Monthly Archives: May 2011

Women’s boxing: a couple of stories from around the web!

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Women’s boxing: a couple of stories from around the web!

Head on over to the New York Daily News for a great piece about Sparkle Lee, a renowned boxing referee in New York and New Jersey.  A lover of the sport who took up training in the 1980’s at Gleason’s Gym, Sparkle never took up the gloves in her own right, but the pro’s loss has been the ring’s gain as she has plied her trade as a the “third (wo)man” for nearly twenty years.  Kudo’s to Christopher O’Brien for his inspiring article! The must read link is here.

Over at WBAN, Bernie McCoy has a terrific piece up on Terri Moss.  Known as “The Boss,” Terri Moss boxed professionally before going over to the other side to run the Decatur Boxing Club in Atlanta.  She also recently been named Women’s Boxing Chairman for the Champions of Dignity Association (CODA).  CODA is a new sanctioning organization whose proceeds will be used to support the Retired Boxers Foundation.  Otherwise, Terri Moss pulls off two corporate charity events a year to benefit Atlanta’s many charities.  The link to the article is here.

Ides of May!

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Ides of May!

Bluebell Wood, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

I don’t know about all of you, but this year is going F-A-S-T.  Not that I exactly want to call a halt, but maybe a touch of the pause button to assess where things are and where they’re going!

Meaning, am I on track for where I wanted to be?  Are there things I haven’t gotten to yet that really *are* a priority??  Have I been wasting my time on something to avoid the things I need to be doing???

It figures that I’d hit upon this as the rain is starting to come down in Brooklyn, not exacting “raining on my parade,” but giving me a moment to wonder if I need to reprioritize a little with the snippets of time I do have outside of working and family and all of the rest, to make sure body and soul will get through the year without too much of a sweat.

Things I’ve discovered?  

1. Yoga at 5:00 in the morning is hard to sustain to the point where I’ve been doing it in fits and starts since the end of April. So beginning Monday, I’m cutting it back to three days at week at 5:30 AM for 20-30 minutes at a time to see how that goes.

2. Boxing once a week is a TREASURE, but as my friend YBS Talking notes, Saturday-only boxing means that I’m only treading water physically. Solution?? Pick-up one after-work session during the week. Given time constraints I can build it around three sets of 4-rounds each of activity and do light roadwork (slow jog or fast walk) to aid the cardio.  It’ll mean I have to work on things on my own, but with stamina as the goal, that should be all right.

3. The Daily Something.  I’ve really been trying on that one viewing writing this blog as a sort of sacrosanct bit of my own that I can work on.  I’m also okay with having missed an occasional day — kind of like “gone fishing” moments,  but otherwise still love putting a piece out into the ether on a daily basis. What I’m striving for now is to work through a short list of ideas for more extended pieces which I’ll start to put out over the next several weeks.  Other than that, not only is Girlboxing my daily something, but also a “sure thing” when it comes to the joy department!  So thanks to everyone out there for listening!

4. Balancing out all the rest!  This is the toughest one and I’m not so certain how successful I’ve been at this lately.  Suffice to say, my husband is the true champion for supporting me in all of this, and I mean all of it from me waking up before dawn on through writing papers for school from morning till night on weekends. And he supports me through all of it with a great big smile — even when he feels that I love my computer more than I love him!  My daughter has also been a great booster and I cannot say enough about how proud I am of her and of her accomplishments.

And so it goes … not exactly mid-way through the year, but close on as summer continues to beckon us all along (in the northern hemisphere that is!).

I can only hope that your year has gone as well!

Waiting for the end to come.

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Waiting for the end to come.

Today was one of those gym days when if found myself waiting for the end. Whether it was the end of the round, the end of the set, or the end of the training session, my entire body seemed to be keeping rhythm to the “why are we here?” mantra.

We’re talking muscles yelling at me, head throbbing from a migraine, lungs shouting “wtf!?!” and legs that refused to bend.  Len (bless him) was a sweetheart about it and aside from a half-hearted, “wake-up, wake-up” during our first round on the focus pads, figured it was best to just go with the low-flow of energy.

Still, I did manage to get through the entire circuit, and even picked up some energy towards the end of my last couple of rounds on the double-ended bag and during my speed bag rounds.  By then I realized that by working it all out on the bag, I was finding a way to push through the physical morass and even found myself working a little past the bell on the last two rounds.

On the sit-up chair it was pretty much more of the same, but at least the head-throbbing was gone by then, and now that I’m home and adequately “coffee’d”,  I’m actually starting to feel a smile coming on.

So, what does it all mean?  I guess to haul your booty out the door anyway even if you’re feeling like dog-doo.  In my case, because I’m on a once-a-week schedule, I really feel that I have to go regardless — and let’s face it, while I’m still not at 100%, having made it through, I feel energized if only because I did complete the circuit. And who knows, I might even find the energy for a run later in the day.  I’ll see how it goes.

Saturday night at the amateurs!

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Saturday night at the amateurs!


Girlboxing friend Gleason’s Gym will be sponsoring an amateur fight night show on Saturday night, May 14th!

As usual, Angela Querol has been playing matchmaker to put together a terrific evening of juniors, seniors and master bouts!  The weigh-in begins at 4:00 PM and the first bout is slated to start at 6:00 PM.

The amateur fight card is sanctioned by USABoxingMetro — and will be A LOT of fun so, bring your pals, kids and family for a terrific evening of boxing!!!

Oh, and if you can’t get down to Gleason’s Gym catch it live on the internet on www.gofightlive.tv  with Gleason’s own Champion Sonya Lamonakis providing the blow-by-blow commentary!

For further information contact Gleason’s Gym @ 718-797-2872.  Tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 per person.  All gym members and registered amateurs with their books in hand pay $15 per person.  Kids 6 and under are free.  Gleason’s is located at 77 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY, Dumbo!

Thursday night at the fights!

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Thursday night at the fights!

Well, why not!  It may feel great to train, but it is also fabulous to watch!

I thought it might be fun to find some recent women’s bouts and with a huge shout out to the denizens of YouTube, I’ve linked to a smattering of some of the latest uploads I could find! Who needs Showtime, HBO Boxing or ESPN when we’ve got YouTube, right??   Enjoy!

The first bout is from Gleason’s Gym’s recent all Female Amateur Boxing Card!

Great Boxing from Argentina: Roxana Baron vs. Maria Potenza. The fight starts about 5:00 minutes in.

And another great one from Argentina with two skilled boxers: Debora Dionicius vs. Norma Diza Caucota.

Getting the skinny on Women’s Boxing!

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Getting the skinny on Women’s Boxing!

Women's Boxing, Photo: Nathan W. Armes

Finding resources about Women’s Boxing can be a real challenge!  Take if from me, I google “women’s boxing” and “female boxing” at least once a day under the news tab and often come away with the same three dull stories and barely a word on results.

That’s where our friends at Women Boxing Network Archive (WBAN) come in!  Their website is a fabulous resource for just about everything you need to know about Women’s Boxing from amateur bouts through the latest results of pro-boxing battles across the globe.  WBAN is also a terrific resource for upcoming events, boxer’s biographies and photographs, not to mention their series of wonderful articles on the history of Women’s Boxing.

WBAN is the brainchild of Sue “Tiger Lily” Fox, one of the true trailblazers of the sport.   Sue fought as a professional boxer in the 1970’s, but her love of the sport never abated for a moment and propelled her to start the WBAN website nearly 13 years ago in June 1998.

Chevelle Hallback and Holly Holm at the weigh-in for their March 2010 “Warrior Vengeance” fight

To mark the tenth anniversary of WBAN’s presence on the web in 2008, WBAN created their own “Best of the Best” independent world title belt and chose two of the sport’s greatest, Holly Holm and Chevelle Hallback, as the first honorees.

Readers hankering for access to WBAN’s extensive archive of data can also purchase a membership subscription for unlimited access to boxing records, photographs and even streaming videos at minimum cost.

So next time you have a hankering for everything you can possibly learn about women’s boxing, click on WBAN – Women Boxing Archive Network. (You’ll find a permanent link listed under Boxing Blogs.)

And next time you stop by WBAN, give a shout-out to Sue “TL” Lyon for her steadfast dedication to the sport of Women’s Boxing!

Cool Jerk

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Cool Jerk

I went to my first dance when I graduated from the sixth grade. It was 1966 and, in and of itself, the dance with its steady stream of soul music was pretty amazing as a punctuation mark on my childhood.

Coming out of my school in the early evening, I felt the power of what embarking on a new road meant. Okay, not exactly how I would describe 7th Grade at I.S. 44 on West 77th Street — or the move from my beloved downtown to the upper west side of Manhattan, but I didn’t know that at the time and as tears stung my eyes, I felt elated by the prospect of engaging the unknown.

The next morning, I remember coming downstairs early and sitting on the stoop with my brand new AM/FM transistor radio in hand — a birthday present from my grandmother.

By then I had discovered jazz on WLIB-FM and the other stations on each end of the dial. Those were the cool stations, the ones that played jazz and soul 24-7.

Sitting there watching the world unfold in the light breeze of the early morning air I felt invincible.

It’s a feeling I get from boxing sometimes, when going through my paces I feel completely in tune.  I have it traveling too; walking down a back street in a town, listening to the refrains of life as I pass my, a walking spirit through countless unseen lives.

Later that day, the song Cool Jerk by the group The Capitals came on.  That song was like a hyped-up tonic to me and seemed to optimize the feeling I had of beginning a new journey. Every time I listened to it that summer I felt the thrill of it – and even now if I want a giant pick-me-up I’ll just play that song and something will kick-in to bring on a great big smile.

Yep, I felt like the heaviest cat, the world had ever seen.

Freddie Roach volunteers to help coach Team USA Men’s and Women’s Boxing Olympians!

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Freddie Roach volunteers to help coach Team USA Men’s and Women’s Boxing Olympians!


USA Boxing’s Men’s and Women’s Olympic hopefuls will be joined by volunteer coach, Freddie Roach who has opened up his heart and his gym, Wild Card Boxing Club, to the elite athletes who will comprise Team USA’s 2012 Boxing Olympians.

In a press release issued by USA Boxing, Freddie Roach is quoted as saying, “An Olympic medal is one of the greatest accomplishments in all of sport, and I promise to do all I can to ensure that these young men and women are fully prepared to go to London to proudly represent our country,” said Roach.

The 2012 Olympics will mark the first time women’s boxing will be recognized as an Olympic sport — so what better gift than Freddie Roach’s remarkable skills as a trainer for the women who will represent Team USA!

As United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun put it, “I’d like to thank Freddie and his team for their willingness to help our boxers achieve their highest potential.”  Blackmun further stated that he is “thrilled that we were able to make this happen and can’t wait to see the results.”

USA Boxing also noted that “the program … is designed to act as a resource for up to ten medal-potential athletes to attend multi-day training sessions at the Wild Card Gym with their personal coaches and USA Boxing’s National Coach Joe Zanders. These sessions will be established under the leadership of Freddie Roach and his staff and will be used to help provide feedback and strategy on the athletes’ preparation for the Olympic Games. The USOC will support this program as an add-on to the 2011-12 approved high performance plan with the intent of providing a unique and valuable resource for the designated athletes as a supplement to the existing coaching structure.”

Freddie Roach and his team will begin their participation with USA Boxing at an upcoming high performance retreat at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Co.

Girlboxing would like to send a shout out to Freddie for offering this great opportunity!

For further information click here and here.

If you have your health …

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If you have your health …


I have close friends and family who are in varying states of getting their butts kicked by illness and the uncertainties that ill-health can bring.   Whether life-threatening as in some cases or debilitating to the point of being life-altering, the old adage that goes, “if you have your health you have everything,” rings truer than I can say.

Watching formally healthy and robust people impaired by illness — even for the shorter term is difficult to reconcile.  And yet those of my friends and family who find themselves at that place where the fight for a modicum of normalcy equates to a lot of wishful thinking puts me in mind to how grateful I am  to be able to choose or *not* choose to haul myself to the gym to work out, or to fight my way from dreamland on to the mat for morning Yoga.  Which of course reminds me of the fact that I’ve blown it off of late — and in working through how to get back into the habit of pre-dawn downward-facing-dog poses I am not only thinking of it as a matter of will power, but of something deeper:  taking responsibility for my health, frankly, while I still have it.

As every boxer knows, the dedication to workouts, healthy eating, making weight safely, and importantly, a training routine that works with one’s body not against it are what’s needed before ever stepping into the ring.  And why not with life too — and with the everyday fun of work and play with minds and bodies free of the stresses that too many late nights, fast-foods loaded with fats and sugars and not enough time spent attending to the prevention of illness can bring.

Goodness knows I am not one to talk having just eaten the delicious slice of Mother’s Day cake my daughter lovingly bought me, but … that’s not to say that one can’t have one’s cake and “eat it too.” One can put some thought into eating and living healthily with the occasional cake and ice cream carved in to it — and no, not a pint of chocolate chocolate chip at one sitting, but a hearty scoopful.

I guess the point is to mind what your mother always told you, stuff like, “a good breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” or “take your vitamins,” or “don’t watch too much TV, it’ll rot your brain.”

Well you get the drift.  Doing what you can to stay healthy really does count for something, so please, for your Mom, try to remember yours.

What condition my conditioning is in

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What condition my conditioning is in.


Given my conditioning, I’m beginning to think that the best thing to do is to get a Navy Seals video and start getting in some beach time!

I mean, wow!  Four rounds with Lennox Blackmore this morning just about blew out my lungs!

We’re talking “panting” city — meanwhile, we had a LOAD of fun, and when I wasn’t gasping for air, I actually managed a few moves.  The great thing about the experience was Len’s patience in showing me ways to GET OUT OF THE WAY — as in when to slip and when to block to set up my next flurry of punches.  It reminds me of what a great counter-puncher he is, and like the great game of chess, everything in boxing is about setting things up for what you plan to do several moves ahead.

Having not been in the ring for a while, I found myself stymied by some of what Len was doing. The good part was I have actually been learning a thing or two and so I had crisper more accurate punches that actually followed form — when I wasn’t abjectly staying out-of-the-way to catch my breath!

Oh well — it just means I’ve got to get on the CARDIO train and step it up several notches if I hope to have a prayer in the ring.

Meanwhile, I did manage a couple of rounds of shadow boxing, three on the double-ended bag, four on the speed bag and four rounds of slow sit-ups on the funky old Gleason’s sit-up chair before heading on up the Washington Street hill for home.

It made for a great morning and the kind of day when I all I could do was smile!

Mr. Softee

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Mr. Softee.

Between hearing my first Mr. Softee truck of the season, sitting in the sunshine for a few minutes at mid-day, and an otherwise hellacious week that left me with noodles for brains, I’m feeling a wave of summer somnambulance tempered only by the relative cool of the evening.  Summer will come though, along with feeling all sweaty and hot in the gym, my muscles pre-oiled and loose without ever having to step out onto the pavement for a run.

Growing up, I used to love the first days of summer. I lived on the lower east side then and could sit out on the stoop till the sun went down. The block was always peopled with kids running around and playing in groups that seemed to interchange with the ease of the wind — as their parents talked, smoked, drank beer, played dominos or called out from the window for this or that kid to come upstairs.

Sometime in early June, my mother would take my brother and I down to Orchard Street to buy our summer clothes.

I’d get short-sleeved shirts, camp shorts, tan jeans and a new pair of white PF Flyer sneakers. I’d also get a new pair of flip-flops which I’d wear out practically through the rubber by the end of the summer.

The best part was watching older kids on my block dance.

I learned a lot of moves. And as I got older I came to love listening to the music of Martha and The Vandella’s, The Marvellettes and of course The Supremes — and even though they were a little too prissy for my taste I used to love the song, You Keep Me Hangin’ On.

I miss having a stoop to sit on or a block that has an edgy feel of danger — maybe that’s why I love boxing so much.  It feels like summer.  Full of promise and thrill and just that little hint of something you can’t quite keep control of.

Road to dreams

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Road to dreams.

AIBA the amateur international boxing association has just completed their AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships.  As part of the 10-day event, the organization sponsored young female boxers and their coaches by providing the funds necessary not only to attend the event, but to train for the bouts at a specially held training camp.

As noted on the AIBA website, 23 boxers from seven countries were afforded the opportunity to train in Antalya, Turkey ahead of the recently concluded games resulting in a gold and silver and a bronze for training camp participants:  Thi Vy Voung (Vietnam) won a the world Junior title in the 52kg weight class for the Gold, her teammate Thi Phuong Pham won the silver in the 48kg weight class, and Moldavia’s Irinia Gilca took the bronze in the 64kg weight class in the Youth championship competition.

Otherwise, boxers from India, China and  Russia dominated in the Junior and Youth competition — heating up competitive opportunities ahead of next year’s Olympics (Team USA did not take part).

The idea of a road to dreams resonated with me — can you imagine, really, think about this a road to dreams; sponsorship of athletic prowess in the sport of women’s boxing!  And apparently, this is not the first time.  AIBA sponsored 33 boxers ahead of the 2010 Women’s World Championships in Barbados last year in a program called “Road to Barbados.”

Still, I like the idea of a road to dreams.  A place where young women, some as young as 14, are given the opportunity to practice the sweet science under the auspices of an organization that truly supports their efforts.  What could be better than that!

For more information on AIBA click here.

Team USA Women’s Boxing – Second Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament!

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Team USA Women’s Boxing – Second Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament!

Team USA Women’s Boxing is in Quito, Ecuador for the second Pan American Games qualifying tournament! On Monday night (5/2), middleweight fighter, Franchon Crews from Baltimore came up with the first Team USA win (male or female) when she triumphed over Kimberely Gittens of Barbados with a decisive 22-0 win.

Tuesday night’s women’s bouts proved a bit tougher. Crews was able to hold on to her winning streaking edging out Ecuadorian fighter Blanca Burgos (Venezuela) 9-8. New York’s own Golden Gloves champion Christina Cruz, however, had a tougher night, losing her bout to Jemyma Betrian (Venezuela) 6-17.

Today fights will include non-stop action in the lightweight division when Seattle’s own Queen Underwood battles Maria Ulpino of Venezuela and Jennifer Caceres (Columbia) takes on Sandra Bizier (Canada).

USA Boxing has a link to the story here.

Great Women’s Champion! Chevelle Hallback!

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>>>UPDATE>>>>5/8/2010>>>>

As it happens, Cecilia Braekhus, held on to her Women’s WBC, WBA and WBO Welterweight titles by overcoming Chevelle Hallback‘s challenge to win a unanimous decision through 10 rounds of boxing.  The judges scored the fight 98-92, 98-92, 97,93. Braekhus who remains undefeated improved her record to 18-0 with 4 KO’s.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Great Women’s Champion! Chevelle Hallback!

The great women’s boxing champion Cheville Hallback (28-6-2) with true abs of steel has a championship battle set for May 7, 2011 against undefeated Cecilia Braekhus (17-0) in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Hallback will be fighting to capture the WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight titles and will be moving up from the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions to take on Braekhus.  The fight will be on the undercard of the rescheduled Evander Holyfield vs. Brian Nielson Fight.

Hallback, a 39 year old Florida native continues to surge forward to set new ground for Women’s Boxing.  She’s also putting it all on the line in taking on the 29-year-old Braekhus who recently defeated Jill Emory by way of a unanimous decision in their ten round fight on April 2nd. Hallback is also coming into her bout with Braekhus having defeated Victoria Cisneros in a close fight on December 3rd, 2010.

This highly anticipated bout represents a tremendous night for women’s boxing as two highly skilled fighters square off to do battle.  For Hallback, this represents an opportunity to prove her abilities as an all around champion by taking on the challenge of moving up in weight class, thus proving herself to be a true pound-for-pound great in the sport of women’s boxing.    

Nine of Twelve!

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Nine of twelve!

Nope that’s not a new Borg designation — rather I am 9 of 12, having finished nine of my twelve classes toward my masters degree.

Having just written a paper on one of the classic Star Trek episodes, I thought it might be fun to link up to a few of the original series coming attractions. They really are a hoot. Oh, and there’s a bit of Picard too!