Keisher "Fire" Mcleod-Wells, Credit: Andrea Mohin/NY Times
The New York Timeshas a fabulous piece out about Keisher “Fire” Mcleod-Wells (4-1, 1-KO).
In the article Fire was asked about her plans following her stint on Todas Contra Mexico, the Mexican reality TV show now in production in Chiapas pitting women boxers from Mexico against a team of International fighters.
In talking about the financial side of women’s boxing she said for a title fight, she’d get, “Maybe $8,000, $10,000,” continuing, “it’s pennies compared to a man.”
Where Fire zinged my heart was when she added, “I think that’s why we fight harder, because we do this for the love of the sport. There’s no money really to be made.”
Good morning fight fans! (Always wanted to says that!)
Todas Contra México Update!
Here’s a first look at Todas Contra México‘s star fighters as they get ready to begin shooting in Chiapas, Mexico! Nice promo up on YouTube:
Pan American Games Box-off begins today!
Yep, the USA Boxing qualifier for the debut of women’s boxing at the Pan American Games is set to begin today at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado with a “Box-Off” of USA’s top competitors in the three Olympic weight categories: Flyweight (112 lbs), Lightweight (132 lbs), and Middleweight (165 lbs).
This is historic stuff!
The top women amateur boxers participating in the Box-Off are:
Flyweight/112 lbs Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas
Tyrieshia Douglas Baltimore, Md.
Cynthia Moreno, Phoenix, Ariz.
Alex Love, Monroe, Wash.
Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y.
Marina Ramirez, Las Vegas, Nev.
The winners of this event will go on to the Pan American Games qualifying event in Cumana, Venezuala set to run from March 25th to March 30th 2011. The Pan American Games are set to run in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14th – October 30th 2011.
WBA Women’s Super Bantamweight Title Fight Tonight
Yesica Patricia Marcos, WBA Women's Super Bantamweight
Bleacher Reports has a story up on tonight’s WBA Women’s Super Bantamweight title fight tonight between Yesica Patricia Marcos (16-0, 5-KO) and Maria Andrea Miranda (13-5) in San Martin, Mendoz, Argentina. The folks at Bleacher Report opine that the shorted training period for Marcos, and Miranda recent 2-4 record will present challenges to both fighters. The full story is here including news on other upcoming bouts. Well worth the read!
Enjoy the day — and if you happen to be in the NY area it’s set to hit the high 60’s, yea!
I watched the Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez vs. Sergiy Dzinziruk fight last night and came away truly impressed with Martinez’s fighting ability and the maturity he showed in the ring. Not only had he truly trained for the bout, but his mental fortitude was also apparent as he kept to his game, never lost focus and put on the kind of boxing show that keeps fans out of their seats in concert with the fighters, all without the kind of self-aggrandizing nonsense that so often, of late, gets in the way of a good bout. Given his peak physical condition and the kind of training regimen he keeps to, we shall likely have Martinez, 36, around for some time to come. The fight was truly boxing at its best with a huge shout out to Dzinziruk for his considerable efforts in the fight.
Women’s boxing in Japan
The triple-header WBC title fights to have been held at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall have been put on hold due to the devastating earthquake the hit North-Eastern Japan on Friday. Apparently all six of the boxers had just completed their official weigh-ins when the earthquake hit. Thankfully, none of the participants were injured. The OBPF light flyweight bout was also canceled. For more on the story in WBAN click here.
Todas Contra México – UPDATE
Crystal Hoy, Photo Credit: Mary Ann Owen
A Girlboxing shout out to Crystal “Baby Faced Assassin” Hoy (5-4-3 2-KO) on getting the nod to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Mexican Women’s Boxing reality TV-show: Todas Contra México. Crystal will join Karolina Owczarz and Keisher “Fire” McLeod-Wells on the international team as each contestant vies to win the $100,000 dollar prize. Click here for a nice feature piece on Crystal on the GMAnews.tv website.
Ana Julaton – the next bout?
Ana Julaton
Close on the heels of her successful WBO Super Bantamweight defense, The Philippines Star is reporting that Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton “is yearning for a rematch with Lisa “Bad News” Brown in the hope of avenging one of the most heartrending losses in her boxing career.” This fight, however, will need to occur after her next bout deemed a title defense by a “mandatory challenger,” although neither Julaton nor her team are talking on what fighter that may be or where and when the fight will occur.
Julaton, a popular boxer in both her native California is considering having her next bout on Philippine soil. Time will tell. The link to the story is here.
Todas Contra México names Global Boxing Foundation prospect and Polish Amateur sensation Karolina Owczarz as a contestant on the upcoming Reality TV Show!
Karolina Owczarz, Gold Medal Winner in the Polish Amateur Boxing Championships
Production for Todas Contra Mexico is set to begin the week of March 14th in Chiapas, Mexico where Karolina Owczarz is set to have her professional debut. Karolina will be joined by Keisher “Fire” McLeod-Wells on the international team as each contestant vies to win the $100,000 dollar prize. For more information Click on the Eastside Boxing.com story here.
Women in Sports
To coincide with the International Women’s Day on March 8th, there have been a few articles from the world press that have addressed the issue if inequality in women’s sports. From an article by Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun and published online in the Montreal Gazette.com, Beamish makes the point that, “Women will come out fighting for the first time at the 2012 Olympics in London, 15 years after British boxing authorities claimed their menstrual cycles made them too “unstable” to box. The concern for women’s reproductive systems and supposed frailty are time-honoured excuses that harken back to the 19th century and, apparently, still have dubious cachet today.”
The story in the Torontoist entited, “Sporting Good: The Toronto Newsgirls,” while not a polemic about the state of women’s sports, is an article about theToronto Newsgirls Boxing Club, dedicated to empowering women through boxing. The club, founded by Savory Howe supports women and girls of all abilities from beginners on through amateur champions with Olympic dreams. The club offer classes in boxing, individual training, sparring and regular “fight nights” for club participants. As well, the space is designed to offer women an environment that encourages women’s athleticism at all levels and a safe haven from the work-a-day problems of the world at large. A link to the article is here. For more information about the club click here.
Kaliesha West back to boxing?
8countnews.com is reporting that Kaliesha “Wild West” West is eyeing an April return to the ring after her layoff from competitive boxing following a car accident. Kaliesha also participated in a podcast that is well-worth a listen. A link to the article and podcast can be found here. Please also have a look at an interesting feature story run on Kaliesha last year in PE.com entitled, Boxing Column: Times have changed for Kaliesha West. A link to the earlier story can be found here.
The new Mexican reality TV show Todas Contra México to be aired from Chiapas, Mexico, will showcase women’s professional boxing at its highest level. The premise of the show is to feature bouts between a team of Mexican women professional boxers against an international team featuring none other than Gleason’s own Keisher “Fire” McLeod-Wells.
Keisher "Fire" Mcleod-Wells
As noted in the Girlboxing piece Women Boxing Everywhere!, the show will be hosted by New York’s own Million Dollar Baby, Maureen Shea.
As quoted in an extensive piece in Eastside Boxing.com, Maureen Shea said “This is a big moment for female boxing.” Shea continued, “For a long time, the public ignored female boxing but there has been a shift in recent years in the perception of the sport. Women in boxing are gaining more respect with the way they are being portrayed, and the sport is gaining in popularity among females due to the women’s empowerment movement. After this show, the world will have to take notice of female boxing.”
There is talk of finding an outlet for the series in the US, however, that has not been reported as yet. Meanwhile, this exciting new showcase for women’s boxing will begin filming in Chiapas towards the end of March.
Congratulations and a huge Girlboxing shout out to Fire and Maureen!
Girlboxing 