Monthly Archives: February 2012

Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Claressa Shields: Recent press for our Olympic boxing heroines

Leave a reply

Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Claressa Shields: Recent press for U. S. Olympic boxing heroines

Marlen Esparza, Claressa Shields, Queen Underwood, 2012 Olympic Trials Champions, Credit: James Snook/US Presswire

Gosh!  Has the United States finally woken up to the fact that women can actually box!!!

A spate of articles following the triumphs of Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and 16- year-old Claressa Shields at the first-ever U. S. women’s boxing Olympic trials certainly seems to have brought home the fact that this generation of female amateur fighters are forces to be reckoned with in and out of the ring.

Here are some links to some truly to some recent press on these amazing women!

Marlen Esparza – Flyweight Olympic Contender

Marlen Esparza throwing an upper cut to Tyrieshia Douglas who announced she is turning pro. Credit: AP

One Step Closer to her Olympic dream – CNN by Elizabeth M. Nunez

Houston’s Marlen Esparza wins US women’s boxing trials – KHOU.com/AP

Queen Underwood – Lightweight Olympic Contender

Queen Underwood in her corner, Credit: Sue Jaye Johnson

Local boxer Queen Underwood on Q it Up Sports – Video piece from Q13 Fox Sports.

Queen Underwood shifts her attention to worlds – Queen’s blog on ESPN-W

The Living Nightmare, Quanitta Underwood: A Contender for Olympic Gold and a Survivor – New York Times by Barry Bearak

Claressa Shields – Middleweight Olympic Contender

Claressa Shields, Credit: Sue Jaye Johnson

Straight Out of Flint: Girl Boxer Aims For Olympics – NPR radio segment plus pictures and story.

Teen Contender Claressa Shields: Women Box Podcast from WNYC – Women Box Podcast segment

Video: Claressa ‘T-Rex” Shields’ Olympic Boxing trials championship is capped off with a magical Flint homecoming – Mlive.com by Eric Woodyard

Female Slave as Boxer: The remarkable life of Sylvie Dubois

3 Replies

Female Slave as Boxer: The remarkable life of Sylvie Dubois!

Sylvie (Sylvia) Dubois, Born March 5, 1768, Credit: NYPL

Sylvie Dubois (Sylvia in some texts) was said to have lived to 122 years of age, and at 116 was memorialized in the book, A Biografy of the Slav Who Whipt her Mistress and Gand her Freedom by C. W. Larison.   

The text itself, written in 1884 was done so by a man who’d invented his own Phonic Orthography to “capture” language — and while portions of the original text can be read online at Google Scholar, it must be realized that the “lens” for C. W. Larison’s questions and interpretations were in accordance with late 19th century views of women and race.

Sylvie Dubois remains a fascinating figure and as noted in Boxing Historian Christopher James Shelton’s recent article, American slave boxer: Sylvie Dubois, she lived a remarkable life.

Shelton wrote that Sylvie Dubois grew up in New Jersey, becoming the property of a French businessman identified as a Mr. Dubois after her mother, Dorcas, failed to repay a loan.  Sylvie eventually came to work for Mr. Dubois in his tavern in Great Bend, Pennsylvania becoming as Shelton says, his “trusted partner” as well as the opportunity to earn money, but still — as a slave.  Using her quick intelligence and wit, and purportedly at 5’10” and over 200 pounds, she became invaluable as a bouncer and pugilist, fighting what Shelton calls, “impromptu” bare knuckle/wrestling bouts.

Sylvie, however, was still a slave, subject to the cruel abuses of her slave masters, which not only included Mr. Dubois, but his wife who was purportedly particularly hard on her.  In a what became a final showdown, Mrs. Dubois was said to have slapped Sylvie across the face for some infraction or another whereupon Sylvie is alleged to have cold-cocked her with one punch to the face.  Sylvie feared for her life, but most amazingly was offered a chance at freedom: Mr. Dubois would grant her freedom provided she got back to New Jersey.

As Shelton states in his article, after a difficult journey, she eventually found her way to the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey, where after reuniting with her mother, she was able to find work as a servant.  Her story of course does not end there!

For further information on Sylvie Dubois’ remarkable life please click on the following links:

Christopher James Shelton: American slave boxer: Sylvie Dubois

C. W. Larison: A Biografy of the Slav Who Whipt her Mistress and Gand her Freedom 

From the Princeton Press, January 26, 1884: Sylvia Dubois, 116 Years Old 

From MELUS,Vol. 20, No 2., a scholarly examination: The Peals of her Terrific Language by Michael C. Berthold

Special thanks to Christopher James Shelton for his insightful work in bringing Sylvie Dubois’ story to life.

Erica Farias retains her WBC Female Lightweight Title on 2/25/2012.

Leave a reply

Erica Farias retains her WBC Female Lightweight Title on 2/25/2012.

Erica Farias retains her WBC Female Lightweight Title, 2/25/12, Credit: Robi Cobe

Erica Anabella Farias (13-0, 7-KOs) defeated Liliana Palmera (18-8, 12-KOs) to retain the WBC Female Lightweight title in an active bout with a lot of wide bombs and some nice combinations by Farias.

The fight took place at the Club Ingeniero Huergo in Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut, Argentina.  Female boxing is particularly popular in Argentina, and women’s bouts are routinely broadcast on Argentinian television.

Farias let her hands go in the second round to start to take Palmera apart and stayed in control of the fight throughout.  She momentarily rocked Palmera with a flurry of punches at the end of the fourth round and there was some question as to whether Palmera would continue.  The fifth round saw Palmera struggling to get back into the fight, but by the end of the round, the fight was called by TKO.

Video of the complete fight (in Spanish), starts at approximately, 8:00 minutes in.

Gleason’s Gym Second Annual All Female Boxing Clinic!

Leave a reply

Gleason’s Gym Second Annual All Female Boxing Clinic!

The World Famous Gleason’s Gym and Brooklyn’s own treasure, will be hosting the second annual All Female Boxing Clinic on April 19, 20 and 21, 2012!

There will be two days of boxing basics followed by a sanctioned all female boxing show.  The training will be handled by Gleason’s top female trainers and our female World Champions.

The amateur show will be sanctioned by USABoxingmetro and will be video-streamed live on www.gofightlive.tv with Gleason’s own Sonya Lamonakis providing the on-air commentary.

Last year’s All Female Boxing Clinic was highly successful with contingents from Great Britain and Germany joining women from all across the United States, as well as former Australian national champion Mischa Merz.

From the Girlboxing perspective, it’s a fantastic opportunity for novices on through established boxers to hone their skills plus have the opportunity to work out with some of the best in the business!

If you are interested contact Bruce Silverglade at Gleason’s Gym.

The telephone number is: 718 797 2872 and the email address is: info@gleasonsgym.net.  You can also check out Gleason’s website here.

The cost of the clinic is $299.00.

Bruce Silverglade was kind enough to sit down with Girlboxing last year, this is what he had to say!

Wordless Wednesday, 2/22/2012, Training.

Leave a reply

Wordless Wednesday, 2/22/2012, Training.

Belinda Laracuente and Little Bit, Fall 2011, Gleason’s Gym

Wordless Wednesday is a group of bloggers who give words a rest once a week.

To skirt or not to skirt: Choice is the answer!

4 Replies

To skirt or not to skirt: choice is the answer!

Marzia Davide (Red) and Usha Nagisetty, 9/12/2009, Credit: Alberto Pizzoli, AFP/Getty Images

Score one for common sense and the best intentions of each member team of the International Amateur Boxing Association (“AIBA”):  rather than requiring female boxers to wear skirts compulsorily, the AIBA has made it optional, thanks no doubt to the over 58,000 signatures received from an online petition strongly opposed to the imposition of mandatory boxing skirts.

Dr. Wu, head of the AIBA spoke at the 5th World Conference on Women and Sport noting, “We have never asked the women to wear skirts, compulsorily … some women want to wear shorts and some want to wear skirts … So the decision we have made is that we shall make it optional because many boxers are undecided.”

Dr. Wu further noted that there had been concerns raised by certain of the national federations to the skirting question which led to the decision to make it optional based on the decision of each individual member group.

Given the vehement opposition of boxers such as Ireland’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor, the decision is a wise one.  The fact that the issue has come up at all at a time when the boxers should be focused on training in advance of the 2012 London summer games has been a distraction at best and a reminder of how far women’s boxing has yet to travel as an accepted sport.

For Americans who’ve just been treated to the first ever women’s boxing Olympic Trials this past week in Spokane, Washington, the news comes as a nice asterisk on a week of joyous celebration of the sport.  From the perspective of Girlboxing, we wish the issue had never surfaced, but given that the Polish national team has already adopted the boxing skirt as part of the uniform, we do welcome the decision as the wise course.

The Three Women’s Boxing U. S. Olympic Trials Champions: Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Claressa Shields!

Leave a reply

The Three Women’s Boxing U. S. Olympic Trials Champions: Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Claressa Shields!

Three Olympic Trials Champions, Marlen Esparza, Claressa Shields, Queen Underwood, Credit: USA Boxing

From the elite list of 24 women’s amateur boxing champions that came to Spokane, Washington to fulfill their Olympic dreams, it is now down to three:  Flyweight Champion, Marlen Esparza, Lightweight Champion, Queen Underwood and Middleweight Champion, Claressa Shields.

In a night of historic significance in the annals of the Olympic Sports movement and importantly, women’s sports these three champions gave everything in pursuit of their goal to represent the United States at the 2012 World Championships — with the hopes of grabbing a berth at the 2012 London Olympic Games this summer.

The non-stop action began with a thrilling battle between flyweights Marlen Esparza and challenger Tyrieshia Douglas.  Both fighters have met twice before in the USA Boxing National Championships finals, but it was Esparza’s night once again as she built up points round after round with her stinging outside/inside game and commanding ring generalship for a final score of 32-17.

Queen Underwood & Mikaela Mayer, 2/18/2012, Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Home town favorite and lighweight Olympic hopeful Queen Underwood, in her second U. S. Olympic Trials bout with challenger Mikaela Mayer fought another tough close bout through four rounds of tactical, smart fighting with her taller opponent. Mayer was able to get within three points of Underwood, but Queen prevailed with a final score of 22-19.

Claressa Shields & Tika Hemingway, 2/18/2012, Credit: James Snook/US Presswire

In the final bout of the evening, 16-year-old middleweight, Claressa Shields, continued her unbeaten record in her bruising battle with Tika Hemingway.  This was also their second meeting in the U. S. Olympic Trials. Shields fought off a constant onslaught from Hemingway which saw her pushed into the ropes, however, through sheer nerve and power she was able to claim victory with a 23-18 decision.  Claressa was also named the Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament to round out her evening of triumph.

Even in victory, the three champions must prepare for the road ahead: a tough series of matches at the 2012 Women’s World Championships in China.  The Tournament will begin in early May and only the the top eight in each weight class will qualify for the London Olympics.  According to USA Boxing, “a tripartite commission will select an additional four in each of the three weight divisions that will advance to London.”  

Let us all lend our support to these outstanding women as they work towards achieving their historical goals of being the first representatives of the United States to compete in a women’s boxing event at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Press coverage includes the following:

USA Boxing, Greg Beacham/AP for the Seattle Times, Washington Post, ESPN, Los Angeles Times, Flint Journal and Spokesman-Review. 

In case you missed any of the action, you can watch videos of the historical tournament here.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing Finals Results

112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas dec. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., 32-17

132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., 22-19

165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa. 23-18

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Six, 2/18/2012!

Leave a reply

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Six, 2/18/2012!

Tyrieshia Douglas battling Christina Cruz, 2/17/12, Credit: AP

And then there were three!  Challengers that is for tonight’s Championship round in this double elimination tournament.
Last night’s action was all about determination and slogging through the fatigue of what was for some, their fifth bout in as many days!
Flyweight boxer Tyrieshia Douglas faced Christina Cruz for the second time, but was able to edge out Cruz with focus and grit through the first three rounds.  With her laser-like accuracy and a heart that wouldn’t quit Douglas pulled ahead of Cruz in the final round and won with a score of 22-14.  Tyrieshia earned the right to face Marlen Esparza tonight.
Lightweights Mikaela Mayer and N’yteeyah Sherman both fought a confident, highly skilled, technical battle with not dissimilar styles.  N’yteeyah with the height advantage was able to pull head in the opening round, but Mayer was able to fight through to tie and eventually to grab the lead, taking the decision with a score of 26-25.  She will face Queen Underwood for the second time tonight.
For the middleweight contest, Tika Hemingway took control of the bout against Raquel Miller with quicker hands and a savvy ring style that saw her to set the pace.  Tika’s style also meant that she was able to gain a decisive lead from the first round on taking the decision with a final score of 21-6.  Tika will face Claressa Shields tonight in a repeat of their Thursday battle.
A word on double elimination:  Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and Claressa Shields will all be fighting as “winners” tonight.  That means if any of them lose the bout tonight, they will have the right to fight their opponents a second time on Sunday as “challengers”.  However, Tyrieshia Douglas, Mikaela Mayer and Tika Hemingway as tonight’s “challengers” must win in order to keep their Olympic dreams alive.

Press coverage includes the following:

USA Boxing, AP’s Greg Beacham in the Washington Post, FoxNews, Los Angeles Times, and Spokesman-Review. 

Tonight’s bouts can be viewed online at the link here.  By the way if you’ve missed any of the action, click on the link to watch previous night’s bouts!

Friday’s Challengers Bracket Finals Results
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., dec. Christina Cruz, 22-14
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. N’yteeyah Sherman, 26-24
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., dec. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., 21-6
Saturday’s Championship Round Bout Sheet

112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas vs. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.
132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.
165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., vs. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Five, 2/17/2012!

Leave a reply

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Five, 2/17/2012!

Mikaela Mayer landing a left hook against Tiara Brown, 2/16/2012, Credit: Wally Skali / Los Angeles Times

Last night’s boxing efforts are why these exceptional women are called champions!

For the six fighters in the challengers bracket it meant overcoming losses and finding the courage to make the course corrections necessary to win.  For the champions in the winners bracket it meant stepping up to bring that much more of themselves and their ring saavy to come out on top.

In the first flyweight bout Marlen Esparza did just that.  She outfought Christina Cruz’s valiant effort by literally beating her to the punch through a mixture of sheer nerve and technical prowess.  Both fighters were rangy, cagey and filled with tactical brilliance, but it was Esparza who was able to pull out with a final score of 13-10.  Tyrieshia Douglas also proved that she was in the tournament to win with her decisive “never look back” win over Virginia Fuchs.  Both competitors were fierce, however, Douglas, who will fight Christina Cruz tonight for the right to go on to the finals on Saturday, never, ever let up through four rounds of boxing.  The final score was 31-19.

Queen Underwood also brought it last night in a tough, tough match that gave her rangy opponent N’yteeyah Sherman a one point edge through the first three rounds. Queen’s constant barrage and willingness to dig in ultimately gave her the ammunition to take the fight with the final score of 25-24.  On the challenger’s side, Mikaela Mayer fought a decisive win over Tiara Brown by using her outside/inside prowess for a final score of 23-18. Sherman and Mayer will battle it out tonight for the right to go on to Saturday’s Final Round.

Claressa Shields, fighting her toughest bout in the tournament continued to impress as she strong-armed two-time light heavyweight national champion Tika Hemingway through four rounds for a final score of 23-15. In the final challengers bout of the night Raquel Miller pushed through to handily defeat top seed Franchon Crews by using her tactical prowess to avoid being trapped in a slug fest. With a final score of 26-15, Miller will go on to fight tonight against Hemingway.

Press coverage includes the following:

USA Boxing, AP’s Greg Beacham, Detroit Free Press, SFGate, Los Angeles Times, News-Press.com and Spokesman-Review. 

Tonight’s bouts can be viewed online at the link here.  By the way if you’ve missed any of the action, click on the link to watch previous night’s bouts!

The full results for Day Four of the Trials are as follows:

Thursday’s Results

112 lbs/winners bracket: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, dec. Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., 13-10
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., dec. Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, 31-19
132 lbs/winners bracket: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio, 25-24
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., 23-18
165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., 23-15
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., 26-15

Tonight’s Challengers Bouts will determine who survives for Saturday bouts!  This is do or die for these six exceptional fighters!

Friday’s Challengers Bracket Bout Sheet

112 lbs: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., vs. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.

132 lbs: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.

165 lbs: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., vs. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif.

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Four, 2/16/2012!

Leave a reply

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Four, 2/16/2012!

Queen Underwood throws a right at Mikaela Mayer, 2/15/2012, Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Last night was a WAR: Twelve fighters on the precipice of elimination from the tournament fought their hearts out to claim a place on today’s bout roster, all of their hopes and dreams for Olympic glory on the line.

For flyweight Tyrieshia Douglas that meant a crescendo of battle tactics that saw her to first overwhelm and then finally stop Taversha Norwood at 1:18 in the fourth round when the referee ended the bout.  Virginia Fuchs also fought a non-stop battle from the outside to defeat Alex Love by a 21-16 decision.  Douglas and Fuchs will battle each other tonight in the Challenger’s bracket.

The lightweights were equally exciting. Tiara Brown, the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships silver medalist proved herself a winner in a very close tactical battle with Bertha Aracil that saw the momentum shift from Aracil to Brown with a final score of 12-11. In the other lightweight contest, Mikaela Mayer was relentless in her pursuit of Asia Stevenson who was given two standing eight counts at the end of the second round, one at the end of the third and was finally stopped at 1:24 in the fourth round. Mayer’s style was relentless from the outside but she showed no fear in the clinches. Stevenson fought as a southpaw and showed a nice stinging jab in the first round, only to lose momentum from the second round on.  The battle tonight between Tiara Brown and Mikaela Mayer should certainly prove to be an exciting matchup!
Franchon Crews fought a tough slugfest against Tiffanie Hearn, but managed to pull off a close decision 27-26.  Both fighters fought in close and lost points for “wrestling.”   In the last contest of the night, Raquel Miller did her best to slug it out with Andrecia Wasson, finally winning the contest by a score of 7-6 — on her birthday no less.  Neither fought a particularly clean fight, but Miller proved to be more effective. Crews and Miller will meet tonight in what will likely be another all out war.

Press coverage includes the following: USA Boxing, AP’s Greg Beacham, Detroit Free Press, ESPN, and Sarah Deming’s Day three report on Huffington Post. 

Tonight’s bouts can be viewed online at the link here.

The full results for Day Three of the Trials are as follows:

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., stopping Taversha Norwood, Marietta, Ga., RSC-4 (1:18)

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas dec. Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., 21-16

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., 12-11

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., stopped Asia Stevenson, Washington DC, RSC-4 (1:24)

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., dec. Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., 27-26

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Andrecia Wasson, Centerline, Mich., 7-6

Tonight’s Bouts are a combinations of the winner’s bouts from Valentine’s Day and last night’s successful challengers. There will be a total of six fights, two from each division.

Thursday’s Bout Sheet

112 lbs/winners bracket: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas vs. Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y.
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., vs. Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas
132 lbs/winners bracket: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., vs. N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.
165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., vs. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa.
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., vs. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif.

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Three, 2/15/2012!

3 Replies

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Three, 2/15/2012!

Patricia Manuel (L) & Tiara Brown, 2/13/2012, first round, U. S. Women's Boxing Olympic Trials, Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

What a great night of boxing!

In the middleweight division, Claressa Shields continued to impress with her decisive win over world champion Andrecia Wasson by the score of 31-12. New York’s own flyweight Christina Cruz also fought a brilliant tactical fight against Tyrieshia Douglas to pull out a 20-15 decision.  Christina Cruz will face the powerful heavy favorite Marlen Esparza on Thursday.  Esparza who had a walkover in her opening bout, fought a rough and tumble bout against Alex Love taking the decision with a score of 22-12.

In the lightweight division, Queen Underwood was truly on her game and in control taking the 27-20 decision from Mikaela Mayer who proved herself to be a tough challenger. Underwood will face N’yteeyah Sherman on Thursday who won a decisive victory over Tiaira Brown, 32-24 last night.  Underwood and Sherman last met in the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships.

Press links can be found here:  USA Boxing, The Spokesman-Review, Los Angeles Times, New York Times. Plus check out this article on the issues surrounding making weight to qualify for one of the three Olympic weight-classes open to women in the 2012 Olympics by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.

By the way, kudos to USA Boxing for the video streaming and especially to Christy Halbert for her great commentary!

Tonight’s bouts can be viewed online at the link here.

The full results for Day Two of the Trials are as follows:

112 lbs/winners bracket: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, dec. Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., 22-12

112 lbs/winners bracket: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., 20-15

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Taversha Norwood, Marietta, Ga., won unopposed

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, dec., Latonya King, Harrison Township, Mich., 14-13

132 lbs/winners bracket: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., 27-20

132 lbs/winners bracket: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio, dec. Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., 32-24

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Asia Stevenson, Washington DC, won on walkover over Patricia Manuel, Long Beach, Calif., W/O

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., dec. Lisa Porter, Northridge, Calif., 16-13

165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Andrecia Wasson, Centerline, Mich., 31-12

165 lbs/winners bracket: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., dec. Tiffanie Hearn, Louisville, Ky., 19-15

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews won on medical disqualification over Dara Shen, Alexandria,
Va., DQ

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Tiffanie Ward, Hacienda Heights, Calif., 23-12

Tonight’s Bouts will be fought by the challengers — and will consist of six fights in total, two from each division.  Winners in this double elimination tournament will have the opportunity to continue on Thursday.

Wednesday’s Bout Sheet

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., vs. Taversha Norwood, Marietta, Ga.

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas vs. Alex Love, Monroe, Wash.

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., vs. Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y.

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Asia Stevenson, Washington DC vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Tiffanie Hearn, Louisville, Ky., vs. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md.

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., vs. Andrecia Wasson, Centerline, Mich.

Why women box? Courage, pure and simple.

Leave a reply

Why women box?  Courage, pure and simple.

Tyrieshia Douglas, Photo: Sue Jaye Johnson

There have been some remarkable truths that have come out about the women who box.   I found the following video about the featherweight boxing powerhouse Tyrieshia Douglas to be particularly moving.

Please give this a view.  Her honesty and straight forward compassion for her family are overwhelming.  We need more people like Tyrieshia in the world.  Kudos to Andre Chung for this beautiful video essay.

Please also listen to the WNYC Radio‘s story on her as well:  Tyrieshia Douglas: Boxing is my Mother and My Father.  

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Two, 2/14/2012!

Leave a reply

>>> UPDATE!!! 

Saw this update in the Los Angeles Times.  Link is here.

[Updated at 11:27 a.m.:  Patricia Manuel iced her injured right shoulder late Monday but after she awoke Tuesday in greater pain, she and trainer Robert Luna elected to withdraw from the double-elimination tournament rather than risk further injury. “I’m sorry my story ends like this,” Manuel wrote in a text message.]

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day Two, 2/14/2012!

Women's Boxing Olympic Trials, The 24! Credit: Sarah Deming/Huffington Post

For those of you who tuned into the live video stream, you got to watch some very exciting boxing last night!  We’re talking all the drama of a prize-fight with some surprising outcomes such as Franchon Crews‘ loss to Claressa Shields, 31-19. Of course, being a New Yorker, I was cheering on Christina Cruz and was not disappointed.  She fought a terrific four-round bout against Virginia Fuchs defeating her 15-12. One thing that came shining through was the caliber of the boxing!  The competitors truly “brought it” last night!

Press links on the night’s fighting can be found here: USA Boxing,  Chicago Tribune (AP Story), The Seattle Times, and don’t miss Brooklyn’s own Sarah Deming’s piece in the Huff Post here.

The results are as follows:

U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing Results
112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas on on walkover over Cynthia Moreno, Phoenix, Ariz., W/O
112 lbs: Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., dec. Taversha Norwood, Marietta, Ga., 24-15
112 lbs: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, 15-12
112 lbs: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., dec. Latonya King, Harrison Township, Mich., 34-11
132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., 22-12
132 lbs: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Lisa Porter, Northridge, Calif., 27-10
132 lbs: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio dec. Asia Stevenson, Washington DC, 42-17
132 lbs: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Patricia Manuel, Long Beach, Calif., 18-13
165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., 31-19
165 lbs: Andrecia Wasson, Centerline, Mich., dec. Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va., 34-9
165 lbs: Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., dec. Tiffanie Ward, Hacienda Heights, Calif., 18-17
165 lbs: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., dec. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., 16-10

Tonight’s bouts can be viewed online at click the link here.

Tonight’s bout sheets are as follows:

U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing Tuesday Bout Sheets

112 lbs/winners bracket: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas vs. Alex Love, Spokane, Wash.

112 lbs/winners bracket: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., vs. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Taversha Norwood, Marietta, Ga. unopposed

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas vs. Latonya King, Harrison Township, Mich.

132 lbs/winners bracket: Queen Underwood, Spokane, Wash., vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.

132 lbs/winners bracket: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio vs. Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla.

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., vs. Lisa Porter, Northridge, Calif.

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Asia Stevenson, Washington DC vs. Patricia Manuel, Long Beach, Calif.

165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., vs. Andrecia Wasson, Centerline, Mich.

165 lbs/winners bracket: Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., vs. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa.

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., vs. Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va.

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Tiffanie Ward, Hacienda Heights, Calif., vs. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif.

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day One, 2/13/2012

Leave a reply

Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials Day One, 2/13/2012!

Tiara Brown (r) & N'yteeyah Sherman arriving at Northern Quest Resort, Credit: USA Boxing

The brackets have been set for this week’s historic competition.

The four top seeds are the four top finishers from the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships held last summer.  According to USA Boxing, the “unseeded boxer each drew a ping pong ball to determine her opening round opponent in the historic event at Sunday’s manual draw.”

That is pretty heady stuff indeed with the action set to begin tonight with a total of twelve bouts starting at 7:00 PM tonight Pacific Time.

You can watch ALL THE ACTION HERE!!!  Just click on the link!

The bout sheet for tonight’s Winners Bracket Quarterfinals is as follows:

1.  Marlen Esparza (Red Corner) vs. Cynthia Moreno (Blue Corner)

2.  Taversha Norwood (Red Corner) vs. Alex Love (Blue Corner)

3.  Christina Cruz (Red Corner) vs. Virginia Fuchs (Blue Corner)

4.  Tyrieshia Douglas (Red Corner) vs. Latonya King (Wingate) (Blue Corner)

5.  Queen Underwood (Red Corner) vs. Bertha Aracil (Blue Corner)

6.  Lisa Porter (Red Corner) vs. Mikaela Mayer (Blue Corner)

7.  N’yteeyah Sherman (Red Corner) vs. Asia Stevenson (Blue Corner)

8.  Tiara Brown (Red Corner) vs. Patricia Manuel (Blue Corner)

9.  Franchon Crews (Red Corner) vs. Claressa Shields (Blue Corner)

10. Dara Shen (Red Corner) vs. Andrecia Wasson (Blue Corner)

11. Tiffanie Ward (Red Corner) vs. Tiffanie Hearn (Blue Corner)

12. Tika Hemingway (Red Corner) vs. Raquel Miller (Blue Corner)

For more information about tonight’s bouts click on the USA Boxing link here.

For live stream information, click here.   

Request for on-air voices during the Olympic Team Trials!

2 Replies

Request for on-air voices during the Olympic Team Trials!

Women's Amateur Boxing, Credit: USA Boxing

The following has been forwarded to Girlboxing from Christy Halbert, USA Boxing and the folks at WNYC.org who will be airing a radio show every day this week to coincide with with Olympic Team Trials! Please answer the call!!!  Please also be sure and subscribe to the podcasts here!

***

Dear current and former boxers and coaches,

We want your help! This is not a plea for money – it’s a plea for your voice. As you know, this year women will box for the first time in the Olympic games. We want you to tell us what you’re thinking, feeling, and remembering.

Women Box: Fighting to Make History is a radio, photography, and web project (from WNYC Radio, the NPR affiliate in New York City) exploring the lives and minds of women boxers – especially those competing for a spot on the very first U.S. women’s Olympic boxing team. Our website, www.wnyc.org/womenbox includes beautiful photographs of women boxers, radio stories and interviews that take listeners inside their lives and minds, a Q&A with Coach Christy Halbert (head of USA Boxing’s Task Force on Women), and more.

Our work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, on NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend Edition Sunday, as well as on WNYC Radio and www.wnyc.org/womenbox.

We will be airing a radio show (via podcast and the internet) everyday the week of February 13th as the women’s boxing Olympic trials take place outside of Spokane, Washington.

We want your voice on our show AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

It’s very easy – just call 646-829-4064 and simply leave us a voicemail message. We need your name and its spelling, a brief introduction to who you are (especially in the boxing world), and your thoughts and feelings this year (or this week or this moment) as young women from all over the country begin to compete for a spot on the first women’s Olympic boxing team. We also need your phone number, so we can call you back with any questions.

Your message may last for at least three minutes (it may also be as short and sweet as you desire). If you get cut off and need more time, feel free to call back and continue. If you have a land line (instead of a cell phone), please use it!

At least some part of your message will be incorporated into our broadcast at some point next week. You’ll find the audio of each episode on our website – www.wnyc.org/womenbox.

Please take a few minutes to call us as soon as you have a moment. We will only be able to incorporate messages that come in within the next few days. We look forward to hearing from you!

Marianne McCune, Reporter for WNYC Radio
and Sue Jaye Johnson , Photojournalist