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5'6" Mia Rosales
St. John from Los Angeles, California has parlayed her looks and a long list of wins over
lightly-rated opponents in four-round fights into a successful combination of media coverage and lucrative payouts.
She is a Cal State Northridge graduate in psychology, and has two children,
Julian and Paris.
Mia, who comes from a family of martial arts practitioners, was born on June 24,
1967 in San Francisco. She took up
Tae Kwon Do when she was six years old. Inspired by the original "Rocky"
movie at age 12, and reportedly by a mini-rumble with a fellow high school student at a football
game, she began competitive amateur Tae Kwon Do at age 18.
She entered pro boxing in 1997 with no prior amateur experience.
Her early fights featured an aggressive but head-down, windmilling style that
included enough solid shots to overwhelm novice opponents but which made veteran
boxing fans wince. Her looks and personality out of the ring gathered media and fan attention.
A promotional contract with Bob Arum got her a series of pay-per-view TV appearances on major
fight undercards (she reportedly earned about
$20,000 per fight, over twenty times the usual scale for female boxers fighting four-rounders against unranked opponents). Arum, who had emphatically expressed his
personal dislike for women's boxing, saw that an attractive female fighting
four-rounders could spice up his fight promotions and weigh-ins while consuming minimal
TV time (and minimal purses for her opponents).
Mia St. John's early combination of media appeal,
(un)coverage in a November 1999 Playboy pictorial, with limited boxing skills made her a
controversial figure in women's boxing. While she's been one of best-known
and financially successful fighters after Christy Martin, she's frequently been
accused of padding her record with soft fights and trading in on a fundamentally
sexist view of female boxing.
Her opponents' records are included in some detail in the reports below, so you can draw
your own conclusions about her record.
On February 14, 1997 at Fantasy Springs Casino near Indio, California
Mia won her pro debut over debut fighter Angelica Villian by knockout at 0:54
in the first round. St. John caught Villian with a stiff jab then scored with
rights until a powerful right dropped Villian for ten.
Villian fell to 0-2 with this loss. (Villian was subsequently TKO'd in the first
round by Jayla Ortiz in Santa Fe on January 24, 1998 and in 24 seconds
by the skilful Sonya Emery in Austin, Texas on May 1. 1998. She hasn't fought since.)
On April 19, 1997 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, Mia
weighed in at 123 lbs and won by a first round TKO over debut fighter Dawn
Graham (116½ lbs), who hasn't fought again. On June 21, 1997 in Tampa, Florida, she won by third-round TKO
over Contina Frederinck, who was making her debut and hasn't fought since.
On August 5, 1997 in Nashville, Tennessee, she won by a
first-round TKO over Dawn Wimer of Ashtabula, Ohio. Wimer
was TKO'd in the second round by Olivia Escobar in Escobar's pro debut on
February 25, 1999 and compiled an 0-7-1 record before quitting boxing.
(The Ashtabula gym was notorious for providing overmatched "opponents" who gave
up early in their fights to avoid getting hurt.)
On November 28, 1997 at the Marriott in Irvine, California,
Mia won a 4-round unanimous decision over Dolores Lira of Boise, Idaho.
Lira fell to 0-3 (and later lost to Brenda
Burnside, and stopped boxing.)
On May 30, 1998 at Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, she won by a second-round KO over Kris Sepulvado of
Shreveport, Louisiana. (Sepulvado's record is hard to keep track of as she
has made a habit of fighting under different names, including "Kris Vado", "Pamela Sepulvado"
and possibly "Christi Carter") but I believe she fell to 0-3 with this loss to
St. John and went on to a 1-12-2 record.) On August 15, 1998 in Los Angeles, California
Mia came in at 125½ lbs and won a four-round unanimous
decision over Brenda Felter (123 lbs) of New Mexico, who fell to 0-2.
Felter had been TKO'd in the third round by Leilana Salazar in Phoenix, Arizona
on May 5, 1998 and went on to a 1-6-0 record.
On September 18, 1998 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas,
Mia advanced to 8-0 with 5 KO's with a four-round split decision in a rematch
with
Brenda Felter, who was a late substitute for Amanda Skelton of Fort Smith,
Arkansas on the card. Felter fell to 0-3.
On December 12, 1998 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio,
California, Mia weighed in at 126 lbs and won by second-round knockout over
Brandy Mae Vaughan (123 lbs) of Muskogee, Oklahoma who fell to 0-4. Vaughn had
lost three in a row to Amanda Skelton and hasn't fought since.
 On February 13, 1999 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada,
she weighed in at 127 lbs and won an easy four-round unanimous (40-36) decision
over Amanda Skelton (124 lbs) of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Skelton, who was Mia's
first opponent with a winning record, had defeated Brandy Mae Vaughan three
times in 1998 and TKO'd a debut fighter (who hasn't fought since) in her other
bout for a
4-0 (1 KO) record before facing St. John.
She has not fought since. On May 8, 1999 at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mia won by
TKO in a rematch with Kris Sepulvado of Shreveport, Louisiana
at 1:30 of the first round. Sepulvado fell to 0-4 with this loss. Sepulvado subsequently lost
to then-winless Randi Saenz by first-round TKO on July 24, 1999,
to Jenifer Alcorn by first-round TKO on September
4, 1999 and to Melinda Robinson
by first-round KO on November 12, 1999. She never won a fight against anyone
with a winning record.
On June 26, 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada,
Mia weighed in at 132 lbs and won a four-round unanimous decision over Mary
Ann Haik (133 lbs) of Pearl River, Louisiana. The 27-year-old Haik fell to 5-6 with the
loss. Haik's five wins included two over Kris Sepulvado, a TKO of Atlanta's
Tawayna Broxton and a first-round TKO over debut fighter Sarah Inman. She went
on to a 7-9-0 (3 KO) record and retired in 2001.
On September 18, 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada,
Mia weighed in at 125 lbs and moved her record to 13-0 (8 KO's) with a TKO at
1:40 of the fourth round over Kelley Downey (126 lbs) of Merriam, Kansas.
St. John was clearly winning this bout when it was stopped but the immediate
reason for the stoppage was unclear. Downey's record fell to
3-2 (3 KO's), including first-round TKO wins
over Lori Domagala and Sherri Thompson and a loss by four-round split decision to Theresa Frye.
On December 11, 1999, Mia won by TKO
at 1:40 in the first round over Sharon Sirls of Lubbock, Texas
at Dixie Junior College in St. George, Utah
at the end of what Marcel Niessen describes as "one of the weirdest,
if not the weirdest,
night in boxing I ever had". The card featured
mixed-style matches between US boxers and Chinese
kickboxers, and confusion about who was fighting
who and in what style! Sirls, who had had just one pro fight (which she lost) had been flown in from
Texas at short notice after confusion had reigned about
whether St. John was to fight in a mixed-style match,
as the Chinese promoters reportedly hoped, or a boxing match
as the Utah commission apparently believed when it sanctioned
the bout. Sirls had dropped a four-round
decision to Linda Robinson,
another debut fighter, three
weeks earlier in Houston.
On January 22, 2000 at the Fairgrounds in Delmar, California,
700 live fans and a Univision TV audience saw
Mia win a four-round unanimous (40-36)
decision over Kelly Whaley (127 lbs) of Cedar City, Utah,
who fell to 1-1. "It was a tough fight for me," St.John told a
local reporter. "She had a good chin. I was hoping she would knock
herself out, but it gave me a good workout anyway." Whaley's
other pro fight was a four-round decision over then 6-0 Crisi
Yaeger of Texas, on November 18 1999 in Houston. (Yaeger is
another fighter who racked up a winning record against
soft opposition, including the always-overmatched
Kris Sepulvado, novice fighter Victoria Lara, and winless
Martha Flores.) Whaley had posted a 3-3 record as an amateur boxer
and had competed in the 1999 National Women's Golden Gloves
tournament. See also the comments on
this fight from Women's Boxing Page visitors and a local
reporter.
She was still competing professionally in February 2004, with a 4-12-0 (1 KO)
record. On February 26, 2000 at Madison Square Garden in New York City,
St. John weighed in at 127 lbs and won a
hard-fought four-round majority (39-39, 39-37, 39-37) decision over
Kristin Allan (124½ lbs) of Jefferson City, Missouri who dropped to 3-1.
The two went toe-to-toe in a slugfest that
was decided by St. John's strong finish, which included
two rights that shook Allan. Allan didn't back
down from the more experienced St. John, but lacked
defensive skills. "She was a real tough country girl,"
St. John said. "I outskilled her. She took everything
I gave her, but I felt the last round clinched it for me."
Allan had previously posted wins over debut fighters Kim Raulerson,
Fran Morrow by first-round TKO and Franchesca Alcanter by a third-round TKO; the
eight minutes in Madison Square Garden more than doubled Allan's previous
pro ring time while moving St. John to 16-0.
On May 19, 2000 at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California,
St. John (130 lbs) looked the equal of relative novice Franchesca Alcanter (125 lbs)
of Kansas City as she won a unanimous 40-36 decision that underestimated
Alcanter's showing. Alcanter fell
to 2-3. Alcanter had knocked out Crystal O'Dell of St. Louis at 1:02 of the first
round in both fighters' pro debut (O'Dell has not continued in to box so
far as we know), then was TKO'd at 0:37 of the first by Texan
Linda Tenberg (127¾ lbs). Alcanter had failed to answer the bell for
the third round against Kristin Allan in October 1999 but scored a
third-round TKO over Theresa Gaulden in March 2000. The St.John-Alcanter
bout was seen live on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights but
neither boxer showed boxing skills to justify a prime TV slot.
Earlier the same day, the IBA announced
that it would no longer recognize the "Queen of the Four-Rounders" title
that it had awarded to St.John. This IBA "Women's Four-Round Featherweight title"
was one
of the bevy of minor awards that promoters like to use to
embellish their cards. The appellation, and the matching one that the IBA had
awarded to male boxing sideshow "Butterbean", was officially withdrawn from St.
John with statement that "from the very beginning the IBA always
made it clear that the belts "The Bean" and Mia have were novelties used
by the IBA to promote our organization. No one ever said the Bean and
Mia were "world champions!" Unfortunately, that wasn't quite right, as
Playboy hadn't drawn any such distinction
when it identified St. John on its cover as "the" IBA featherweight titlist.
The IBA later tried to improve its
standing as a sanctioning body for women's boxing by promoting more serious
women's title fights.
On June 17, 2000 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California,
she won a unanimous decision over Linda Robinson
of Woodway, Texas. St.John was the aggressor
throughout this fight, scored 40-36, 40-36, 39-37 by the judges.
Robinson, fighting outside Houston, Texas for the first time, fell to 3-1;
her three wins had come against Sharon Sirls of Lubbock, Texas,
Victoria Lara (0-3) of Texarkana, Texas
and Denette Montgomery (0-6) of Ashtabula, Ohio.
St. John was unable to compete for some months as a result of a jet-ski
accident which required two operations to remove a potentially gangrenous
blood clot from her left leg. She had to wear a protective cast on her leg, which required a skin graft from
her thigh after a mass 2½ inches deep and 4 inches wide
that had been affected by the blood clot was removed.
On December 3, 2000 at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada,
she returned to the ring at 126 lbs after recovering from the jet-ski injury and
TKO'd Amy Yerkes (5'4", 125 lbs) of Springfield, Missouri at 1:33 of the fourth
round. Yerkes lacked the boxing skills to compensate for St. John's height and reach
advantage. Yerkes dropped to 1-3; she had previously lost to Brenda Rouse and
Sherri Thompson by six-round decisions (and had fought just two days previously
in Iowa).
On January 20, 2001 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada
she moved to 20-0 (12 KO's) with a third-round TKO over
Sherri Thompson, who fell to 3-3. Thompson, also from Missouri, had
previously lost a decision to Rolanda Andrews but had defeated Amy Yerkes in a six-rounder
a year earlier.
On March 25, 2001 at an outdoor event at the Park'N'Swap in Phoenix, Arizona under a
scorching sun, a crowd of 5000 saw St. John (129 lbs) advance to 21-0 (13 KO's)
with a TKO of Amy Yerkes of Springfield, Missouri at 1:49 in the third round
of an action-packed fight. Yerkes, who fell to 1-6 as a pro boxer, was a last-moment
substitute for Mexico's Imelda Arias, who failed to show up for
the weigh-in the day before. St. John earned $10,000, Yerkes $2,000, for this match according to
Arizona Republic reporter Norm Frauenheim.
Mia St. John vs. Linda Tenberg
Photo by Sue TL Fox On May 13, 2001 at the State Line Silver Smith Casino, West Wendover, Utah,
Mia weighed in at 129½ lbs and won a hard
fought four-round unanimous (40-37,39-37,39-37) decision over Linda Tenberg (125½ lbs)
of Austin, Texas. According to WBAN reporter JD from ringside:
"Mia clearly won the fight based on
pure aggression and punches thrown effectively. She does 'windmill' on
occasion, but not as badly as I've seen her in the past. Tenberg seemed
unprepared to deal with the level of intensity that Mia brought to the
fight. Although, Tenberg did score some good shots and looks technically
better schooled most of the time ... but at least Mia commits to her
punches. And her conditioning is good as she was non-stop and simply
overwhelmed Tenberg with a whirlwind attack. I couldn't give Tenberg a
single round". Tenberg fell to 5-4 (1 KO). Tenberg was
a legitimate featherweight contender whose previous losses had included going the distance with
tough competition in Ada Velez and Layla McCarter.
(See the
illustrated fight report by Sue TL Fox). On July 28, 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California,
she weighed in at 128½ lbs and was held to a controversial majority draw by
Imelda Arias (139½ lbs) of Ciudad Juárez, México.
According to Andy Rivera's report for Inside Women's Boxing: "Mia won the first round, jabbing and moving out of target from
the smaller, heavier Arias. But Imelda came back in the 2nd through
4th rounds, dominating those rounds by landing heavy rights and left
that kept Mia confused. When the decision was announced ... 38-38, 38-38
and one score that was withheld ... the crowd booed heavily." Arias's record was 8-11-1; three of Arias's wins had come against 0-5 Deanna Wyman, and she had lost her
previous seven fights, including a first-round TKO by California's
Jenifer
Alcorn.
Mia St. John's place in women's boxing continued to be defined by
her choice of opponents and her exclusive focus on four-round fights. There is no shortage of serious competitors at her weight,
yet she continued to fight four-rounders against almost-novices. One reason
advanced for her four-round restriction used to be that promoter Bob Arum didn't want a women's
bout to take up more time on his cards, but this excuse wore thin with most true fans
of competitive women's boxing. A different story began when Mia finally left the Arum
contract that had served her up mostly poorly prepared opponents for lop-sided
contests.
On November 9, 2001 at Sunset Station in San Antonio, Texas,
Atlanta southpaw Rolanda Andrews
(5'3", 126 lbs) TKO'd Mia St.John (131 lbs) at 1:47 in the second round of their
bout on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. Andrews moved to 4-5 (2 KO's) with the win.
St. John looked busier in the first round
but Andrews blocked most of her punches while scoring with her left. Andrews
dropped St. John with a right in the second round and St. John got up hurt.
Andrews then worked St. John over against the ropes until the referee stopped the
bout. This was to have been St. John's first scheduled six-round bout, and her first
outside Arum's contract. St. John had described it as preparation for moving up in weight to
face Christy Martin but she may have seriously underestimated Andrews, who had given Sandra Yard a good
scrap for the IFBA Featherweight title in July, 2000 and had previously
gone the distance with such top
performers as Lena Åkesson, Melissa Salamone and Dee Dufoe.
[analysis
by WBP writer Kevin Cockle]
After this loss, which dropped her record to 22-1-1, Mia began training with Robert Garcia, Fernando Vargas' trainer in Oxnard.
On January 18, 2002 at the Entertainment and Sports Center, Raleigh, North Carolina,
she won a four-round unanimous (40-35 on all three cards) decision over
Gina Greenwald of St. Louis, Missouri in a bout seen on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.
St. John had weighed in a bikini-clad 145 lbs to Greenwald's fully clothed 129½ lbs) the day before
the fight. A second-round "throwdown" by St. John gave her a 10-8 round in a bout in which
St. John's style again seemed to have progressed little, despite her goal of taking
on Christy Martin. ESPN2's commentators questioned why the fight was selected for live TV
coverage. The North Carolina boxing commission had reservations about sanctioning the bout
because of the weight difference, but appears to have let Greenwald's team decide
whether to go ahead with it. Greenwald fell to 2-6 (1 KO) with the loss.
On April 7, 2002 at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California,
she weighed in at 133 lbs and advanced to 24-1-1 (12 KO's with a four-round unanimous (40-36) decision over Janae Romero (132 lbs) of Denver, Colorado, who fell to
2-2-1 (1 KO). Romero tried to pressure St. John but Mia was able to control this fight
from the outside and shook off the shots that Romero did manage to land on her.
On May 18, 2002 at the Silver Star Casino in Choctaw, Mississippi,
a near-capacity crowd was unhappy with a majority (39-37,39-37,38-38)
decision for St. John (136 lbs) over Kristina (Kristy) Follmar (5'8", 133 lbs) of Cedar Lake, Indiana.
Former Indiana Golden Gloves champion Folmar came out aggressively and
appeared to control the bout despite swinging her punches too much. Follmar
moved well and kept a clearly rattled St. John backing up with right-left combinations
to her face, and the decision was loudly booed. St. John tried to tie Follmar up in the
fourth and Follmar wasn't able to press her attack steadily but she was taking the
fight to St. John just before the bell. St. John progressed to
25-1-1 (12 KO) while Follmar fell to 2-1 (2 KO).
St. John grinned knowingly when she heard the decision. She was also greeted by a
steady chant of "Kristy! Kristy! Kristy!" from the fans while she was being interviewed
for FOX Sports, whose own commentators had scored the bout 39-37 for Follmar. It
was
hard to see how any impartial judge could have scored this bout in St. John's favor.
(Also see Sue TL Fox's
commentary on this result) On August 10, 2002 at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California,
St. John (back down to 127 lbs from her peak of 145) advanced to
26-1-1 (13 KO) when she stopped
Elisha Olivas (122 lbs) of Denver, Colorado in the third round of a scheduled four-rounder.
Olivas, who hadn't fought in three years, fell to
0-3-1 (0 KO).
The world of competitive women's boxing continued to wait
for Mia St. John also to step up to a higher level
that befitted her publicity and her 26-1-1 paper record. This finally happened when she signed to fight Christy Martin at welterweight.
 On December 6, 2002 at Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, #1 ranked welterweight Christy Martin
(5'4", 144 lbs) of Orlando, Florida won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,97-93,99-91) decision over Mia (5'7"
and bulked up to
140½ lbs for this fight). Mia withstood a constant stream of body shots from Martin,
who was the icon of women's boxing in the 1990's, to go the full ten-round
distance. St. John spent the early part of the fight in retreat, but made it
more competitive as the bout progressed. At the end of the fourth round, they
traded fast-paced combinations and St. John appeared gain confidence that she
could stand up to Martin's power. St. John landed her own best shot ... a hard
right .. midway through the bout in the fifth round, but Martin laughed it off.
St. John endured the barrage from Martin better than expected, and fought back
effectively at times, but Martin's constant aggression and superior punching
power made the decision an easy one for the judges. Martin improved her record
to 45-2-2 (31 KO) with the win. Although
it's hard to win a fight by running, and St. John was never
any threat to Martin, the bout added respectability to Mia St. John's boxing career,
as she exceeded the low expectations
created by her history of short bouts with mostly inexperienced opponents. She used
defensive movement to give Christy Martin angles that made it hard for Martin to use the power that had been the key to her earlier victories.
"She worked hard every day," said Mia's trainer Robert Garcia, a former world champion who also trains Fernando Vargas.
"Everything I told her to do, she did."
St. John had mused about retirement before the fight, saying: “I can’t wait until I retire but I want to make sure I
have done everything I can in boxing before I leave. After boxing, I have an offer to host a TV sports show and my
endorsements will keep me busy". But the positive
press that she gained simply by staying on her feet against Martin for ten
rounds encouraged Mia to hang in for some more fights that would include other
serious contenders.
On March 15, 2003 at Club Life in Dallas, Texas, Mia (137 lbs) returned to the ring and won an easy
six-round unanimous (59-55,60-54,60-54) decision over Jessica Mohs (133
lbs) of Phoenix, Arizona. Mohs, who had previously fought as a featherweight, slipped to 5-7-0 (1 KO) with
the loss. [St. John post-fight interview]
On April 19, 2003 at Selland Arena, Fresno, California, she weighed in at 135½ lbs and
lost an eight-round unanimous (78-74,77-75,77-75) decision to WIBF/IWBF lightweight champion Jenifer Alcorn (135 lbs) of Fresno. After a
feeling-out round, the fight turned into a slugfest with Alcorn scoring repeatedly to St. John's face to the cheers of her
home crowd. St. John hung tough and did not run from Alcorn but she reverted to the windmill style of her early fights. This
left her open for punishment by the hard-hitting Alcorn, who St. John later described as the strongest fighter she'd ever
faced. "She was throwing wild," Alcorn said. "I was finding the openings and sticking. I liked that she didn't run." Alcorn
added that "If you fight out of emotion and anger you get in trouble," an apparent reference to the bad blood that had
existed between the two in the pre-fight period, with St.John saying that she would steal Alcorn's regional fan base with a
win and a war of words over who was more "Mexican". Mia told WBAN after the
fight; "Out of my 31 fights
this was probably my favorite fight aside from Christy. Fighting Jenifer was
such a challenge and truly a wonderful experience. The crowd was on their feet
the whole time and found it as exciting as I did. The fight was an
overall success! I went into Fresno, sparked a little controversy, we sold a lot
of tickets and fought our hearts out. My job is complete. I couldn't be
happier." Alcorn advanced to 16-0-0 (10 KO) with the win. (Photo
Gallery #51 on the WBAN Records Member Site
has photos and some MPEG video clips from this fight, and
Photo Gallery #52 has weigh-in photos). On July 11, 2003 at Silver Legacy Casino, Reno, Nevada, she advanced to 28-3-1 (13 KO) by going back to
a four-rounder and winning a unanimous 40-36 decision over Jessica Mohs of Phoenix, Arizona who fell to 5-10-0 (1 KO).
On September 18, 2003 at Four Bears Casino, Newtown, North Dakota,
she fought unranked Olivia Gerula of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to a six-round majority draw. Gerula, fighting for the first time in just over a year, moved her record
to 5-6-2 (1 KO).
Mia takes a left to the face from Jessica Mohs
© Copyrighted Photo taken by Dale Hausner On October 10, 2003 at Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona, an estimated crowd of 1200 saw Mia win
a unanimous (40-36,40-36,39-37) four round decision over Jessica Mohs of Phoenix, Arizona. This was the third
time that St. John has fought and defeated Mohs. Mohs fell to 5-11-0 (1 KO).
(See Photo
Gallery #106 on the WBAN Records Member Site.)
vs. Franchesca Alcanter in January 2004
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mike Blair On January 24, 2004 at Bank of America Center, Boise, Idaho, in a rematch of their May 19 2000 bout at
the Playboy Mansion, St. John (137½ lbs) won another four-round
unanimous (40-36,40-36,40-36) decision over Franchesca Alcanter (139 lbs) of Kansas City, who
fell to 10-5-1 (5 KO). (For more fight photos, see
Photo Gallery #139 on the WBAN Member Site).
St. John told local press that she was nervous to be fighting in Boise for the
first time, but was pleasantly surprised by the urging-on that she got from the fans.
“I was surprised to
see so many Latinos in the audience,” St. John said. "It helped that the crowd was cheering me on, they
pumped me up and got me going.” She also stated that she is looking for a rematch with Christy Martin.
vs. Ragan Pudwill in February 2004
© Copyrighter photo by Patricia Butaud/Janis
Guidry
On February 7, 2004 at Grand Casino Coushatta Pavilion in Kinder, Louisiana,
Mia (136 lbs) easily moved her record to 31-3-2 (13 KO) with a four-round unanimous
40-36 decision over Ragan Pudwill (138 lbs) of Mandan, North Dakota. St. John thoroughly outclassed Pudwill and
rocked her repeatedly with combinations to the head, prompting the referee to ask Pudwill if she wanted to continue
midway through the third round. Pudwill showed heart by continuing and staying on her feet, but this was a
mismatch by any standard. Pudwill fell to 3-9-0. (For more fight photos, see
Photo Gallery #141 on the WBAN Records Member Site).
Jessica Rakoczy dominated Mia St. John in April 2004
© copyrighted photo taken by Jessica Trevino
On April 15, 2004 at the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore, California, IBA Lightweight champion
Jessica Rakoczy (132½ lbs) won an
eight-round unanimous decision over Mia (138½ lbs) in a non-title fight that was the
co-main event on the card. Rakoczy dominated the bout with her speed and power, occasionally pinning St. John
against the ropes with a barrage of overhand rights. For her part, St. John tried
to stay out of trouble and look for opportunities to counter the hard-charging
Canadian. Rakoczy improved to 14-1-0 (4 KO) with the win while dropping the outgunned St. John
to 31-4-2 (13 KO). (For more fight photos, see Photo Gallery #162 on the WBAN Records Member Site).
“She is fast, she is strong, but I bobbed and weaved and dodged,” said St. John
about her loss. "I had to
have really good defense because I knew she was a strong fighter. She really is the fastest fighter
I ever fought ... I’d say she is the best fighter I ever fought.”
St. John also said she had told her own trainer Robert Garcia about Rakoczy’s skills but
that he had shrugged them off, only to be impressed once the fight started! “Robert told me she
fights like a dude,” said St. John, who then tried not to let Rakoczy get set for her power punches.
“I heard lots of people say I would get knocked out in the first round,” said St. John, whose improvement has
reportedly enticed Lucia Rijker’s team to offer a fight on two occasions.
“Nobody is going to knock me out in one round. That’s what they said about
Christy (Martin) and that’s what they said about Jennifer (Alcorn). Yes, they
are the elite, but I can hang with them. I was ticked when (boxing writers) said
that. With Jessica I wouldn’t have been able to keep
her away if I wasn’t able to see her punches because she is so fast. You have to know where to move and when to move that’s
hard to be able to do that. To keep someone off of you your jab has to be strong enough to keep them away.”
vs. Lana Alexander in May 2004
© Copyrighter photo by Patricia Butaud/Janis
Guidry
On May 8, 2004 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, in Biloxi, Mississippi,
Mia (132 lbs) stopped Lana Alexander (130 lbs) of Nashville, Tennessee in the fourth round
of a scheduled six-rounder. Alexander fell to 2-4-0 (1 KO). (For more fight
photos, see Photo Gallery #168 on the WBAN Records Member Site).
On May 23, 2004 at Club Avalon in Denver, Colorado, Mia (134 lbs) stopped Melissa Ayanas (130
lbs) of San Antonio, Texas at 0:34 in the third round of a scheduled six-rounder.
RockyMountainBoxing.com reported that St. John "cruised" to a third
round stoppage over the very game Ayanas. St. John used her jab early to wear
Ayanas down. St. John then shot off a barrage of combinations that made the
referee stop the fight. Ayanas fell to 3-2-0 (2 KOs).
On July 29, 2004 at the Arena in Oakland, California, Mia (135 lbs) advanced to 34-4-2 (15 KO) with a
four-round unanimous (40-36,39-37,39-37) decision over Talia Smith (5'4", 128
lbs) of Cleveland, Ohio, who fell to 3-5-0 (3 KO) and had now lost five
straight.
On August 13, 2004 at the Buffalo Chip Campground in Sturgis, South
Dakota, Mia weighed in at 137 lbs and won a six-round unanimous decision over
Ragan Pudwill (137 lbs) of Mandan, North Dakota.
On October 15 2004 at the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona
Mia (137 lbs) won a four round unanimous 40-36 decision over Janae Archuleta
(146½ lbs) of Denver, Colorado before a crowd estimated at 4500. St. John
fought an aggressive fight in which the momentum switched back and forth as they
exchanged jabs and hard rights.
Although Archuleta landed effectively early in the fight, St. John threw more
combinations, especially in the third and fourth rounds.
In the last round St. John danced and picked away at Archuleta with jabs, then
came forward aggressively in the last 20 seconds of the fight. At
the final bell both were punching away at each other with the crowd on its feet
cheering.
On October 23, 2004 at the Activity Center in Maywood, California 1200 fans saw
Mia win a four-round unanimous (40-36) decision over Janae Archuleta of Denver,
Colorado for the second time in just over a week. St. John came out cautiously
at first, using her jab repeatedly to beat the slower Archuleta to the punch.
St. John worked left hooks and straight right hands past Archuleta's defense
repeatedly in the second and third and appeared to be trying for a knockout in
the fourth but Archuleta would not give up and continued to go forward,
occasionally landing a hard right cross. Archuleta ended the fight with swelling
under her right eye,
"I like Janae a lot," said St. John, in an assembly room at the venue
after the fight. "She is no pushover. She comes to fight and doesn't quit."
Asked about her extra aggression in the fourth round, St. John admitted, "I
got mad because she wasn't going down from my punches that were landing. That is
why I got really aggressive. She's a really tough girl that's why I like to
fight her. I hit her hard a couple of times and she just stood there. She won't
lay down for anybody."
"She was different this time," Archuleta told David Avila of
MaxBoxing.com, "she was a lot more aggressive, she was real strong in this
fight." Archuleta fell to
4-9-1 (2 KOs).
vs. Lana Alexander again in November 2004
© Copyrighted photo by Patricia Butaud/Janis
Guidry
On November 6, 2004 at Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder, Louisiana,
Mia (131½ lbs) won a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-46,40-34) decision in a
rematch with Lana Alexander (137 lbs) of Nashvile, Tennessee. Alexander fell to 2-6 (1 KO). For more fight photos and
video clips, see Photo Gallery #223 and MPEG Gallery
#225 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
On December 18, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Mia St.
John (136 lbs) TKO'd Janae Archuleta (137 lbs) at 1:46 in the first round of a
scheduled six-rounder. St. John caught Archuleta in a corner with a hard
right, then with a left hook that she followed up with a flurry of punches.
Referee Jose Cobian stopped the bout when Archuleta failed to respond. The crowd
booed the stoppage, protesting that it was too early. St. John improved to
39-4-2 (16 KO), while Archuleta, who took the fight at short notice as a
substitute for Lisa Lewis, fell to 4-10-1 (2 KO).
Mia St. John brawls with Joy Irvin
© copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On February 3, 2005 at The Tank in San Jose, California, Mia (136 lbs) TKO'd Joy
Irvin (130 lbs) of Arkansas at 1:14 in the second round of a scheduled
four-rounder. This fight was described by WBAN correspondent Brian Low as an
"old fashioned brawl" with both fighters throwing bombs from the start.
Irvin had won her first six fight by KO and was looking to make this #7.
Mia weathered a storm of punches before unleashing some bombs of her own at the
end of the first round to let Joy know that "fight's on". After instructions
between rounds Mia was up and ready for the second. She used her
experience to score with punches inside Joy's bombs before throwing her own,
then took advantage of Irvin's lack of defense skills to overwhelm her for the
TKO. Irvin fell to 6-1 (6 KO) with the loss.
For more photos and video clips of this fight see MPEG/Photo Gallery #237 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
Rakoczy ematch with Mia St. John, February 2005
© copyrighted photo taken by Jessica Trevino
On February 10, 2005 at the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore, California,
Mia (137 lbs) lost to Jessica Rakoczy (135¼ lbs) of Las Vegas by a TKO at the
end of the second round of a scheduled six-rounder. St. John, who took the
bout at short notice, had been cut over her eye in the second round and did not
come out for round three on the
advice of her
corner. Rakoczy improved to 18-1 (6 KO's) while St. John fell to 40-5-2
(17 KO). For more photos of this bout see Photo Gallery #240 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
On June 12, 2005 at the Ohkay Casino at San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, Mia (134½
lbs) defeated Liz Drew (133¾ lbs) of Troy, Missouri by a ten-round unanimous
(99-91,98-92,98-92) to win the IFBA Lightweight title. Drew, who was ranked #30
in the world at junior welterweight by WBAN prior to the fight, was considered a
"soft" opponent for a world title belt, but she began the fight looking to pull
off an upset by going at St. John aggressively. Drew landed several big rights
while Mia struggled to hold her off with her jab. Drew won the first and second
rounds on two judges' cards, cutting off the ring on St.John and staggering her
with the right hands at times. St.John did some showboating to signify that she
was not bothered by Drew's punches but St.John pulled the rest of the fight
together convincingly as she began to connect solidly with her own right and her
jab became more effective. As Drew wilted, St. John picked up her own pace and
pounded her tiring opponent in the later rounds for a convincing decision.
St. John earned her first legitimate belt a week before her 38th birthday, and
moved her record to 41-5-2 (17 KOs) with the win. Drew fell to 9-8-0 (2 KOs)
with the loss.
Before the fight Drew had said that she was ready, fit and determined for her
shot at St. John, but Mia had trained at altitude in Idaho for two weeks before
the bout to prepare herself for the extra physical stress of fighting in
mile-high New Mexico. "I've been running and sparring four-minute rounds
nonstop at high altitude," said St. John before the fight. "This is my
shot at a world title and I plan to take advantage of it."
St. John's trainer Robert Garcia, a former junior lightweight world champion,
said she has improved remarkably in the last two years. "If you saw her
against Christy Martin you could see how much
she improved. She's a good student and a good listener, she gets better and
better."
On August 20, 2005 at the Capital
Gym in Beijing, China, Mia (133 lbs) advanced to 42-5-2 (17 KOs) with a 10-round
unanimous decision over Donna Biggers (133 lbs) of
South Carolina, now 14-2-1 (13 KOs) for the IBA Continental Lightweight
title. The judges scores were 99-91, 95-94, and 99-91.
Mia vs. Holly Holm in December 2005
© Copyrighted photo by Mary Ann Owen
On December 8, 2005 at Isleta
Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly Holm (5'8",
139½ lbs) of Albuquerque won a ten-round unanimous shutout (100-90) decision
over Mia (139 lbs) defending her IBA 140-lb world title.
According to Boxing
Scene's Andy Rivera, "Round one started with St. John dancing
around Holm, avoiding any contact she could. Holm immediately answered with a
series of combos that backed St. John into the ropes several times. For every
impending jab, it looked as if St. John was just trying to avoid being dropped
to the canvas as opposed to just being hit. With Holm dominating the round, the
crowd was sent into a frenzy cheering on their local favorite. In round two,
St. John was cautiously looking for some sort of hole in Holm's offense,
landing several shots, but unable to keep any sort of defense up as Holm would
drop jab after jab on her. The second and third round had Holm landing
countless solid jabs and body shots without giving St. John any chance to
retaliate. Overpowered, St. John had yet to land a decent shot on Holm yet. In
the fourth round, Holm had St. John on the ropes several times. Already
dominating the fight, Holm was relentless and never slowed down a bit. The
fifth and sixth round continued to have Holm control the fight by unleashing a
volley of punches, forcing St. John into the corner, unable to counter or
escape. The few times St. John was able to land solid jabs, Holm would answer
with an onslaught of body shots and the occasional uppercut. In the eighth
round, neither fighters were showing any significant fatigue, but it was
clearly evident that St. John knew she was losing and there wasn't anything she
could do about it except smile. Once again St. John is ineffective in either
landing any punches or holding Holm back. The ninth round finally showed some
physical wear on St. John. Upon several clean straight jabs by Holm, St. John
appeared to be stunned, but not out entirely all the while Holm was still
floating around the ring unscathed. The tenth round started with St. John able
to punch Holm into a corner, but that was short lived when Holm fired back,
easing the pressure St. John was putting on her. Into the ten second warning,
both fighters unleashed whatever fight they had left in them before the bell
had finally rung."
Holm improved her record to 12-1-2 (4 KOs) with the win.
"I wanted to end it early, but she's been in 50 fights, and she's been hit
by the best, and she is conditioned to go all the way," Holm
told reporter Richard Stevens of the Albuquerque Tribune. "She can throw
five punches before you can even blink," St. John said of Holm after the
bout .
(For more coverage of the weigh-in, and fight photos by Mary Ann Owen and Butch
Gottlieb, see
MPEG/Photo Galleries
#308 and #312
on the WBAN Member Site).
On April 1, 2006 at Palo Duro Creek
Country Club in Nogales, Arizona, Mia (138 lbs) won by a third-round TKO over
WBAN #9 ranked lightweight Shelby Walker (135 lbs) of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mia improved to 43-6-2 (18 KOs) with the win while Walker dropped to
7-6-1 (6 KOs) with her fourth loss in her last five fights.
On
June 23, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Jelena Mrdjenovich (133 lbs) if Edmonton won a
ten-round unanimous (97-93, 97-93,99-92) decision over Mia (134 lbs) to win the WIBF Lightweight title. Mrdjenovich
improved to 17-1 (11 KOs).
On February 9, 2007 at the Rhode Island Convention
Center in Providence, Rhode Island, Jaime Clampitt
(135 lbs) won a ten round unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-91) decision over Mia
(135 lbs) for the IWBF Lightweight title. According to a report by WBAN
correspondent Ken Castro, "Clampitt emerged from a stale, lackluster effort
from both participants in the early going by getting the best of an exchange of
overhand rights in the third round. In the following round, Clampitt scored
again with a crisp combo and again in the fifth round the Canadian native moved
St. John back with a hard body shot. In the same round, St. John emerged
unscathed from her first of two slips on the night, the latter coming in the
waning seconds of the sixth go-around. In the seventh, Clampitt was
bloodied as a result of a small gash in the upper portion of her forehead.
Moments later, both fighters displayed crimson-stained faces to go with their
pink gloves, which eventually also bore the mark of Clampitt’s cut. St.
John stung her counterpart late in the eighth, when Clampitt was moving
counter-clockwise, away from a clutch, with a nasty left to the jaw. But the
damage that St. John leveled upon her opponent on the night was limited in
scope, compressed into a scant moment of time. As such Clampitt,
controlled the pace of the fight, right up until the final bell."
Clampitt improved to
18-4-1 (6 KOs) with the win while St. John fell to
43-8-2 (18 KOs).
Mia St. John vs Brooke Dierdorff
© Copyrighted photo taken by Juan Ayllon
On April 20, 2007 at the Star Plaza Theater in
Merrillville, Indiana
Brooke Dierdorff (129 lbs) of Canton, Illinois, upset Mia (136½ lbs) by
a six-round split (59-55,58-56,55-59) decision. According to the Bragging
Rights Corner website (braggingrightscorner.com) "Dierdorff came out very
aggressively in the early rounds, while St. John whose left eye was nearly
swollen shut, finished the fight strong." WBAN correspondent Juan
Ayllon
reported that: "Dierdorff crowded and threw the full weight of her body
behind virtually ever swing, winging hurtful blows to body and head. Rosales-St.John
slugged back fiercely, catching her more aggressive foe with rights coming in
and combinations in close. There was a lot of grappling in close and a little
hitting and holding on her part. Yet, for all her experience, shed couldn’t
quite offset her younger tormentor’s raw aggression and power. Dierdorff wasn’t
intimidated and, at times, manhandled Rosales-St.John when pinned on the ropes,
forcibly grabbing and turning her back to the ropes. She was just that strong
and energetic. And, she was beating Rosales-St. John up. In the fourth,
Rosales-St.John fell on her backside from what appeared to be a punch landed
while she was off balance and squared-up. Referee Kurt Spivey ruled it a
slip. Going into the sixth and final round, St. John appeared behind in
points. Gathering herself up, she repeatedly backed Dierdorff to the ropes and
battered with both fists. Dierdorff fought back hard, but fighting in her first
six-rounder, she seemed to tire and was clearly edged in this round". Dierdorff
was a late replacement for Rita Figueroa who was injured during training. Dierdorff, who had a 12-2
record as an amateur, improved her pro record to 4-0-0 (3 KOs) while
dropping St.John to 43-9-2 (18 KOs).
On
June 14, 2008 at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico,
Mia St. John (146 lbs) won an eight-round majority (78-74, 79-73,76-76)
decision over Amy Yuratovac (147 lbs) to claim the WBC international
welterweight crown. St.John improved to 44-9-2 (18 KOs) while
Yuratovac, who was a late replacement for the injured Rita Figueroa, fell to
6-2 (6 KO's) with the narrow
loss.
Mia
St. John's boxing career has had parallels with Anna Kournikova's in pro tennis
... her visual appeal made her the most photographed and recognized female pro
boxer. She developed sufficient skills to survive against serious
competition like Christy Martin,
Jenifer Alcorn Jessica Rakoczy or
Holly Holm, but most of her
wins came against lightly regarded competition. Her recent willingness to get into the ring with opponents like Martin, Alcorn, Rakoczy
and Holm has earned her
marks for toughness (and also showed that she has greatly improved her defense since her KO loss
to Rolanda Andrews).
Just
like Kournikova, Mia St. John's business plan has made the most of her
looks, and became well-known despite limited athletic skills compared to
the top
competitors in her sport. She's executed her plan well, but the real lesson of her career for
other female boxers may simply be that ... to get big paydays ... it's every bit as important to
work hard to publicize yourself outside the ring as it is to work to
improve your skills inside it.
More Mia St. John Links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
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