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5'11½" super middleweight Natascha (Natalja) Ragosina
was born Natalja Jurjewna Ragosina on April 5, 1976 in Karaganda,
Kazakhstan. She began combat sports at the age of 18, as a kickboxer.
Within two years she had won the 1996 European championship, a feat
she repeated two years later in 1998. Success took her to Moscow, where
she switched to boxing a year later. She won the European
75-kg championship in Pecs, Hungary in May 2003 and other
international amateur matches including a win over
Laura Ramsey of the USA in a USA-Russia Dual Meet in Russia in September 2003. Despite her amateur record, when she
moved to Germany with her infant son, intending to turn to pro boxing, trainer Werner
Kirsch didn’t want her (or any other woman for that matter) at the SES Boxgym in Magdeburg.
Until he saw her, that is.
“That girl really knows how to get stuck in!” he remarked as he watched her
spar. He was hoping some of her determination might rub off on
the male fighters under his charge, and he’d already noticed that she only had
to walk into the gym and their work rate increased dramatically.
Natascha made her pro boxing debut on July 17, 2004 in Dessau, Germany,
winning by a first-round KO over fellow debut fighter Olga Gorbonosenko of
Latvia
in what was described as the most impressive action on the undercard.
Natascha showed great ring knowledge, landing her punches easily and
correctly, to overpower Gorbonosenko.
On September 18, 2004 at Herrmann-Gieseler-Halle in Magdeburg, Germany
Natascha TKO'd debut fighter Dana Tabuskova of Russia in the second round of a
scheduled four-rounder (picture at left).
On October 16, 2004 at Neue Messehalle in Halle, Germany
Natascha stopped Alexandra Vajdova of Slovakia by TKO at 1:23 in the third round
of a scheduled four-rounder.
On December 11, 2004 at Lausitz-Arena in Cottbus, Germany,
Natascha Ragosina (167 lbs) defeated Yvonne Reis (167 lbs) of Fort Lauderdale,
Florida by
TKO in the tenth round for the WIBF Intercontinental championship.
Reis, who had been outclassed but kept trying to come forward throughout the bout,
was knocked down in the ninth round, but weathered the storm
... only to have the fight stopped with 42 seconds gone
in the tenth.
According to WBAN correspondent Ewan Whyte:
"Reis was outgunned from the second round onwards when the Kazakh upped the pace,
and after barely surviving a hail of punches
in the third, the 38-year-old American had somehow made it through to the
ninth with a demonstration of grit and determination of her own. “What was
primarily impressive about Reis’s performance,” commented Stefan Strehler of
SecondsOut, “was her ability to take punishment.” If what should have been
the high point of a long career had to end in disappointment at the hands of
someone that had only turned professional a few months earlier, she would at
least be spared the indignity of a stoppage.
But no. Although she was miles ahead on the scorecards and could have just
cruised to the win, as many would do under the same circumstances, Natascha
wanted the stoppage, to maintain her perfect record. And what Natascha
wants, Natascha gets. If it comes to a war of wills between a 38-year-old and a 28-year-old in the
tenth round, your money would in any case be on the younger woman, but
Ragosina struck pre-emptively at the end of the ninth with a straight right
that put the American down for the count (only the bell saved her), and when
it sounded again to signal the beginning of the last round, Reis walked out
dazed and diminished, and into a storm.
Referee Roger Tillemann of Belgium was faced with a grim dilemma. Armed with
nothing more than an awkward southpaw style that Ragosina had figured out
long ago, Reis had been taking a beating now for over eight rounds, but had
evinced a determination to hang on to the end, and no referee would have
wanted to rob her of that consolation with only eighty seconds remaining;
but Ragosina was intractable and it was she now that held all the cards.
After watching Reis rocked by a ‘multitude of clean punches’, Tillemann had
no option but to stop the fight forty-two seconds into the tenth."
On January 15, 2005 at the Bördelandhalle in Magdeburg, Germany
Natascha (167½ lbs) won a four round unanimous (40-36)
decision over Borislava Goranova (157½ lbs) of Sofia, Bulgaria. Goranova, who
fell to 3-11-0 with the loss
had only been stopped once in her career (in one of
her four fights against Jane Couch) and had gone the distance with Agnieszka Rylik and Myriam Lamare,
On May 7, 2005 at Volkswagenhalle in Braunschweig, Germany.
Natascha (168 lbs), back from surgery in early April that had prevented
from her fighting American Valerie Mahfood,
TKO'd Sarka Stoklaskova (165¼ lbs) of the Czech Republic in the second round of a scheduled
six-round bout. Stoklaskova fell to 1-2 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On July 9, 2005 at Life Sportpark Herrenkrug in Magdeburg, Germany
Natascha remained undefeated when she won a ten-round unanimous
(99-91,100-90,100-90)
decision over Valerie Mahfood of Texas for the WIBF super-middleweight (168 lb)
continental title.
Mahfood was now 19-9-1 (9KO) while Ragosina improved to 7-0-0 (4 KO).
Correspondent Jon Fox wrote to WBAN, “Natascha Ragosina has just
performed a virtual shutout on Valerie Mahfood. I thought that this was
going to be one helluva scrap - but it wasn't. In truth, I realised shortly
into the fight that it was only ever going to be a helluva scrap if Mahfood
turned it into a war. But she elected not to. As a result she just looked
pedestrian and ponderous. For her part, Ragosina was content to keep her
opponent on the end of her cultured (but non-lethal) jab. From time to time
she woke us from our slumbers with impressive combinations. But these only
served to demonstrate that the Russian could have achieved a stoppage at any
time she had chosen to exert herself. Unfortunately, she chose not to.”
On September 17, 2005 at Harzlandhalle in Ilsenburg, Germany, Natascha
TKO'd Maria Velichkova of Bulgaria at 1:21 in the first round.
According
to WBAN correspondent Ewan Whyte: "It took all
of 30 seconds last night for Natascha Ragosina to dispatch the
overmatched (and not altogether undernourished) Maria Velichkova ... with no time amid the phone-in competitions and ‘co main
events’ (one of which featured a pot-bellied greaser in his forties, who
appeared to be drunk) to show us the full thirty seconds, D:SF cut to
the chase: Velichkova, a huge blonde with
teddy-bear ears (the secret love child, perhaps, of the British
Home Secretary?) paws at Ragosina — you can’t call it a jab;
it’s a kind of circular, up-down-and-back movement, like that of
the shaft turning the wheels of a locomotive — and Ragosina
answers with a perfectly executed right cross that catches her
on the left cheek, spinning her round and leaving her doubled
over, as though wanting to vomit. The referee, several yards from the
action, looks at the state of her and charges to the rescue, shouting at
Ragosina to hold off. As it is, Ragosina’s follow-up, which he’s too
late to prevent, is merely a looping left intended to turn her stricken
opponent round and set her up for the kill."
"Standing either side of the diminutive referee as the result is
announced, they look like Valkyrie: Ragosina, with her blonde braids
plastered onto her scalp like a helmet (though her hair’s so
abundant it takes two pony tails to keep the rest out of her face),
and Velichkova, who must be over six foot, a vanquished giantess.
Even with her shoulders slumped, she looks far bigger than her
opponent. In her cylindrical aluminium shorts (a dustbin with the
bottom kicked out?), she’s a turkey too big for the oven. Young,
too. Pretty from this angle; but with that far-away look you see in
newsreels of prisoners of war running through the whole Miltonic
fiasco a second time in their minds, as though even that were
preferable to living in the present. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of teenagers in eastern
Europe and the Dominican Republic willing to try their luck in
German rings against thoroughbreds like Ragosina and Graf. This one
was weeks away from full fitness. As usual, we were told she was
‘not be underestimated’; that they were saying great things about
her in her native land. To judge from her tearful, crestfallen demeanour after the fight, she, too, had believed them."
On October 29, 2005 at
TURM Erlebnis City in
Oranienburg, Germany, Natascha (167½ lbs) knocked out an outclassed
Monica Mwakasanga (166¾ lbs) of Tanzania at 1:52 in the second round, to
win the vacant WIBF World Super Middleweight title. The "fight", such as
it was, topped the bill on D:SF's SES-Boxabend on the Astra satellite. Mwakasanga fell to 4-3-3 (1 KO).
On January 14, 2006 at
Ballhouse Arena in Aschersleben, Germany,
Natascha defended her WIBF World Super Middleweight title with a clear
(100-89,99-91,100-90) 10-round unanimous decision over Dakota Stone of
Seattle, Washington, USA. Ragosina improved her record to 10-0 (7 KO's) while
Stone dropped to 7-4-3 (1 KO).
On April 15, 2006 at
the Maritim Hotel, in Magdeburg, Germany, Natascha (168 lbs)
retained her WIBF Super Middleweight belt and gained the GBU belt with a
TKO win over Carlette Ewell (173¼ lbs) of
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The referee stopped the fight at 1:23
into the fifth round after Ewell remained wobbly after surviving a
knockdown by a hard right from Ragosina. According to WBAN correspondent
Torben Lodberg: "Ewell was a very game opponent and managed to put
pressure on Ragosina when she got in close, but she had to work very
hard to get in there. As the fight progressed, Ragosina took full
advantage of her longer reach and her very good boxing skills. Ewell
kept coming forward, but her attempts to close was paid for by a lot of
good jabs from Ragosina. Halfway into to fifth round, Ewell was stunned
by a hard right hand, and Ragosina set in the chase, resulting in
another right that sent Carletta Ewell to the floor. She beat the count,
but the renewed bombardment from from Ragosina made the referee stop the
fight." Ewell fell to
10-5-0 (7 KO's).
On November 18,
2006 at the Burgwächter Castello in Düsseldorf, Germany,
Natascha (168 lbs) defended her WIBF Super
Middleweight title with a TKO at 1:00 of the third round over Scroller
Carrington (6'1", 163¼ lbs) of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Carrington fell to 7-2-1 (4 KO's).
On February 17, 2007 at the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany,
Natascha TKO'd WBAN #12 ranked Yahaira Hernandez of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at
1:08 in the seventh
round. Ragosina dropped the 19-year-old Hernandez in the sixth round and twice in the seventh before
the bout was halted. Ragosina improved to 13-0 (10 KO's)
while Hernandez fell to 8-1 (3 KO's).
Ragosina added the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title to her
collection with this win.
On May 25, 2007 at the Fight Night Arena in
Köln, Germany,
Natascha (167½ lbs) successfully defended her three super middleweight
world title belts (WIBF, GBU, WBA) against Dakota Stone (163¼ lbs) of
Seattle, WA, USA with a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-93,100-90)
decision. There was never much doubt
about the outcome as Stone lacked the means to overcome her
disadvantage in reach, and managed to land very few punches. Ragosina
was in full command throughout, but failed to follow up on the occasions
where she had Stone on her heels. Stone's solid chin forced Ragosina to
go the full distance for only the fourth time in 14 fights. Stone fell
to 8-6-5 (1 KOs) with the loss.
On September 8, 2007 at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin,
Germany, Natascha (167 lbs) stopped Gardy Pena (161¾ lbs) of the
Dominican Republic at 1:41 in the second round of a scheduled 10-round
title bout. Ragosina won the vacant WIBA Super Middleweight, and
defended her WBA and WIBF Super Middleweight titles, with the win, which
dropped Pena to 9-1-1 (6 KOs).
On December 15, 2007 at the Anhalt Arena in
Dessau, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Natascha Ragosina (167¼
lbs) used her six-inch height advantage to good effect and won a
10-round unanimous decision over Akondaye
Fountain (5'6", 163¾ lbs) of
Houston, Texas for the WIBF, WIBA, GBU, WBA, and the Interim WBC Super
Middleweight titles. The 35-year-old Fountain
suffered her first pro loss and fell to 7-1-1 (4 KOs).
On March 15, 2008 at the Maritim Hotel
inMagdeburg, Germany,
Natascha added the IWBF and WIBC super middleweight belts to her
collection with a one-sided unanimous (100-90,99-90,99-91)
decision over
Teresa Perozzi of Bermuda. Ragosina, who entered with the WIBF, GBU, WBA,
WBC and WIBA belts but left with a record seven, was in control for the
entire bout and nearly got a stoppage in the final round. Ragosina improved her
record to 17-0-0 (11 KOs) while Perozzi fell to 6-3-1 (1 KO).
On July 11, 2008 at
Rundturnhalle
in Cuxhaven, Germany
Natascha Ragosina (168 lbs) won by a 10-round unanimous
(97-93,96-94,97-93) decision over Conjestina
Achieng (167½
lbs) of Kenya for the WIBF and GBU Super Middleweight titles. WBAN
correspondent Ewan Whyte wrote: "She came dressed as
Supergirl but it would be a lie to say Natascha Ragosina fought like a
girl. She didn’t fight at all. She ‘boxed’ (we are told), which meant
trying to keep the challenger at arm’s length (further still, if
possible) for twenty short minutes while the clock ran down. She didn’t
even make a very good job of that, it has to be said; Achieng cornered
her on quite a few occasions with surprising ease, and when she did, she
landed some quite good punches. Ragosina neither landed nor even threw
anything all night that would have smudged your granny’s make-up, yet
according to the promoter, Ulf Steinforth, the decision in her favor was
correct. What we saw tonight, he told us, was 'a class boxer against a
fighter'". Achieng
fell to 14-4-3 (7 KO's).
On November 28, 2008 at
the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany Natascha (165½ lbs) won a second
10-round unanimous (97-93,99-91,98-92) decision over
Conjestina
Achieng
(161¾ lbs) of Kenya defending her WIBF and WBA Super Middleweight
titles. Ragosina advanced to 19-0 (11 KO's)
even as the decision was booed by the German crowd, while Achieng
fell to 14-5-3 (7 KO's).
On March 28, 2009 at the
Mehrzweckhalle Grossziethen in Schoenefeld, Brandenburg, Germany.
Natascha won her eleventh defense of the WIBF Super Middleweight title
when she TKO'd Iva Weston of Trinidad and Tobago at 1:19 in the sixth
round. Daniel Van de Wiele stepping in and stopping the bout."
Weston fell to 12-5 (1 KO)
with the loss.
On
July 3, 2009 at Soccio Center in Langenhagen, Niedersachsen, Germany,
Natascha Ragosina (166 lbs) won a 10-round (98-93,100-90,99-91)
unanimous decision over Laura Ramsey (5'5",
164¼ lbs) of Lake Wales, Florida, USA defending the WBC and WBA Super
Middleweight titles.
Ragosina used her
seven-inch height advantage to good effect, landing solidly to Ramsey's
head throughout the bout. Ramsey, who dislocated her shoulder early in the bout, fell to 9-4-0 (4 KO's).
On December 19, 2009 at DIVS in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Natascha Ragosina
(172 lbs) won the vacant WIBF Heavyweight title with an eighth-round KO
of Pamela London (237 lbs) of Georgetown, Guyana. This scheduled
10-rounder may have set a record for differences in physique in female
boxers in a world title fight.
Ragosina advanced to
22-0 (13 KO's) while London dropped to 6-4-1 (1 KO). Ragosina has
said that she intends to continue competing at heavyweight, but this may
not be easy to do convincingly as there is very little world class
competition at the weight.
Page last updated:
Tuesday, 17 January 2023 |
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