Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

She's a Knockout

Henderson resident and Playboy model proves she's more than just a pretty face

Photos by K.M. Cannon. Tasha Marzolla lands a right punch to the head of Nina Magsamen during a kickboxing fight at the Stardust. Playboy model Tasha Marzolla of Henderson runs to the ring for a recent Muay Thai kickboxing fight at the Stardust. Marzolla gets a hug from her father Morrie after the Stardust fight. He sports a picture of his daughter on his T-shirt. Marzolla adjusts her top before the event. Tasha Marzolla is all business as she lines up with teammates for pre-fight instructions. Playboy model Tasha Marzolla makes a joke about her uniform as she gets a pre-fight examination from Dr. Enesto McCombs.

Playboy model Tasha Marzolla says showcasing her naked body comes naturally to her.

Evidently, so does punching people.

The 23-year-old Henderson resident, who has been picked as one of Playboy's sexiest models for two years straight, moonlights as an amateur 123-pound Muay Thai kickboxer.

Although she is best known for her fiery sex appeal, Marzolla longs to be distinguished for her punishing right hand.

"It would take one helluva punch to put me down," Marzolla said. "My mind power is so strong -- I've convinced myself that I will not be beaten."

Many naysayers dismissed Marzolla's tough talk as a promotional gimmick, aimed at boosting her marketability for Playboy and luring fans to kickboxing events.

But those doubters learned otherwise Feb. 7, when the blond beauty flashed her beastly side and mauled a more experienced fighter from Minnesota.

The bout, one of 10 women's matches scheduled that night at the Stardust, served notice that the Playboy pugilist is for real.

"She wanted to fight me because I'm a pretty face, an easy target," Marzolla said of her foe, Nina Magsamen, after winning the three-round brawl by unanimous decision. "Well you know what? Never underestimate anyone. ... (People) now know that I'm not just some beauty queen. It sets me aside from every other beautiful woman: I can fight, too."

Kickboxing promoters quickly embraced that rare blend of glamour and grit by anointing Marzolla as their poster girl for the event. She donned a tight sports bra and boxing gloves and appeared on the fight program. Her face and double D-sized bosom also were plastered on billboards along Interstate 15 to hype the estrogen-heavy event.

Playboy also has capitalized, mentioning Marzolla's punching prowess in several of her nude spreads. The extra exposure has created a double-edged sword: Marzolla has gained more money and fans, but it has ignited a sizable backlash.

"There's a lot of (critics) now, especially now that I'm with Playboy," she said. "They think to themselves, `This pretty bitch, she's going to come in here and take the spotlight.' So I have to be tough."

Many martial artists use their eyes as a weapon during the prefight staredown, trying to send a message to their opponent: Get ready to be destroyed.

But Marzolla should appear more disheveled if she wants to play the role of intimidator. And she does not appear willing. On the brink of this month's battle, someone labored on her long hair and weaved it into braids. She looked like a Dutch schoolgirl, leaving many to wonder if she might have been better off skipping along European hillsides instead of brawling. She entered the ring as the most well-tanned of all of the fighters. Her pink-and-white trunks featured a Playboy bunny on one side and the words "Hot Babe" on the other -- hardly the kind of colors, words or symbols to instill fear in a rival.

And, of course, Marzolla made sure to touch up her face before the big fight.

"I wasn't like getting ready for a date or anything. But I'm not going to go out there and look bad," she explained. "I want to look good. Why not put on a little waterproof makeup?"

But more than anything else, Marzolla knows what most people will quickly hone in on when they see her: her hefty breasts, which she proudly noted weigh seven pounds combined.

She knows many people can't resist thinking to themselves, "There's no way she's going to be able to fight with those."

"People can't get past the double D's," Marzolla continued, insisting she has a full range of motion for every punch she delivers. "But they don't get in the way. To really hurt me, Mike Tyson would have to hit me in the chest."

Marzolla also has little concern about taking shots to her face, if her fighting debut is any indication.

From the opening bell, Marzolla charged Magsamen and stalked her around the ring. Marzolla landed several powerful right kicks to Magsamen's stomach. The former high school wrestler also threw Magsamen to the canvas like a playground bully on several occasions. In round three, however, Magsamen stung Marzolla with a few good blows to the face. Rather than retreating, Marzolla furiously unleashed a barrage of punches. The carnage prompted the referee to give Magsamen a standing eight count.

Moments later, the announcer delivered the judge's verdict. Marzolla stood on the turnbuckles with arms to the sky, basking in her victory.

"After all the negative vibes I got from everyone," Marzolla said, "it was just a moment of peace when I won."

By Marzolla's account, serenity took a long time to come into her life. For most of her existence, she has not been a prima donna. She remembers at age 11, living on 28th Street in Las Vegas and being teased and bullied for being one of the few whites in a low-income neighborhood.

As little as five years ago, Marzolla wore a hard hat and painter pants to work everyday, working for a construction company. She kept that $16 an hour gig for nearly two years, toiling on projects such as the MGM Convention Center, Bellagio and high-roller suites at the Rio.

Then she became pregnant and had a son, Aalijah. At age 20, she became a single mother.

"I broke up with the guy," Marzolla said. "It was hard. But Aalijah was like an angel. He gave me something to work for. He saved me, I think. When I had him, I had a loyalty to him and he had a loyalty to me. I don't think I ever really had anyone to be loyal to me. When I look at him, it's like me and him against the world. I feel unbeatable."

Empowered by Aalijah's birth, Marzolla was one of hundreds of hopefuls who went to a Playboy audition eight months later.

Playboy's representatives called her several months after that; she was one of three women to make the cut.

Brawling wasn't even an aspiration then. Marzolla was not a basher when she watched a man try to climb through her bedroom window later that same year. She took off running and screaming. The stranger bolted from the scene and she never saw him again.

The following week Marzolla signed up for Muay Thai classes. Now a brown belt, promoters have scheduled Marzolla/Magsamen II in May, on a pay-per-view kickboxing card that will feature some of the sport's best fighters.

She also has another photo shoot with Playboy coming up, and believes her martial arts background has dramatically improved relations with her fellow playmates.

"The girls doing this (Playboy), they all talk stuff," Marzolla said, referring to the trash-talking. "Until they find out that I'm a kickboxer. Then then they shut up."