She's earned her nickname of ''Bam Bam'' as one of the most ferocious punchers in the ring.
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But Canberra boxer Bianca Elmir is picking up tips from Russian world champion Aleksandra Kuleshova to become more adept at the technical aspects of the sport.
Elmir's camp has paid for Kuleshova to travel to Australia and spend a couple weeks training in the national capital.
The pair have been involved in daily sparring sessions at the Stockade Gym at Dickson and are heading to the south coast on Saturday for beach sprints and cardio training.
Elmir will then travel to Russia in the new year to continue her preparations for a prestigious tournament in Sweden, building towards the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Kuleshova is the world champion in the 54kg bantamweight division and will be the gold medal favourite at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
''A difference between Russia and Australia is that we are big sloggers and they are more technical and loose and able to move around really smoothly,'' Elmir said.
''I only know that now by mixing with them, and it's showed my faults. Once again I have to be a student all over again and take all of my ego and pretension out of it because none of that matters.
''I'll take things from them and my own coach, but I'm basically going back to scratch.''
Elmir won the 51kg Australian title at the national championships in Hobart last year only to test positive to banned diuretics.
After serving a 12-month ban that cost her any chance of competing at last year's Olympic Games, Elmir returned to the ring with a vengeance, winning a silver medal at the Taipei City Cup in August followed by victory at a golden gloves competition in Brisbane in September.
Her focus is on winning the Australian championship in Perth next April to book her spot on the plane to the Commonwealth Games.
With a lack of quality opponents to train let alone fight in Australia, Elmir knows how valuable it is to have someone of Kuleshova's pedigree to learn from.
''I can get as much as I can out of Canberra, but it's always going to be a step lower than what I can get mixing with world-class athletes,'' Elmir said.
''There's rare competition in Australia and the talent pool is really small. It's the minor elements that make the biggest differences in my boxing and they're the things I'm working on.''