(JULY 3)
Former GBU Bantamweight world champion and current IBF
featherweight world champion, 28-year old, Dahianna "La Cobra"
Santana, 32-6-0 (14KO), IBF Super Bantamweight world
champion, 22-year old, Katti "Super Baby" Wilson,
18-1-0 (11KO),
undefeated WBO Super Welterweight world champion and
Welterweight title challenger, 18-year old Oxandia "La Loba"
Castillo,12-0-2 (9KO), and WIBF Super Bantamweight world
champion and Super Featherweight challenger, 29-year old Marilin
Hernandez, 24-9-0 (15KO),
Coming from Dominican Republic a
country with a boxing scene that has been victimized with the
plague of corruption because of the extreme levels of poverty
and the limit lines of migration, these iron-willed women have
said no to countless intents of bribery and taken fights with
only days and sometimes hours of short notice and have overcome
to beat some serious world champions and in turn become world
champions themselves. And their talented too!
Dahianna Santana raises her
hand in victory when she defeated Stacey Reile at the Texas
Station Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Photo:
Mary Ann Owen
Two-time world champion Dahianna Santana, a single mother, youth
hockey instructor, Dominican Sports Ministry Chairwoman and
newly business woman has come up from the extreme levels of
poverty thanks in part to her dedication to boxing and her
strong will. s
Under the guidance of Mr. Sampson Lewkowicz
(Sampson Boxing), Dahianna has made featherweight her new home
and became world champion for the second time in a good fight
against the very strong Stacey Reile in November 2011. Since
then Dahianna has successfully defended her title against the
very feared challenger of her division Helen Joseph in what was
a bloody war with both fighters inflicting wounds to each others
faces and mutual knockdowns right from the start, and more
recently out boxed the current IBF Super Featherweight world
Champion and very experienced Argentinian Claudia Lopez who
challenged Dahianna at the featherweight division. Dahianna now
is out to challenge WBC, WBO and WBA world champions in her
division.
IBF Super Bantamweight world champion and police officer Katti
Wilson has been boxing since the age of 7. She won all of her
101 amateur fights and was a highly decorated national Dominican
boxer until the age of 14 when she turned pro. She has only one
professional questionable and controversial lose to Ogleidis
Suarez who never answered a rematch challenge, but that is boxing
and you have to love it with all its lights and shadows.
Also
under the guidance of Mr. Sampson Lewkowicz, Katti became world
champion in March 2012 by beating a very experienced Puerto
Rican Ada velez who is an admirable champion who has faced some
very serious opposition. Since then Katti has defended against a
solid Crystal Hoy and a hard-hitting Mexican Zenny Sotomayor.
There are talks of a possible defense with Melinda Cooper in the
works and then maybe challenging veteran WBC world champion
Alicia Ashley. The only thing limiting Katti Wilson right now
from becoming a superstar is the wait time for a visa to
migrate.
WBO Super Welterweight world champion Oxandia Castillo is a
knockout! Coming from one of the most poor and dangerous
neighborhoods from east Santo Domingo she never got into the
kind of trouble other kids would, instead she concentrated her
hunger driven killer instinct with Alcibiades Familia the same
trainer of 2008 olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz in the same
humble gym with a concrete floor ring.
The undefeated "Black
Wolf" became world champion on February 2013 in a fight she was
dominating and walking down her opponent during 2 rounds until
placing a beautiful right hand on the chin of superstar Hanna
Gabriels 'and that's all she wrote'.
WIBF Super Bantamweight world champion is fearless warrior who
has challenged and fought for world tittles six times, with the last time
against Kina Malpartida with only days of notice when the
original challenger Stacey Reile unexpectedly pulled out of the
fight.
Marilin received the call and agreed to fight, and although she
lost she was able to score a knockdown and gave Kina a hell of a
fight.
This earned her a #8 position on the IBF Super
Featherweight rankings and direct challenger to Stacey Reile,
Cindy and Amanda Serrano and a possible elimination match for that IBF title. At Super Bantamweight she became WIBF world champion
on December 2011 and is a respected figure from 122Lb - 130Lb.
The bonus fighter in this story is police officer, teacher of
deaf children, single mother of a deaf child and Sunday school
minister Marisol Reyes.
Needless to say the size of her heart,
indeed it is also a strong heart as she challenges Cecilia Comunales for the WBA lightweight world title on July 20th.
She's a strong fighter who is hungry for a world title and this
will be her first time fighting out of the island.
Dominican Republic has been controversial when it comes to
boxing, but like any other place in the world that has bad, it
also has some good. These world class fighters and other future
stars like amateur fighter Yenebier Guillen and pro-prospect
Christina Linardatou Duran are evidence to this, that who
perseveres succeeds!
WBAN
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