(MAR 15) Sarah Howett defeated Diana
Prazak in a six round shut-out at Moonee Valley in Melbourne on
Saturday night. Howett's boxing skills and balance were too good for
Prazak's bullying style which has seen her win all her amateur
fights including the national championship. But Howett was the more
experienced without the headgear and had been tested against
stronger opponents than Prazak.
On this Saturday night, it marked the start of an apparent surge of
women’s boxing in Australia. Four female bouts are scheduled over
the next few weeks in Melbourne, including one WBC world title
eliminator and two professional debuts. In the meantime on the west
coast female amateurs will complete in selection trials for the
women’s world championships taking place in Barbados in September.
Rarely before have so many women been inside the professional prize
fighting ring in such a short space of time in Melbourne with two
bouts even occurring on consecutive nights.
The first cab off the rank will be on the undercard of Saturday’s
night’s main event at Moonee Valley racecourse between Sam ‘King’
Soliman and Shannon ‘The Man’ McMahon, a WBF middleweight world
title fight. But the opening bout of the evening will also mark the
start of former blue-haired Gladiator Viper, Sarah ‘Missy’ Howett’s,
campaign for her own international boxing belt as well as being the
first professional fight for Australian amateur champion Diana
Prazac. The two will fight four rounds at junior welterweight. For
Howett, a South Pacific kickboxing champion, it will be her second
professional boxing fight.
On the following week, on March 18 at Flemington Racecourse on a
Barry Michael and Brian Armatruda promotion, former amateur star and
relative boxing veteran, Perth-based Erin McGowan will fight Angie
Parr, a one time world kickboxing champion and wife of Muay Thai
icon John Wayne Parr.
McGowan will clash with Parr for the third time in her undefeated
11-fight career. The two, whose barnstorming fight caught the
attention of pundits in WA, will appear on the John Hopoate v Shane
Cameron undercard in a six round non title bout.
And the following night, Friday March 19, OPBF and WBF world super
bantamweight champion Susie ‘Q’ Ramadan will begin her climb towards
the WBC crown in an eliminator against Argentine Maria Jose Nunez.
Ramadan, undefeated in 12 fights is already in the WBC top ten but
will edge her way even closer to the top spot of the highly
competitive women’s bantamweight division if she wins this next
international bout at Knox Netball Centre.
On April 9 Prazac will fight again, this time coming up against a
former amateur opponent Cassandra Pruden. Pruden lost a close
decision against Prazac and is keen to avenge the loss without the
headgear on a Peter Maniatis promotion featuring Heath Ellis, the
nephew of former IBF junior lightweight champion Lester Ellis, at
Malvern Town Hall.