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5'4" junior featherweight Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton
lives in Daly City, California and is trained by renowned trainer
Freddie
Roach.
Ana (whose full name is
Luciana
Bonifacio Julaton) was born on July 5, 1980 in San Francisco,
California. She is the daughter of Filipino immigrants Cesario
Julaton II and Ahmelia Bonifacio. Her father immigrated to the
USA in 1963 at age 3 while her mother came to the USA
in 1986 at age 17.
Julaton attended El
Camino High School in San Francisco. Her early entry
into pugilistic sports was sparked by her father
Cesario's interest in martial arts and Bruce Lee.
She began taekwondo at age 10 and competed for eight
years at championship level but she eventually became more interested
in fighting styles that are closer to practical self
defense. She joined the West-Wind martial arts school in
Berkeley, California, which also offers boxing training, as an
instructor in the martial art Bok-fu. Although she was
skeptical at first, Julaton was eventually persuaded to try
boxing by West-Wind instructor Angelo Reyes.
Her natural talent for the sport was soon clear and
she entered the 2004 San Francisco Golden Gloves after just
two weeks of official boxing training. Ana won silver by losing to the
more
experienced Cleo Chan of
King's Gym in the Golden Gloves tournament final, but she was
now hooked on boxing and
her amateur career was under way!
Both Chan and Julaton would go
on to face Iowa's Katy Klinefelter in the USA
National championships in Colorado Springs in March 2005.
Chan
lost
20-9 to Klinefelter in the preliminaries while
Julaton
stopped
Abigail Chavez in the third round, only to lose 16-9
to Klinefelter in the quarter final.
Julaton returned to the San
Francisco Golden Gloves in 2005 and again lost the 125-lb
final,
this time by split (3-2) decision to another well established amateur, Cynthia
Talmadge of San Francisco . The spirited fight was carried on
local TV and helped to introduce Julaton to boxing fans in the
area. In
November 2005 she competed in the National Golden
Gloves where she won the bronze medal in the 125-lb category. She also
reached the quarter finals of the national PAL championship.
2005 also saw the beginnings
of relationship between the team of Julaton and Angelo Reyes
and Carina Moreno
of
Watsonville, California and her trainer "Repo Rick" Noble.
“On and off
Rick has always been a part of Ana’s
training team. Part of the reason Ana has moved so quickly is because,
whenever we are not at Wild Card, she always is
working with Carina and Rick,” says Reyes. Julaton has
greatly
benefited from training alongside Moreno, who has become
one of her closest friends in the sport. “She is an awesome person and
I phenomenal boxer,” says
Julaton. “Just for her
and Rick to share all of their knowledge, and to be with me, I really
appreciate all of the things they have done for
me.”
In 2006 Julaton returned to
the final of the 75th San Francisco Golden Gloves, this time scoring a
hard fought victory over Cynthia Talmadge that boosted her own confidence and
consolidated her reputation in the local boxing community.
Julaton went on to win the
California State PAL Championship
and returned to the USA Nationals in Colorado Springs in March 2006.
After winning a points decision in the preliminary round,
Julaton lost to Katy Klinefelter of Iowa in the quarter-final
by a 13-11 margin after Klinefelter scored three points in rapid
succession in the last 15 seconds of the bout.
Julaton returned to Colorado
Springs in June 2007 to seek the national 57-kg
amateur title again. She won her semifinal bout with
Quadriyyah Marshall by 11-8
but then lost by 36-18 to Stephanie Eggink of Ferndale,
Washington. Trainer Reyes was convinced Ana had dominated the action
only to be
robbed by the scoring system used in amateur boxing.
Julaton told
Mario Ortega of 15rounds.com: “From
her body language, I felt that I was able to take her
confidence away. I had opened up her nose. By the time the third round
came, her demeanor changed and she looked
confident and I did not know why. Angelo didn’t tell me the score, but
he said not to worry about points, just go out
there and hurt her. She just kept running away and at that point I knew
I was behind in the score. That right there
kind of did it for me and the amateurs, “If someone is going
to work hard for something, and I felt like
I did, and if I lose I would rather lose to someone who fought me hard.
I would rather lose to someone who is going to
go in there and challenge me and really beat me up. I didn’t feel that
way at all, I felt like I
was in the lead…then to just have that taken away from me. I feel like
I am in the best shape of my life, and to have
this girl just stay away and throw jabs and she gets rewarded for that.
It was tough, it was a tough time.”
“At that
point, it was pretty clear that Ana would never fight as an amateur
again,” adds
Reyes. Julaton had once dreamed of winning a gold medal for
the Philippines or the USA if women's boxing had been included in the
2008 Olympics. That prospect also disappeared
when the International Olympic Committee did not approve the
women's event, a disappointment that persuaded many top amateur boxers
to turn pro in 2007.
Ana then joined the boxing
stable of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood,
California, where she would be exposed to top class sparring
partners as well as benefiting from the enormous experience of Roach.
and training alongside Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao/
“She’s a
good
fighter,” says
Pacquiao. “She wants to
be world champion. I love to give her
inspiration and moral support.” Pacquiao
also tried to get Ana's pro debut included on the undercard of
his pay-per-view rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera,
but that
plan fell through when Ana's intended opponent, Hondi
Hernandez,
weighed in seven pounds heavier
than her so the Nevada State commission did not allow the
fight to
go on.
Ana instead made her pro debut
on November 2, 2007 at Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in
Cabazon, California, winning a four-round unanimous (40-34,40-34,39-35)
decision over Rita Valentini of Los Angeles, who she knocked down in
both the first and fourth rounds. Valentini fell to 6-6 with the loss.
On February 7, 2008 at
Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, Ana Julaton (122¼
lbs) won a hard-fought six-round split (59-55,58-56,56-58) decision
over British-born Carly Batey (120 lbs) from San Diego, California. “I knew she was a good fighter.
I knew she was aggressive,” Julaton told Mario
Ortega. “I felt that if
I am going to do this pro thing, and be a world champion, why not fight
someone who is going to be challenging? In
order for me to be a world class champion, I have to know a whole lot
of things. I feel like I should be able to see my
opponent and know them just like that. I felt like I was ready for it,
and I wasn’t intimidated.” Batey slipped to
3-3-2 (0 KO's) with this loss.
On
March 13, 2008 at
the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas , NV, Ana (123 lbs)
won a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-36,39-37) decision over Clara De
la Torre (123 lbs) of Santa Fe, New Mexico who fell to 1-4 (1 KO).
De la Torre was a less dangerous opponent than Batey or
Valentini had been, but the bout was nationally televised in the week
of Manny Pacquiao’s rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez
and his brother Bobby Pacquiao was on the
bill. “It was
cool to be in the
back room with Bobby Pacquiao and Team Pacquiao,” says
Julaton. “Just being
able to watch Manny and to see how he is
composed in the public. I admire the guy, he is phenomenal. I had to
just sit back a lot of times and watch. I feel
very privileged, and I thank Top Rank. To have a TV fight, that is
incredible.”
On June 26, 2008 at the Tachi
Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California, Ana (122 lbs) knocked
out Salina Jordan (119 lbs) of Denver, Colorado at 0:37 in the
first round of a scheduled four-rounder. Jordan fell to 2-5 (1
KO) with four straight losses by stoppage and she has not fought
professionally since.
Ana Julaton vs Johanna Mendez in July 2008
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On July 5, 2008 in a Bob Arum
Top Rank promotion at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ana (121 lbs) fought to a six-round
split (58-56,57-57,55-59) draw with undefeated Johanna Mendez (119 lbs)
of Houston, Texas. Mendez is a skilled boxer with fast hands
who likes to dart in and out to pepper her opponents
with quick uppercuts and left hooks. Mendez opened a cut over
Julaton's right eye, forcing Julaton to remain aggressive in the final round
with blood streaming down her face in order to salvage the draw.
Mendez moved her record to 3-0-1 (1 KO).
Ana Julaton vs Dominga Olivo in August 2008
© Copyrighted photo
taken by Bob Silverman
On August 21, 2008 at the Tachi
Casino Hotel and Resort in Lemoore, California, Ana
Julaton (121¼
lbs) suffered her first pro
loss when Dominga
Olivo (120 lbs) of Brooklyn, New York won a close
eight-round split -
77-75 (Olivo), 77-75 (Julaton), and 79-73 (Olivo) - decision for the
WBC International Junior Featherweight title. Olivo, whose draw with home-standing Jelena
Mrdjenovich for the WBC Junior Lightweight world title was named by
WBAN as on of the "Biggest Upsets of the
Year 2007".
improved her pro record to 7-4-1 (0 KO).
On
September 12, 2009 at HP
Pavilion in San Jose, California, Ana Julaton (120¼
lbs) won a ten-round majority (96-94,95-95,98-92) decision
over Kelsey Jeffries
(119½
lbs) of Gilroy, California for the vacant IBA Junior Featherweight title.
Jeffries
slipped to 41-10-1
(4 KOs) with the loss of Ana with IBA belt]
On
December 4, 2009 at the HP Pavilion
in San Jose, California, Ana won a ten-round unanimous
(100-90,90-91,90-91) decision over Donna
Biggers of Boiling Springs,
South Carolina for the vacant WBO Junior Featherweight title and
defending her IBA Junior Featherweight title. Biggers fell to
19-9-1 (16 KO's) with the loss.
Lisa Brown vs Ana Julaton in March 2010
© Copyrighted photo taken by Durell Wambolt
courtesy of Team Lisa Brown
On
March 27, 2010, at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada
veteran Lisa Brown
(122 lbs) of Brampton, Ontario won a clear ten-round unanimous
(99-91, 99-92, 100-90) decision
over Ana (120¾ lbs) for the WBA Super Bantamweight title. Brown
improved her record to 17-4-3 (5 KO's).
Ana Julaton vs Maria Villalobos in June 2010
© Copyrighted photo taken by Durell Wambolt
On June 30, 2010. Ana (122
lbs) returned to
Casino
Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada and won a hard-fought split
(94-97,96-94,96-94) decision over Maria Elena (Mary) Villalobos (121½
lbs) of Mexico in a ten-rounder for the vacant WBO Junior Featherweight
title and defending her IBA Junior featherweight title.
Julaton started out well working behind her jab
but Villalobos picked up the pace in the third round and
landed stiff shots to Julaton's body and her
face,
causing swelling below Ana's left eye.
Ana lost her balance and her
gloves went to the canvas early in the round, but the referee
ruled it a
slip. Villalobos caught Julaton with several hard left hooks in the
fourth but Julaton re-established her jab in the fifth and started
to use footwork and movement to control the
ring. Villalobos worked her right to Julaton's left
eye which
was closing in the sixth. The fight tightened up again in the seventh
and eighth rounds as
Villalobos pressed harder and was able to work Julaton's body at close
quarters. There was a lot of clutching and grabbing by both
fighters when they were at close range but Julaton's jab was able to
keep Villalobos away for much of the ninth before they again
went toe-to-toe at close quarters in the tenth.
Julaton ended the fight with a large purple welt
under her
left eye. Villalobos fell to 6-4 (3 KO's) with this narrow and
fiercely contested
loss.
On July 12, 2010 Ana presented President
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Philippines with the gloves she had
worn while winning the WBO world title in Canada two weeks earlier.
On
February
25, 2011 at the Craneway Pavilion in Point Richmond, California, Ana
Julaton (116½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(98-92,97-93,96-94) decision over hard-hitting Francesca
Alcanter (5'4", 118½ lbs) of Kansas City, Missouri defending the WBO
Junior Featherweight title. Despite the 38-year-old Alcanter's more
extensive pro experience, Julaton dominated the fight from the opening
round with her powerful left jabs, speed, and
movement. Alcanter fell to 19-10-1 (9 KO's). The fight was carried live in
the Philippines by TV5.
While
visiting the Philippines in March 2011 after defending the WBO Junior
Featherweight title against Francesca Alcanter, Julaton said
that a rematch with Lisa Brown
in Manila was "included
in my priorities", adding that
"Alcanter is (a)
harder puncher than Lisa. Lisa has somewhat an awkward style
of punching."
On June 24, 2011
at Dade County Auditorium
in Miami, Florida
Ana (127½ lbs) won
an eight-round unanimous decision over Angel Gladney (5'1",
127½ lbs) of Columbia, South Carolina. The judges scored
the fight seven rounds to one twice for Julaton, and six to
two on the third scorecard. Gladney
kept coming forward but her left
eye was almost closed and she was cut in her lower left cheek
after being tagged repeatedly by Julaton's right. Gladney
hung
tough against Julaton's superior speed and boxing skills but fell to 6-4-1 (5
KO's).
On
September 30, 2011 at the Polifuncional Sports Complex in Kanasin,
Yucatan, Mexico, Ana (119½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(98-91,96-93,97-92) decision over Jessica Villafranca (122 lbs) of
Nicolas Romero, México defending the WBO Junior Featherweight
title. Julaton
sustained a cut on her forehead after an accidental
clash of
heads but her ring skills and aggressiveness won most of the
early
rounds against the 18-year-old Villafranca. who dropped to 12-4-0 (6 KO's).
(excerpts)]
On March 16,
2012 at Teatro
Griego Juan Pablo Segundo in San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina, Yesica Marcos (120¾ lbs)
of
San Martin won a ten-round unanimous (98-91,96-92,97-92) decision over
Ana Julaton (122 lbs) for the WBO Junior
Featherweight
title. Julaton started fast and knocked Marcos down in the second round
but Marcos landed the heavier punches behind a southpaw jab
through most of the fight to earn a unanimous decision from the neutral
judging panel. Julaton could not solve the twin
problem of
Marcos' body shots and opportunistic uppercuts as she fell to 10-3-1 (1
KO) while Marcos improved to 19-0-1 (6 KO's).
Julaton said
later “That
was not me in the ring last time out. That
environment worked against me in more ways than one and to top it off,
I fought my opponent's fight. We all learn as we go and that will not
happen again. I plan to fight to my strengths. This is all about
winning. I owe my Filipino fans around the world that title back and
that is my mission."
On
May 4, 2012 at Polifuncional de la Colonia Francisco Villa
Oriente , Kanasin, Yucatán, Mexico, Ana (126¼ lbs) won a ten-round
unanimous (100-90x3) decision over Yolanda Segura (127¼ lbs)
of Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico in a non-title bout.
Segura fell to 9-4 (7 KO's).
On August 3, 2012
at Polifuncional de la
Colonia Francisco Villa Oriente in Kanasin, Yucatán, Mexico, Ana
"The Hurricane" Julaton won by a TKO at 0:19 in the first
round
over late replacement boxer Abigail Ramos of Mexico. The fight
had
been scheduled for 10 rounds. Julaton improved to 12-3-1 (2
KO's)
while dropping Ramos to 3-4-0 (0 KO's), all four of her losses
coming
by first-round KO.
On August 17 2013 at Plaza de
Toros in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Celina Salazar of San Antonio,
Texas defeated Ana Julaton by a ten-round unanimous (99-91 x 3)
decision in a non-title fight. Salazar had come to brawl and
nothing that Julaton could throw or do would slow Salazar down or allow
her to escape Salazar's relentless pursuit - counterpunching,
clinching, or ducking low all brought Julaton no respite at all for ten
very rough rounds. The referee was in no hurry to break up any
clinches that Salazar could punch, push or wrestle her way out of, and
the only point that Salazar lost on the scorecards was one that was
deducted from her for hitting while holding. Jabs, counters and
Julaton's attempts at defensive mobility were all no match for
Salazar's non-stop assault. Julaton put on a brave effort to stay
on her feet in the late rounds of a 20-minute mugging but nothing she
did could prevent Salazar from steamrolling her way to a 5-1-2 (1 KO) record at her expense.
On November 1 2013 at Auditorio
Morelos in Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico, Ana Julaton rebounded from her loss to Celina Salazar by winning a ten-round
majority (97-93, 98-94, 95-95) decision over Perla Hernandez of
Torreon, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico in
a non-title
bout. The bout was evenly matched for both strength and style and
Julaton was able to control the pace and distance despite being
cut on her right eyebrow in the sixth round. Hernandez fell to 10-7-3
(2 KO's) as Julaton progressed
to 13-4-1 (2 KO's).
Ana
Julaton became a popular symbol of women's boxing
achievement in
the Philippines like Manny Pacquiao is the image for primacy in men's
boxing. Her fan following in her parents' native land and in
her
own native California grew rapidly as she claimed world
titles. Becoming a charismatic figure in and out
of the ring was a big change for the once shy
teenager who was once intimidated by boxing because
its combatants get the public's full attention - unlike in
her original sport of taekwondo where multiple bouts are held side by
side.
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last updated: Saturday, April 12 2014
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