or learn martial arts anymore, so we are seeing girls who have been training since they were 8 years old. Also, male trainers are taking us more seriously and really starting to teach us the mechanics and science of the sport.”

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s title-fight schedule:

FRIDAY
IBF light heavyweight title – Miami, Fla.
Tavoris Cloud (champion) vs. Fulgencio Zuniga (unranked)
Cloud (21-0, 18 KO): Second title defense; Third fight in Florida (2-0, 1 KO)
Zuniga (24-4-1, 21 KO): Fifth title fight (1-3, 1 KO); Held IBO title at 168 pounds (2007)
Fitzbitz says: “Cloud makes definitive statement against unworthy challenger.” Cloud in 6
 
SATURDAY
IBF junior flyweight title – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luis Lazarte (champion) vs. Ulises Solis (No. 1 contender)
Lazarte (48-9-1, 18 KO): Second title defense; Lost first four title shots (1999-2007)
Solis (32-2-2, 21 KO): Twelfth title fight (8-2-1, 5 KO); Held IBF title at 108 pounds (2006-09)
Fitzbitz says: “Big-hitting little man regains championship status at 108.” Solis by decision

IBO/WBC light heavyweight titles – Quebec City, Canada
Jean Pascal (IBO/WBC champion) vs. Bernard Hopkins (No. 1 IBO contender)
Pascal (26-1, 16 KO): Fourth WBC title defense/First IBO title defense; First fight in Quebec City
Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KO): Twenty-sixth title fight (21-3-1, 13 KO); Held IBO title at 175 pounds (2006)
Fitzbitz says: “Younger, stronger, more athletic foe too much for the old master.” Pascal by decision

WBO junior heavyweight title – Berlin, Germany
Marco Huck (champion) vs. Denis Lebedev (No. 1 contender)       
Huck (30-1, 23 KO): Fifth title defense; Thirtieth fight in Germany (28-1, 22 KO)
Lebedev (21-0, 16 KO): First title fight; Eight straight wins by stoppage since 2008 (8-0, 8 KO) 
Fitzbitz says: “Incumbent holds off big, strong challenge from Russian foil.” Huck by decision

Last week’s picks: 2-2
Overall picks record: 166-54 (75.4 percent)
 
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/fitzbitz .