Tag Archives: Christy Martin

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.

Boxing connections

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Boxing connections

While focusing on my prana breathing this morning the Yogic term for unifying the body through the energy of the breath, I got to thinking about how boxing seems to energize people in the same way. And yes, I was off in a mind movie about boxing, but figure that the “connection” on “connections” was all within the spirit of the breath!

So what do I mean — mostly that the community is small and practitioners from living room shadow boxers on through elite athletes, share a love for the sport, a passion for the practice and derive inner satisfaction from all of the hard work.  Not to say that every boxer would articulate it that way, but the community, especially among women boxers from 8-80 seems to derive a lot of strength from knowing that there are other women out there boxing their hearts out.

Case in point:  I do not know Christy Martin at all, but reading last night that a rib injury in the gym might sideline her from her March 12th PPV fight on Showtime really bummed me out.  (See Boxing Scene.com story here.)  We’ll know more today, and yes it will be news, but my relationship to it feels personal.  As if a close friend is at risk for a huge disappointment.  And I’m not talking as a fan per se, but as person that understands what it takes to step out in the ring and thus I feel a connection to what she’s been trying to achieve.

This blog is teaching me as well.  It’s connecting me to folks I’ve never met or spoken to, and yet through language and an evolving understanding of shared experiences, I feel it’s made me some friends, and “virtual” or not, whether I ever meet them face-to-face or not, working hard in the gym has a language all its own that you can share across huge divides.  Now I’m not going to get all sappy here, but the point is, the work has a language all its own that only needs the step of the doing to be a part of.  And no, I cannot share what it feels like to have the jitters before a championship match, but I can relate it to the experience of sparring for the first time, or putting gloves on for the first time and realizing that the itch on my nose would go unscratched unless I asked for some help.

The key perhaps is just that.  Boxing is not a solo experience.  In the end the connections are essential. Without them there’s no tango, no intricate dance whether between two fighters in the ring, boxer and trainer, or friends goofing around in the locker room.  So even if you are shadow boxing alone in your room, you’re still dancing with your shadow and that counts for something too!

 

 

Women in the ring and Week Six Golden Gloves Reminder

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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, 1/25/2011

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Women’s boxing news roundup, 1/25/2011.

Women's boxing news roundup - 1/25/2011

Christy Martin, Credit: Casey Kelbaugh, NYT

For those who didn’t catch this over the weekend, the New York Times did a feature piece on boxer, Christy Martin as she readies herself for her comeback fight on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto v. Ricardo Mayorga bout to be aired on Showtime pay-per-view March 12th.  The article, written by Joyce Wadler, looks in-depth at Christy’s career and recent troubles.  The “money” quote of the piece is at the end in response to a snarky question if ever I heard one regarding Christy’s motivations for returning to the ring.   “You know,” she said, “I was a fighter before, so I’m just going back to work, and through my work maybe I can inspire other women, or give them strength to deal with situations and move forward.”   Way to go Christy!  The link to the piece is here.

Ana Julaton

Another great Philippine “Pac-Woman,” Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton has announced the “return of The Hurricane,” in her bout to be fought against Francesca “The Chosen One” Alcanter.  Of interest is the fact that the fight night will feature a mixture of Professional Boxing, Amateur kickboxing, as well as live music and comedy acts on three stages.  The event is set for February 25, 2011 at the Craneway Pavilion in Riverside, CA, and will be broadcast live in the Philippines.  For further information, check out the link here and here.

Flyweights, Ava Knight (r) & Gloria Salas

The Sweetscience.com is carrying a piece by David A. Avila, about Golden Boy Promotions’ recent efforts to support women’s boxing.  As Avila points out, “Golden Boy kept its word and female prizefighting was showcased on another fight card [this past Friday]. Working with Claudia Ollis, a new powerbroker in women’s boxing, the Los Angeles-based boxing giant Golden Boy has made waves in the boxing world. Now other boxing promotions are jumping on the bandwagon with female fighters included on their respective cards.”  This is great news for the sport and couldn’t come at a better time as we enter the countdown to next year’s debut of women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympics in London.  The article can be found here.

The new International Amateur Boxing Association’s (AIBA) is seeking to strengthen the position of women’s amateur boxing both before and after the 2012 Olympic games to include adding weight categories at future Olympic games.  As well, the association has set an agreement for the 2011 Women’s Youth and Junior World Championships to be held in Ankara, Turkey from April 28 – May 8.  For more information click here and here.

The lady is a champ

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The lady is a champ

Christy Martin, The Lady is a Champ, Sports Illustrated

This story has been out for a few days, but in case Girlboxing readers didn’t see it, women’s boxing pioneer Christy Martin, 42 has been tentatively set to box March 12th in Las Vegas on the Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga undercard.

As quoted on Fanhouse.com, Christy said, “The deal is done.  I will finish my career being promoted by the best, Bob Arum, of Top Rank…”  Christy was pronounced, “healthy” and will train in Las Vegas with Miguel Diaz.  Given where she’s come from and where she is today, win, lose or draw Christy’s remarkable spirit is inspirational inside and outside the boxing world.

To read Lem Satterfield’s original article entitled “Christy Martin ‘Burning’ for Return to Ring,” on the Fanhouse.com website click here.

PS – Big fights coming up in NYC!  Alicia “Slick” Ashley on January 13th @ Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple. Keisher Mcleod-Wells at B.B. Kings on February 9th.  Tickets available at Gleason’s Gym — link for information here.

Sad story

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Sad story

Championship boxer Christy Martin was allegedly stabbed and shot by her husband, Jim Martin on Tuesday evening and taken to a local hospital near her Florida home.  Known as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Christy is an important pioneer in women’s professional boxing.

The LA Times is reporting that she was shot in left leg and stabbed in her torso and is also reporting that the police had been called to their home earlier in the day on Tuesday.  The LA Times has the story here. Fox News has it here.

Our prayers should go out to Christy for her quick recovery.

Update:  More stories here and here.

For information on domestic violence click here.  And if you or any of your friends and family are victims of domestic violence, you are not alone — you can seek help from the many wonderful organizations that support women in their efforts to free themselves from abusive relationships.