(AUG 4) It has been quite an
amazing road for retired world champion and Hall of Famer
Melinda "La Maravilla" Cooper, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
I first began covering Melinda Cooper when she was just a mere
kid, as an amateur boxer. One day as I was checking out
the emails coming into WBAN, we received a photo of Cooper from
Las Vegas Photographer Mary Ann Owen. Owen went on to
introduce me to this young amateur and kept WBAN updated for
many years as Cooper progressed throughout the sport.
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Photo credits: Mary
Ann Owen
2020 IWBHF Inductee/Las Vegas Photographer - First photo |
Needless to say, WBAN has
followed, covered, and reported countless fights and
achievements, including when we named her WBAN's Fighter of the
month in 2005 in the process.
|
Photo Credits: Courtesy
Photos |
The
5'2½" bantamweight Melinda Cooper was
born in Las Vegas, Nevada. She began boxing in 1996 after
meeting trainer James Pena at the Nevada Partners gym.
Cooper went on to compile a depth of ring experience as an
amateur boxer that is quite rare among U.S. female fighters,
some of whom still make their pro debuts with no amateur
experience at all.
Cooper became the first female from Nevada to win a USA Boxing
National Championship. At the 2000 US Everlast national
championships she won all three of her bouts in the 106-lb
junior (age 15-16) division. She won the 125-lb junior
division at the 2001 Women's National Golden Gloves with a 5-0
decision over Takesha Graham of Fort Meyers, Florida.
Melinda completed her amateur career with an impressive 37-2
total record.
In yet another major milestone for Cooper was when she
turned pro. She made history by becoming the first female
to be licensed by the state of Nevada to box professionally
under the age of 18. Cooper proceeded to make her
pro debut at age 17 on March 23, 2002 at the Aladdin Hotel in
Las Vegas, Nevada. Cooper won that bout by a unanimous
decision.
|
Photo Credit:
Courtesy/Melinda Cooper |
Cooper continued to
fight from many years, and winning a world title in the process,
retiring in 2014, having 25 pro fights during her career with a
(23-2-0 11KO) record.
In 2017, Cooper became a Police Officer in Las Vegas. She told
WBAN, "I joined Las Vegas Metro in 2017. I wanted to help my
community and be apart of it in a bigger way."
In 2020, Melinda Cooper was inducted into the International
Women's Boxing Hall of Fame, and was honored August 14, 2021 at
the Orleans Hotel & Casino, in Las Vegas, the following year, as
the IWBHF had to cancel the event in 2020 due to Covid.
We have added Melinda Cooper in our "Women Cops Who Box" segment
on WBAN! Link
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