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2008 |
The Best and the Worst of 2008! |
Another year has
gone by and it is time to have the "hot"
picks and "not" picks
for the
year 2008! There were definitely
the GOOD, the BAD, and the NOT so
good this year
in women's boxing! [It's A Rap
for 2008]
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Fighter of the
Year
Katie Taylor |
Katie Taylor, 22 years old, of
Bray, Ireland, recently won the World lightweight
championship at the 5th AIBA Women's World Championships in
Ningbo City, China. This was her second World title after beating Cheng Dong of China 13-2 at the Ningbo Youngor Gymnasium. Taylor, who is coached by her dad,
Peter Taylor, registered 67 points in China and conceded
just 11 in her five fights in China. In that tournament,
Taylor was awarded the "boxer of the Tournament" award that
was presented by the AIBA. In addition, Taylor had been
nominated for the RTE Sportsperson of the year Award. In
December, Taylor was not only WBAN's December 2008 Fighter
of the month, but she was also named AIBA World female boxer
of the year in Moscow in December. Taylor is not only
a role model for other women boxers, she continues to fight
anyone and everyone in the amateur ranks.
Article #1
Article #2
Article #3
Article #4
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Top European
Boxer
of the Year
Susianna Kentikian
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| Susianna Kentikian,
has remained undefeated at 23-0-0 (16KO). She had an
impressive win over Mary Elizabeth Ortega, when
Ortega was stopped in the first round. The stoppage
with Ortega was a tremendous upset, as Ortega is
considered one of the top women contenders in the
sport. Kentikian currently holds the WBA -
WIBF World title belts in the flyweight division and
is ranked #1 with WBAN. Kentikian has a
tremendous and inspirational background in her
struggles to become a boxer. Her bio is a
"must read".
More on Kentikian |
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Top South
America
Boxer
of the Year
Marcela Acuna |
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Acuna entered into pro boxing, fighting her pro
debut against Christy Martin, and going 10 rounds
with her. Acuna then fought Lucia Rijker in
her second pro fight losing by a fifth round TKO.
These two fights took place in 1997 and 1998.
Acuna is now 31-5-0 (15 KOs). She also holds
the WBC - WBA Junior Featherweight World titles, and
is ranked #3 with WBAN. In December of 2008,
Acuna fought one of the most in-demand fights in
Argentina when she faced Alejandra Oliveras (the
boxer who KO'd Jackie Nava in their first fight).
Acuna defeated Oliveras in a 10-round unanimous
decision.
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Top Amateur
Boxer
of the Year
Mangte Chungneijang Merykom
(aka: Mary Kom) of India |
| Mangte
Chungneijang Merykom (aka: Mary Kom)
of India, has won an unprecedented fourth
successive gold medal in the 46ki category at the fifth World
women's boxing championships at Ningbo city in China. She has worked for years
to become of one of the best amateur
boxers in the sport today.
After winning gold at the world championships in Delhi two years
back; Mary Kom walked away from the ring. She went back to
Manipur and gave birth to twins. She then re-entered the sport
and won the world championship for a fourth time.
Honorable Mentioned: Arianne Fortin
(70kg) from Canada won gold at the 2008 World Championships;
Karolina Michalczuk (54kg) became Poland's first gold
medalist at the 2008 World Championships; Cynthia Moreno
(54kg), from the US, won PanAmerican Championships and got
bronze at Worlds. |
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Oldest Boxer of the Year 2008
Molly Reeves
100 Years Old! |
| Molly Reeves is 100 years old!
Molly Reeves trains in boxing once a week to stay---"fighting
fit". Reeves attributes her good health to her fitness regime.
This amazing woman not only has boxing in her regular fitness
program but she was also a mountain climber---climbing the
summit of Mount Versuvius in Italy at the age of 88! Molly was
born in 1908, and was married for 59 years, before her husband
passed away. |
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Highest
Achievements
of the year 2008
Holly Holm |
| This year multi-world champion Holly Holm
fought one of the top women boxers in the sport twice, Mary Jo
Sanders, in her hometown, and then in Sanders home turf. She was
nominated for an ESPY award, and she won the first
history-making WBAN Independent world title belts. She has
literally fought every top woman in her weight class, and has
ventured out of her weight class to fight others. |
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Most Improved
Boxer
of the Year 2008
Carina Moreno |
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WBAN has followed Carina's boxing career for many years now, and
we were very impressed with how much she has continued to
improve. Moreno is a multi-world champion with a
20-1-0 (6 KOs) record. Even though she is a very light boxer,
Moreno has learned to utilize her body weight to be very
powerful and highly technical in the ring. Moreno is #1 in
our WBAN Ratings, and has been for some time. More
on
Moreno |
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Most Inspirational
of the Year 2008
Eileen Olszewski |
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Olszewski has taken on some very tough competition in her short
time in the sport. In just 2008, in Zurich, Switzerland,
she fought Nadia Raoui, defending her WIBA world title against
Raoui; Eileen fought Carina Moreno, in another multi-world
title championship on June 13, 2008; she fought world
champion Simona Galassi of Italy in a 10-round WBC title bout
(in Italy); and she fought Elena Reid in a 10-rounder for the
WIBA flyweight title, winning that title. She still has less
than 10 pro fights on the books, and yet because of the calibre
of fighters she has fought, she has an impressive #5 world
rating with WBAN!
More on Eileen
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WBAN "Top Honors"
of the
Year
Layla McCarter
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WBA’s World champion Layla McCarter, of Las
Vegas, Nevada, has not only once this year---but TWICE been named,
“WBAN’s Fighter of the month!” She was chosen as fighter of the
month in February, and again in April.
McCarter is one of the toughest and most skillful warriors in the
sport. She will fight anywhere, even when it commands fighting a
boxer in their hometown repeatedly, as she had done this year when
she fought Jelena Mrdjenovich of Edmonton. In March of
2008 McCarter not only fought Mrdjenovich in Canada, winning by a 10th round split decision and retaining her WBA
Lightweight World title belt, but she fought in the same month,
stopping Dominga Olivo in the sixth round by TKO.
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Hottest Rising Stars in
the Sport 2008
Melissa "Huracan" Hernandez
Hottest Rising Stars in
the Sport 2008
Jennifer Barber
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Best-Kept Secret in
Women's Boxing
Ava Knight
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Ava Knight, 5-0-2 (2 KOs, of Chico, California, is definitely
one to be reckoned with in women's boxing. Knight, who at the
time only had four pro fights, fought tough veteran IFBA
flyweight champion Elena Reid, who was 19-4-5 (5KO), going into
a fight against Knight in June of 2008. Knight fought Reid
to a draw! Knight then went into New York, fighting
Noriko Kariya, stopping Kariya in the fifth round....and she
then fought undefeated Kaliesha West, for the IFBA Americas
title, and delivered West her first pro loss when she won by an
eight-round unanimous decision. Knight is already ranked
#10 with WBAN as a bantamweight. |
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The "Road Warrior" of 2008
Nicole Woods
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Nicole Woods, now 7-3-0 (1 KOs), of Stone Mountain, Georgia,
has been boxing professionally since September of 2007.
Woods has not fought ONCE in her own hometown or state.
Her last fight took place in Montevideo, Uruguay, on November
28, 2008. She was prepared to fight hometown favorite Chris
Namus, of Montevideo, UR, when Namus cancelled out on the fight
after Woods was already in Uruguay. THAT left Woods
without an opponent. The promoter got Woods a last minute
opponent, and without a moment's thought Woods took whoever they
put in front of her. She beat that opponent, by winning an
eight-round unanimous decision. Woods has also fought in
Mississippi, North Carolina, Florida, Canada, and Connecticut.
"Road Warriors" generally do not have pristine boxing
records---they are boxers who seem to add interest in the sport
due to their toughness and their "Take no prisoners" approach to
facing unpredictable fights.
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Biggest Upset of
the Year!
Mary Elizabeth Ortega stopped in
first round
in fight with Susi Kentikian
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In 2008, at the Brandberge Arena, Halle an der Saale, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Germany, Susi Kentikian (21-0-0) caused a major upset by defeating Mary
Elizabeth Ortega (29-5-2) by TKO in the first round of the WBA / WIBF
world title fight in Flyweight.
Kentikian caught Ortega with a left right combination, that sent Ortega
to the floor 50 seconds into the round. 20 seconds later Kentikian hit
the target with another hard right hand, that made Ortega's legs buckle,
but she managed to stay on her feet, much to the surprise for Kentikian
who was already heading for the neutral corner. The relentless
attack from Kentikian continued, and Ortega had to take another 8 count
after being knocked down about 90 seconds into the round. She was
visibly shaken when she got off the floor the second time, but the
referee let the fight go on, keeping a close eye on Ortega.
However, he decided to stop the fight 10 seconds before the end of the
round, after Ortega was backed up against the rope, unable to block much
of the incoming fire. The United States boxer immediately protested
against the stoppage---although her corner did not seem to join in the
protests. WBAN nor boxing fans ever expected this fight to end in
the first round, and thought for sure it would go to a 10-round
decision. |
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Top Rookie of the Year 2008
Ronica Jeffrey |
Folks...Be on the lookout for this highly talented boxer, and former
amateur boxing champion, Ronica Jeffrey. Jeffrey, of
Brooklyn, New York, paid her dues in the amateurs and it is
evident when you see her fight as a pro. WBAN sees a potentially
bright future for Jeffrey in the sport.
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Biggest Fight Card of the
Year
for Women Boxers
June 13, 2008 - Pay-Per-View
Four Women's World Title bouts |
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This was a huge card for women's boxing, and high-exposure for
the sport. There were four World title bouts with the
top-demanded fight between Holly Holm vs. Mary Jo Sanders.
The other fights included Jeannine Garside vs. Chevelle
Hallback, Carina Moreno vs. Eileen Olszewski, and Holly Dunaway
vs. Wendy Rodriguez. WBAN made history on this PPV Boxing
card, with Holly Holm winning the WBAN Belt when she defeated MaryJo
Sanders, and Chevelle Hallback won the WBAN Belt when she won by a
decision against Jeannine Garside.
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"Most Avoided" Boxer
of the Year 2008
Melinda Cooper |
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WBAN has run many "Do you Want to Fight" announcements to let
boxers and their teams know of opportunities to fight this
talented and skillful boxer. Even when the purse is above
average, it is nearly impossible to get Melinda Cooper a match,
unless it is a boxer who already has a shaky record. WBAN
hopes to see some of the talented, experienced boxers in 2009
step up to the plate and test their skills with Cooper---boxing
fans will love it! |
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The "I Forgot my real
Name" Boxer of the Year
Roxana Tenea? |
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WBAN ran a story in
October of 2008,
about a fight that took place on September 27, 2008, in London,
UK, where Shanee Martin fought a female boxer, who allegedly
used the name of another boxer, Elena Miftode. At the same
time, apparently the “real” Miftode was fighting in Germany on
that same night!! WBAN asked the public to IDENTIFY this boxer.
WBAN then received convincing evidence that the true boxer was
in fact, Roxana Tenea, 0-4-0. |
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Top Fights of the
Year
Chevelle Hallback vs.
Jeannine Garside
Chevelle Hallback vs. Melissa Hernandez
Ann Marie Saccurato vs. Emiko Raika
Melissa Hernandez vs. Ela Nunez
Photo: Mary Ann Owen
(top photo)
Photo: Lori Steinhorst (Middle photo)
Photo: Mary Ann Owen (bottom photo) |
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Top News
Story of the Year
Hopeful News that Women
will be included in the 2012 Olympics |
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WBAN ran a story on August 19, 2008, that there was news on Yahoo Sports,
that the AIBA (The International Boxing Association) president Wu Ching-Kuo,
said that they would press to introduce women’s boxing in the 2012
London Olympics. President Wu Ching-Kuo was quoted as saying after a
meeting of the AIBA’s executive committee in Beijing, “We will
make a proposal and submit it to the International Olympic
Committee, boxing is the only sport in the Olympic program
without women and we believe we are ready.” “There
would be 11 weight classes, like in men’s boxing, and the bouts
would held over four two-minute rounds, with existing world and
continental championships used as qualifiers,” stated Joyce
Bowen, who chairs the ruling body’s women’s commission.
This is the best news Women's Boxing could have heard in 2008!
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Biggest
Rip-Off
of the Year
Jeannine Garside vs.
Irma Balijagic-Adler |
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There does not seem to be any dispute that
Jeannine Garside was ripped off on December 17, 2008, when
she fought Irma Balijagic-Adler at the Olympic Arena, in
Sarajevo, Bosnia----but the solution became more of a
problem than the "rip." The fight was barely over when
WBAN began receiving the "rip off" allegations. We had
open letters from Garside's manager, Jackie Kallen, and from
the WIBA after the fight. Apparently Balijagic can
count this fight as an early Christmas present in the world
of women's boxing.
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Biggest
Shocker of the Year
Ada "The Ace" Velez
Sentenced 21 Months
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WBAN reported in February of 2008, that in a report with the Sun Sentinel that Ada Velez was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading
guilty to grand theft. According to this news source, Velez was
arrested for giving away more than $100,000 worth of free play
vouchers at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino, where she was a
casino service representative, between March and August of 2006.
Full Story
More on Velez |
A Special Thanks and Tribute
from WBAN
to these Boxers who fought professionally for many years.
They announced their retirement in 2008...
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Boxers Who
Retired in 2008
Laura Serrano
Shelley Burton
Terri Moss
Jane Couch
Sarah Goodson
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