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Photo Credit: Mary Ann Owen/WBAN Exclusive Photographer Flyweight "Lady of Boxing" Ava
Knight-Salicka was born on August 15, 1988, in the
little town of Chico, California. Half Polish and half
African American, she takes no shame from what she does. As a child,
Ava never played sports but she did ballet through her years of 4-6. In
school she was always quiet and never outspoken ... one of those girls
that you could walk by and never notice. She has a very loving family
that supports her in what she does.
Ava started boxing at Chico
Boxing for Fitness in June of 2001, at the age of 13. Not knowing yet
that she had the talent to compete, she attended the gym and boxed in
her
first amateur fight in 2002. She had a hard time getting fights through
the years and had to fluctuate between weight classes and also fight
the
same people two or three times to stay busy. Though many fights were at
least three or more months apart, she finished with a record of 28-4.
She fought and beat the 2006 110-lb Golden Gloves Champion twice and
the 2006 National P.A.L 114-lb Champion twice. She attended the U.S
Nationals in Colorado Springs in March 2006, but lost to Cheryl
Houlihan
by a controversial 13-10 decision on March 10 after defeating Amy
Augendhal by RSC-1 the previous day.
Ava was given her ring name
“Lady of Boxing” by her coach Joe
Rodriguez. She didn’t like the name at first but it came to grow on
her. She is trained by Joe Rodriguez, his son Luis Rodriguez, and her
father Elliot Knight. Ava didn’t know that her father was a former
amateur boxer when he was a kid until she was four years into
boxing. She also trains alongside professional boxer Mario Hernandez
and amateur boxer Morris Rodriguez, both aspiring to be champions in
the future. She loves boxing and wants to conquer it. She is very
humble but takes pride in making everyone around her happy.
Ava made her
pro debut on August 30, 2007, at age
19 at Colusa Casino Resort in Colusa, California, . She weighed in at 114 lbs and
fought a to a four-round unanimous (40-37,39-37,39-37) decision over
Leonie Hall (118 lbs) of Oceanside California, who fell to 0-2-1 with
the loss.
On September
20, 2007 at Sagebrush Cantina in
Calabasas, California, Ava (115½ lbs) fought Katarina De La
Cruz (5'3", 116 lbs) of California just hours after she got the call
for the fight, winning by a KO at 1:19 in the first round and sending
De La Cruz's record to 0-2-1.
Ava's third fight was against
Jodie Esquibel
(106½ lbs) of Albuquerque at the Isleta Casino near Albuquerque, New
Mexico, on January 11, 2008. Ava tried to come down to 108
lbs, but could only make 109½ lbs; Jodie’s team still accepted
the fight. Ava fought to a majority draw with Jodi, but many saw that
it as a robbery. The first round was Knight’s with clean
blows and dodging most of Esquibel’s punches, while the second round
was Esquibel’s. The last two rounds appeared to be Knight’s with strong
punches that opened up Esquibel’s nose and put a welt on her forehead.
Judges Rocky Burke and Margaret Garcia scored the fight 38-38, while
Judge Joel Perez had it 39-37 for Knight. Knight felt that
she was robbed by a "home town decision".
Her fourth
fight was on February 9, 2008 at
Aquarius Hotel, Laughlin, Nevada against the more professionally
experienced Sharon Gaines
(112 lbs) of Las Vegas, Nevada . Knight won with a unanimous (58-56x3)
six-round decision. Gaines fought a tough fight but Knight fought a
better fight dropping Gaines's record to 11-10-0 (3 KO's).
On June 12,
2008 at Mohegan Sun Casino in
Uncasville, Connecticut, Knight (124 lbs) fought WIBA champion and
aspiring MMA contender Elena Reid
(126
lbs) of Las Vegas to a draw over six rounds. Knight took
the fight a week in advance. The fight was close but Knight felt she
won landing harder cleaner shots stunning Reid at times, while Elena
was hitting Knight mostly with slaps and punches with little behind
them. Knight felt she won again but was not disappointed that she drew
with a world class fighter whose record advanced to 19-4-6 (5 KO's)
with the draw.
On July 31, 2008, Knight went to Schuetzen Park, North Bergen, New
Jersey, to fight a local favorite, Noriko Kariya (5'1", 119 lbs) of
Toronto, Canada. Knight (117 lbs) took the fight a week in advance but
also had to come up two weight classes to 119 lbs. Knight came that
night to make a point. She knocked out Kariya at 00:20 in the fifth
round.. Kariya's
record fell to 9-3-1 (2 KO's) with
the loss.
On November 18, 2008 at Table
Mountain Casino in Friant, California, Ava (117½ lbs) won the IFBA
North American Bantamweight title with a hard fought eight-round
unanimous (77-75x3) decision over undefeated California rival Kaliesha
West (117¾ lbs) of Moreno Valley. West's record fell to
10-1-0 (2 KO's) with the loss.
“This is big for
me,”
said Knight after the bout. “I want to cry, but I can’t get
it out.” Knight's trainer Joe Rodriguez also acknowledged
West after the bout: “West was good, and I take my hat off
to her for giving Ava the opportunity, but Ava Knight is “The Lady of
Boxing,” and she showed that tonight.”
On August 29,
2009 at Ciudad Deportiva
in Mexicali, Baja California,
Mexico, Ana Maria Torres
(115 lbs) of Mexico won a 10-round unanimous (97-94,96-94,99-91)
decision over Ava (115 lbs) for the WBC Junior Bantamweight title. A
local report opined that Torres was 'much superior' and 'used her reach
advantage to good effect' but Knight moved well and made for a
difficult target. She also gave Torres a bloody nose which 'only made
her more determined'. Torres
moved her record to 19-3-2
(11 KO's).
“That loss was the most
important fight I’ve had to date,” Knight said
later. “I
learned more about the mental game. The physical part is
important but it doesn’t matter if your mind isn’t in it 100-percent.”
On January
14, 2011 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, USA Ava
Knight (110 lbs) won by an emphatic KO at 1:55 in the first
round over
Gloria Salas (108¾. lbs) of Palm Springs,
California,
who fell to 3-6-1 (1 KO) with the loss. The convincing win
advanced
Ava Knight's professional record to 6-1-2 (3 KO's).
On
June 18, 2011 at the Sports Arena in Pico Rivera, California,
Ava Knight (117 lbs) and Kaliesha West
(118 lbs) of Moreno Valley, California fought
to a 10-round split draw in a rematch for the WBO Bantamweight title.
The scores were: 96-94 West, 96-94 Knight, and 95-95.
Mary
Ann Owen told WBAN,
"West and Knight were like mirror images, their fight was an offensive
battle. Both fighters used excellent combinations in a continuous
struggle to the end." Knight's
record moved to 6-1-3 (3 KO's), West's to
13-1-3 (4 KO's).
On October 29,
2011 at El Palenque de la Feria in
Colima, Mexico, Ava Knight (111¾ lbs) knocked out Arely Mucino (111¾
lbs)
of Monterrey, Mexico in the second round of a scheduled ten-rounder for
the IBF Flyweight title. Mucino began the fight aggressively
with
straight lefts and hooks to the liver but Knight used her height
advantage to land a straight left followed by a right hook to the chin
that knocked Mucino to the canvas in a corner. That knockdown
was
ruled a slip but Knight quickly followed through with a digging left to
the body followed by a left to Mucino's head that put the
Mexican
champion flat on her back. The fight was stopped by the referee
at 0:34 in the second stanza with Mucino still lying on her her back on
the canvas. “I thought I
actually lost
the first round,” Knight told
Ryan Maquiñana, "but
our
plan was always to come in and go for the knockout, so we were able to
do what we had to do.” Mucino
fell to 14-1-1 (8 KO's).
Ava
was named WBAN's Fighter of the Month for November 2011 and Hottest
Rising Star for 2011. Her KO of Arely Mucino was also cited as one of WBAN's
Three Biggest KO's of 2011.
On March 31, 2012 at Gimnasio
Auditorio in Los Cabos,
Mexico, Ava Knight (111¼ lbs) TKO'd Vacharaporn Prachumchai (aka
Hongfah Tor
Buamas, 111¼
lbs) of
Thailand in the tenth round of a defense of the IBF
Flyweight title. Knight, who had said she intended to knock
out the mandatory challenger, punished her with
hooks to the liver throughout the fight. Knight
finally overwhelmed her opponent with a flurry of lefts and
rights to the face and stomach which left the Thai boxer hurt and
exhausted against the ropes, provoking a stoppage by referee
Pat Russell. Prachumchai fell to 15-5 (2 KO's) in
her first foray outside Thailand, while Knight improved to 8-1-3 (5
KO's) with her second win inside the distance in Mexico.
On
June 30, 2012 at Auditorio Centenario in Torreon, Coahuila
de Zaragoza, Mexico,
Ava Knight defeated Susana "Toluquita" Vazquez of Mexico by a
ten-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,98-92) decision for
the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Flyweight title.
Knight used her height and reach to control the bout and
landed
well with rights to the head. Vazquez was cornered
in the
second round and Knight appeared to be trying for a knockout but
Vazquez, cheered on by a partisan crowd, kept throwing and fought her
way out of trouble. Vazquez landed hard in the
fourth but
also began to bleed from her nose. Knight stepped up her
intensity in the fifth and sixth but Vazquez defended better
with
her jab in the seventh and was able to stay competitive to the end of
the fight. Knight progressed to 9-1-3
(5
KO's) while Vazquez fell to 8-7-1 (2 KO's).
Vazquez's losses have come against top opponents and Ava
Knight
was named WBAN's Fighter of the Month for June 2012 for the
win.
On October 13, 2012 at the Palacio
de los Deportes
in Mexico City, Ava Knight (111 lbs) won the WBC Diamond Flyweight
title with a ten-round unanimous (97-93,96-94,97-93) decision over Mariana Juarez
(112 lbs) of Mexico. Ava was the early aggressor, using her jab well to
keep Juarez on defense and landing the more accurate punches. Juarez,
who had predicted that Knight could not perform well in the later
rounds at the famously high altitude of Mexico City, instead found
herself
playing catchup when the open scoring showed that she had fallen behind
58-56 after six rounds. Knight did slow down a little in the later
going but her conditioning allowed her to maintain her
accuracy and aggressiveness as the hard fought fight
became
more of a
toe-to-toe battle. When the chips were
down, Juarez
could
not win the rounds she needed to erase her deficit on
the
scorecards. Neither boxer
was in serious difficulty at any time. Knight improved to
10-1-3
(5 KO's) while Juarez slipped to 35-6-3 (16 KO's).
On January 26, 2013 at Gimnasio Manuel
Bernardo Aguirre in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, Ava Knight (108 lbs)
won the vacant WBC Silver Flyweight title with a ten-round unanimous
(100-90,100-90,99-91) decision over Susana Vasquez (108 lbs) of Toluca,
México. Vasquez fell to 8-8-1 (3 KO's) with the loss.
On May 11, 2014 at Agustín Ramos Millan Gym
in Toluca, México, Ava Knight (112 lbs) defended the WBC Silver
Flyweight title with a ten-round unanimous decision over Linda "La
Muneca" Soto
(112 lbs) of Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico. Knight controlled
the action throughout the fight with superior punching power and a good
mix of punches. Soto was resilient but she could not find a way
to take Knight out of her fight plan and was off-balanced several times
by Knight's attack, including taking an eight count in the fifth round
after being knocked to the canvas by a short, hard right. Soto fell to 5-3 (3 KO's)
with the loss.
On October 26, 2013 at Agustín Ramos Millan
Gym in
Toluca, Mexico, Ibeth
Zamora Silva won a ten-round unanimous (97-94,97-93,98-92) decision
over Ava Knight defending the WBC Junior Flyweight title. Knight fell
to
12-2-3 (5 KO's) with the loss while Zamora Silva improved her
record to 19-5 (8 KO's) with the win.
On November 13, 2014, at the Washington Hilton,
Washington D. C
Knight, 112, won by a 10-round unanimous decision over
Guadalupe Martinez, 112, 7-8-0 (3KO). Knight won the vacant WBC
International Flyweight title. Final judges scores were 100-90 on
all cards.
On Saturday, Feb 20, 2016, in Mazatlan, Mexico,
Knight had a split draw Jasseth Noriego, in s six round bout.
Judges scorecards were 56-59, 57-57, and 60-56.
On April 23, 2016, at the Centro de Usos Multiples,
Los Mochis, Mexico, Knight, 113¼ won an eight-round unanimous
decision over Judith Rodriguez,112¾. Final judges scores were
80-72, 79-73, 78-74.
On September 22, 2018, at the Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, in Las Vegas, Nevada,
in a action-packed female bout, Knight,111.6, won a six-round unanimous
decision over Nancy Franco, 112.2
of Jalisco, Mexico. Final judges scores were 59-55 on
all cards.
On December 7, 2018, at the Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall,
in
Las Vegas, Nevada, Knight, 111¼, now 17-2-4 (5KO), of Las Vegas,
won a six-round unanimous decision over Mayela "La Cobrita" Perez, 109½, of
Saltillo, Mexico, 19-23-4 (10KO). Final judges scores were 60-54 on
all judges scores.
On February 9, 2019, at the Dignity Health Sports
Park, in Carson, California, Knight, 111¼, had a TD Draw with Luna
del Mar Torroba, 111.5.
May 17, 2019, at the FedEx Forum, in Memphis,
Knight, 113¾, won an eight-round unanimous decision over
Crystal Hoy, 114¾.
On November 1, 2019, at the Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, in Las Vegas, Nevada,
flyweight Knight,111¾, of Las Vegas, won an eight-round
unanimous decision over Luna Del Mar Torroba,111½, of La Pampa,
Argentina. Knight improved her record to 19-2-5 (5KO),
and Torroba is now 12-10-3 (2KO). Final scores: 79-73, 79-73, and
80-72. Full
Story
On December 5, 2021, at the Staples
Center, in Los Angeles, California, Knight, 115.5, won a
six-round unanimous decision over Nancy Franco, 117.5. The
final judges scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54.
Page
last updated: Thursday,
April 10 2014
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