Photo Credit: Eszter and David Matheson
They say that if you love what you do, you don't work a day in your life.
That must apply to Casey Morton, who just days after defeating Urvashi Singh over 10 rounds in Dubai this past Sunday, went right back to her post as the director of operations for SNAC in San Carlos.
After leaving for Dubai on September 5, she returned this past Tuesday to the Bay Area. After landing at San Francisco International Airport, Morton recalled, "I worked an all-nighter,"
And it would be inaccurate to say Morton actually went back to work -- it came with her. As Morton's work computer made the trip, as she processed orders and answered emails during fight week in Dubai.
"I'm very grateful for the team I have now, I would not be able to leave without having the right team to hold it down while I was away,'' stated Morton, who notes that will be another week or so of 15, 16 hour work days as they work to get everything back on kilter at SNAC.
Morton, who defeated Singh by the scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, says she didn't come out of this bout any worse for wear outside of a clash of heads in round three. For 'the Lady Hawaiian Punch' it was her first outing since December of 2019.
"It was the longest layoff I've had,'' she noted. "It was a long camp and we're just proud of our performance. We saw a little bit of rust but we just worked adamantly on timing, and I was just really happy I was able to execute the game plan."
In winning this contest she picked up the WBO junior bantamweight International Title, which is a pathway to a shot at Miyo Yoshida of Japan. This last bout was supposed to take place earlier this year but those plans were scuttled as getting into Asia was nearly impossible with their shutdowns in travel. The hope is to have the match-up with Yoshida on a major card in the States in the upcoming months.
Last year while her boxing career -- along with that of many others -- was put on hold because of the world-wide pandemic, her commitment to SNAC strengthened.
"I love SNAC, I swear by SNAC, I recommend SNAC to any and everybody, and I'm so grateful to be able to call a mastermind like Victor Conte my mentor, my sponsor, and more so he's like my family, and he's my friend,'' said Morton, who last year helped steady the ship during some rough waters when they had some staffing issues.
"I just hopped in the saddle and took over," she recalled of a time when there was, ''a lot of clean up to do."
Conte, the founder of SNAC says of his right-hand woman, "Casey is the primary engine of the entire SNAC System program. She simply brings excellence to everything she does. She is extremely determined and I believe one day soon she will achieve her dream of being a world champion. She's all gas and no brakes at all times. Everybody at SNAC is blessed to be the beneficiaries of her leadership and hustle."
Morton, who lives in San Francisco, wakes up early every morning to do her roadwork, before heading off to SNAC. Her days end with a jaunt to Oakland where she hones her skills with trainer Otis "OT" Seymore.
That's her daily grind. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I applied my work ethic in boxing to my position at SNAC," explained Morton. "It was never an option, like, 'OK, SNAC has to suffer because I'm going after my dream'. I'm actually proud I was able to make it work to continue to being the leader and director of this company, creating a solid team that we now have here, and not missing a beat with training full-time to make my boxing dream a reality."