(AUG 3) The Nevada Boxing
Hall of fame held its annual induction ceremony this past
weekend in Las Vegas at the iconic Caesar´s Palace. It was
a memorable event as Rich Marotta´s leadership keeps moving the
NVBHF into the right direction, honoring the heroes from the
past who have made our sport the best in the world. The
countless hours of work and dedication of Michelle Corrales and
the complete NVBHF team was worth it as the event was
phenomenal.
Christy Martin Salters, “The Coal
Miner’s Daughter” is the first female fighter to be inducted
into the Hall of Fame. Christy is one of the pioneers and is
responsible for opening the doors to many other women. She
inspired many to go into the gym, break paradigms, overcome
discrimination and abuse of power, and showed the world that
WOMEN can fight! She is a great story, her speech was
breathtaking and we all applaud her courage and strength to
always be a champion inside and outside the ring.
This year is one that will mark
the new era of Women´s boxing and it is time for the boxing
industry to give the due respect and opportunities to them. It
is time to see a main event female fight, to see a female fight
in a pay-per-view show, to see major sponsors supporting some of
these heroes.
Christy Martin fought at the MGM,
was aired on Showtime, fought on cards where Mike Tyson and
Julio Cesar Chavez defended their titles. Layla Ali was the main
event in many cards and fought on pay-per-view, Lucia Rijker,
Laura Serrano, Mia St. John and so many other women have made
the sport a reality. Today there are so many great fighters and
from all over the world – let’s give them the platform and they
will certainly perform and will show the world how great and
exiting Women´s boxing is.
They are always in
shape, never fail to make weight, train as hard or even harder
than any other athlete, and when the bell rings, fans are
guaranteed two minutes of explosive action-packed rounds.
Christy Martin will be inducted tonight
Ava Knight received fighter of the year
I applaud DiBella ,
K2, Promociones del Pueblo and Zanfer (Mexico), Sauerland and
SES (Germany), Rivero (Argentina), Chris Malunga (Africa),
Linden Hoskins (Australia), KO Promotions (Canada), Yuko
Promotions (Japan), Wasileski (Poland), Tampere (Belgium) and
relentless Blanca Gutierrez and Claudia Ollis for believing in
Women´s boxing and continously promoting them all over the
world, and there are many others which I could mention and I
apologize for failing to do so – to all of you who support women
in boxing, Thank you!
I am anxious to see which promoter and which TV network will
take that step to headline a female fight in the USA. It is just
a matter of time to open that door which will lead to great
exciting times for our sport.
Saturday night, Christy was honored and the night closed with a
memorial homage to the greatest of all time, the King of Boxing,
Muhammad Ali, and another great WOMAN was praised and
acknowleged at the same time, Lonnie Ali, the first lady of
boxing, a beautiful person who represents what a life of love
and dedication can do to live in harmony and dignity.