Tag Archives: Domestic Violence Against Women

Melissa St. Vil – Ready to Rumble

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Melissa St. Vil – Ready to Rumble

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Boxer Melissa St. Vill by the “wall” at Brooklyn’s world famous Gleason’s Gym. Photo credit: Malissa Smith

Melissa St. Vil is a boxer with plans.

Her first plan is to win the UBF World Female Super Featherweight title on November 12th at Martin’s Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, MD. With her 6-1-3 record, she’ll be fighting the more experienced Jennifer Salinas (17-3-0, 4-KOs), in her backyard, but that doesn’t seem to worry St. Vil. With just seven fights to her credit, she defeated Sarah Kuhn to win the International Women’s Boxing Federation (IWBF) World Welterweight title in August of 2013. And while St. Vil has only had two fights since them (in 2014), she feels confident that she has what it takes to win.

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The Royal Six boxers, Ronica Jeffrey (l) and Melissa St. Vil at the recent Breast Cancer event at Gleason’s Gym. Photo Credit: Malissa Smith

As a member of The Royal Six, a group of New York based female boxing champions (Alicia Ashley, Ronica Jeffrey, Sonya Lamonakis, Keisher “Fire” Mcleod, and Alicia Napoleon), she is actively engaged in promoting the sport, raising money for charity and helping to put together an all female boxing card in the spring.

Winning world championships and promoting female boxing arent’s her only plans. She also wants to give back. To make a place of safety and sanctuary for girls and women to overcome violence and to find a place for themselves in the world. With her infectious laugh, it is hard to imagine that St. Vil would have ever known pain or violence–but she did. As with many of us the world over, it’s the fighting back to take possession of one’s own life that is the biggest challenge.

Melissa was kind enough to take time from her training with Leon “Cat” Taylor and Juan Guzman to speak with Girlboxing readers about her upcoming fight. We didn’t touch upon the dark stuff at all–just talked about boxing, moving on in life and her passion for the sport.

Here’s what she had to say:

What’s up with this?

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What’s up with this?

 

Rola El-Halabi (11-0, 6-KO), Lightweight Female Boxer

So what’s up with this:  “Female boxer shot before fight” !?!

The AP wire had it this way, “German female boxer Rola El-Halabi‘s career is in doubt after she was shot by her stepfather and former manager before a title fight on Friday. The undefeated 25-year-old was preparing to fight Irma Balijagic Adler of Bosnia for the vacant IBF lightweight title, when the 44-year-old man entered her dressing room and shot her in the hand, knee and foot.” (link here & link here)  Also shot were two security guards both of whom are expected to make a full recovery.  Rola El-Halabi had reportedly ended her stepfather’s role as her manager back in January.

As WBAN points out, this is the second shooting of a female boxer, following on the horrific assault Christy Martin endured late last year.  (link here)

Am I missing something here?  I know people get shot, but this is really too much.

Girlboxing sends heart-felt wishes to Rola El-Halabi for a swift and full recovery.

Here’s a great video of Rola El-Halabi and Mia St. John from last year.  This is really tragic.

Stepping up to fight against domestic violence plus a Daily News Golden Gloves Week Five Reminder

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Stepping up to fight against domestic violence plus a Daily News Golden Gloves Week Five Reminder

 

Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez takes on the challenge of ending domestic violence against women

For the uninitiated, the sport of boxing has become associated with violence of all kinds including domestic violence against women.  Boxers know that contrary to its reputation, the discipline and work ethic associated with the sport often curtails the kind of personal explosive outbursts of violence that have come to be associated with it.

That’s not to say that all boxers are necessarily non-violent, but it does mean that boxers are for the most part practitioners of the art of the sweet violence and abhor violence outside of the ring.  The exceptions are heartbreaking and the suicide of Venezuelan boxer Edwin Valero last April after confessing to murdering his wife is no exception.

Enter Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez to take on the cause of domestic violence against women.  Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KO) who is fighting @ Foxwoods on March 12th in his much anticipated HBO main event fight against Sergei Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO) used the opportunity of his recent press conference to talk again about the cause he took up in the wake of the Valero suicide saying, “violence against women is simply unacceptable.”  Bleacher Report has a piece about his efforts here.

84th Annual Daily News 2011 Golden Gloves Week Five reminder!

2/15/2011 – Red Hook Center, 110 West 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

2/16/2011- Hempstead Kennedy Memorial Park, 335 Greenwich Street, Hempstead, NY 11550

2/17/2011 – Elmcor Recreation Center, 33-16 108th Street, Corona, NY 11368

2/18/2011 – St. Raymond’s High School, 2151 Saint Raymond’s Avenue, Bronx, NY 10462

For more information and to check on any changes due to weather, please click here.