Monthly Archives: February 2011

84th Annual Daily News 2011 Golden Gloves Week Seven Reminder and the start of the Quarter Finals!

Leave a reply

84th Annual Daily News 2011 Golden Gloves Week Seven reminder and the start of the Quarter Finals!

The full week’s schedule is:

3/1/2011 – St. Finbar Auditorium, 1839 Bath Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11214

3/3/2011 – C-Pac Center, 1020 East 48th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11203

>>>>>>>Quarter Finals!

3/4/2011 – St. Athanasius, 6200 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11204

3/5/2011 – Saint Patrick’s High School, 9511 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11228 (7:00 PM Start)

For more information click here.

PS – Fight Reminder for March 12, 2011

Sonya "The Scholar" Lamonakis

Gleason’s own Sonya “The Scholar” Lamonakis #1 ranked WIBA U.S. women’s heavyweight and four-time Golden Gloves winner will be fighting on the undercard of the Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez vs  Sergiy Dzinzinuk bout on March 12 @ Foxwoods to be broadcast live HBO.

For a limited time, Gleason’s Gym is offering tickets at $75 each.  (Purchasing through Gleason’s will save you the $12 service fee.)

Gleason’s advises to buy tickets now as they are going fast.  For more information contact Gleason’s Gym at (718) 797-2872 — you can also request information by email: info@gleasonsgym.net.

Congratulations to “The Fighter” for their fantastic Oscar wins!

Leave a reply

Congratulations to “The Fighter” for their fantastic Oscar Wins!

The Fighter has come away a winner at the Oscars!  This well-written portrayal of Micky Ward’s rise to boxing acclaim is a heartfelt story about a family in crisis.  This wonderful film is a stirring retelling of the boxing parable of redemption and well worth the price of admission.

Best Supporting Actress – Melissa Leo for her portrayal of Alice Ward

Best Supporting Actor – Christian Bale for his portrayal of Dicky Eklund

Gaining “umph” in “limp” mode

4 Replies

Gaining “umph” in “limp” mode

Well I didn’t exactly have the greatest workout ever yesterday as my head throbbed from a pretty intense headache, but I did manage to eek out 10 rounds. The point was to “punch” through it as best I could  — and with Lennox’s help who slowed down to my level of crawl by the forth round of focus pads, I got through that part of my circuit and still managed to hit with some “umph”  as we worked on right-left hook-right and left-right-left hook combinations.

The great thing about getting to Gleason’s yesterday in “limp” mode was feeling the energy of everyone else’s work.  It is the true contagion of the gym and when one is feeling less than stellar getting there anyway is one way of pushing oneself to get over whatever ails — not to urge anyone to go to the gym with a 103 degree fever or anything that overwhelming, but when it’s fairly minor stuff, call it the “walking wounded” feeling, working out, even a truly modified one can help put a little extra something in your step on the way out the door.  In my case, all that sweat and effort helped ease the throbbing, and by the time I got home, my headache was pretty much gone.

One more thing, if your aren’t feeling all that well during your gym time, the double-ended bag can be a nice way of easing into your workout.  It is my preferred warm-up method after some gentle shadow boxing because it is a whole body work-out that can be paced.

And the winner is: Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton

Leave a reply

And the winner is:  Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton

Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton retained her WBO Super Bantamweight title last night in a main event extravaganza against challenger Franchesca “The Chosen One” Alcanter at the Craneway Pavilion in Riverside, California.  Broadcast live over Philippine television, the Filapina-American boxing superstar has captivated her home country at a time when Philippine boxing seems at an all time high after the “punch” delivered by Nonito Donaire in last weekend’s bout against Fernando Montiel.

With the exception perhaps of rounds 6 and 7, Julaton dominated the fight with her left jab and left-right-left combinations and managed to fend off Alcanter’s 10th round wake-up call to take the unanimous decision 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94.  Julaton improvee her record to 8-2-1, 1-KO, and as reported in the Bleacher Report may well look to stage her next title defense in the Philippines.

Reminder: Julaton v. Alcanter fight 2night!

Leave a reply

Reminder:   Julaton v. Alcanter fight 2night

The much anticipated Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton versus Franchesca “The Chosen One” Alcanter Women’s WBO Super Bantamweight title fight is this evening in Riverside, California. A streaming version of the fight is available on “The Hurricane Returns.tv“.  The fee is $9.95 to receive the streaming video feed live.

Bad Girls Boxing

Leave a reply

Bad Girls Boxing

Bad Girls Boxing

 

I came across a couple of videos for a group called Bad Girls Boxing out in Indio, California.  Bad Girls Boxing opened its doors 15 years ago as boxing club for young women from 8 – 35 and uses boxing as a vehicle for teaching empowerment while developing basic and advanced skills. In addition to individual and group training classes, the organization sponsors women’s boxing training camps with the likes of Laila Ali as a coach and mentor at those events. For more information about Bad Girls Boxing click here. You can also “like” them on Facebook here.

 

Cardio, cardio, cardio

6 Replies

Cardio, cardio, cardio

I had my annual physical yesterday.  All looks good so far, though my doctor recommended upping my cardio.  It got me thinking how I would fit that in when I’m already at my max on time — not to mention the fact that I box on Saturdays which is about the best cardio I know!

Then it occurred to me that I wasn’t being consigned to an hour on a treadmill or the nordic trak.  I’m free to be as creative as I can while accomplishing the benefits in short spurts like climbing stairs in lieu of elevators (where possible), taking a faster pace when I walk and throwing in a few rounds of shadow boxing using my handy iPhone timer app whenever I can!  Dancing to three butt-buster songs from YouTube can also do the trick!  Or as my husband suggested going back to the idea of an evening “constitutional.”

The point is — once you reach a certain age you are pronounced an official medical grown-up which means it’s all about prevention!  And while strength is important for healthy bones, stretching for flexibility and stress reduction, the aerobics are necessary to keep your heart healthy.

Your moment, your time.

Leave a reply

Your moment, your time.

This is as good an early morning as any to admit that getting up before dawn to breathe deeply as I contort myself into poses my body has no way of holding is just plain silly.  Okay, well maybe not silly, but given that my eyes are at half mast and I’m drifting as I write there is the question as to whether I am hitting diminishing returns here.  Yes, I got the junk out of my bones as I stretched and released — with the added benefit of giving the cat a place to scratch as I attempted the right hand on my outstretched left foot pose (that’s the donuty looking one — great on the tape, ridiculous on me!).

The gripes aside — it being Wednesday after all when these sorts of doubts hit my consciousness — I got to thinking that it is still my little bit of quiet including all this baby-bitching. Yep, let’s face it, sometimes we need some time to complain. We need that arrrghhh growl. That “damn-it nobody changed the toilet paper” grumble. Or my favorite, the loud as I can be empty out the kitchen sink plate slamming session where the object is to make as much noise as possible with nary a scratch to any of the pots, pans, dishes or cutlery. Where I draw the line is with the mucked up sponge which in my world just gets tossed out with a few under the breath curses to the moron who left it there to soak in the overnight potpourri of bacteria languishing in their special stew.

The point is the moments that are yours don’t always have to be pretty. Let’s face it, why else would you want to hit things?  Punching a heavy bag does have its attractions after all. As does beating down a huge mound of clay, digging in the dirt to plant bulbs or running till your heart feels as if it is going to burst. And that’s okay. Release is not always a slowly modulated intake and outtake of breath kind of thing. Sometimes its messy and full of rage, and sometimes its plain old complaint city when for the 116th time in a week you plead, cajole and beg one of your loved ones to pahleasssseee open the hamper lid before stacking their dirty laundry.

The other side of the fight

4 Replies

The other side of the fight.

Franchesca "The Chosen One" Alcanter, Women's WBO Super Bantamweight Championship fight

Often in big draw fights whether its men’s professional boxing, women’s professional boxing, amateurs in the Golden Gloves or in related sports such as MMA, we forget about the other side of the ticket.  The fighter who has the challenge not only to climb through the ropes, but getting ready for the fight knowing his or her opponent is garnering all of the attention.

Such is the case for Franchesca “The Chosen One” Alcanter as she readies to meet Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton this Friday in the ring at what is sure to be a spectacle in Riverside, California as they battle for the women’s WBO Super Bantamweight title.  Hailing from a self-professed boxing family, Franchesca Alcanter, 37, brings an impressive 18-9-1 record to the 10-round championship bout.

This will be Franchesca Alcanter’s 5th shot at a title having lost a heart breaker in Breman, Germany against opponent Ina Menzer in 2009.  As quoted in an article by Pete Grathoff in her home town paper, the Kansas City Star, Alcantar said, “I feel really good about this fight,” I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. I’m a seasoned fighter. I know right now that this is my time.”

Whatever happens on Friday night, win, lose or draw, Franchesca Alcanter will box her heart out not only for herself, but for the future of women’s boxing, a sport she loves.  Click here for a link to Pete Grathoff’s article.  For more information on Franchesca Alcanter and her upcoming bout click here.

Women in the ring and Week Six Golden Gloves Reminder

2 Replies

Women in the Ring

Christy Martin and Dakota Stone, September 3, 2009

Christy Martin:  Fighting back

Christy Martin, center, works out with assistant trainer Richie Sandoval, left, Miguel Diaz, trainer, right looks on. Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP Photo

AP’s Tim Dahlberg has a feature piece out about Christy Martin and her upcoming bout against Dakota Stone on the undercard of the March 12, 2011 Showtime PPV Cotto-Mayorga fight.

A money quote from Dahlberg’s piece with respect to women’s boxing is Bob Arum’s take on the sport:

“Ask promoter Bob Arum and he’ll tell you the biggest problem with women’s boxing is that men don’t particularly like to see women hitting each other, and women like it even less. Though the sport has a small dedicated fan base, women in the ring are generally treated as a side show by fans and boxing promoters.”  This article is really worth the read here.

Sonya “The Scholar” Lamonakis upcoming bout reminder!

As a reminder, the other great women’s bout on March 12, 2011 will pit WIBA #1 ranked U. S. Heavyweight, Sonya “The Scholar” Lamonakis (3-0, 1-KO) against Tanzee Daniels (4-0, 1-KO) on the undercard of HBO’s Martinez-Dzinziruk fight to be broadcast live from Foxwoods.

Tickets can be purchased online here or by calling the MGM Grand at Foxwoods at 1-866-646-0609, or in person at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods box office.

You can also contact Sonya Lamonakis for ticket information by calling Gleason’s Gym @ 718-797-2872.

84th Annual Daily News 2011 Golden Gloves Week Six reminder:  Women’s bouts!

At the aptly named, Justice Sotomayer Center on Wednesday night, February 23rd, the first women’s preliminary boxing bouts of the year will be held across several weight classes.

The full week’s schedule is:

2/22/2011 – Bishop Ford High School, 500 19th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215

2/23/2011 – Justice Sotomayor Center, 1000 Rosedale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10472

2/25/2011 – Holy Cross High School, 26-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing, NY 11358

For more information click here.


Women’s Boxing News Roundup – 2/20/21

Leave a reply

Women’s Boxing News Roundup – 2/20/11

Women’s IBF Bantamweight Championship

Suzie Q Ramadan, Women's IBF Bantamweight Champion, Photo: Alex Coppel, Herald Sun

Australia’s Susie Q Ramadan (20-0,KO-8) scored a decisive runaway victory last night to win the Women’s IBF Bantamweight Championship over America’s Terri Lynn Cruz (17-7-2, KO-8).  In commanding fashion, Ramadan scored 99-91 on all three judges scorecards as she routed Cruz in the fight on her home turf venue, the Reggio Calibria Club in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia.  Well publicized in her native Australia, Ramadan hopes to crack the American and European fight markets as well as to continue to bring honor to the sport of boxing for Australia. Article links here and here.

Laila Ali tapped as President of the Women’s Sports Foundation

Laila Ali, radiant in red and expecting her 2nd child in April, Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Former women’s boxing champion Laila Ali a board member of the Women’s Sports Foundation since 2007 has been chosen as the organization’s incoming President.  As quoted in a press release issued by the Women’s Sports Foundation, Ali said, “I’m thrilled to serve as president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and help girls and women from all walks of life understand the important role of sports and getting active.”  Ali will also become a member of the Women’s Sports Foundation Board of Trustees during her two-year term as President of the foundation.  For more information about this important organization, click here.

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton training with Freddie Roach!

Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton

Score another Philippine boxing champion for Freddie Roach’s corner as Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton (7-2-1) begins training with Freddie for her February 25th fight against Franchesca ”The Chosen One” Alcanter (18-9-1) in a fight night spectacle at Craneway Pavillion in Riverside, California.  Julaton who is the WBO & IBF Super Bantamweight champion had also recently indicated that she would drop her professional status to compete in the 2012 Olympics on the Philippine national team.  Meanwhile, her upcoming fight will be televised live on TV5, a singular honor for women’s boxing.

Saturday morning workout

Leave a reply

Saturday morning workout.

I’ll be working out with Lennox Blackmore today.  My aim is continue my back-to-fundamentals work on the focus pads with a lot of emphasis on the jab-jab-right combination to position myself for the left to the body, or a jab, left hook.  Mostly, I’ll changing things up this morning with four rounds of slip-rope as my shadow boxing warmup — and some heavy bag work after the focus pads, to practice on the interchange between “upstairs” and “downstairs” before finishing up with some rounds on the double-ended bag and the speed bag.

Here are some heavy bag tips I’ve found that seem pretty good a la Freddie Roach.

PS – If you’re in and around NYC tonight, Gleason’s Gym will be presenting their exciting USA Boxing sanctioned All Master Boxing Show starting at 7:00 PM.  You can also catch a live-streaming version of the show on Go Fight Live TV here and as Gleason’s puts it, their very own Champion Sonya Lamonakis will be providing the commentary for the fights.

Girls to women, keeping it real

4 Replies

Girls to women, keeping it real

Cassy Herkelman, Iowa High School wrestler

Joel Northrup, a talented young high school male wrestler forfeited his match in Iowa’s state championship tournament rather than face his female opponent, Cassy Herkelman, one of two young women who met the qualification criteria to participate in the tournament, the first young women to do so in the state’s history.  In a written statement quoted in an article from Bloomberg.com, Northrup noted that “as a matter of conscience and my faith, I do not believe it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner,” further stating, “It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa.”   A more in depth account in the Des Moines Register notes that Northrup who fights for Linn-Mar High School had declined to fight Herkelman in a match on January 13, 2011, however, given that it was not a state tournament, the team put in a substitute to fight Herkelman.  Articles can be found here and here.

All right, so much for the facts, that include statements from the Herkelman’s father  saying that it “takes a lot of guts,” to follow religious convictions.  From where I sit, admittedly comfortably ensconced in my Brooklyn, NY living room — the entire episode is an outrage.

What, the first young woman to qualify in a state championship tournament gets the win ’cause her opponent thinks “combat” with a girl is inappropriate!  Yes, Cassy, you get the win, the first win for a “girl,” but  there’s also the tiny asterisk forever associated with that honor — won by forfeit.

Where are we living???  What year is this???  I’m sorry but as mother and the mother of A GIRL, I find this beyond the pale.  Forfeit??? I don’t care how talented Joel Northrup is or the depth of his convictions, the sport of high school wrestling in the state of Iowa is open to qualified boys AND girls and if that is too much for him, he SHOULDN’T PARTICIPATE at all.  That his coaches and his school continue to enable this behavior because he’s got some talent in the ring is no less outrageous.    What’s the message to the young women in that school and in the community at large — oh, it’s okay to dis’ girls in the name of some “holier than thou” convictions about a women’s place in the world?

Any if you read the news and the blogs on this story (just google the story under “google news”) the contortions to be all PC are funny if it weren’t really, really sad.  And let me repeat this is sad, a very sad statement on where we are when a young woman who has trained her heart out and fought hard to earn her place at the state level has to stand alone in the ring to the cheers and jeers of a crowd because her opponent can’t face her.  Give me a break.

I didn’t see it coming…

4 Replies

I didn’t see it coming…

Sometimes one can say “I didn’t see it coming” and eat canvas literally or figuratively.  Whether it’s a quick right to the temple or bad news in an email the effect is pretty much the same — shock, awe and a stunned sensation before jumping up for the mandatory eight-count in the hopes of mitigating any further problems.

The thing is somewhere between the canvas and the wait that seems forever before you resume your fight, the mind is racing all over the place with the calculus of just how you got to canvas in the first place.  As if reliving all the moves in a chess game and all the possible outcomes if only move b replaced move a, the momentary, “I got caught” feeling takes one down a path of roads not taken.  That space also brings the sickening shoulda’, coulda’, woulda’ sensations of lost opportunities as one licks back the blood, shakes it all off and readies for what happens next.

When it’s a life moment:  a sick parent or sibling or spouse, the death of someone close, those sensations are not very different.  We reel with stars and that winced brain feeling, choke back the giant ow, and somewhere in the midst of getting back to ourselves walk down the how-come-I-didn’t-see-this-coming path.  And it’s the I-should-have-known feeling that really lays us out because the longer we hold onto those feelings, the longer it takes to get back to our best game.  Those are the moments when we take to our beds and hiding in a tight ball under the covers absorb the waves of emotions that inevitably come with difficult news — or news we just don’t want to absorb.  At some point, however, the covers have to come off ’cause as nice and warm and cozy as the bed might seem, it’s not the messiness of a well-lived life.    Sometimes all it takes is a good night’s sleep before perspective kicks in and one finds in the promise of a new day, opportunities to move on with a feeling of joy for all the things you can see.  Let’s face it, no matter how hard we try, some things just get away from us and while we can dwell in the unfairness of our inability to “see” — as my Theravada Buddhist Dharma teacher used to say, “it’s just that.”

Update: Emily Klinefelter

Leave a reply

Update:  Emily Klinefelter

Emily Klinefelter

Boxer Emily Klinefelter who suffered a burst blood vessel in her brain during her recent bout with Christina Ruiz has been released from the hospital.  The 26 year old fighter had undergone surgery to repair the damage following the February 5th fight.

Emily will continue to recuperate at home and is expected to make a full recovery.  As quoted in the Daily Iowan, her mother Cynthia Parsons sent an email noting, “She is well on her way to a full recovery, and she wishes to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support, care, and concern throughout this difficult situation.”    Click here and here for more details.