Now up and making my way through our quiet apartment, I am aware that it is dark again. A quick check shows the sunrise today will be at 6:07 AM, a sign, even in mid-August, that the sun is well into its descent from the northern latitudes towards its winter digs. If I measure life as a cycle of comings and goings from sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise, it’s also a reminder that it all keeps moving whether we are conscious of it or not.
Where did the brightness of the morning go at 5:15 AM? Wasn’t it just there when I woke up ahead of the alarm to make my way to the gym?
Writing this, I am aware that it’s the very consciousness of things that is beginning to concern me.
Where does the time “go”?
I ask having spent a lovely couple of hours yesterday evening with my daughter wandering through the Ikea in Red Hook as we grabbed stuff for her college dorm room. Could it really be that she goes back to college in a week and a half? Or that it is her second year?
That collapse of time, accompanied by the sense of its moving on without being aware of it is why I set my alarm for 5:15 AM today. Yes, it’s a weekday, so I have to go to work, but no, it’s not a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, so my day will not start with my hour’s workout at Gleason’s Gym. This hour will have another purpose—it marks a beginning of sorts; a reminder that each day should bring its daily something; some moment where I take the time to remind myself to smell the roses.
Today’s moment is this: It is the act of waking up early and becoming conscious that the sun hasn’t risen yet—and then contemplating why I didn’t notice it yesterday or the day before or the day before that.
It’s when I ask myself if not now, when in a life that is otherwise fast-paced and so punctuated by a constant bombardment of information that it’s no wonder I haven’t looked out the window to be conscious of the darkness of the sky—or of how as I have written these words the pre-dawn light has begun to glow with a grayish blue tinged by pink and little bits of yellow.
Sometimes speaking in platitudes is a way of getting at the truth of things. One of them that I’ve been mulling over lately is about not cheating at solitaire. That might seem fairly straightforward—I mean really, how silly is that—but ultimately it is something we do all the time. That old game takes many guises, but mostly has to do with not leveling with oneself about what one is truly doing.
In the game of boxing, as in life, getting the fundamentals right, and building upon them through repetition—those 10,000 hours of repetition to gain mastery—is the best way I know of to approach the process. In life, that can be translated into owning up to who and what we are, including those pesky faults we carry along with us as so much extra baggage we inevitably pay for as if we’d checked it in for a long haul flight.
Having just come back from ten days in Paris with my daughter, I’ve reminded myself about what it means to travel light—aside from bypassing baggage claim, where I admit to having some of my epic hissy fits across a lifetime, traveling light can also mean getting to the heart of things. When it came to my luggage—actually only half filled—I got down to the basics of bringing along only what I truly loved, including I’ll add a pair of hand wraps, just in case, and even then, I could have pared further.
Finding a convenient Laundromat, meant an hour and a half foray into the life of an average Parisian without a washing machine in their apartment, which in and of itself was a fun excursion, but it also meant that the clothes I wore were ones I felt most comfortable in—plus the bonus of maybe a little capricious shopping for something that tickled my fancy with plenty of room left over.
Okay, I get it, the clothing analogy in a suitcase is not necessarily what I’m after when I talk about cheating at solitaire, but the point of it is, we do carry a load of crap about who and what we are, and what our relationships mean, that bogs us down and sometimes keeps us from getting to the essential meaning of our lives.
In a boxing context that can mean going through an awful lots of motions without getting back to the fundamentals that brought us there in the first place—or saw us to begin to develop the skills necessary for ring survival and mastery. The training is the thing in terms of stripping down because it is that mastery that brings us the room for artistry. And while my half empty suitcase may not be the exact analogy to drive home the point—those shoes I bought were pure poetry, and having the room for them has certainly brought a spring to my steps as I walk about my beloved Brooklyn.
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. – january 15, 2018
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ZUMA Press/Newscom/File
Today would have marked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 89th birthday. This image of Dr. King flanked by the American flag is particularly poignant–since his sacrifice to the greater good of the United States resonates so powerfully in our polity today. We should not forget that the America of his dream continues to fight to shout out his teachings with full pride of place–no matter the obstacles.
On September 12, 1962, Dr. King gave a speech at New York City’s Park Sheraton Hotel commemorating the 100th anniversary of what was known as the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. The speech was thought to have been lost for decades until a young intern discovered an audio copy of it in the New York State Museum in Albany. As noted by WBAI in their commentary on the speech: At the end of the speech, Dr. King quotes a preacher (former slave) who he says “didn’t quite have his grammar right but uttered words of great symbolic profundity.”
“Lord, we ain’t what we oughta be. We ain’t what we want to be. We ain’t what we gonna be. But, thank God, we ain’t what we was.”
Gleason’s Gym has been a real lifeline for me of late.
The surety of going through my paces so to speak, the shadow boxing, pad work, heavy bag, double-ended bag, speed bag, abdominals, stretching and combinations thereof are a balm.
Even the early mornings offer solace. Up a 5:30 AM, off to the gym by 6:30 AM, in the ring by 7:00 AM out by 8:00 AM, showering and dressing, and off to the subway by 8:20 AM or so—two to three mornings a week. Then the long Saturday morning, where I can tarry and work extra rounds, and feel embraced by the easy camaraderie of people who push themselves to their physical limits.
What I also know is that I am a little sad and a little scared and a lot angered by a myriad of issues that are whirling around me. Unpacking them is complicated by a reticence to really face up to the deeper veins of truths that I would rather not face suffice to say they always come out anyway so sooner or later the reckoning will happen.
Gym life, and boxing gym life in particular, offers a microcosm of the range and power of emotion. Just the act of putting on a pair of gloves offers up so many different strands. For one, the gloves symbolize boxing itself. On an immediate basis one can think of such things as power, ability, courage, bravery, and skill. Gleason’s Gym itself calls out those concepts on the wall of the gym and on the back of every T-shirt:
“Now, whoever has courage, and a strong and collected spirit in his breast, let him come forward, lace on the gloves and put up his hands.” Virgil, Book 5, Aeneid
And yet there are other emotions. With puff pillows for hands one cannot “do” for oneself in any meaningful way. Sure, one learns to hold on to a water bottle between two gloved hands, but one cannot drink from it unless someone has unscrewed the cap. One also finds oneself being ministered to in such intimate ways. A trainer will towel off the sweat from ones face, apply vaseline, adjust ones clothing, tie a boot, wipe one’s nose. There’s a real “giving over” to allow all of that—a trust that one puts on to others.
For me the act of putting on the gloves swirls in the duality of empowering myself and giving myself over. At once I seek a kind of perfection of movement and strength, while also allowing myself those helpless feelings: That sense that I cannot always take care of everything whether that means throwing a perfectly executed one-two combination or asking my trainer to dab the sweat out of my eyes.
It’s also how I know that I cannot magically and in any immediate way change the political nightmare I feel we are living through—except that I know that my voice can count among the many and on that basis push through, just as rising three mornings a week in the predawn light and heading to the gym is a sort of metaphor for becoming something better and stronger.
Yes. I’m in the midst of a stew—as many of us are on any given day in the cycle of life, but waking up and feeling the power of the leather hitting a heavy bag goes a long, long way towards making it all a who lot better.
Remember Martin Luther King Jr. – January 16, 2017
“We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man.
Dr. Martin Luther King, March 25, 1965, Montgomery, Alabama
The freedom march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in the cause of African-American voting rights was pivotal to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Selma demonstrations and marches totaled 18 days. Begun on March 7, 1965, the first march was led by Congressman John Lewis, then head of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). When the initial group of approximately 600 marchers reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge and crossed into Dallas County, the were met by state troopers who proceeded to beat them back ost brutally. That first “Bloody Sunday” was the beginning of other horrific confrontations leading to the death of civil rights activist James Reeb. The third march, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, began on March 21st and culminated on the steps of the State Capital Building in Montgomery, Alabama on March 25th, 1965.
Selma speeches
The following is a rarely shown documentary of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. It is stark and brief and filled with sights, sounds and music.
Selma – Montgomery March 1965, brief documentary by Stefan Sharff
I’ve been hitting Gleason’s Gym three days a week since the beginning of September. The usual schedule has been to get to the gym before seven—two mornings a week, putting in around 16 rounds plus 100 sit-ups before the rush to get to the office. On Saturday mornings, I put in a longish workout to net out about 20 rounds of work plus sit-ups (150 this past Saturday), including sparring with my trainer, Lennox Blackmoore. I also take time to stretch and get in a fair amount of schmoozing.
Len and I having been sparring for a couple of years with some regularity, but bits of minor health issues on both sides have pushed us off the mark for the last couple of months. We’ll certainly pick it up again, but the return to more consistent pad work, plus extra rounds on the heavy bag have given me new insights into the sweet science.
The regular training is also a barometer on all the other aspects of health—mental and otherwise, and given that my weight’s been creeping up over the last six months (seeing the doctor on that one given that I eat and exercise about the same), it’s been interesting to measure its effect on the illusive construct of stamina.
What Len will say is stamina is a matter of mind—and there’s nothing like a hard workout at 7:00 AM to test the theory because, let’s face it, some mornings have just been awful, or have had bits of awful that flower as a chrysalis into “oh what a beautiful morning,” great.
This morning’s boxing was a case in point. Having gotten up at 5:30—after a less than great sleep—I managed to find my way through my morning “ablutions.” By 6:30 I was bundled against the 19 degree temperature, slowly making my way through Cadman Plaza to walk to Gleason’s, but not before stopping a minute to take a picture of the buildings and the small park set against the pre-dawn sky.
By the time I walked through the door of the gym, I was resolved to push through the tiredness I felt—but there was nothing doing, when it came to my first couple of rounds shadowing boxing. In fact, we are talking, an “Oy, are you kidding me?” kind of creakiness as my knees crackled, my neck stiffened and barely turning from side to side, and with my supposed stamina nowhere to be found. By the time round one with Len started, I could barely crank my arms to limply hit the pads—especially the right which earned me a cranky “wake-up, wake-up, straighten out your arm and turn your hip.”
I just nodded, wishing that I could find some pithy retort, other than to give it another go.
“Push it, push it, see.”
This from throwing the right with too much elbow sticking out from the inside.
“And turn your hip!”
“Yep, got it,” I replied, not really having got it, but figuring if I kept hitting it that way it would eventually find it’s mark.
Catching a glimpse of the clock between rounds, I did an inner groan at seeing it was only 7:35, but gamely turned to keep going at it.
By round three, it did start to make sense; it also brought me to an epiphany about stamina. I was so busy trying to work through the task of throwing a straight right from the inside that I was starting to forget that I was tired and achy and less than enthused. The previous workout I’d had, had been my best in weeks. I’d been peppy as I shadow-boxed for four rounds, and even peppier when Len and I went a full six rounds on the pads in the ring. Having it to ourselves meant that we really worked the corners and when it was done, I went on to the small water bag for four rounds, the doubled-ended bag for four rounds, and finished with four rounds on the speed bag before 150 sit-ups and a lot of stretching.
The determinate in that case had been a decent night’s sleep—but for the workout at hand, something else was kicking in. Not exactly an extra gear so much as finding the space to just be. In other words, I was getting out of my own way and in doing so; tiredness, creaky bones and all of the other obstacles that had seemed fairly insurmountable began to peel away.
By the end of the fourth round I was ready to keep going—but having caught another glimpse at the clock I realized I didn’t have too much time left before I had to get going for work. Still, I remained in that moment, so to speak, as I practiced the straight right on the double-ended bag, and posed problems to myself from different angles and in different combinations from different sides.
And yes, my stamina was there. I could have kept going for many more rounds despite less than ideal sleep, and all of the other impediments that had felt like lead weights around my ankles.
I’ll be getting to the gym again tomorrow morning. With some luck, I’ll be able to pull the focus trick that’ll lead me to feeling bouncy and fit as I gyrate around the ring. And maybe if that happens enough times it’ll be more of a habit of mind than thinking that it’s only a manifestation of my physical condition—time will tell.
How a nine year old contented herself with gas chambers
With the mechanization of death by the train load
With row upon neat row of statistics
Glaring when the boy from 319 shouted out from across the street that the next stop was the ovens
Are yellow stars a visible manifestation?
As if sewn on a coat means sewn on one’s heart
Every pulse
Every throb of the blood a comingling of little yellow star shaped leukocytes and hemoglobin cells that tattoos the soul as so many yellow star shaped numbers on one’s forearm
My daughter
A yellow starred half of me
Which makes her a yellow starred quarter of my mother and one sixteenth of my father
What is she?
Is she 5/16ths yellow star genes?
Or is the old adage—
The “you never know who the father is”
So that it isn’t so much blood
Isn’t so much what her DNA picture looks like
But the perception of the yellow stars on her forearm that invites a boy—any boy—
To shout out that it is her turn to march towards the ovens
To glean in an instant her 5/16ths
Her yellow star portion of the DNA pie
But maybe only Bergen/Belson for her and the cold, perpetually winterish shops of slave labor
Her facial features measured
Her blue eyes with yellow and grey undertones classified against an eye chart
The hmmm, not pure tsk that screams out yellow star, yellow star
Her dark blond hair shorn and thrown haphazardly into a pile
Her smile banished to another dimension
Her sadness gripping and overwhelming and yet tempered by a day-to-day life that might bring a simple kindness to remind her of what could be if only she perseveres
Yes, yes, little yellow starred one or green crescent one because, after all we are here now
Yes, yes little Yazidi girl with Christian blue eyes that tattoo her as fodder for the market—
No cooler to shelter her
No retreat anywhere
No other side of the street where she can stand menacingly tall with an “I dare you to cross” scowl that would frighten the boy shouting this way to the ovens enough to only dare bully her from afar
With no gun to embolden
No shiny SS bars or Caliphate’s black and white banner from which he could cross that street
No
When it would come to that one on one
Little yellow star girl and green crescent girl and Roma girl and Yazidi girl can stand tall and proud
And have super powers
And be brave
And stand her ground on her side of the street
Her dukes at the ready as it should be, but never is.
The kick seen ’round the world: Women’s Boxing champion Holly Holm (l) took down Ronda Rousey in the second round of their UFC Women’s Bantamweight championship in the co-main event of UFC193. Photo credit: Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images
By now, the kick seen ’round the world has played out across countless twitter posts, Instagram photos, newspaper headlines, YouTube replays, and conversations, casual and otherwise at gyms, across breakfast tables, on subway platforms, and in every other place one can think of where people stop to shoot the breeze.
Even my sixteen year old daughter and her pals were full of opinions this morning, to a person, cheering on Holly Holm for her stupendous and stunning win over Ronda Rousey, to capture the UFC Women’s BantamweightChampionshiptitle in the co-main event of UFC193. A bit of schadenfreude aside, for what has been interpreted as arrogance on the part of Rousey towards the boxing world, male and female, Holm’s picture perfect performance, quick hands, and focus, have brought into sharp relief, Holm’s superior multi-dimensional skills, ring savvy, focus and insistence, that if boxing couldn’t bring her the attention, opportunity and exposure she needs, then switching to MMA would.
That Rousey has garnered the attention she has received since bursting on the scene at Strikeforce, and becoming the first female to crack Dana White’s all male Ultimate Fighting Championship bastion, has been nothing short of phenomenal. She has garnered well-deserved accolades and a cross-over recognition into the wider public consciousness of a female martial sports practitioner that hasn’t been seen since the hey day of Laila Ali’s forays into the boxing ring. One could argue that what Rousey has achieved is all the more stunning since she did not bring the name recognition of a famous father into the Octogan with her. What she did bring was a bronze Olympic medal in Judo, talent, gumption, and the kind of golden-girl good looks that get recognized, but that shouldn’t take away from her do-or-die performances in the ring and what that has meant to popular culture and the perception of what fighting females are capable of–very much on equal footing with their male counterparts.
Holly Holm (l) with a left strike to Ronda Roussey during their UFC Championship bout. Photo credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Photos
UFC193 is also notable for having had two-main events–both of which were female bouts. A very, very long way from the kind of offerings UFC had on tap for its fans a mere two years ago.
But it is to Holly Holm and the women she represents we must really speak to: the female boxers who work hard day in and day out for peanuts, but who ply their trade anyway for love of the sport and the sense of accomplishment that comes with climbing into the ring. Holm came into her battle with Rousey not only with a 9-0 MMA record (now 10-0), but a 33-2-3 (9-KOs) boxing career behind her with a string of championship wins, and a veritable alphabet soup of titles to include WBC, WBF, WBA, IBA, NABF, WIBA,andIFBA (and maybe a title or two, I haven’t found). She’s also fought, arguably, some of the best in the business to include such fighters as Chevelle Hallback, Jane Crouch, Belinda Laracuente, Mary Jo Saunders, Myriam Lamare, Anne-Sophe Mathis (who KO’d Holm in 2011 only to lose to her six months later) and Diana Prazak.
What is galling is that none of those battles, ten-round championship bouts all, with arguably the pound-for-pound greats in the sport, ever made it to Showtime or HBO or ESPN or were ever really known outside the tiny world of female boxing — and in Holly’s case, the local New Mexico sports community and their fans.
In fact, none of these fights were more than tiny ripples nationally, although blessedly Sue Fox’sWBANwas there to sing their praises if for no one else than folks like me who actually care about the sport and the women who put so much of themselves into pursing a professional career. And goodness knows while to a person, each of those fighters would deserve consideration at the International Boxing Hall of Fame, with the exception of consideration by the fledgling International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame (full disclosure, I am on the board), they will be forgotten, never mind having never really been known.
Still, those fights were sellouts, with screaming, cheering fans who LOVED those battles and coined them as the “fight of the night.”
More galling was to see Ronda Rousey’s face on the cover of boxing’s venerable Ring Magazine. Okay, okay, yep, I “get” it, she’s a true million-dollar-baby, but come on … she is NOT a boxer, and if the point was to honor the notion of female athletes in the ring, why not Holly Holm with an extraordinary record of achievement in the sport. But then again, perhaps I answered my own question, when it comes to women in boxing, there is utter silence, and not even Christy Martin cracked that code during her sensational career.
In the run up to the fight, Alicia Ashley, a champion many times over, who at 48, beat Bernard Hopkins by a month to become the oldest boxing champion in the world, said the following: “I feel it’s insulting to traditional female boxers that Ring Magazine chose for its historic cover a female that’s not a boxer. I think a montage of iconic female fighters to reflect the evolution of women in the sport would’ve celebrated women more than creating controversy. The fact that female MMA fighters are more accepted than female boxers is a testament that the more exposure given, the more common place it becomes. The fact that Holly Holm and other females of her caliber are crossing over into MMA with increasing regularity because they are more [likely] to be showcased, which translates into increased pay or sponsorship can only be attributed to the lack of support women are getting from promoters. The sport of women’s boxing will not advance if promoters insist on using one female to reinvigorate it. It certainly didn’t happen with Christy Martin or Laila Ali and it won’t with Ronda Rousey if she is the only female shown twice a year.”
Perhaps the Holly Holm win, coupled with the achievements of female boxers in USA Boxing’s elite program coming into the second Olympic cycle, will bring promoters and sports television producers to their senses about the opportunities for the great female boxing battles to come. And perhaps too, Oscar De La Hoya, who promised to put women on his fight cards at last year’s historic WBC women’s boxing conference will finally come through–though I tend to doubt it since his idea of promoting female boxing was to sponsor Ronda Rousey. Hmmm.
Oh and did I mention that Claressa Shields, will have the opportunity to compete for the chance to win a second gold medal for the USA in Rio in 2016–another greatest story, largely untold (and no Wheaties box, surprised?).
Meanwhile, women’s boxing does have an extraordinary champion to cheer for in Holly Holm, and in what can only be described as a true female boxer’s style, she felt only gratitude at having been given that chance to prove her metal.
All I can say is this: Female boxers … this 60-something girl boxer salutes you!
Holly Holm’s tearful, humble acknowledgement of her win:
Boxer Melissa St. Vill by the “wall” at Brooklyn’s world famous Gleason’s Gym. Photo credit: Malissa Smith
Melissa St. Vil is a boxer with plans.
Her first plan is to win the UBF World Female Super Featherweight title on November 12th at Martin’s Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, MD. With her 6-1-3 record, she’ll be fighting the more experienced Jennifer Salinas(17-3-0, 4-KOs), in her backyard, but that doesn’t seem to worry St. Vil. With just seven fights to her credit, she defeated Sarah Kuhn to win the International Women’s Boxing Federation(IWBF) World Welterweight title in August of 2013. And while St. Vil has only had two fights since them (in 2014), she feels confident that she has what it takes to win.
The Royal Six boxers, Ronica Jeffrey (l) and Melissa St. Vil at the recent Breast Cancer event at Gleason’s Gym. Photo Credit: Malissa Smith
As a member of The Royal Six, a group of New York based female boxing champions (Alicia Ashley, Ronica Jeffrey, Sonya Lamonakis, Keisher “Fire” Mcleod, and Alicia Napoleon), she is actively engaged in promoting the sport, raising money for charity and helping to put together an all female boxing card in the spring.
Winning world championships and promoting female boxing arent’s her only plans. She also wants to give back. To make a place of safety and sanctuary for girls and women to overcome violence and to find a place for themselves in the world. With her infectious laugh, it is hard to imagine that St. Vil would have ever known pain or violence–but she did. As with many of us the world over, it’s the fighting back to take possession of one’s own life that is the biggest challenge.
Melissa was kind enough to take time from her training with Leon “Cat” Taylor and Juan Guzman to speak with Girlboxingreaders about her upcoming fight. We didn’t touch upon the dark stuff at all–just talked about boxing, moving on in life and her passion for the sport.
Triumphant Flyweight Virginia Fuchs (l) and Middleweight Claressa Shields have won their respective finals at the 2015 Olympic Trials in Memphis, TN. They have earned the right to compete at the Continental Olympic Qualifier in 2016 as USA Boxing Olympians. Photo Credit: USA Boxing
Flyweight contender Virginia Fuchs had her night of relentless technical execution and determination that led to the 2-1 unseating of the 2012 bronze medalist Marlen Esparza.
Reigning Olympic gold medalist in the middleweight division Claressa Shields had her 3-0 night, fending off her challenger, Tika Hemingway, who’d loudly proclaimed that she’d take it from her. Shields had other plans and after outboxing Hemingway with an impressive performance, became the United States only two-time female boxing Olympian.
Lighweight Jajaira Gonzales (l) lives to fight another day against Mikaela Mayer. The box-off is set for 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 1 at the Cook Convention Center South Hall in Memphis, TN. Photo Credit: USA Boxing
And lightweight upstart, 18-year-old Jajaira Gonzales, pushed the envelope in her win over Mikaela Mayer to make it one a piece. Today’s box-off will decide which of these two warriors will represent the United States in the Olympic qualifiers next year. Both fighters bring a lot to the contest. Mayer has strong technical abilities and with her longer reach can box tall, whereas Gonzalez brings aggression, pressure and fast hands that seem relentless. For all her youth, Gonzales has won impressive international titles readily matching Mayer’s competitive fire.
Stand ready to applaud them all!
Olympic Trials for Women’s Boxing Results 112 lbs: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, dec Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, 2-1
132 lbs: Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif., dec Mikaela Mayer*, Los Angeles, Calif., 3-0
165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec Tika Hemingway, Brackenridge, Pa., 3-0
*This is Mikaela Mayer’s first loss. Championship box-off between Jajaira Gonzalez and Mikaela Mayer will take place at 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 1 at the Cook Convention Center South Hall.
At 18, Jajaira Gonzalez (l) defeated veteran champion Tiara Brown, for a place in the 2015 Olympic Trials finals against reigning USA National lightweight boxing champion Mikaela Mayer. Photo Credit: USA Boxing
Each of them has endured a loss.
Each of them has fought through that loss and will meet the winner of that contest in the ring on Saturday night for a chance to come away as a prospective Olympian poised to compete on the world stage for the opportunity for a final berth at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.
Each battle for the right to fight in the finals was hard-fought and in some cases, fraught with history as veterans who have encountered each other before in the squared circle knew it was all down to what happens in four rounds of action.
Reigning Olympic flyweight bronze medalist, Marlen Esparza (r), was redeemed last night when she defeated Christina Cruz. Esparza will face Ginny Fuchs in a rematch in the Olympic Trials final. Photo credit: USA Boxing
For the reigning Olympic flyweight bronze medalist, Marlen Esparza, it meant redemption and being on a track for what seemed inevitable at the beginning of the week before she was stopped cold by Virginia Fuchs. In defeating, Christina Cruz, a fighter’s fighter who fought a brilliant outsider’s game with angles and heart, Esparza is now pumped up to rewrite the script with Fuchs and come away with what must feel like her rightful place.
In the lightweight division, the 18-year-old, punches-in-bunches phenom, Jajaira Gonzalez, who’d fought Mikaela Mayerto a 2-1 split decision in their battle, came away victorious over 2014 World Championship bronze medalist, and three-time USA Boxing National Champion, Tiara Brown. Gonzalez, a Junior and Youth World Champion, used aggression and pressure to counter Brown’s veteran technical ring savvy in carving out the 3-0 decision.
Tika Hemmingway (l) claimed victory over Raquel Miller in the middleweight division. Hemmingway will face reigning Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields in the Olympic Trials final. Photo credit: USA Boxing
For former champion Tika Hemingway, contesting for a berth in the finals against reigning Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields, there was an inevitability to her win over Raquel Miller, even though the battle was closely contested with a lot of back and forth in momentum and opportunities to be exploited. No matter who fights Hemingway, there are always costs. She is hard-hitting and physical in the ring–and while she’s lost once to Shields in the Olympic Trials, she’ll fight just as hard tonight for a chance to win.
Win or lose, the 24 women who have come to Memphis to fight for a place at the Olympics are each momentous in their drive, determination and skills as boxers. It is no easy feat to compete at the level of Olympians, harder still for women, and, in my estimation, hardest for female boxers who not only must seek out opportunities for support during their four-year odyssey for a place on the team, but must also endure the slights and prejudices of a wider public that rarely support women in the ring. That it has come down to the three contests tonight is miraculous, but let us not forget all of the days and nights of training and competing in rinky-dink rings with barely enough money for car fare. That USA Boxing has developed a cadre of elite fighters it supports for this go around is fantastic, but there needs to be more. More excitement, more opportunity and much, much more respect.
Watching many of these young women compete at the National Women’s Golden Gloves in July, my heart was overwhelmed by the bravery and humbleness they exhibited both in the ring and out. As a body sport, boxing teaches humility and to step inside the ropes is to exhibit physical and mental strength that is honed through thousands of hours of hard, hard work.
So whatever happens tonight, who ever winds up our Olympians, do applaud all of the women who have fought and dreamed. They deserve it.
Olympic Trials- Women’s Boxing Day 4 Challenger Results
Flyweight Christina Cruz (l) with the win over Giavonna Camacho in the challenger battle, has earned a rematch against Marlen Esparza on Friday. Both will battle for a spot in the finals against Virginia Fuchs.
With the first group of Finalists set – Virginia Fuchs (112 lbs.), Mikaela Mayer (132 lbs.), and Claressa Shields (165 lbs.) – the first challenger bracket bouts were held last night in the double-elimination Olympic Trials Tournament. The winners fight again tonight for the right to box in the finals on Saturday night.
The first of the three contenders for Friday night action is Christina Cruz(112 lbs.). Cruz is 32 years of age and will have her second shot at doing battle with 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Marlen Esparza whose stunning loss to Ginny Fuchs has put in her the challenger bracket. Cruz lost to Esparza in the second round, but given how much she has amped up her game with her renewed focus, training and diet, she might well push through Esparza on Friday. Cruz handily defeated Giovanna Camacho for the second time to gain the right to keep on challenging for a berth in the finals.
Jajaira Gonzalez(132 lbs.), the 18-year-old who pushed hard in her battle against Mikaela Mayer in the second round only to fall in defeat, used pressure and aggression to defeat Rianna Rios 3-0. Gonzalez will face Tiara Brown, in what promises to be a terrific battle of wills between these two fighters, for the right to face Mayer in the finals.
Tika Hemingway (165 lbs.) narrowly defeated veteran Franchon Crews2-1. Both fighters had competed in the Olympic Trials in 2012. Hemingway used aggression to finally muscle through to take the contest though Crews was able to gain the momentum throughout the bout. Hemingway will take on Raquel Miller in the challenger contest for the right to fight Claressa Shields in the final.
Olympic Trials for Women’s Boxing Results
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Giovanna Camacho, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
Virginia Fuchs (l) with the huge upset win over Marlen Esparza to secure a spot in Saturday’s Olympic Trials Final. Esparza will have the chance to earn a challenger berth if she wins on Friday.
Talk about a big night! Flyweight boxer Virginia Fuchs, lightweight Mikaela Mayer, and middleweight Claressa Shieldseach clinched a berth in the upcoming Olympic Trials finals on Saturday night. All three have been undefeated in the tournament to date–earning them the right for a corner in the finals and two days off.
In the upset of the night, Virginia Fuchs defeated Olympic Bronze Medalist Marlen Esparza, 2-1 in a tough, tough battle. This was their fourth meeting at the championship level–with Fuchs victorious for the first time. As quoted by USA Boxing, Fuchs said, “I stopped her from getting in her rhythm. I got my space and I used my jab. My jab was the key. It feels amazing. It feels so good because this is what I’ve been working for. For the past four years, this is what I’ve been working on. This is what I came here to accomplish.”
Mikaela Mayer came up a 3-0 winner in her fifth meeting against number two seeded Tiara Brown. Each boxer had two victories against her opponent coming into the match. As quoted by USA Boxing, Mayer said, “She was coming toward me and that allowed me to use my boxing skills which is what I’m good at. That 1-2-3 was landing every time.”
Claressa Shields pulled out a flawless technical performance to defeat veteran boxer, Raquel Miller. Shields said, ““She was really patient and backed up a lot of the fight. She came forward some but I landed the cleaner, harder shots. She landed a few right hands but I kept going forward, and kept landing jabs. I landed a lot of jabs.”
In this double elimination tournament, there will be two sets of Challenger bouts to chose the other finalist for Saturday night. The first set will be Thursday, with the winner in each weight category facing Esparza, Brown and Miller on Friday.
Olympic Trials for Women’s Boxing Results
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Giovanna Camacho, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., 2-0
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Alex Love, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2-0
112 lbs/winners bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas dec. Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, 2-1
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Rianna Rios, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Samantha Kinchen, Lexington, Ky., 2-0 tiebreaker
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Jajaira Gonzalez won on medical walkover over Amelia Moore, Millersville, Md., W/O
132 lbs/winners bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Tiara Brown, Fort Myers, Fla., 3-0
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., dec. Naomi Graham, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Tika Hemingway, Brackenridge, Pa., dec. Cierra Taylor, Rochester, N.Y., 3-0
165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Raquel Miller, San Diego, Calif., 3-0
Thursday’s Olympic Trials Bout Sheet
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Giovanna Camacho, Colorado Springs, Colo., vs. Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y.
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Rianna Rios, Colorado Springs, Colo., vs. Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif.
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., vs. Tika Hemingway, Brackenridge, Pa.
Claressa Shields (r) takes the second round win over Tika Hemmingway in a tough, hard fought battle at the women’s boxing Olympic Trials in Memphis, TN on October 27, 2015.
Another exciting night of results with teammates and old foes Marlen Esparza and Christina Cruz battling for supremacy in the flyweight division in a close contest that still broke 3-0 to Esparza. Other winners included Alex Love who remained in the contest by DQ when opponent Jamie Mitchellcame in overweight.
Both Tiara Brown and Mikaela Mayer won as well. Brown fought a decisive 3-0 win over Rianna Rios, while Mayer fought hard against an onslaught from Jajaira Gonzalez to take the 2-1 split decision. Brown and Mayer will fight each other tonight in third round action. Leaving the contest in the lightweight division is veteran boxer Lisa Porter. She will be missed.
In the middleweight division Claressa Shields fought a tough, hard fight against Tika Hemingway with haymakers that writer Sarah Deming (@SarahDeming), who is live tweeting the event, described as coming “all the way from Flint” to take the unanimous win. Raquel Miller defeated Franchon Crews in a split decision, as this is the HH Diva’s first loss in the contest, she has a berth in the third round.
Olympic Trials for Women’s Boxing Results 112 lbs/challengers bracket: Giovanna Camacho, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass., 3-0
112 lbs/challengers bracket: Alex Love, Colorado Springs, Colo., won on disqualification over Jamie Mitchell, Las Vegas, Nev., DQ
112 lbs/winners bracket: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas dec. Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., 3-0
112 lbs/winners bracket: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas dec. Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., 3-0
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Samantha Kinchen, Lexington, Ky., dec. Stalacia Leggett, San Diego, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Amelia Moore, Millersville, Md., dec. Lisa Porter, Van Nuys, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/winners bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/winners bracket: Tiara Brown, Fort Myers, Fla., dec. Rianna Rios, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Naomi Graham, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., 2-1
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Cierra Taylor, Rochester, N.Y., dec. Iesha Kenney, Alexandria, Va., 3-0
165 lbs/winners bracket: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Tika Hemingway, Brackenridge, Pa., 3-0
165 lbs/winners bracket: Raquel Miller, San Diego, Calif., dec. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., 2-1
Tiara Brown (l) handily defeated Amelia Moore 3-0 on the opening night of the USA Boxing 2016 Female Olympic Trials in Memphis, Tn.
The Olympic Trials for the 2016 USA Boxing female boxing team got underway on in all three of the Olympic weight classes: Flyweight (112), Lightweight (132) and Middleweight (165).
As expected 2012, Olympic Gold medalist, Claressa Shields easily defeated her first round opponent, Naomi Graham, 3-0. 2012 Bronze medalist, Marlen Esparza,also won 3-0 over Melanie Costa.
In the lightweight division, current USA lightweight champion Mikaela Mayer won a split decision, 2-1 over Stalacia Leggett, and the number two seeded fighter, the always tough Tiara Brown defeated Amelia Moore decisively by the score of 3-0.
Alex Love, a tough scrappy fighter from the US Army boxing team had a tough loss to an equally scrappy Virginia Fuchs who took the split decision 2-1.
Other winners included New York City’s hometown girl, Christina Cruz who won 3-0 (112 lbs.), and in the middleweight division, a particularly strong division with a slew of tough competitors, Tika Hemingway, Franchon Crews and Raquel Miller all came away decisive winners.
Tuesday’s bouts, however, will give the women who faltered last night an opportunity to continue in their quest for a berth!
The full list results for the opening round is as follows:
Olympic Trials for Women’s Boxing Opening Round Results
112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas dec. Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass., 3-0
112 lbs: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Giovanna Camacho, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
I ask having spent a lovely couple of hours yesterday evening with my daughter wandering through the Ikea in Red Hook as we grabbed stuff for her college dorm room. Could it really be that she goes back to college in a week and a half? Or that it is her second year?
Girlboxing 