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Tammie Johnson was born in Southside Chicago
Sept. 5, 1971. A gifted athlete, she lettered in 5 different high school
sports while participating in both skateboarding and BMX stunt riding.
Tammie spent six years in the military, four in the Navy and two in the
Army. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology and
currently works as the IT Manager for a research and development company in
Bothell, Wash. Tammie lives with her husband, Scott, in Lynnwood Wash. and
has two daughters, Linda and McKenzie.
Her boxing career began at age 34 when she weighed 180 pounds. She started
at Ring Sports United in Bellevue, Wash. and also trained at Mill Creek
Boxing before finding her home at Credit Boxing in Renton, Wash. Tammie, now
weighing 140, trains under Coach George Credit, who has trained top ranked
boxers Dakota Stone and Tricia Turton.
Tammie doesn't view boxing as an athletic pastime or a way to stay in shape.
To her it is a second fulltime job and she works very hard at it. Everyday
before she starts her IT job she works out at a local fitness club for 2
hours working on a combination of cardio, calisthenics, and weight training.
In the evening she spars 8 to 10 rounds at Credit Boxing with other boxers
or Coach Credit himself.
It is a regiment that she always follows whether she has a scheduled fight
or not. She trains to always be ready for a bout because an opportunity may
come up with as much as four weeks and as little as a few days notice.
People have told her she was too old to get into the game and with no
amateur experience she could never make it in professional boxing. That is
why she has the moto "Prove them wrong" tattooed on her arm. She trains hard
everyday to do exactly that.
"Tammie is dedicated to the sport of boxing and is a hard worker," said
Coach Credit. "With that she has a great future in the professional ranks of
boxing."
Johnson defeats Simms. Photo by Mike Blair
Due to the age at which Tammie decided to
become competitive in boxing, she was not able to participate in amateur
competition and went straight to the pro circuit. She made her pro boxing
debut October 6, 2007 in Rochester, Wash., dominating Jana Simms who fell to
(0-1-2) in a four round bout. All three judges scored the fight 40-36.
Photo by Mike Blair
On November 10, 2007, at the Silver Reef Casino,
in Ferndale, Washington,
Tammie Johnson and Jana Simms went toe to toe
again. In October Johnson won a four round unanimous decision. The
result here would be the same. Too often in the fight Simms found
herself out of position, thus she threw punches from awkward angles.
That also meant Johnson had to adjust her attack. Had Johnson been
able to step in and throw her jab straight up the middle at Simms,
the fight might have been over soon. There were a number of times in
each round when a Johnson left would catch Simms, and while she
winced, Simms did not back away. In the third round it appeared that
Johnson may have aggravated a bruise on her right hand as she threw
it less often. And when she did it was often a looping right, thus less
effective than her earlier punches. Nonetheless, Johnson again shut Simms
out. All judges scored the fight 40-36. [Story by
Mike Blair] [huge
photo gallery #454]
On March
8, 2008, at the Silver Reef Casino, Ferndale,
Washington,
northwest women Merced Nunez and Tammie
Johnson, 138, both scored wins. Johnson (3-0) and
Tanya
Gallegos, 138, (4-8 2KO) slugged it out in a
junior welterweight bout for four rounds.
This was Gallegos second fight after layoff
of a year and a half, and her lack of
activity showed in the opening two rounds.
In those rounds Johnson charged at Gallegos
throwing punches from all angles. Johnson’s
plan was to work the body in an attempt to
break down Gallegos, seeing if she had the
will to fight after the long layoff.
Gallegos was most accommodating in rounds
one and two as Johnson pushed her around the
ring. Most of Johnson’s punches were coming
from the outside in, and that allowed
Gallegos the opportunity to cover up and
protect herself. Then, as the second round
drew to an end, a Johnson right caught
Gallegos on the head and she dropped.
In between rounds Gallegos got an earful
from her cornerman. What he said was
effective as Gallegos answered the bell and
became a boxer for the last two rounds. She
threw her left, followed it with a right,
and then slid to the side to begin the
procedure again. She would not let Johnson
get close or smother her with punches.
Johnson kept trying to press the fight, and
perhaps feeling that she could again drop
Gallegos, she at times swung wildly.
Gallegos could see the openings that
created, but was not quick enough to move up
the middle and land punches inside. After
four rounds two judges scored the fight
38-37, the third had it 39-36, all in favor
of Johnson, the winner by unanimous
decision.
On April 24, 2008, at the
Quinault
Resort & Casino, in Ocean Shores, Washington, Johnson, 135, 3-0, fought tough
veteran, Molly McConnell, 141, who is
ranked #5 in the WBAN Ratings. McConnell won
the six-rounder by a close majority decision
with one judge seeing the fight a draw.
Johnson is showing early in this game as a
pro that she is not hesitant to take on some
noted opponents. Final judges scores, 59-55,
58-56, and 57-57.
Photos/Story
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