| |
5'4" featherweight (125 lbs) Marcela
‘La Tigresa’ Acuña
was born on 16 October 1976 in Formosa, Argentina. She began training
in the martial arts under the guidance of husband-to-be Ramón Chaparro
at the age of 7. By age twelve, she was a black belt, and at the age of
14, South American champion, a title she defended successfully 16
times, with 14 wins inside the distance and one draw.
She began boxing after amassing a 17-1-1 record as a kickboxer, still
trained by husband
Ramón. [Photo credit: Promotional photo: Team Acuna].
She made her pro boxing debut
at Florida's Pompano Beach Amphitheater on December 5, 1997,
going a full ten rounds against hard-hitting and experienced Christy Martin.
Martin, who was fighting in her home state for the first time in over a
year, had
promised her fans a knockout. Martin (140 lbs) controlled Acuña (140¼
lbs)
with her right and landed good flurries to her head and body early in
the fight.
Acuña's best moments came in the third and fourth rounds when she
landed well to
Martin's head, but Martin connected with a strong right in the fifth
and Acuña's eye
began to swell. Martin was rarely in difficulty in the later rounds but
Acuña's skills
prevented her from landing solidly enough to produce the KO that
Christy had
predicted. The closest that Martin came was in the final round when
she drpped Acuña with a left-right combination to the head. Acuña put
in a game
performance in what was clearly a mismatch, but lost by a wide
(99-90,99-90,100-90)
margin. Martin improved her record to 24-1-2.
Her
second professional bout took place on September 25, 1998 at the
Foxwoods Casino in
Ledyard, Connecticut. This time, Marcela (135¼ lbs) faced another of
the world's
most formidable female fighters ... Lucia
Rijker (137½ lbs, 11-0)
of Los Angeles ... for the newly created WIBO junior welterweight
title.
Rijker had been trying unsuccessfully to line up a bout with Christy
Martin for
a rumored seven-figure purse, and was looking for a title belt from a
men's sanctioning
to bolster her case. Martin vs. Rijker was widely
seen as the most exciting matchup
possible in women's boxing at the time. When no deal could be done,
Rijker instead went
about displaying her talents to the boxing world by fighting former
Martin opponents ... and
showing that she could dispatch them more convincingly than the “Coal
Miner's Daughter”
had done!
It was no surprise that the
undefeated Rijker was far too much for the
courageous but overmatched Acuña on September 25. Lucia established her
jab in the first four rounds then
went to the body in the fifth, ending the fight with a brutal hook to
Acuña's body that sent
her to the canvas at the end of the round. Acuña had occasional success landing
her own right, but (like most of Lucia's previous opponents) she was
overpowered once the hard-hitting veteran really got to work.
After this baptism of fire,
Acuña took a two-and-a-half-year break from professional boxing
competition.
She reappeared as a featherweight on April 28, 2001 at Federacion
Argentina de Boxeo in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the first sanctioned professional women's
boxing
bout ever fought in that country. This time she was matched fairly and
posted
her first pro win ... a four-round split decision over Jamillia
Lawrence of Atlantic City,
New Jersey. The 24-year-old Acuña put on a strong finish with a
sustained body attack in the
final round. The scores (on the half-point system used by the
F.A.B.) were 39.5-38.5 and 39-37.5 on two cards,
while the third judge saw it 39-37 for the American, who fell to 7-4 (4
KO's) with the
loss.
Lawrence was a very credible
opponent who had stopped Suzanne
Riccio-Major, and had gone
the distance with Mary Elizabeth
Ortega, with highly-rated Canadian Kathy
Williams
(defeating
her once) and with IFBA World Bantamweight champion Eva Jones-Young.
After the fight, the American felt she’d done enough to win saying "I
felt much stronger and had much more experience
than Marcela, which is why I hoped when the
final bell rang that they would give the fight to me. She needs to
improve her speed of movement
around the ring and learn how to build attacks on that.” She
went on to compliment Acuña: “Her style is good and when she
perfects it,
‘La Tigresa’ will be well placed to establish herself as a contender at
international level.”
On June 1, 2001 at the Estadio
Centenario in her birthplace of Formosa, Argentina,
Marcela (125½ lbs) won a clear (60-55,60-56,60-53) decision over
Luz Marina Sarabia Ledesma (127¾ lbs) of Cartagena, Colombia. Acuña
showed better ring
movement and more aggression than her opponent, who was soon
overwhelmed by her pressure.
From the second round onwards, Acuña’s right increasingly found its
mark,
and a KO seemed close when the Colombian was wobbled in the fifth.
Sarabia fell to 4-1-1 (1 KO) with the loss (all of her previous fights
were in Colombia).
On June 30, 2001 at Club
Rivadavia in Desde Necochea, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Marcela (123½ lbs) scored a second round TKO over an outclassed Andrea
Pereyra
(129½ lbs) of Uruguay, who fell to 3-2-1. According to reports sent to
me,
Acuña showed greater strength, consistency and penetration than
in her previous fights, landing her right to Pereyra's face easily and
precisely.
A left hook followed by a straight right destroyed Pereyra's
resistance and brought referee Luis Guzmán in to stop the one-sided
contest. A jubilant Acuña then told reporters: “I am
delighted with the enthusiasm of the public here
in Formosa and many other parts of the country where they are asking to
see me fight.
Fortunately, tonight I was able to score the first knockout of my
career against a
fighter who showed plenty of courage. I want to continue to grow as a
boxer so as
not to disappoint the expectations I have aroused in Argentinean boxing
circles.
Now that the door has been opened to me, I intend to fulfill my
dreams.”
On August 11, 2001 at Estadio
Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina,
Marcela moved her pro record to 4-2 (1 KO) with a six-round unanimous
(60-52,60-57,60-54)
decision over Yolanda “Yolis” Marrugo of Colombia.
Acuña showed her technical superiority and was aggressive from the
start
of this bout, landing heavily early. The Colombian fought
gamely and frustrated Acuña with good lateral movement for most
of the first four rounds, but she mounted very little offense. She
could not hold off Acuña's attack in the fifth and was staggered by
several
hard punches. Marrugo spent
the last minute of the fight on the ropes, barely surviving a
ferocious,
if untidy, assault from the Argentinean.
One commentator criticized Acuña for being too predictable early in
this fight and throwing
the same one-two combinations, praising her nonetheless for her economy
of movement and
noting that she punched very hard.
Acuña said that she thought Marrugo was a very good boxer who had not
been
able to show her skills, adding “I looked for a knockout from
the beginning of the
fight and she held very well.” Marrugo fell to 4-2-1 with the
loss.
On September 21, 2001 in Santa
Fe, Argentina, Marcela (125½ lbs) won a fifth-round TKO of
Andrea Pereyra (126½ lbs) of Uruguay in a rematch that had been
scheduled for six rounds.
Acuña quickly took command of the center of the ring with a stream of
jabs punctuated by
straight rights to which the Uruguayan fighter responded sporadically.
Pereyra rarely landed
anything solid, so the fight followed the same basic script until 1:14
into the fifth, when
‘La Tigresa’ unleashed a straight right that sent Pereyra sprawling on
her back in a neutral
corner. The count was a formality as Pereyra stayed on the canvas a
long time and needed
attention from the ring emergency medical team. (Fortunately, she was
not seriously hurt).
The win earned Acuña the “80 Anniversario de LA OPINION” trophy.
On October 12, 2001 in
Formosa, Argentina,
Marcela advanced to 6-2 (3 KOs) with a second-round KO over Ana Dos
Santos.
On January 19, 2002 at
Federación Argentina de Box in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Marcela (124¾ lbs) advanced to 7-2 (4 KOs) with a first-round KO of
40-year-old
fitness instructor Patricia Quirico (125½ lbs) of
Caseros for the Argentine featherweight title.
This was a much-hyped fight in
Argentina and some
women's boxing promoters in the USA might take lessons from the
build-up that it got! Quirico, for all her 23 exhibition boxing matches
and a lifetime in athletics, baseball and the
Korean martial art of sipalki, was in fact making her pro boxing debut.
She had
chosen the title ‘La Leona’ or ‘Lioness’, “because I’m
fighting to provide for my girls and
give them a better life” .. her daughters Sheila (12 years)
and Marlene (10) are said to be
“her number one fans”. Quirico had also opined that Acuña had beaten no
one of note.
She had fought an exhibition bout with Acuña two years earlier and
dismissed Acuña's
vaunted punching power: “all I can say is that on that
occasion I didn’t feel the
hands of the Tigress. I know very well what I can do, I hit hard and I
can
take the heat up there in the ring. There’s no doubt in my mind that
I’m going to take
the title.” Marcela, whose own children would be at ringside
for the title fight,
was livid that this “novice” who was “still a nobody” should be
belittling her achievements ... “I’d like to see how she’d
have got on against the same opponents” ...
and vowed to “eat her raw”.
I'm told that the bad blood
between Acuña and Quirico began because Acuña felt
that the honor of participating in the first-ever Argentinean title
fight (and an
assured place in Argentinean boxing history) should have gone to her
friend
Carmen Montiel. She alleged that Quirico had backed out of a meeting
with
Montiel that would have decided which of them fought Acuña for the
title.
Quirico also infuriated Acuña with allusions to her defeats at the
hands of
Martin and Rijker. People from Quirico's gym added to the hype
by talking about how hard Quirico hit, claiming that she had stunned
male sparring
partners once or twice in training and that they'd needed a pause to
recover.
Acuña, for her part, told interviewers “normally I try to
keep a low profile
before a fight, but this time, no; I'm going to teach that woman some
manners”, and “Quirico has shown me a lack of
respect and she’s going to pay
dearly for that, that’s one thing I’m absolutely sure of. She´s going
to find
out what boxing’s all about when I lay on her the knockout of her life.”
Quirico had arrived at the pre-fight press conference in a limousine,
scowling and flanked by heavies as though she were Mike Tyson.
The two women then began shouting at each other and photographers had
to plead with
them to pose together. Each promised to knock the other out, but
Acuña's deeds in the
ring eventually spoke louder than any words.
Quirico
certainly felt Acuña's hands this time
as Marcela dispatched ‘The Lioness’ with her first punch
barely 4 seconds into the bout! Acuña almost ran across the ring as the
bell sounded, steadied herself
and then speared a right cross through Quirico's guard. Quirico tried
to pull her head back and closed
her eyes ("she may not have seen the punch, but she felt it"
commented one reporter) and was already on
her way to the canvas as the following left (see picture) brushed past
her cheek.
Down she went, heavily, in her own corner. At four she tried to rise
but staggered and
referee Luis Guzmán, ruling that she was in no state to continue,
counted her out on her feet
at 0:14 seconds. Quirico later claimed she'd been trying to touch
gloves ... a view greeted with skepticism ...
and accused the referee of being biased, claiming she had been
perfectly capable of continuing.
Acuña saw things differently: “She was in a bad way. Her eyes
were crossed and her legs were wobbly.” Qurico refused to
shake Acuña's hand or even acknowledge the crowd.
Back in Acuña’s home town,
with a mixture of astonishment and delight, fans following the
live telecast in bars all round the city cheered as they watched
replays from every angle
of Marcela’s right cross exploding against Quirico’s jaw.
Having outlined before the
fight how
she would use her height to keep Acuña at a distance and then knock her
out in
the fifth, an embarrassed Quirico was left to vent her frustration in a
corner of
the dressing room, giving the same reply to every question: she was
“fine”, she
would “carry on” and she “wanted a return”.
Acuña’s response was withering: “A return? No, first let her train,
build up
some strength, have a few fights, and then we’ll see. As for ‘revenge’
... after
a knock-out as fast as that, what possible revenge could I give her?”.
Rubbing further salt into the wound, Acuña told Clarin: “I never
imagined that
I could win the title that quickly. I think I even frightened myself
and I was
a bit worried when she went down. But afterwards, I was sorry that
Quirico refused
to congratulate me and that she was such a bad loser. But that's life:
once again
I've made history and proved that I'm a serious boxer.”
On March 1, 2002 at Club
Olimpia in Paraná, Entre Rios, Argentina,
a full house of 1,500 saw Marcela (125 lbs) defend the Argentine
featherweight
title and advance to 8-2 (4 KOs) with a clear unanimous ten-round
(99-87.5,99-88,99-87.5) decision
over Carmen Montiel (“La Guapa”, 122¾ lbs) of Buenos Aires. Montiel,
who
was a former sparring partner of Acuña, was making her
own professional debut. Acuña had said before the bout that she would
go for another
knockout, but reports sent to me said that she kept plenty in reserve
and even pulled punches
that could have ended it by KO. Montiel stood up to everything thrown
at her and left the
ring to an ovation. Asked if she had gone out to humiliate Montiel the
way she did Quirico,
Acuña said she had not “because I wanted to do my job, which
was to keep her at
a distance. Carmen is my friend; and besides, I wanted to see how well
I could
last ten rounds.” For her part, the 37-year-old Montiel said “Marcela
has blazed a trail
for all of us. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to beat her,
though.”
Acuña next prepared for a shot
at the WIBA world title against
Damaris Pinock Ortega of Panama on April 6, but the Argentinean
econonomic
crisis led to the bout being postponed.
On June 29, 2002 at Rio
Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, Marcela won an eight-round decision
over her former
sparring partner Carmen Montiel ("La Guapa") of Buenos Aires in their
second bout of the year. Acuña moved to 9-2 (4 KOs);
Montiel fell to 0-2.
On November 15, 2002 at Super
Domo Orfeo in Cordoba, Argentina, Alicia
Ashley (120¾ lbs) of Westbury, New York won a controversial
ten-round split (96-94,96-94,95-97) decision over
Acuña (120½ lbs) to win the vacant IWBF Super Bantamweight (aka Junior
Featherweight) title in what was the first
women's world title fight to be staged in Argentina. Ashley advanced to
8-4-1 (0 KO) while Acuña's record slipped to 9-3-0
(4 KO) as she absorbed her first pro boxing loss in her own country.
Acuña had said that she "dreamed of holding up the
title belt with the crowd chanting my name" and that she was more
confident than on previous occasions because in this
(weight) category I'm not giving anything away." The judging was Terry
O'Neill (USA) 96-94 for Ashley, Carlos Villegas
(Argentina) also 96-94 for Ashley, Francismo Seleme (Argentina) 97-95
for Acuña.
My correspondent tells me
that this was a fight in which few heavy punches landed - but, until
the last two rounds when
she began to fade, the Argentinean had the initiative throughout having
Ashley in trouble several times with digging right
hands. Ashley moved around the ring well but threw nothing of
consequence - none of her seven victories has been inside the
distance - one newspaper described her strategy as 'cynical'. Acuña
quickly adjusted to the problems of fighting a
southpaw, whose left hooks in the first two rounds presaged a danger
that never materialized. Ashley´s attempts to use her
superior reach to keep Acuña off are said to have faltered in the fifth
round and from then until the ninth when she began
to fade, it was all Acuña. The Argentinean press had Ashley winning
only the last two rounds.
The Argentinean news agency
DyN had Acuña winning 98-92, and the newspaper La Mañana reported that
Ashley's corner told
her going into the last round that she needed a knockout. Apparently
angry at the Argentinean judge, Villegas, who gave the
fight to Ashley, a tearful Acuña concluded: "I´m going to
have to emigrate and get out this ... country in which I get no
recognition whatsoever," adding in a whisper: "It´s
obvious that the judges were watching a different fight."
Most of the Argentinean press seemed to agree, describing the decision
as ´pathetic´, a ´scandal´, ´a robbery of historic proportions´
and even ´criminal´ ... though Horacio Pagani, in Clarin, clearly no
supporter of women´s boxing, took a different view,
contenting himself with the following comment on the top-of-the-bill
women's world title fight: "in a female spectacle that
was a long way from true boxing ... Ashley demonstrated her technical
superiority."
On February 21, 2003 in Buenos
Aires, Marcela won the vacant Argentinian super bantamweight title with
a second-
round TKO of Lourdes Gonzalez, who had not seen action since her
first-round KO loss to
Regina Halmich in March 1999. Gonzalez fell to 10-4-0 (5 KO).
On May 10, 2003 at Rio Grande,
Tierra del Fuego, Marcela won a fifth-round TKO over debut fighter Ana
Davila
Ferreira of Brazil.
On June 14, 2003 at Complejo
Republica Venezuela in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Alicia
Ashley (119¼ lbs) of
Westbury, New York
successfully defended her IWBF Super Bantamweight title by a convincing
ten-round unanimous (98-92,97-92,97-94) decision
over Marcela (120 lbs) in a rematch that the IWBF had required after
reviewing tape of their previous bout. In this rematch, instead of boxing defensively and
relying on counter-punching as she had done in their first fight,
Ashley consistently beat Acuña to the punch, and was in and out before
the Argentinean could find her range with her response. Ashley
even outhustled Acuña in the clinches, to the dismay of Acuña's fans. “Ashley was a hieroglyphic she had no idea
how to
decipher,” wrote DyN of this rematch. Ashley
improved to 9-4-1 (0 KO) with the win.
On
August 22, 2003 at Club Ciclista Juninense, Junin, Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Marcela (126¾ lbs) won a six-round unanimous decision over
her former sparring partner Carmen Montiel of Buenos Aires (126¼ lbs).
Acuña improved
to 12-4-0 (6 KO) while Montiel fell to 0-3.
On December 6, 2003 at Estadio
Luna Park in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, Marcela (121 lbs) won the vacant WIBA Super
Bantamweight world title
with a sixth-round TKO of Damaris
Pinock Ortega (122 lbs) of Panama. Acuña improved her
record to 13-4-0 (7 KO) with the win while Pinock Ortega fell to 6-2-2 (5 KO).
On
May 26, 2004 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Marcela (121 lbs) won by a TKO just 0:43 into the first-round TKO over
Daysi Padilla (118¾ lbs) in a scheduled 10-round defense of her WIBA
Super Bantamweight world title. Evidently stung by criticism that she
had taken five and a half rounds to finish off Damaris Pinock Ortega
last December, Acuña wasted no time or pity on the lanky Colombian
Daysi ('Demolition') Padilla. Sensing an initial hesitation on the part
of her opponent, the champion moved swiftly across the ring ('like a
tigress with the cage door open' as Olé put it) catching Padilla almost
immediately with a hard right to the cheek that had her reeling and
following up with a furious assault that forced referee Raúl Ilvento to
stop the fight. Padilla, who had claimed a 14-1-0 (14 KO) record and
boasted that she would ´make the Tigress dance to my tune´, lacked the
experience (as ex world champion Ricardo Cardona in her corner later
admitted) to cling to Acuña when she was hurt, to give her head clear
time to clear. Commented Acuña:
"Even dazed, Padilla managed to throw a few punches and I could feel
she hits hard, but I kept beating her to the punch and she could do
nothing." At midnight, Padilla was admitted to hospital as a precautionary
measure, though she was perfectly lucid.
On September 11, 2004 at
Polideportivo Carlos Cerutti in Córdoba, Argentina, Marcela (121¼ lbs)
TKO'd Ada Camila Santos (119½ lbs) in the third round of a scheduled
4-rounder.
On January 22, 2005 at Club
Centenario in Formosa, Argentina,
Marcela (124¼ lbs) won the vacant WIBA Featherweight title with a TKO
of Maria Andrea Miranda (123¼ lbs) of Moñitos, Córdoba, Colombia at
1:37 in the third round of in a scheduled ten-rounder. Miranda went
down three times in the final round and the fight ended with the "warrior from Colombia
prostrate before the Argentinian, her eyes directed towards her corner,
beseeching them to throw in the towel"
On October 21, 2005 at Gold
Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia,
35-year-old Sharon Anyos
of Australia won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,96-94,96-94) decision
over Marcela for the vacant WBC Women's Featherweight title.
The hard-hitting Acuña landed the most damaging punches in this fight,
but Anyos was busier and used her reach advantage to outbox her for the
decision. Anyos kept her distance to take the first two rounds but got
into a slugging match and took some heavy shots in the third. Anyos
looked in danger of losing her composure according to Eastside Boxing's
ringside correspondent Tony Nobbs, but she got back to boxing in the
later rounds to control the action, holding off a strong charge by
Acuña in the ninth. Anyos, who sported a badly swollen left cheek,
said. "I felt strong every round. The girl can punch and she
also head-butts quite well. I felt I won at least eight of
the 10 rounds which to me is all that matters. I've been to war to win
the best world title you could ever be given." Acuña
said she believed she had won at least seven rounds and accused the
Thai, Japanese and Australian judges of being blind. Acuña said she
would consider a re-match with Anyos, but not in Australia. "Not
even for a million dollars," added Acuña, who lodged an
official complaint to the WBC over the decision. Acuña fell to 19-5-0
(12 KOs) with the loss while Anyos improved to 11-3-0 (2 KO).
On August 12, 2006 in Buenos
Aires, Argentina Marcela Acuña (121½
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (100-90) decision over 21-year-old Anays
Gutierrez Carrillo (122 lbs) of Barranquilla, Colombia for the WBA
Junior Featherweight (Super Bantamweight) world title.. Gutierrez Carillo
fell to a reported 9-1-1 (2 KOs).
On October 14, 2006 at Estadio
Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marcela Acuña (120 lbs) took
barely 40 seconds to retain the WBA Super Bantamweight title
by
demolishing 23-year-old
Paola Esther Herrera Gómez (5'6", 120½
lbs) of Cartagena, Colombia.
“The Tigress set out to devour her,” reads the
report in TyC, translated
for WBAN by Ewan Whyte : Acuña
attacked; Herrera essayed a rearguard action - trying desperately to
use technique to fend her off - but the champion connected anyway, and
Herrera’s challenge began to unravel.
Acuña finished her off with an ‘excellent
combination to the head’ that left the challenger staggering
helplessly and referee Aníbal
Andrada no option but to intervene. Herrera
fell to 2-4 in bouts verified by WBAN. The record claimed for
Herrera in Colombia contains about a dozen wins that we cannot confirm,
but whatever her formal record, she was quickly exposed by Acuña in
this first-round TKO.
On December
15, 2006 in Caseros, Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Marcela (121½ lbs) won when Maribel Santana (121 lbs) of the
Dominican Republic retired 37 seconds into the second round.
The two were fighting for the WBA Super Bantamweight Title.
On January 27,
2007 at Hotel Conrad in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Marcela won a
ten-round majority decision over Maria del Carmen Potenza.
Potenza
fell to 3-5-1 (0
KO's).
On April 20, 2007 at the Andes
Talleres Sport Club in Mendoza, Argentina, Marcela (121¼ lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(100-89,99-90,99-90) decision over Jazmin Rivas (122 lbs) of Torreon,
Mexico, defending the WBA Super Bantamweight Title.
Marcela improved her record to 24-5-0 (14 KOs) while
dropping Rivas to 14-4-0 (7 KOs).
On June 29,
2007 at Club Sportivo América in Santa Fe,
Argentina
Marcela (120¾ lbs) won a sixth round technical decision based on the
scorecards over 38-year-old Maria del Carmen Potenza (118½ lbs) after
their scheduled 10-rounder was stopped following a clash of heads.
Potenza had received a standing eight count in the fifth. Scores were
60-56, 59-54, and 59½-55½. Potenza fell to 3-7-1.
On October 27,
2007 at Ce.De.M. N° 2
in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Marcela (121¾ lbs) won a
close unanimous (77-75,79-77,78-76)
unanimous eight-round decision over UBC Junior Featherweight champion
Claudia Andrea Lopez (120 lbs) of Argentina in what was described as a
"stellar" fight. According to one news source, López fought
with a great deal of conviction and gave a very good account of
herself. Neither of their title belts were at
stake. Lopez fell to 8-3-0 (0 KO).
On
February 4, 2008 at the Hotel and Casino Conrad in Punta del Este,
Uruguay, Marcela (123¾ lbs) won a close but unanimous (79-77,78-77,77-76)
eight-round decision over Adriana Salles (123¾
lbs) of Sao Paolo, Brazil in a non-title bout. Salles
fought a hard fight and was the early aggressor, cheered on by
Brazilian fans; she landed well in the middle rounds but appeared to
tire in the later rounds while Acuña paced herself better. (There
appeared to be some confusion about the number of rounds, which was
announced as ten, but the Braziian corner stated that the contract had
been for eight.) Acuña
improved her record to 27-5-0 (14 KO's) while Salles fell
to 9-3-1 (3 KO's).
On May 15, 2008 at Sociedad Española in San
Luis, Argentina,
Marcela (126¾ lbs) TKO'd Anays Gutierrez Carrillo (129¾ lbs) of
Barranquilla, Colombia at the start of the third round of a
scheduled 10-rounder. According to WBAN correspondent Ewan
Whyte, "The non-title
fight ... ended in fiasco after four
minutes when the Colombian, who was in any case in no shape to be in
the ring, not having fought and scarcely having trained since 13th
October 2006, refused to come out for the third round, complaining of
nausea. She explained afterwards that she only took the fight for the
money and that she was indisposed (meaning apparently that it was the
wrong time of the month)." Carrillo
fell to 11-4-1 (3 KO's).
On July 3, 2008 at Estadio
Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Marcela (120¼ lbs) easily defeated
40-year-old Canadian Danielle Bouchard (120½ lbs) of Montreal, Quebec,
by a unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-91) ten-round decision while defending
her WBA Junior Featherweight title. Bouchard, who had competed as an amateur for
most of her boxing career, fell to 9-2-1 (1 KO) as a pro with this
loss.
On
October 10, 2008 at Ce.De.M. N° 2 in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, Marcela (120 lbs)
TKO'd 18-year-old Paulina "La Niña"
Cardona (119¼ lbs) of Barranquilla, Colombia in
the fifth round of a scheduled eight rounder. Cardona
took standing counts in the third and fourth, and
retired before the fifth. Not only was this the lightest the Tigress has ever
been, it was also her best performance – if not ever, then at least
since she fought Rivas back in April 2007. There was no sign of the
over-eagerness that has marred her work in recent outings. Cardona
fell to 12-4-3 (5 KO's).
On December
4, 2008 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marcela
Acuña (121 lbs) won a hard-fought
10-round unanimous (95-94,97-93,98-91) decision over her undefeated
arch-rival Alejandra Oliveras (120 lbs)
from Cordoba, Argentina to unify the WBA
and WBC junior featherweight titles. Oliveras
fell to 12-1-2
(4 KO's).
On April 30, 2009 in the Main
Event at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Marcela won a
10-round unanimous (98-92,98-91,99-90)
decision over Jackie Nava
of Tijuana, Mexico for the WBC Junior Featherweight title. ,Nava fell to
19-3-2 (10 KO's).
On
August 20, 2009 at Estadio
Luna Park
in Buenos Aires, Argentina Marcela Acuña (120½ lbs) won a ten-round
majority (96-94,96-95,95-95)
decision over Alicia
Ashley (120¾ lbs) of New York for the WBC Junior
Featherweight title. Acuña had problems with
Ashley's reach advantage later in the fight but Ashley lacked the
punching power to make the most of her opportunities. Ashley
dropped to 14-9-1
(1 KOs).
On April 10, 2010 at Ce.De.M.
N° 2, Caseros in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marcela Acuña (121¼
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous decision over Maria Elena Villalobos
(121¼ lbs) of Mexico City for the WBC Junior Featherweight title. Acuña
dominated the first half of the fight against a courageous Villalobos.
She rocked the challenger with a powerful right hook in the fifth round
but the champion appeared to ease off in the later rounds. Villalobos
tried to rally in the final round but Acuñawas never in
danger. Acuña
improved to 34-5-0
(16 KOs) while Villalobos dropped to 6-3-0 (4 KOs).
On August 20, 2010 in Formosa,
Argentina, Marcela Acuña (120¼ lbs) TKO'd
Rosilete Santos (120¾ lbs, aka Rosilette Dos
Santos) of Sao Jose dos Pinhais, Brazil at 1:19 in the tenth round of a
bout for
the WBC Junior Featherweight belt. Acuña
improved her record to 35-5 (17 KO's) while (Dos) Santos fell to
21-5 (13 KO's).
On April 5, 2011,
Marcela Acuña announced
her retirement from boxing, saying that it was time for her to turn to
a political career in the Chamber of Deputies in support of the
government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. In an interview
she
declined to name who she sees as her potential successor in Argentinian
women's boxing, saying "There
are many successors, in total in the country there are eight world
champions. I consider myself as the mother of them and I do not choose
one of my daughters. I leave a legacy that is the women's boxing in our
country."
On May 19, 2012
at Salón de los Bomberos Voluntarios, General Villegas in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marcela Acuña came out of her
announced retirement and fought a 10-rounder against Maria Elena (Mary)
Villalobos of Mexico City, Mexico, vying for the WBC Silver Junior
Featherweight title. Acuña won by a unanimous
decision, with
final scoring of 99-89, 98-90, and 96-91. Acuña showed some ring rust
as she
improved her record to 36-5 (17 KO's) while Villalobos fell to
12-7-1 (5 KO's).
On
August 17, 2012 at Club Caja Popular in San Miguel, in Tucuman,
Argentina, Marcela Acuña (121¼ lbs) defeated Betiana Patricia Vinas
(121¾ lbs) of Neuquen, Argentina by
a ninth round Technical Decision. The two were fighting for the WBC
Silver Junior Featherweight title. Acuña improved her record to
37-5 (17 KO's) while
Vinas
fell to 5-4-3 (0 KO's). The close fight, which had been scheduled for
10 rounds, was stopped after Vinas was bloodied high above her right
eye by what was ruled an
unintentional head butt. At the stoppage, two judges had the score
86-85 for Acuña while the third had it 87-84.
On December 21,
2012 at Club Universitario
in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina Carolina Duer of Buenos Aires won
a ten-round unanimous (97½-93½, 96½-96, 98-94½) decision over Marcela
Acuña in a non-title fight.
On January 25,
2013 at Teatro Griego Juan
Pablo Segundo in San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina, Yesica Marcos and
Marcela Acuña battled to a ten round split draw contesting the WBO and
WBA Junior Featherweight titles.
On May 10,
2013 at Auditorio Presidente
Néstor Kirchner, Mercado Central,
Tapiales, Buenos Aires, Argentina Marcela Acuña (120½ lbs) won a
ten-round unanimous (99-91 x 3) decision over Soledad Matthysse (122
lbs) of Trelew, Chubut, Argentina in a non-title bout.
On July 13, 2013
at Club Defensores de Villa
Lujan in San Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina, Marcela Acuña (125½ lbs) won a
ten-round unanimous (99-91,100-90, 98-92) decision over Melissa Hernandez (124¼ lbs) of the Bronx,
New York City, United States in a non-title bout. Hernandez fell
to 18-5-3 (6 KO's).
On October 25,
2013 at Club Salto Uruguayo
in Salto, Uruguay, Marcela Acuña won a ten round unanimous decision
over Halanna Dos Santos of Brazil for the vacant WBO Junior
Featherweight title.
On March 28,
2014 at Anfiteatro Municipal in
Villa Maria, Cordoba, Argentina, Marcela Acuña won by a TKO in the
sixth round over Estrella Valverde of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico defending
the WBO Junior Featherweight title. The bout was stopped by the
ring doctor because iof severe swelling over the right eye of Valverde.
Valverde fell to 9-4-1 (1 KO) as Acuña progessed to 41-6-1 (18 KOs).
On May 7, 2016, at the Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires,
Distrito Federal, Argentina, Marcela Acuna, 123.5, won a
ten-round unanimous decision over Mayra Gomez, 126. The two
were fighting for the interim featherweight WBA Title. Final
judges scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 100-90.
On September 9, 2016 - Ce.De.M. N° 2,
Caseros, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Marcela Acuna, 124¼, of Buenos Aires,won a 10-round unanimous
decision over Brenda Carabajal, 124¾, of Jujuy, Argentina.
Final judges scores were 99-91, 100-90.5, and 98--92. The two
were fighting for the interim WBA World Featherweight championship.
In a second bout, Karen Carabajal, 130¼, of Buenos Aires,
won a six-round unanimous decision over Natalia Aguirre,129¾, of
Cordoba, Argentina.
On December 16, 2016 - Parque Industrial de
Desarrollo Productivo, Cuartel V, Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Marcela "La Tigress" Acuna, 119¾, now 45-6-1
(19KO), won by a surprise KO over previously undefeated Yesica Marcos, 120¾,
now 27-1-2 (9KO) in the tenth round, for the vacant IBF Super Bantamweight
title.
On June 16, 2017, at the Ce.De.M. N° 2, Caseros,
in Buenos Aires, Argentina Marcela "La Tigresa"
Acuna,121½, now 46-6-1 (19 KO), of Buenos Aires, won a
ten-round unanimous decision over Shannon
O'Connell, 121¼, in a ten-round IBF Super Bantamweight world title
fight. Acuna was defending her title. In a second female
bout, super featherweight Brenda Carabajal had a six-round split draw with
Gloria Yancaqueo.
On April 13, 2018, at the Microestadio Municipal,
Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina, super bantamweight Daniela
Bermudez, 119.5, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Marcela
Acuna, 120 3/4. The two were fighting for the IBF Super Bantamweight
title; and the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title. In a second
female bout Brenda Carabajal, 128, won a six round split decision
over Gloria Yancaqueo, 126.5.
On August 10, 2018, at
the Polideportivo Fray Mamerto Esquiú, Catamarca, Argentina, on the
"De Catamarca for the world" event
Marcela "Tigresa" Acuna, now 47-7-1 (19KO), of Buenos Aires,
Argentina, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Laura Soledad
Griffa, 16-2-0 (1KO) of Buenos Aires. The two fought for the vacant
IBF Super Bantamweight World Title. This bout has been rated as a
five-star matchup on Boxrec.
On October 19, 2018, at the Estadio Delmi, in Salta,
Argentina, Acuna, 119¾, won a ten-round split decision over Mayerlin
Rivas, 121.5. Acuna was defending her IBF super bantamweight world
title. Final judges scores were 96-94, 94-96, and 97-93. In a second
female bout, super featherweight Brenda Carabajal, 129.5, won a
six-round unanimous decision over Paola Ibarra, 129¼. Final judges
scores were 58-56½, 58-56, and 59½-56.
On December 14, 2018, at the Club Atletico
Independiente, in La Rioja, La Rioja, Argentina, Acuna, 121¼,
won by a fifth round KO over Yenifer Rodriguez. The two were
fighting for the IBF Super Bantamweight title.
On May 25, 2019, at the Estadio de Béisbol, in
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Acuna, 122.5, of Buenos Aires, had
a ten-round majority draw with Jackie Nava, 122.5; in a second
female bout, Kenia Enriquez, 107, won a ten-round unanimous decision
over Leiryn Flores, 107. The two were fighting for the interim WBC
Light Flyweight title.
Page
last updated: Tuesday April 15, 2014
|
|
