(JUNE 6) On Saturday, June
2, 2012, there was an All-Female Amateur boxing Event that took
place at the San Antonio Texas Salvation Army Gym. The bulk of the matchmaking occurred via Facebook. Staba had a large well-organized officiating crew. In fact a
member of Gulf coast association reflected with envy that each
bout had five judges.
WBAN's Add-on to this
report:
Michael Campbell added some comments....
With the addition of three weight divisions for women in
boxing at the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games in London, and Marlen
Esparza from Texas being the USA representative at flyweight,
the spotlight of the world is now on the sport.
Esparza and others are pioneers in that they've overcome
chauvinism and attempts by coaches to ignore or belittle their
place in boxing gym, with oft heard lines such as “I don’t train
women.” Dallas Malloy opened the doors of gyms and tournaments
for today’s women boxers, and now the dedication and hard work
of today’s athletes has earned women a near equal standing with
the men.
This expansion of opportunity culminates with AIBA’s inclusion
in the Olympics and can also be seen on the Local Boxing
Committee (LBC) level with events such as this past weekend in
San Antonio where Coach Jesse Gomez of Fast Katz 212 Boxing Club
organized an all-female boxing show including 10 pre-matched
bouts. Gomez innovatively utilized a Facebook group to contact
coaches, find potential matchups, and distribute information
about the event.
The showcase event included two elite level senior open bouts
and Junior Olympic competitors as young as 9 years old. Gomez’s
daughter Patricia Cuevas took on USA Olympic Trials participant
Virginia Fuchs. Cuevas showed she is always up for testing her
skills after having faced Esparza in Houston in May of 2011.
Fuchs is a former sparring partner of Esparza’s, as is Rianna
Rios who took on Monica Alvares in the other feature bout.
Everyone involved deserves to be commended for making this event
a success while celebrating equality in a sport where inequality
has existed for so long. Erik Stipnieks also deserves praise for
his efforts to give equal coverage and highlight the
achievements of female athletes in the San Antonio area.
The results were as follows:
5-0 means all 5 judges had a clear winner
3-2 is three judges 1 way 2 judges other
Mariah Betancourt Fort Bend Boxing club by 5-0 decision 60lb
weight class JO.
Alejandra Montemayor 150lbs Intermediate Jo also from Fort Bend
Boxing club (I did not get score)
Alexis Lavarine (Kenner boxing club) 79lbs JO by 3-2 decision
Alejandra Rivera senior JO 136lbs She is from Bad Boys boxing
club
Jennifer Nava 112lb JO from Laredo boxing winner by 5-0 decision
Amberly Gutierrez 130lb JO from Scratch boxing no score
available
Isamary Aquino 97lb JO from Randazzo winner by 5-0
Elizabeth Huerta Senior Novice division 118lbs from Atzlan
boxing club 5-0 decision
Akemi Collazo Senior JO 130lbs from Zarzamora Street Gym
Jesse Gomez deserves credit for organizing the event using
facebook networking. It took a Gulf Coaster to point out that
medicore by south Texas amateur boxing event standards is a
great show elsewhere! I got advice Mark did a good job all the
officials did a good job he had no real grounds to stop Cuevas v
Fuchs.
WBAN would like to thank Erik for submitting the photos and
details of this event!
Photos at the event:
Mark Coloy in charge
Rinna Rios in a pre-fight photo
Monica Alvarez before she stepped
into the ring...
Elizabeth Huerta wins (Senior division novice bout 118lbs)
Rianna Rios just before decision
victory
Patricia Cuevas before bout started
Ginny Fuchs before bout started
Patricia Cuevas post fight
Ginny Fuchs wins 5-0 decision
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