The faces of the women’s Olympic boxing!
The faces tell the story.
Joy.
Exuberance
Ferocity
Engagement
Pride
Intensity
Pain
The faces of the women’s Olympic boxing!
2 Replies
Tag Archives: Olympics 2012
Exclusive Interview with Sonya Lamonakis set to fight on June 14th @ Roseland Ballroom!
Exclusive Interview with Sonya Lamonakis set to fight on June 14th @ Roseland Ballroom!
Gleason’s Gym’s own scholar and favorite female heavyweight Sonya Lamonakis (6-0-1) will be returning to Dibella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing in a rousing six-round rematch against Tiffany Woodard (4-6-2) on June 14, 2012 at the storied Roseland Ballroom.
Lamonakis and Woodard have met twice before. While Lamonakis has won both fights, their last outing also under the Broadway Boxing banner at Mechanic’s Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts in August 2011 resulted in a split decision win.
Lamonakis and Woodard, August 2011
While Lamonakis has been hard at work prepping for this bout, she’s also been finishing up the school year at the Family Academy school in Harlem. In between her busy schedule, Sonya agreed to do an interview with Girlboxing.
1. You’ve got a fight coming up against Tiffany Woodard on June 14th as Roseland Ballroom in NYC as part of the Broadway Boxing series. Your last time out with Tiffany you won by a split-decision over six rounds. What is your game plan against her this time out?
This will be our trilogy. She is a tough opponent not to be taken lightly. We are both coming off a draw and want a win. I plan on working angles and combinations. I will be more active than the last time I fought her.
2. You are 6-0-1 now, that’s quite an achievement. What are you looking to achieve with a win against Woodard?A win! Again, I’m coming off a draw and I need to get that W and get ready for a title fight in the future.
3. What has your training been like for the fight? I know your semester is winding down, but you are still working full-time as a teacher in Harlem. How are you able to make things work?
Training has been a little crazy.
I fired my trainers and will have Buddy McGirt in my corner. He worked with me about two months ago when he was here training a fighter for a big fight for about a month. Unfortunately, he went back to his home in Florida and I was lost without him. I attempted to work with “Blimp” Delon Parsley and Lennox Blackmore, but neither of them were to aggressive with my training and took it too lightly. I felt I was not being taken seriously enough and needed a change.
Work is winding down and the summer is here. I am delighted to greet it. I do my best to balance my career and my hobby. I always put my students first. One Saturday a month I set up a trip for my students to take them out of the city on a hike, or adventure so they can breathe some clean air and work on confidence, self-esteem, and finding themselves.
4. Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West issued a press release with her father and trainer Juan West stating that while women work as hard as men in the fight game, they are not catching any kind of breaks for fight promotions or TV air time. I know that you’ve had a great relationship with Lou DiBella and Broadway Boxing here in New York, but do you feel that Kaliesha has a point? Are things really tough right now for female pro boxers trying to gain the experience, recognition and opportunity that comes with televised fights?
Unfortunately, women are not getting what they deserve. I have never been told or heard that my fights are boring or are not worthy of television. I dream of the day that I will fight on ESPN Friday Night Fights, or even Showbox, or HBO Boxing. For now, I am thankful that Lou allows me on his cards and always gives me TV time on SNY and MSG. It’s baby steps for women. Even as an amateur I had to fight against the odds to create a path for the women to get where they are today. I am proud to be part of the movement that opened up women’s boxing at the amateur and professional level.
5. You’ve only fought two fights since last April, one in August one in January–can you tell us what’s been going on in the women’s heavyweight division and why there seem to be so few fights?
Boxing is an expensive sport. The promoters want to make money. There is not a lot of money in women’s boxing. With the more wins I get the harder it is to find opponents. There are a lot more heavyweights but not ones that want to fight me. They ask for a lot of money and my promoter can only pay so much. It’s not like Lou is making $100,000 off my fight. I sell tickets to cover my purse and my opponents. I’m waiting for an offer from a woman on her card so I don’t have to worry about tickets and I can be the guest on a show.
6. Sonya, you are an inspiration to so many people not only as a boxer, but as a teacher and in your work against bullying. Your personal story is also one of redemption, hope and faith. Tell Girlboxing readers about your work in the community and how it is affecting the lives of young people?
Teaching school and guiding children is something I’m good at. I am positive role model for the children academically and personally. I attended colleges and received masters degrees and hold five different New York State Education Certifications in a variety of fields. I’m also an athlete and the students can relate to me. I love all my children and find the good in each of them. I do my best to instill values and morals in them that will lead to towards successful lives. I tell them that if they want to have choices when they are older they need to have an education. Without an education you have no choices to make. You have to take whatever job you can and do your best to survive. As an example, remember that episode on the Cosby’s when Bill gave his son fake money and had him pay bills until he ran out quickly. At that point he wanted more things, but he had no money left. So without an education, your choices will be limited, but with an education you can go anywhere.
7. One last question — with the debut of women’s boxing at the 2012 London Olympic Games, what do you feel most proud of?
I feel proud to be a part of the movement that accomplished this mission. I attended meetings, competed in the Nationals, signed petitions, advocated for the women and being an amateur boxer allowed me to be part of the debut of women’s boxing. I look forward to the Olympics and hope that it opens the doors for more women in the future of boxing.
Check out Sonya’s new sponsor website here!
For tickets to Sonya Lamonakis’ Broadway Boxing fight at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City contact Gleason’s Gym: 718-797-2872. Tickets are: $45, $65 and $85. The first bout is at 7:00 PM.
Kate Sekules and The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting!
Kate Sekules and The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting!
As Kate Sekules says of her love affair with boxing in her memoir, The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting, “I wonder myself what set this obsession in motion.” Kate never stops describing it either, from her affection for the sport on through her experiences beginning with her early forays into the gym and what it felt like the first time she stepped into the ring to fight. As she says,
“Training to box is one of the toughest physical challenges you can set yourself, and it is clean. But once you step through the ropes, a dimension rears up that is not pure at all. To compete as a runner, a swimmer, a player of tennis, golf, basketball, football-any noncombat sport-what you do is an extension of what you did in training, only more intense; but to compete as a boxer, your aims are suddenly quite distinct from those of your training sessions. You hope to inflict so much pain on your opponents that they fall over and can’t get up.”
Kate’s book is a warm, colorful homage to her years training at Gleason’s Gym — and of the women she trained along side beginning in 1992 on through the late 1990’s. Originally published in 2000, Kate has reissued her memoir with a new afterward to coincide with the historical debut of Women’s Boxing at the 2012 Olympics.
As for the ensuing 11 years, Kate notes the sport has “actually become less visible.” Something we all feel with “more female mis-matches … and more neglect of women’s bouts by mainstream media.”
What comes across, however, in Kate’s highly engaging book is truly the viewpoint of a boxer’s heart. She shows us her love of the sport, the camaraderie of her fellow boxers and an intimate perspective of the journey of a boxer. As Kate said recently in an interview with Girlboxing, “We confront through boxing the same issues every woman faces,” only in the case of a female boxer we add a touch of “rebellion perhaps and a counter to mainstream culture.”
Kate also made the point that the “book is for men and women about gender roles as much as about the sport.” Still what Kate provides is a treasure trove of details about the sport at a certain time and place — as well as an intimate portrait of Kate and her cohort of boxing friends all working hard to practice the art they love so much.
These days, Kate can be found back at Gleason’s Gym once a week — after having worked out at Chelsea Piers for a while doing their “Lunchbox” series which she swears was “amazing, he’s really, really good.” She’s also the owner of Refashioner, a marketplace for pre-owned couture.
The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting will be hitting bookstores this week — and if you happen to live in Brooklyn, be sure and stop by BookCourt on Friday, June 1st for a live reading! Details are as follows:
Reading – June 1, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
163 Court Street
Brooklyn NY 11201
To purchase Kate’s Book from Amazon.com click on the link!
Shelito Vincent set to fight her third bout on May 24th!
>>>>UPDATE>>>>
Shelito Vincent vs Carmen Cruz (female bantamweights) – Bringing a good vibe and an infectious smile, the wildly popular Shelito Vincent (3-0 from Providence RI) pounded out her third win as a professional, defeating the debuting Carmen Cruz (0-1 from Fort Meyers, FL) over four easy rounds. Vincent came on strong in the final round, rocking her opponent with a nifty combination to close the show and leave no doubts. Unanimous shutout scores of 40-36 in favor of Vincent serve to illustrate just how dominant she was.
Shelito Vincent set to fight her third bout on May 24th!
Bantamweight Shelito Vincent (2-0) is set to fight her third bout as a pro boxer on May 24th at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Vincent’s opponent in the ring will be Carmen Cruz in her first professional fight. (Contact Lew Beasley to purchase tickets at 860-501-4703. Seats are $35.00)
Before her professional debut against Karen Dulin this past October, Vincent had an 11-4 amateur career, capped by winning the 2011 National Golden Gloves Bantamweight Title at 119 lbs.
Shelito has recently begun training with the legendary Peter Manfredo Sr. She credits him with pushing her to the next level as a fighter, but more importantly, helping her to believe in her own potential.
A native of Connecticut, Shelito has not had it easy. She has overcome tragedy, disillusionment and incarceration, but has found herself back on a more positive road. Her transformation will see her to speak on May 14th at the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School in New London, CT as part of their “Hope Week” Effective Leadership Conference. Shelito will share her life experiences, struggles, and talk about what she has done to overcome her demons to move on to a better life.
Girlboxing had the opportunity to pose a series of questions to Shelito about her upcoming fight, but more importantly, about her inspirational story. This is what Shelito had to say.
Q1: Your first started boxing as an 18 year old and then found your way back to boxing later in your life having made a renewed commitment to training and to your amateur and professional competitive career. What has boxing come to mean to you?A1: Boxing means everything to me. I owe my life to boxing. It got me out of depression, out the streets, off booze. When I was incarcerated all I thought about was what if I took it serious would I be here.. Everyone told me I was good enough to get somewhere. Think back then I didn’t believe in myself. Life is a everyday battle some harder then others… I look to boxing as if I can take blows everyday then emotional pains and blows are nothing… I survive beatings everyday… When you win a tough fight u feel great… Same with battles of life… So to me they symbolize the same.Q2: A recent article about you discussed how your mother’s untimely death caused you to spiral into a deep depression and eventually some run-ins with the law. What can you tell Girlboxing readers about your road to recovery and how your story can be inspirational to others who have encountered similar setbacks?A2: Nothing is too big to overcome… Pain is temporary.. You can’t let anything keep you down… With me being openly gay and at a time gay was not accepted like it is she and my Great Grandmother were all I had at that time I lost my grandmother shortly after also… Talk to someone! There’s always someone there… Channel the emotions… These are all things I’ve come to learn… It was a Lil bit deeper then just my that though that pushed me over the edge.. I had a tramatic thing happen to me at 13. Which I’m not ready to let out yet… My team Dena, Mary an Peter my best friend an corner Marcia an Brother Lew keep me focused and on point now…Q3: You have a loving partner with a four year old son. How has raising a child affected you and what can you share with us about the stability of your family life as you embark upon your professional boxing career?A3: They make me a better person! Keep me pushing and make me want to obtain bigger goals to build us a better future… His room has all my trophys an accomplishment… I think maybe if these were things I seen everyday maybe that’s what I’d of worked for… Just a theory lol hope it works… He’s a great kid wants to be a ninja an boxer when he grows up lol.. And my woman takes care a me as well as my corner in Peter, Mary, Dena, Marcia, an Lew my Grandmother’s an Father also my family in the Hadley’s an Vincent’s and all my friends that come out an support… I feel complete again… They are my “new family” as well… I have my nieces an newphews that look up to me heavy now… Have to show them what hard work will get you and NEVER let them down!!!Q4: It has been quite a year for you. You won the 2011 Golden Gloves National Bantamweight title this past July, and then made your pro debut in October. You are also training for your third professional fight on May 24th with a perfect 2-0 record. What has been the secret to your success in the ring?
A4: Listening to Peter with Hard work an Dedication… An respect for the game… Also listening to what the rest a my team and what they suggest… They all have strong points an roles.. I take it all in.Q5: Your trainer, the legendary Peter Manfredo, Sr. has described you by saying. “She’ll do anything a man will do and more. She’s looking to show everybody, ‘I’m here.'” How do you react to that? What does the gym give you?A5: Always remaining that person… I have so much respect for Pete… I promise to always give him a 110%… He makes me believe in me and I know we are just going to keep building and getting stronger I mean look at our guys we got Falowo, Ayala, Toca Kahn who is about to shine as a pro! Missy the fury Fiorentino… Look at what JR. did… Being in that building gets me pumped… I love Peter he’s the best… I feel like I found my nest there.Q6: Women’s professional boxing is replete with women who are finding success in the ring well into their 40s and yet, it is hard to earn a living as a professional fighter. What challenges are you overcoming in order to pursue your dreams of winning a professional world title?
A6: Traveling but it’s worth it… Failure is not an option for me anymore!!! TEAMWORK make a DREAM WORK… I’m chasing my dreams, no obstacles will stop the kid no more!!!!Q7: As you look into the future, what do you hope to achieve?A7: Happiness, RESPECT, become a role model an counselor to troubled youth… And WORLD TITLES!!!!!! I know this will take a lot of work but I have great support in my team with Dena and Mary an Zack at Striking Beauties an the girls there… And Peter, Diego Periera and Ron, my dudes at Manfredo’s… I give thanks to Jaime Clampitt everyday also, she pulled me back into the sport!!!
AIBA World Women’s Rankings!
AIBA World Women’s Rankings!
AIBA, the International Boxing Association, has come out with their first world rankings. The rankings are based on AIBA’s scoring formula as of April 1, 2012. It makes for interesting reading ahead of the 2012 Women’s World Championships especially as the top eight of each of the Olympic weight categories will be selected to compete at the Olympics in July. It should be noted that the rankings do not reflect the recently completed 2012 Women’s Elite Continental Boxing Championships.
Here are the top five in each of the Olympic weight categories:
51 KG Top Five Rankings
51KG, #1 Ranked, Ren Cancan, China
#1. Ren Cancan, China
#2. Nicola Adams, England
#3. Alice Kate Aparri, Philippines
#4. Karolina Michalczuk, Polank
#5. Tetyana Kob, Ukraine
USA Boxing champion Marlen Esparza is ranked 7th overall, just behind India’s great champion Mary Kom who is ranked 6th.
60 KG Top Five Rankings
60 KG, #1 Ranked, Katie Taylor, Ireland, Credit: ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
#1. Katie Taylor, Ireland
#2. Cheng Dong, China
#3. Karolina Graczyk, Polank
#4. Adriana Araujo, Brazil
#5. Quanitta (Queen) Underwood, USA
75 KG Top Five Rankings
75 KG, #1 Ranked, Mary Spencer, Canada, Credit: Nathan Denette/CP
#1. Mary Spencer, Canada
#2. Nadezhada Torlopova, Russia
#3. Jinzi Li, China
#4. Rosell Feitosa, Brazil
#5. Lilya Durnnyeva, Ukraine
Undefeated USA Boxing champion Claressa Shields is ranked 9th overall.
Shields defeated Spencer in the recently concluded Women’s Elite Continental Boxing Championships.
Great boxing video by artist and amateur boxer Desiree D’Alessandro!
Great boxing video by artist and amateur boxer Desiree D’Alessandro!
Talk about a must see video, please take the time to watch this wonderful visual tone-poem to boxing as an art form entitled Artistic Performance, Amateur Boxing and “A People To Come” as part of the Digital (De-)(Re-) Territorializations Conference by artist and amateur boxer Desiree D’Alessandro!
I’d also like to send a huge shout out to the Daniel Martinez Boxing website for posting this remarkable artist’s work. The link to Desiree’s original post is here.
Desiree D’Alessandro’s website is: http://desiree-dalessandro.com/
Her blog is: http://dalessandroart.blogspot.com/
Women have always fought!
Women have always fought!
Female Gladiators, Amazona and Achillia. Marble relief known as the Missio of Halicarnassus depicting two female gladiators. Copyright © The British Museum. Credit: Stephen Murray
Boxing has long been considered a hypermasculine sport harnessing masculine ideals of virility and aggression. It has resonated across millennia as an icon of sacred tradition that stretches as far back as the ancient Greeks with even earlier references to the sport in Mesopotamian cultures.
The earliest known literary reference to boxing is Homer’s depiction of the boxing match at the Funeral of Patroclus in The Illiad. Homer begins this section with the older Nestor’s talk with the Greek hero, Achilles:
My legs no longer firm, my friend, dead on my feet,
Nor do my arms go shooting from my shoulders—
the stunning punch, the left and right are gone.
Oh make me young again, and the strength inside me
steady as a rock! (Homer, The Iliad 579)
When thinking about martial contests, however, what might not be so readily apparent is that women have also enacted one or another form of martial ritual including boxing for just as long.
Accounts of Spartan educational regimens for young women in the same time period as The Iliad show that young female Spartans were trained for fighting in the same short tunic[1] as young men and competed against them during training on a regular basis. The Roman poet Propertius also wrote of women with their “arms [bound] with thongs for boxing.”
Other forms of Greco-Roman cultural representations include the marble relief sculpture depicting two female gladiators known as the Missio of Halicarnassus from the first or second century CE and the black-figured hydria of Atalanta and Peleus Wrestling from 550 BCE.
Atalanta wrestling Peleus, Chalcidian black-figure
hydria C6th B.C., Antikensammlungen, Munich, Credit: http://www.theoi.com
Based on the myth of Atalanta, the hydria depicts her defeat of Peleus in a wrestling match at the funeral games of King Pelias. Given the importance of Funeral Games as “symbolic conflict” that both stand in for actual combat (the physical clashing of the bodies) and as a contest of honor, wherein the vanquished is raised up by the victor, the inclusion of female figures in such representations is certainly provocative.
Diana of Versailles, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, Credit: http://www.theoi.com
However, given that Atalanta is also depicted as a particular favorite of Artemis, Goddess of both the hunt and maidenhood, we can begin to tease out a notion of gender identity in Greco-Roman culture which allows for a “third way” if you will: that of the maiden huntress/warrioress that also links to the myth of the Amazons.
The warrior women, variously described as a tribe of gyno-centric warrior females were quoted by Herodotus as saying “We would find it impossible to live with [other] women, because our practices are completely different from theirs. We haven’t learnt women’s work. We shoot arrows, wild javelins, ride horses—things which your women never have anything to do with.”
It can be argued that such depictions are liminal, based on a time between girlhood and motherhood. In this in-between space these young women are depicted as small breasted and virginal, thus creating an otherness between maleness and femaleness, on the order of Goddess Artemis and Diana. The status of these figures makes them free to hunt and even pursue martial enactments of maleness, however, the price of doing so is to remain pre-sexual.
Statue of a wounded Amazon, 1st–2nd century A.D.
Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue, ca. 450–425 B.C.
Marble. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The myth of Atalanta is a perfect embodiment of this ideal. Atalanta enacts warriorness side-by-side with her shipmates Jason and the Argonauts, but can only do so as long as she remains a virgin. The depiction of the mythic women also inevitably shows them in short tunics rather than in long ankle length skirts – thus clearly mimicking the dress of Artemis and Diana. And in some cases, representing a depiction of actual cross-dressing: wearing a short tunic skirt instead of a long skirt. It should be noted that there are figures of Artemis in a long gown, however, those skirts typically open and show that she is free to run.
To my way of thinking, these are important threads in considering the significant place of female fighting figures historically.
___
[1] Spartan training of young girls was also under the influence of the Goddess Artemis who was often depicted in a short tunic. Throughout Greece, girls participated in formal Games (though not the Olympics) primarily in foot races with aspects of religious ritual associated with such participation.
Work Cited
Boddy, Kasia. Boxing: A Cultural History. London: Reaktion Books Ltd. 2008. Print.
Herodotus. The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories. Fifth Impression Edition. Eds. Robert B. Strassler. Trans. Andrea L. Purvis. New York: Pantheon (2007). Print.
Homer. The Iliad. Deluxe Edition. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Print.
Murray, Stephen. “Female Gladiators of the Ancient Roman World.” Journal of Combative Sport. July 2003. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
Papadopoulos, Maria. “The Women in Ancient Sparta: The Dialogue between the Divine and the Human.” SPARTA 6.2 (2010): 5-10. Print.
Plutarch, The Parallel Lives. Loeb Classic Library Edition. N.P. 1914. Uchicago.edu Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
Mia St. John and Mary Kom: Female Boxers in the news …
Mia St. John and Mary Kom: Female Boxers in the news …
From barely a trickle of stories about women’s boxing, there is a fair amount of press — all over the world about women’s boxing. Here are stories featuring American boxer Mia St. John and India’s great amateur Olympic hopeful Mary Kom!
Mia St. John has granted an exclusive interview to Jake Emen over at Proboxingfans.com on her upcoming June 19th battle against the great Christy Martin. Here’s a smattering of the interview …
“You’ve been fighting professionally since 1997, so it’s been 15 years. How much longer will you continue to fight, and is there any way this is your last fight?
Mia: I have to fight Christy one more time after this! We have to do the rubber match! Other than that, I’m done. I’ve lived out dream and it was a hell of a ride.”
The article link is here.
India’s leading contender for Gold in the upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games — with a eye first on winning a berth to the 2012 Women’s World Championships this coming May in China is none other than Mary Kom. The five time amateur champion has recently upped her weight class to 51 KG in order to compete. She is currently a participant in the 6th Asian Women’s Boxing Championships being held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where she has advanced to the quarter finals.
This recent piece entitled India’s Mary Kom keeps proving doubters wrong is particularly revealing of her struggles to become a world-class boxing champion and is well worth the read. Here is a brief preview …
“When I started boxing, people laughed at me and said, ‘What can women do in boxing?’” she said. “I took it as a challenge. If men can do it why can’t women? And I became a world champion before my marriage.
“When I got married, they doubted if I can win again after marriage. I took it as the second challenge and proved myself.”
The article link is here.
India Today also has a story on Mary Kom entitled Boxing: Mary Kom off to a winning start about her quarterfinal win.
Women’s championship boxing weekend wrap-up 3/16-3/18/2012
Women’s championship boxing weekend wrap-up 3/16-3/18/2012
Yescia Patricia Marcos (R) defeats Ana Julaton for the WBO Female Super Bantamweight Title. Credit: Alsurinforma.com
Yesica Patricia Marcos takes WBO Female Super Bantamweight Title
Yesica Patricia Marcos (19-6-0, 1-KO) defeated WBO Female Super Bantamweight title holder Ana Julaton (10-3-1, 1-KO) in a ten round decision at Teatro Griego Juan Pablo Segundo, San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina on March 16, 2012. The bout was scored 98-92, 98-92 and 98-91 and included a second round knockdown of Marcos by Julaton. Both fighters went toe-to-toe in an aggressive fight — Julaton fought Marcos’ close-in style rather than her usual outside fighting technique in the early going — and while Julaton’s team agreed that Marcos outfought Julaton, their was disagreement on how the bout was scored.
Marcos, a hometown favorite in her native Argentina is known for her busy close in fighting. No word yet on whether there will be a rematch. You be the judge of the complete fight!
Alicia “Slick” Ashley retains her WBC Super Bantamweight Title!
Alicia Ashley land a right hand against challenger Maria Elena Villalobos on 3/17/2012 to retain her WBC Title, Photo: Alma Montiel
The pride of Brooklyn and Jamaica and Gleason’s own, Alicia “Slick” Ashley (18-9-1, 1-KO) retained her WBC Female Super Bantamweight title by soundly defeating Maria Elena Villalobos (12-6-1, 5-KO) by unanimous decision in their ten round bout held in Mexico City on March 17, 2012. Villalobos who’d previously lost her WBO Female Super Bantamweight title to Ana Julaton this past September was no match for Ashley’s truly “slick” style. With her win Ashley remains the oldest female world boxing champion. Speaking after the fight, Ashley is quoted as saying “I am thrilled that I was able to retain my title in fine style and I really want to fight in Jamaica next.”
Smackdowning down the boundaries of the ring: Women’s Boxing and MMA!
Smackdowning down the boundaries of the ring: Women’s Boxing and MMA!
Ronda Rousey vs. Miescha Tate, March 3, 2012, Credit: Greg Bartram/US Presswire
Saturday night, Strikeforce aired a fabulous night of MMA bouts on Showtime that included Ronda Rousey’s (5-0) stunning take down of women’s bantamweight title holder Miesha Tate (12-2) with an armbar submission 4:27 into the first round. In Rousey’s crowning as the new MMA bantamweight champion, heads are turning because of the high caliber of the effort both of these women put into the fight, but the “chops” they brought with them. Rousey is a an Olympic Bronze Medalist in Judo, and Tate has been a sure-fire crowd pleaser since entering the ring. Sarah Kaufman’s efforts against Alexis Davis were also hailed as “good” MMA.
So here’s the question: Where is women’s boxing in all of this?
Don’t get me wrong, it is FABULOUS to see MMA being promoted and aired as part of Showtime’s Strikeforce franchise and equally fabulous to read the positive press. David Casitlllo’s piece in The Bloody Elbow.com is a case in point, entitled Strikeforce Tate vs. Rousey Results: Why Women’s MMA Belongs In The Ring, includes the statement, “Rousey just “gets” MMA. There’s a brilliance to her game that reveals itself in the way she transitions. In understanding that each shift from one phase to the next is an opportunity. And that a takedown can be a sequence rather than a precession.”
What we are not seeing is the willingness of Showtime, HBO and ESPN to air these elite female fighters on their boxing shows. It’s not as if the caliber of fighting isn’t there! Flash back to the incredible displays of boxing prowess at the women’s Olympic Team Trials for one, but more importantly, take a look at the professional women who box their hearts out for a pittance, grateful for the opportunity to box at all nevermind a chance at a video stream.
Amanda "The Real Deal" Serrano and Ela "Bam Bam" Nunez after "fight of the year" contender
And if you’re looking for a case in point, look no further than undefeated IBF female super featherweight title holder Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano’s (14-0-1, 9-KOs) February 17th effort against Ela ‘Bam Bam’ Nunez (11-13-2) in an eight round co-main event non-title bout in Chicago. Boxing websites such as Philboxing.com are calling the battle an early contender for “fight of the year” status, but otherwise, it’s not as if the offers are pouring in to Serrano who puts on that caliber of fight EVERY TIME she enters the ring.
The fight was streamed live and for free on 360boxing.com, and for those lucky enough to watch the fight, it was a boxing treat albeit, within the parameters of a video stream with lagging images and breakups. Imagine how much better and more exciting it would have been if it had also been promoted on Showtime?
So again, what’s the deal? How about putting women’s MMA and Women’s Boxing on the airways! And P. S., female boxers are VERY capable of fighting three-minute rounds!
In case you missed it, here’s the Serrano v. Nunez February 17, 2012 fight. You be the judge.
Keisher “Fire” Mcleod-Wells set to fight on March 7th @ Broadway Boxing!
>>>UPDATE>>>
Fire Mcleod-Wells takes it after six exciting and competitive rounds! She handed Patricia Alcivar her first loss by split decision: two judges scored the fight for Fire 57-55, and the third judge scored it the same way for Alcivar. Both fighters were treated to a standing ovation!!!
Keisher “Fire” Mcleod-Wells set to fight on March 7th @ Broadway Boxing!
Gleason’s own Keisher “Fire” McLeod-Wells (4-2, 1-KO) will be returning to the ring on March 7, 2012 against Patricia “Patty Boom Boom” Alcivar (5-0, 3-KOs) in a six-round bout on the Broadway Boxing Card.
Keisher "Fire" Mcleod-Wells, Credit: Luis Montalvo
Promoted by DiBella Entertainment, this well-matched super featherweight bout will showcase the talents of two accomplished boxers both of whom are familar to the New York boxing scene.
Patricia Alcivar, Credit: QueensTribune.com
The bout will take place at the BB King Blues Club and Grill, located at 237 W. 42nd St., New York City.
Tickets can be purchased at Gleason’s Gym. The telephone number is (718) 797-2872.
Ticket prices are: $125(Ringside Seating), $100 (Seating), $75(Seating), and $55(General Standing).
All ticket sales benefit Fire.
Please buy your tickets from Gleason’s Gym and show your support for one of the rising stars in Women’s Boxing.
Female 2012 USA Boxing National Champions Crowned!
Female 2012 USA Boxing National Champions Crowned!
Mikaela Mayer winning the 2012 USA National Championship at 141 lbs., Credit: Mark Mayer
Alex Love (106 lbs), Christina Cruz (119 lbs),Tiara Brown (125 lbs), Mikaela Mayer (141 lbs), Raquel Miller (152 lbs), and Franchon Crews (178 lbs), each veterans of the first-ever female Olympic Trials and each competing in a non-Olympic weight class, will be representing the US once again at the 2012 Women’s World Championships as winners of the 2012 USA Boxing National Championships in their respective weight classes. They will reunite with the three US Olympic Trials champions, Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and Claressa Shields, to round out the US team.
Mikaela Mayer had the additional honor of being name the outstanding female boxer of the 2012 USA Boxing National tournament.
Girlboxing sends a huge shout out to these remarkable women for their accomplishments!
Saturday’s Championship Results
5 p.m. session – Winners will go on to the 2012 Women’s World Championships in China this coming May 2012!
106 lbs/female: Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., dec. Lisa Ha, Honolulu, Hawaii, 26-13
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, Calif., 22-7
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass., 20-17
141 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Cashmere Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio, 20-16
152 lbs/female: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., 10-5
178 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., dec. Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., 27-17
178+ lbs/unopposed female: Victor Perez won unopposed
1 p.m. – Olympic Weight Classes
112 lbs/female: Ayesha Green, Trenton, N.J., dec. Anissa Vasquez, Fort Worth, Texas, 26-7
132 lbs/female: Emily Dagnan, Jasper, Tenn., dec. Katie Brunacini, Los Angeles, Calif., 16-9
165 lbs/female: Fallon Farrar, Staten Island, N.Y., dec. Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va., 22-15
Gaining spots in the Finals @ 2012 USA Boxing Nationals!
Gaining spots in the Finals @ 2012 USA Boxing Nationals!
Tiara Brown, Credit: Sue Jaye Johnson
The roster for the 2012 USA Boxing finals is set with finalists including Olympic Team Trials contenders Christina Cruz (119 lbs), Alex Love (106 lbs), Tiara Brown (125 lbs), Mikaela Mayer (141 lbs), Raquel Miller (152 lbs), Tiffanie Hearn (178 lbs) and Franchon Crews (178 lbs).
There will be two championship sessions today. The three women’s Olympic weight classes will compete in final action at 1 p.m. with the remaining weight divisions, which are each advancing on to major international tournaments, boxing at 6 p.m. at the Fort Carson Special Events Center.
Today’s Championship round bout sheet is as follows:
1 p.m.
112 lbs/female: Anissa Vasquez, Fort Worth, Texas vs. Ayesha Green, Trenton, N.J.
132 lbs/female: Emily Dagnan, Jasper, Tenn., vs. Katie Brunacini, Los Angeles, Calif.
165 lbs/female: Fallon Farror, Staten Island, N.Y., vs. Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va.
6 p.m.
106 lbs/female: Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., vs. Lisa Ha, Honolulu, Hawaii
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., vs. Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, California
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., vs. Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass.
141 lbs/female: Cashmere Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.
152 lbs/female: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., vs. Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif.
178 lbs/female: Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., vs. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md.
Friday’s Semifinal Results
106 lbs/female: Lisa Ha, Honolulu, Hawaii dec. Marina Ramirez, Sacramento, Calif., 20-14
106 lbs/female: Alex Love, Monroe, Wash., dec. Amy Sowers, Bozeman, Mont., 22-13
112 lbs/female: Ayesha Green, Trenton, N.J., dec. Maryguenn Vellinga, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10-7
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Ayanna Vasquez, Las Cruces, N.M., 16-13
119 lbs/female: Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, Calif., dec. Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass., 25-18
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Kirstie Simmons, Aurora, Colo., 21-9
125 lbs/female: Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass., dec. Karla Herrera, Los Angeles, Calif., 14-12
132 lbs/female: Emily Dagnan, Jasper, Tenn., dec. Karla Herrera, Los Angeles, Calif., 19-10
132 lbs/male: Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif., dec. Kenneth Sims, Jr., Chicago, Ill., 27-14
132 lbs/male: Raynell Williams, Cleveland, Ohio dec. Toka Kahn Clary, Providence, R.I., 21-20
141 lbs/female: Cashmere Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio dec. Ariel Beck, Helena, Mont., 22-5
141 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Christella Cepeda, Yonkers, N.Y., 21-5
152 lbs/female: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Tara Weisshaar, Burlington, Colo., 29-2
152 lbs/female: Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., dec. Alicia Napoleon, Lingdenhurst, N.J., 24-5
178 lbs/female: Tiffanie Hearn, San Diego, Calif., stopped Kendra Minnis, St. Louis, Mo., RSC
178 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., stopped Denise Rico, Los Angeles, Calif., RSC
Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Claressa Shields: Recent press for our Olympic boxing heroines
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
USA Women’s Boxers getting ready to rumble!
USA Women’s Boxers getting ready to rumble!
While most Americans will be at home enjoying their Thanksgiving feast with friends and family, five members of USA Women’s Boxing will be participating in one of two events: the Olympic Test Event set to run from November 24 – November 27 at the ExCeL Olympic Stadium in London or in Surgut, Russia as part of the squad competing in the World Cup of Petroleum Countries. That second squad will also go on to compete in Ukraine for a head-to-head dual competition.
In total there will be five women and thirteen men competing.
Olympic Test Event Roster
132 lbs/female: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash.
141 lbs/male: Jamel Herring, Coram, N.Y./Camp Lejeune, N.C.
165 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md.
201 lbs/male: Joseph Williams, Queens, N.Y.
201+ lbs/male: Lenroy “Cam” Thompson, Lenexa, Kansas
USA Boxing National Coach: Joe Zanders, Long Beach, Calif.
Coach: Gloria Peek, Norfolk, Va.
European Tour Roster
108 lbs/male: Eros Correa, San Jose, Calif.
112 lbs/female: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas
114 lbs/male: Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill.
123 lbs/male: Tramaine Williams, New Haven, Conn.
132 lbs/female: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio
132 lbs/male: Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif.
141 lbs/male: George Rincon, Carrollton, Texas
152 lbs/male: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas (2012 Olympian)
165 lbs/female: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa.
165 lbs/male: Jesse Hart, Philadelphia, Pa.
178 lbs/male: Marcus Browne, Staten Island, N.Y.
201 lbs/male: Jordan Shimmell, Hudsonville, Mich.
201+ lbs/male: Laron Mitchell, San Francisco, Calif.
Coach: Ron Simms, Stafford, Va.
Coach: Ken Porter, Akron, Ohio
Coach: Ed Rivas, Abilene, Texas
Technical Advisor: Bruce Kawano, Pearl City, Hawaii
Team Manager: Ken Buffington, Marshalltown, Iowa
Girlboxing 