HISTORY OF
WOMEN'S BOXING

5′ 8½″ junior welterweight Chris "Bombon Asesino" Namús was born Christian Ariadna Namús on October 3, 1987 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Namús participated in numerous combat sports from the age of six She did a few months of karate (to red belt), seven years of Tae Kwon Do (from ages 6 to 14, compiling a 14-0 record mainly against Argentinian girls), and kickboxing (from ages 14 to 15). She briefly gave up sports (and put on weight) but returned after about a year with an increased interest in hard contact competition. Although she originally found boxing unappealing and "ugly" she was inspired by watching the Karen Kusama movie ‘Girlfight’. At age 16, she was spotted by trainer Antonio Canedo while working a bag in a gym where her boyfriend also trained.

Canedo became Namús's trainer despite early doubts: "She turned up one day accompanied by two boys. She asked me how much I charged for boxing lessons and whether I taught women. I said 'Yes'  or, rather, 'I don't know', but secretly I thought I'd be wasting my time. A week or so later, I was up there in the ring with two pupils and I saw her standing there with her purse. I signaled to her to wait a minute, finished up, went down and took her to my office. I asked her whether she'd decided, she said 'Yes' and I looked at her with that divine face of hers and said: "Why don't you wait a bit?" No, no, no. "Totally decided?" Yes, yes. And it reached the point where I had no alternative because otherwise she'd have begun asking: "Why does this man not want to accept me?" So I enrolled her and she began to learn, and she learnt everything, she was a really quick study, she learned everything, more or less, and began to train, and train and train. In the end, I was really enthusiastic and wanted her to turn pro."

"He refused to take my money because he said I wouldn't last out the week", recalls Namús.  "I tried to convince him that he was wrong, but he wouldn't listen. When he noticed that I was still coming, he gave up."  

Before long Namús found herself in the ring in the Parque Hotel facing Ana Martínez in an exhibition bout. "It was scheduled for three rounds," remembers Namús, "but, without meaning to, I knocked her out in the third round. I had a considerable advantage in weight; but then, she'd had seven years of training to my three months." 

On 24 November 2006 at an evening of boxing at the Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo attended by the President of Uruguay, Namús won the first of four "Uruguay vs Argentina" bouts by a second round stoppage of Nara "La India" Mastandrea.  The scheduled four-round amateur bout was described as follows: "The Argentinian was tough, according to Boxeo Uruguayo, but Namús had the beating of her, and began tightening her grip in the second round. The signs of despair at her own impotence and the effects of the pounding she was taking could be seen by all as Mastandrea received her second protective count of the round, and with the crowd, sensing the imminence of the first Uruguayan victory of the night, now willing her to victory, Namús, unaffected by the euphoria at ringside, responded by tightening her grip still further – coolly, as though tightening a noose – increasing not the tempo but the accuracy of her punching as the big girl's resistance grew feebler, and finishing her off with forensic precision and a succession of clean shots to the face that obliged the referee, Martín Carnevale, to stop the fight (RSCH Rd. 2)".

A scheduled three-round exhibition between Namús and Erondina Tabárez at Club Colon on 12 March 2007 was stopped by the referee. As reported on boxeouruguayo.com, the taller Namús bobbed lightly around a rival anxious to close and exchange blows. Both displayed good technique but Namús's punches were more accurate and began to leave their mark on Tabárez's face. In the second round, Tabárez opted for all-out attack but got the worse of the encounter. According to other reports , Tabárez lost her composure and began charging her tormentor in the second round as though it were a bullfight. With her faster footwork and quicker, harder hands, Namús was soon all over her, and referee Aníbal Andrade was "forced to halt the massacre".

With just three amateur fights behind her, Namús made her professional debut on May 18, 2007 at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo. She weighed in at 140 lbs and won a four-round unanimous (40-38,40-36,40-38) decision over Maria Eugenia López (139 lbs) from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Uruguayan press reports said that "Namús opened the first round with combinations of two, three or four punches, as the occasion required, while the Argentinian relied on the classic one-two. López was forced to clinch once or twice in the second round and hurt near the end of the round by a tremendous straight left to the jaw. Gathering confidence, Namús began to circle her opponent ... from her tight, crouching stance, the 23-year-old Argentinian struck back, with no thought of surrender, bruising Namus with her right cross on several occasions as the final round opened."  This fight was closer than the 4-point margin given to Namus on one scorecard, as WBAN reported at the time: "There are two views of this fight and there's no reconciling them. To the judges ... as well as to Boxeo Uruguayo, for whom the 19-year-old came very close to breaking her Argentinian rival with three-punch combinations in the final minute, it was a clear victory for the Uruguayan. To Jorge Savia, who covered the fight for Ovación Deportes, it was a draw (39-39).  Alberto Zacarías, the trainer (inter alia) of Sergio Acuña, was equally adamant: "It's a crying shame. Very clearly the Uruguayan girl did not  win. But there's bound to be a return before too long, and I have no doubt, based on what the two of them showed us here tonight, that next time we see them in the ring together, they'll be disputing a major title."

"My opponent was very tough. I was struggling a bit because I was used to easier fights", said Namús. "Everyone was telling me: 'Don't get over confident.' I'd only fought three women prior to that and stopped them all in the second round. The stadium was full of people I knew. A whole coachload of them came from La Teja to watch me"

On July 13, 2007 at Hotel and Casino Conrad, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Namús (140 lbs) won a four-round unanimous (40-37,40-36,39-38) decision over Silvia Fernanda Zacarias (137¾ lbs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  This fight generated less enthusiasm and controversy than Namus's debut. Namus came out throwing more punches than her opponent in the opener, but Zacarias was more accurate. The Argentinian caught Namús with several good crosses in the evenly-fought second round. Zacarias performed better in the third round with Namús against the ropes but Namús turned the tables in the fourth, forcing Zacaras to defend against the ropes. Zacarias fell to 1-2-1 (0 KO's) with the loss (but has continued to compete in Argentina, winning on points over Maria Eugenia Lopez, but being KO'd in the sixth round by WBAN ranked junior featherweight Claudia Lopez).

On January 19, 2008 at Hotel and Casino Conrad in Punta del Este, Namús (137½ lbs) won a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-36,40-37) decision over Juliana De Aguiar (140 lbs) of Rio Negrinho, Santa Catarina, Brazil, who fell to 0-2-0. According to newspaper reports, De Aguiar controlled the center of the ring while Namús moved in and out, striking and moving out of range again. The power of Chris's punches gradually left their mark on the face of the Brazilian as Namús boxed to the win.

On February 4, 2008 at Hotel and Casino Conrad in Punta del Este, Chris Namús (139 lbs) won a four-round unanimous decision over Gullermina Fernandez (139 lbs) of Buenos AIres, Argentina. The 48-year-old Fernandez, a favorite "opponent" for Argentinan boxers, fell to 1-8-1 (0 KO's).

On May 17, 2008 at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Chris (138¾ lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-55,60-57,60-55) decision over debuting 36-year-old Maria Elena Maderna (5'7½″, 136½ lbs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On July 19, 2008 at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Namús (139¾ lbs) TKO'd Perla Hernández (5'4", 135¼ lbs) of Torreon, Mexico at 1:50 in the first round of a scheduled eight-rounder for the WIBA Youth Junior Welterweight title.  “Namús only needed 1 min 50 seconds to annihilate her opponent,” wrote Dani Alonso Jr for Lo Mejor del Boxeo, but those 110 seconds included a standing count. Stunned by a left-right combination, the Mexican girl was caught by an uppercut and a right to the temple as she tried to make for the ropes, and the fight was effectively over. The Argentinian referee gave her a standing count but, as the commentator pointed out, she was only semi-conscious. Namús retired to a neutral corner (only for the referee to direct her to that of her Mexican opponent) and stood there sucking air into her lungs. Within seconds of the resumption, Hernández was in trouble again, staggering backwards, gliding her hand along the top rope as though it were a banister, and this time the referee brought the proceedings to a definitive halt. “It was an intense fight from the start,” explained the referee. “I gave the Mexican girl one more chance, but she was very groggy, which is why I stopped the fight. The Uruguayan girl is very powerful and has very long arms.” 

“He was right to stop it,” conceded Hernández. “She hits really hard and I felt those punches. There was no way I could recover in time.”  Hernandez, who had been boxing since 2003, fell to 5-5-1 (1 KO) with the loss, while Namús became Uruguay's first professional boxing world champion at any level.

On September 13, 2008 at Palacio Peñarol, Montevideo, Namús (140 lbs) KO'd Leticia Rojo (5′7½″, 139¼ lbs) of Sao Paulo, Brazil in the sixth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Rojo had arrived in Montevideo with an entourage and demanded a private gymnasium where she could rehearse her fight plan safe from the prying eyes of the press. She had also  said “I’m going to impose my game plan on Namús from the get-go, she won’t be able to live with me in the ring.”  Rojo, who suffered a cut over her left eye that required six stitches, fell to 3-4-0 (2 KO's).

On January 23, 2009 at Hotel and Casino Conrad in Punta del Este, Namús (137¾ lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-56,60-55,60-55) decision over Maria Elena Maderna (137¾ lbs) in a rematch of their May 2008 fight. Maderna fell to 3-3-1 (0 KO's). Namus' clear margin of victory was  questioned by Edgardo Rosani on Argentinian website Boxeo-Boxing.com: "Namús began badly and lost the first two rounds, Maderna dominating with her left. Slowly Namús began to find her range, her neat left jab and accurate three- and four-punch combinations that began to unsettle a very worthy opponent. In my opinion, Namús won 58-56 and not by the huge margin the Uruguayan judges gave her."  An un-named writer on larepublica.com said of Namús: "She took a lot of punches... - she needs to improve her defense. Sections of the crowd whistled the result."

On February 12, 2009 at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Namús (140 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (98-93,100-88,99-94) decision over the unranked but well tested Nicole Woods (5'8", 140 lbs) of Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA. Woods was knocked down in round three, and received an eight count in round four before coming back strongly in the sixth. Namús may have pushed too hard for the knockout in the middle of the fight but her exceptional physical condition allowed her to finish well despite Wood's late rally. Namús improved her record to 9-0 (2 KO's) while Woods fell to 7-4-0 (1 KO) with the loss. 

Woods had belittled Namús before the fight saying "I saw her fight with the Brazilian, Leticia Rojo, and the most recent one with María Elena Maderna. I wasn't impressed."  Woods had fought Maderna herself in November 2008, winning an eight-round decision on a card were she had originally expected to fight Namús, who withdrew owing to an injury (sprained ankle).

The publicity surrounding the fight with Nicole Woods was intense and made it clear that Namús has become a major sports star in Uruguay. According to an editorial in larepublica.com, "The fight between Chris Namús and (Nicole Woods) captured the imagination of all sections of society - at least in Montevideo. Someone who had to drive from Punta Carretas to the east end of the city while the fight was on told us he didn't pass a single bar or a restaurant that wasn't packed with people, all supporting the pretty and well-spoken youngster." 

On August 8, 2009 at Estadio Cr. Gaston Guelfi/ Palacio Peñarol, in Montevideo, Uruguay Lely Luz Florez (135½ lbs) of Monteria, Colombia stunned Namús (139 lbs) and the Uruguayan fans when she stopped Namús with fierce combinations at 1:44 in the first round of a 10-rounder for the Interim WBC Junior Welterweight title.  The aggressive Florez repeatedly penetrated the taller Namús' defense with power shots that immediately took their toll. Namús was reeling against the ropes before she went to the canvas with about 30 seconds left in the round. Namús tried to struggle back to her feet but instead teetered sideways and crashed to the canvas again, so the referee stopped the bout.  Florez improved her record to 14-3-0 (7 KO's) while Namús suffered her first loss and fell to 9-1 (2 KO's). 

On October 30, 2009 at Estadio Cr. Gaston Guelfi/ Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Chris Namús (137¼ lbs) returned to the ring and won a six round unanimous (60-54,60-54,60-53) decision over Maria Eugenia Quiroga (133½ lbs) of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, who fell to 2-4-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.

On December 4, 2009 at Estadio Cr. Gaston Guelfi/ Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Chris Namús (140 lbs) KO's Juliana De Aguiar (138¼ lbs) of Rio Negrinho, Brazil in the first round of a scheduled six-rounder. Aguiar fell to 3-4 (2 KO's).

On February 13, 2010 at Hotel Conrad Punta del Este Resort & Casino in Maldonado, Uruguay, Chris Namús (138½ lbs) TKO'd Adriana Salles (137¼ lbs) of Sao Paolo, Brazil at 1:23 in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-rounder for the vacant World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF) Junior Welterweight title. Salles began the fight aggressively but Namus took charge after the third round and forced two standing eight counts on Salles, who fell to 11-6-1 (5 KO's) with the loss.

On May 15, 2010 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chris Namús (139¼ lbs) won a TKO over Neris Rincón (a.k.a.Nurys Rincón Zavaleta, 137¼ lbs) of Arjona, Colombia at 1:19 in the second round of a scheduled eight rounder. Rincón offered little resistance to Namus, did not throw many punches and spent most of the fight covering up.  Rincón, who had only fought three times since 2005, received two standing eight counts in the second round and fell to 9-3-2 (3 KO's).

On January 15, 2011 at Kibon in Montevideo, Uruguay, Chris  Namús TKO'd 35-year-old veteran Darys Pardo of Barranquilla, Colombia at 1:41 in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Pardo, who was down in the second and fourth rounds and took a standing eight in the third, fell to 22-9-3  (17 KO's) while Namús improved her record to 14-1 (6 KO's).

On March 19, 2011 at Estadio Cr. Gaston Guelfi/Palacio Peñarol, in Montevideo, Chris Namús (139 lbs) was pounded for almost ten rounds by Loli Munoz (132¾ lbs) of Barcelona, Spain before the official timekeeper signalled the end of the fight for the WPBF Junior Welterweight title at just 1:28 in the temth round. Namús who had found few answers for the smaller Munoz's aggressive attacks throughout the fight, appeared to be almost out on her feet in the last two rounds.  The referee called a questionable timeout in the ninth round after Namús lost her mouthpiece, and the tenth round was ended a full 32 seconds early. Namús was initially awarded a controversial majority (96-95,95-95,97-93) decision that caused Munoz to leave the ring in disgust.  

Fan and media outrage at the official scoring were widely expressed. This and the flagrant error in the tenth round timing led the Uruguayan government sports ministry to demand a review of the bout by the Uruguayan Boxing Federation.  The UBF nullified the official decision on March 21 and the WPBF also mandated a rematch for their title.  

The rematch was fought on June 11 2011, again at  Estadio Cr. Gaston Guelfi/Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo.  Although Namús (138½ lbs) fought a smarter fight against the hard-charging Munoz (133¼ lbs) on this occasion, the split (96-98,99-95,98-95) decision for Namús was again questioned. Namus was knocked down by a punch in the sixth round and appeared to be assisted to her feet by the referee before being given an eight count.  Munoz had also landed the most effective shots throughout the fight and appeared to have Namús in trouble several times.  Munoz was unable to put Namús away, however, and this allowed closer rounds  to be scored for Namús to produce her eventual points margin on two cards.  WBAN considers the rematch another dubious decision for Namús.   

On November 28, 2011 at Club Atletico Irajá in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Chris Namús (140 lbs) won by a TKO at 1:33 in the first round  over Victoriana Britez (138¾ lbs) of Lambare, Paraguay.  Britez fell to 4-2 (1 KO) with this loss.

On December 17, 2011 at Parque Municipal Eva Perón, Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Fernande Alegre (137¼ lbs) of Buenos Aires won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,97-93,98-94) decision over Chris Namús (139¾ lbs) defending the WBO Junior Welterweight title. Namús took the initiative early in the fight but was unable to prevent Alegre from getting inside where she is most effective. Alegre used her speed, precision and superior conditioning to wear Namús down later in the fight. Alegre improved to 12-1-1 (5 KO's) with the win. 

On April 7, 2012 at Club Atlético y Social Villa Calzada in Rafael Calzada, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fernanda Alegre of Argentina won a ten-round unanimous (96-93,97-92,95-94) decision over Chris Namús of Uruguay in a rematch for the WBO Junior Welterweight title.  The fight was closer than their first meeting. Alegre was cut on her right eyelid while Namús suffered a large bruise and swelling over her left eye. Namús came on stronger in the later rounds and forced Alegre to move and defend more as the fight progressed but there were no knockdowns or clearly decisive rounds as both bixers stood their ground and at times landed solidly. Namús, who had a point deducted in the sixth round for low blows, left the ring in frustration after the judges' scores were announced for Alegre.  The fight was broadcast by TyC Sports, which scored the bout 98-93 for Namús, disagreeing strongly with the judges, who were from Brazil (96-93 for Alegre), Chile (97-92 for Alegre) and Argentina (95-94 for Alegre). Alegre improved to 13-1-1 (5 KO's) while Namús dropped to 16-3 (7 KO's). 

On June 23, 2013 at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Uruguay, Chris Namús won a ten-round unanimous (98-93,99-91,98-93) decision in a rematch with Adriana Salles of Brazil.  Salles began the fight aggressively and initially overcame Namús' height and reach advantages with the sheer volume of punches thrown.  Namús went to the canvas in the second round but it was ruled a slip. Namús began to stand her ground better in the middle rounds and wore Salles down with body punching and solid body-head combos. Namús' main defense against Salles's flurries was to retreat and and occasionally step up her work rate to go toe to toe with her smaller opponent. Namús seemed to be the better conditioned of the two as the fight went on through the eighth but Salles rallied in the last two rounds.  The scoring seemed generous to Namús  but the Brazilian might have had more success if she had been able to land more clean combinations.  Salles kept coming forward to swarm Namús with looping punches that did not have much heft behind them and rarely hurt Namús, while Namús managed to connect with several strong combinations to the head of Salles to ensure rounds went her way.  The fight was stopped twice after accidental clashes of heads hurt both boxers but they showed good sportsmanship and respect for each other as Namús progressed to 17-3 (7 KO's) while Salles fell to 12-7-1 (6 KO's).

In a non-title bout on April 13, 2017, at the Club Plaza Colonia, in Colonia, Uruguay, Namus, 146¼,  fighting at welterweight won a six-round unanimous decision over Marisa Nunez,146¾. Judges scores were 58-56, 60-57, and 58-56.

On February 27, 2016, in a high-profile unification world title bout,  at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Cecilia "First Lady" Braekus, 146¾, of Bergen, Norway, remaining undefeated at 28-0-0 (7KO), successfully defended her WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO World Welterweight titles with a ten round unanimous decision over Namus, 146½, of Montevideo, Uruguay, now 21-4- (8KO).

On August 12, 2017, at the Palacio Peñarol, Montevideo, Namus, 153½, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Yamila Reynoso, 150¼.  Final judges scores were 99-90, 98-91, and 100-89.  

In a world title bout on October 21, 2017, at the Palacio Peñarol, Montevideo, Uruguay, Namus won by a ten-round unanimous decision over Katia Alvarino, with Namus winning the IBF super welterweight title.

On December 1, 2018, at the Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, super welterweight Marie Eve Dicaire, 152¼, of Quebec, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Chris Namus, 152, of Montevideo, Uruguay. The two were fighting for the IBF Super welterweight Title. The final judges scores were 93-97, 94-96, and 93-97. This was the fourth pro bout that Dicaire had in 2018, winning all four.

On April 26, 2019, at the Club Salto, Uruguayo, Salto, Namus,  150¼, won a six-round unanimous decision over Yamila Esther Reynoso.  The final judges scores were 60-54, 60-54, and 59-56.

On October 17, 2020, at the CPI Box Club, Donauwoerth,
Ema Kozin won by a ten-round unanimous decision over Namus. The two were fighting for the Interim WBC Middleweight title, the WBF Middle, and the WIBA Middle. Ema Kozin retained her WBF World Middleweight title, after scoring what is arguably her most significant win to date, defeating former IBF World titlist Chris Namus.  [Full Story].

Namús has said she is eager to disabuse the public of the idea that there’s something unfeminine about boxing, which is why she made a point of staying as far away as possible from the masculine stereotype of the boxer: “People think of boxing as a violent sport and one for men. Up there in the ring, I may adopt a male stance, but outside the ring I'm very feminine and like to look my best.” 

The ring name 'Bombón Asesino' (Gorgeous Assassin) was given to her by journalist Sandra Rodríguez.  "My people had spent days trying to come up with one and drawn a blank. I like my name 'Christian' even though people keep telling me it's a boy's name. But Sarah gave me the name 'Bombón Asesino' , and because I appreciate her, and since it isn't that bad, I stuck with it."

Chris Namús had some boxing heritage as her grandfather was an amateur boxer. "He's not too happy about me fighting - he's overprotective with me - but I like it. Fortunately I have the support of my parents and paternal grandparents as well. They're afraid, like all parents, but I tell them if anything bad is going to happen to me, it's more likely to be when I'm shopping or crossing the road."

Namús gave up studies in forensic medicine to become a pro boxer but she has said she wants to become a physical education teacher eventually. Her boxing career had strong support from the state. The President of Uruguay, Doctor Tabaré Vásquez (a practising oncologist), was a driving force behind the growth of women's boxing in the country.  As well as being allowed to train from Monday to Friday with Uruguayan commandos, she got meals and travel expenses, clothes from Reebok and a sponsorship from Oasis (ice cream).  Through her successful fights, media appearances and sponsorships, Namús became a national phenomenon in Uruguay,  putting women's boxing on the map in her native country at a time when the sport was struggling elsewhere.

Page last updated: Sunday, April 8, 2011

WBAN Boxer Bio by Dee Williams