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Junior welterweight Myriam Lamare
was born on
January 1, 1975 at Saint-Denis (Seine Saint Denis)
in France. She began her boxing career at age 18.
She lives in
Marseille where she trains at Challenge Boxing club under Louis Lavaly
and works
as a sports instructor for the city.
Always an athlete, Myriam
Lamare discovered boxing when "one day, a teacher of American
boxing
suggested that I come to
try out in his club: fifteen days later, I was on my new course."
In savate, she won the French
championship in 1999 and 2001, was European champion in 1998 and 2000,
and the world champion in 1999, compiling a 19-1 record.
As
an amateur boxer she was French champion in 1999, 2000, 2002
and 2003 and also won several European and world
championships.
On May 7, 2000 in the 63.5-kg
(139-lb) final of the
Feenix Box Cup international tournament in Turku, Finland, Myriam
defeated
Canada's Tanya Robertson
by a 17-10 score to win her first international title.
On April 14, 2001 at the
inaugural European Women's Championship in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux,
France, she defeated Nikoletta Gavka of Greece to become the first
European
63.5-kg women's amateur champion.
In October 2001, she returned
to the Feenix Box Cup competition in Turku,
Finland, again competing in the 63.5-kg division. On
October 5 she defeated Frida
Wallberg of Gøteborg, Sweden
by a 10-5 score. On October 6 she won by a first-round stoppage (RSC-1)
over Yasemin Ustalar
of Turkey, and on October 7 she edged Terhi Lukka of Finland by 15-14
to win the final.
In November 2001 she competed
in the 63.5-kg division at the Inaugural AIBA World Amateur
Championships
held at the
Scranton High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. On November 29,
Myriam stopped Nataly Ostromouv
of Israel by RSC-1 in her quarterfinal bout. On November 30, she
defeated Donna Mancuso
of Canada by 19-12 in the semifinal. In the final on
December 2, Frida Wallberg
of Sweden avenged
her loss to Myriam at the Feenix Box Cup by a 12-10 score to take the
gold
medal.
Myriam returned to the AIBA
World Women's Championships in
October 21-27, 2002, this time in Antalya,
Turkey. She defeated Yasemin Ustalar of Turkey and Ida
Gasanova of the Ukraine
to take the 63.5-kg gold medal.
In May
2003 at the European Championships in Pecs, Hungary, Myriam defeated
Anastasiya Savinova
of the Ukraine by RSC-1 on May 15 and won the final over Maria Karlova
of Russia
by a 16-4 score on May 16.
On
July 4, 2003 at Futuroscope in Poitiers, France, she won by a first
round
stoppage
over Virginia Chaillou of France, in her final amateur bout. This
brought her total amateur record to 48 wins and
just 3 losses.
Myriam made her pro debut on October 10, 2003 in Marseille, France.
Myriam weighed
in at 139 lbs and won a first-round TKO over then #15 ranked junior
welterweight
Katalin Csehi (141 lbs) of Békéscsaba, Hungary, who fell to 4-2 (0 KO).
On November 14, 2003 in
Levallois, France, Myriam (141 lbs) TKO'd Laura
Stefanescu (140 lbs) of Romania in the first round.
On December 16, 2003 at Palais
des Sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois, France,
Myriam (138¾ lbs), then ranked #20 at junior welterweight by my
computer rankings,
won a six-round decision over then #16 ranked lightweight Elena
Tverdokhleb (136
lbs) of Kiev, Ukraine, who slipped to 3-3-0 (2 KO).
On
March 20, 2004 at Palais des Sports, Lyon, France, Myriam (137¼ lbs)
won a
six-round unanimous decision over then #26 ranked junior welterweight
Borislava
Goranova (136¾ lbs) of Sofia, Bulgaria, who fell to 2-8-0 (0 KO).
On April 29, 2004 in
Levallois-Perret, France Myriam (139 lbs) won a six-round
decision over Larisa Berezenko (141½ lbs) of the Ukraine.
On May 28, 2004 at Zenith
d'Auvergne, Clermont Ferrand, France, Myriam (139 lbs)
TKO'd pro debut fighter Monica Herzilla (140 lbs) in the first round of
a
scheduled eight rounder.
On July 10, 2004 at La
Palestre in Le Cannet, Myriam (136¾ lbs) won an
eight-round decision in a rematch with Elena Tverdokhleb (132¼ lbs) of
Kiev,
Ukraine. The fight was full of action and fiercely contested. “I’m
pleased
because it’s the first time I’ve gone eight rounds and I’m not tired,”
commented Lamare. “I think I boxed better this time than the
last time I fought the
Russian (sic), but I could do with a bit more power.”
Tverdokhleb fell to 4-4 (3
KO's) with the repeat loss to Lamare.
On November 8, 2004 at the
Sports Arena in Paris, France,
Myriam (139¼
lbs) won
a 10-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,100-90) shutout decision over Eliza Olson
(140 lbs) of Redwood City, California for
the inaugural WBA Junior Welterweight title. Olson fell to
8-4-2 (2 KO's),
On April 29, 2005 at the Palais
des Sports in Marseille, Myriam
(139 lbs) defended her WBA Junior Welterweight title
by defeating Elena Tverdokhleb (136¾ lbs) of the Ukraine when the
referee
stopped the unequal contest at 1:06 in the tenth round. Lamare was
never in any
trouble in this fight and dominated from
beginning to end. Tverdokhleb, who ended the fight with her left eye
completely
closed, fell to 4-6-0 (3 KO) with her third loss to Lamare,
and the first within the distance.
On
July 9, 2005 at Le Cannet, France Myriam (139¾ lbs) retained her WBA
Junior
Welterweight title with a third-round TKO of 19-year-old Iva Weston
(140¼ lbs)
of Trinidad.
On
December 5, 2005 at the Palais Omnisport in Bercy, Paris, France,
Myriam TKO'd Jane Couch of
Fleetwood, U.K. with seven seconds left in the third round for the
vacant WIBF Junior Welterweight and the WBA Junior Welterweight title. Couch fell to 26-8-0 (8 KOs).
On March
18, 2006 at Palais des Sport Marcel Cerdan in
Levallois-Perret, France, Myriam (139¾ lbs) retained the WBA Junior Welterweight title
with a ten-round unanimous (99-92,97-94,99-91) decision over
Florida-based Puerto Rican Belinda
Laracuente (134½
lbs). This was a good, high energy fight throughout with TV
commentators saying that Laracuente was easily the best opponent Lamare
had faced. Lamare said she enjoyed the fight as every round was
different and hoped they'd give Laracuente a rematch. There was some
booing as the lop-sided scores were announced; the TV commentary agreed
that Lamare had won but only by two or three rounds, not by the wider
margin on two scorecards.
On July 14, 2006 at Le
Cannet, France, Myriam (139¾
lbs) won a convincing (98:93,97-93,97-93) ten-round unanimous decision
over Belinda
Laracuente (135¾ lbs)
in a rematch of their March bout.
According to WBAN's correspondent, "Despite another
stylish display and hampered by an injury to her right hand, Belinda
Laracuente failed for the second time to do any real mischief last
night to the WBA super lightweight champion". Laracuente's
record fell to 22-14-3 (9 KOs) while Lamare remained
unbeaten as a pro boxer at 14-0-0 (7 KOs).
On December
2, 2006 at the Palais Omnisport in
Bercy, Paris, France, Anne-Sophie
Mathis of Dombasle, France TKO'd Myriam
Lamare in the seventh round to win
the WBA and WIBF Junior Welterweight titles.
On June 29,
2007 at Palais des Sports in Marseille,
Bouches du Rhone, France, 5,500 fans saw Anne-Sophie Mathis (139½
lbs) of
Dombasle win a ten-round majority (98-93,98-92,95-95) decision over
Lamare (140 lbs) in a rematch for the WBA Junior Welterweight title.
The much shorter Lamare pressed the action early and scored well with
jabs on the way in and
with damaging hooks once inside. However, by the fourth round Lamare
began to tire from
what appeared to be an effort to knock Mathis ut early, and Mathis then
began to take
control of the bout with clinical precision. Lamare began to back out
of punishing exchanges,
but the hard-hitting Mathis was able to walk her down and dominate the
action with her power and size advantage. Mathis improved to 16-1 (14
KO's).
On December 8, 2007 at La Palestre in Le Cannet, France, Myriam Lamare
TKO'd Daniela David of Romania in the fourth round. David
fell to 4-13-0 (1 KO's).
On May 3, 2008 at the Palais
des Sports in Marseille, France, Myriam Lamare TKO'd Angel McKenzie of
London, U.K. in the sixth round of a scheduled six-rounder. McKenzie
fell to 2-8 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On June 27, 2008 at the Palais
des Sports in Toulon, France
Myriam Lamare won by a third-round retirement over Angel McKenzie of
London, UK. The fight had been scheduled for six rounds. McKenzie fell
to 2-9 (0 KO's) while Lamare improved to 17-2-0
(10 KO's).
On January
23, 2009 at the Isleta Casino and Resort near Albuquerque, New Mexico,
USA,
Holly Holm (145½ lbs) of Albuquerque won a closely-contested
10-round unanimous decision over Myriam (144½ lbs) for the WIBA
Welterweight world championship. Holm improved
her record to 23-1-3 (6 KO's) with the win.
Photo Credit by Mary Ann Owen
Myriam Lamare vs. Anne Marie Saccurato
Lamare Wins the WBAN belt
History First with WBAN in France
On October 9,
2009 at Salle Vallier
in Marseille, France,
Myriam Lamare won an exciting ten-round unanimous (99-92,99-90,100-89)
decision over Ann-Marie
Saccurato of New York, USA for the WBF Junior Welterweight
title and the history-first in France, WBAN Junior Welterweight title. WBAN was told the fight had the fans
out of the seats cheering. (Note that thee judges came from Luxembourg,
Connecticut and France and the referee was from Germany). Lamare
improved her record to 18-3-0 (10 KO's) while Saccurato slipped to
14-4-2 (6 KO's).
On
November 6, 2010 at the Complexe sportif du
Val de l'Arc in Aix-en-Provence,
Bouches-du-Rhône, France, Myriam Lamare TKO'd Italian-born Lucia
Morelli, who fights out of Offenburg, Germany at 0:57 in the
sixth
round of a scheduled ten-rounder. Lamare had dominated this defense of
her WBF Junior Welterweight title but Morelli was still on her
feet. Morelli, who fell
to 15-2-0 (7 KO's), protested
fiercely against the referee's stoppage,
but she had been on the receiving end of a series of heavy
punches.
On
September 9, 2011 at Stade de
l’Est in Saint-Denis on the French island of Réunion, Myriam
won a
ten-round unanimous (98-92,100-90,100-91) decision over Lely Luz Florez
of Monteria, Colombia defending the WBF Junior Welterweight title. Lamare
improved to 20-3 (11 KO's) while Florez fell to 17-6 (7 KO's).
On November
5, 2011 at the Palais des Sports in Toulon, France, Myriam
Lamare (140 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,96-94)
decision over Chevelle Hallback
(139 lbs) of Florida, USA for the vacant IBF Junior Welterweight
titlle. The judges' scoring appeared to be somewhat generous towards
Lamare, who moved round the ring well and boxed effectively while
Hallback was the aggressor for most of the later rounds.
Hallback
started cautiously behind her jab but later went to the body
to
try to slow Lamare down then tried to loop punches past
Lamare's
quick defense. Neither was ever in trouble for long
although
Hallback occasionally caught the straighter-punching Lamare with
powerful flurries. The well-fought and entertaining fight between two
of the world's most experienced female pro boxers was televised on EU
Eurosport. Lamare improved her record to 20-3-0 (10 KO's)
while
Hallback fell to 28-8-2 (11 KO's).
On October 20, 2012 at Salle Schmitt in
Sedan, Ardennes, France, Myriam Lamare won an eight-round decision over
Floarea Lihet
of Bucharest, Romania, who fell to 10-12-4 (3 KO's)
On November 20 2013 at Halle Monconseil in Tours, Indre-et-Loire,
France, Myriam Lamare (145 lbs) won an eight-round decision in a non
title
fight with Loli Munoz (136¼ lbs) of Barcelona, Spain, who fell to
12-13-3 (7 KO's) with the loss.
On February 1, 2014 at Arena Nord in
Frederikshavn, Denmark, Cecilia
Braekhus (145 lbs) of Bergen, Norway won a clear ten-round unanimous
(100-89,100-90,100-89) decision over Myriam Lamare (143 lbs) defending
the WBA, WBC and WBO Welterweight titles. The normally aggressive
Lamare appeared reluctant to close with Braekhus and more intent on
staying away from her combinations, and spent much of the matchup on
defense. Braekhus was rarely in any trouble during the match as she
coasted to a 24-0-0 (7 KO's) record while Lamare dropped to 22-4 (10
KO's).
In 2018, Myriam Lamare was inducted into the Women's Boxing Hall of
Fame (IWBHF), among seven other inductees. Sue TL Fox
Announced her induction in February of 2018.
Myriam has described the
difficulties that female boxing faces in France: "The
problem is that our sport brings little money back to the
organizers, who are not interested in female boxing. It also does
not match the ethics of sponsors,
and television does not want to launch out. In fact, it is hard for
people to imagine two girls taking blows. It is a question of
culture specific to France, but one can't allow oneself to have a
judgment on something which one
does not know. The French Boxing Federation did everything so
that our sport
evolved and moved forward in the best possible way in a very short
time. For
example, it organized the first European championships in
history. It also set up a whole series of training
programs. Unfortunately, there are not many female boxers at a good
level, we
are in a building phase."
Asked about the pressures she
feels as a boxer, Myriam says "I
do not feel the pressure. I feel an emotional wave at the time of the
weigh-in, and then in the cloakrooms, where
I return two hours before the coming fight. But I have noticed that, a
long time
before, my body prepares itself at the limit, there are extraordinary
things which
take place organically so that I will be in phase with the
fight. I think there is an unconscious process which enables me to be
in full possession of myself
on the D-day. My body does not undergo pressure, since it prepares, and
then, one can relax! Louis and I like to prepare with music.
That relaxes me, and also enables me to put aside this 'wild' side
which comes out from me as soon as
I leave the cloakroom!"
"On the other hand",
she adds, "when I am on way towards the boxing ring,
when I hear the announcer and the cries of the public, I have
goose bumps, a shiver of pleasure! I am then in a tunnel, and
nothing around me matters. I feel that I am ready for combat, and my
spirit is projected up there towards the boxing ring. I adore that
moment."
"For me, boxing is
much easier to live than everyday life ...
when you are a bread-winner, you have responsibilities towards others,
and life
is not made of gifts ... it is not easy. In the ring, your destiny is
your own,
and you are the Master."
Myriam
has said that she intends to retire
from competition by 2010, and she already
has such projects in mind as opening a restaurant, world travel and
having
children. But for now, she says that she intends to become one of the
best
female boxers in the world and to keep her title as long as possible.
Page
last updated: Monday, 3 February 2014
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