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Junior lightweight Natasha "The Nightmare" Spence
was born on June 24, 1985. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada and was initially trained by former pro super middleweight contender Syd
"The Jewel" Vanderpool, a 20-year veteran
of the boxing and fitness industries in Canada. "I've loved the sport
of boxing ever since I was a kid and I always wished I could be a
champion, like the ones on TV or in the movies. When the opportunity
came I grabbed it with both hands and never let go!”, says
Spence. [Top photo credit: Mike Blair]
Natasha earned the nickname "The Nightmare" during
her fourteen-fight amateur career which included winning two Ontario
Golden
Gloves
Championships. Spence became known for
her fast hands, footwork and body punches.
She was named Best Female Novice Boxer at the Ontario
Golden
Gloves held in Kitchener, Ontario in April 2009. She was named
Best Female Open Boxer at the April; 2010 Ontario Golden
Gloves in London, Ontario. She was also named Best
Overall Female Boxer
for the years
of 2009 and 2010.
Spence did not compete as
an amateur at the national or international levels but
went directly to her pro debut at age 25 on November
11, 2010
at the Hershey
Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, at 131˝ lbs, winning by a TKO
at 1:07 in the second round over Bernadette Hume (133˝ lbs) of
Toronto, whose pro record fell to 0-4.
On April
8, 2011 at the Shaw
Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Natasha (131 lbs) battled
unbeaten "Vicious" Vanessa Bradford (130˝ lbs) of Edmonton to a
four-round split
(38-38,40-36,
38-39) draw
Before the fight Spence had told
the BoxingExaminer.com: "I got to keep it under
control. I thrive off of it. I love to perform, I
love the cameras and I love the audience. Like I said, I’m
not going to let it go to the judges."
Ten days after the draw, she stated
that "Inside the ring I felt like I
had it. I definitely won that fight but I came out with a
draw. I think I was prepared for everything she
brought. It threw me a little off guard the pace of the
fight. I was expecting her to bum rush me, that is what I
trained for, so it was a little slower than I expected. I’m a
counter puncher by nature. I still think I did a
good job picking the shots and that is what my corner wanted to
do. I’m not taking anything away from Vanessa at
all. She brought more than I was expecting. But I
do believe that was my fight." Bradford
disagreed
:" Natasha did come to
win, but after the first round I realized I had misjudged her style and
adjusted accordingly. I felt I won more rounds and was in
control." A rematch between the
rival Canadians is clearly called for.
On August 5, 2011 at Chapiteau CCSE
Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Natasha (132˝ lbs) TKO'd Zsofia Bedo
(134Ľ
lbs) of Szekesfehervar, Hungary at 0:33 of the final round of a scheduled
four-rounder. Bedo, a much-featured tune-up opponent
in
Europe fell to 3-23-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On October 22, 2011 at the
Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Natasha (130 lbs) won a four-round
unanimous decision over Lucia Larcinese (128 lbs) of Montreal. Larcinese fell to 4-8
(0
KO's) with the loss.
On
May 12, 2012 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie,
New York, Natasha Spence (132 lbs) won by a TKO at
0:45 in the third round over Racquel Bailey (131 lbs) of Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma in a scheduled six rounder. Bailey
fell to 1-2-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On
August
8, 2012 at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester, New York, USA
Natasha Spence (131 lbs) won by a fourth round TKO over
Lucretia Meacham (130˝ lbs) of Pine Bluff, Arkansas in a scheduled
six-rounder. Spence, who ended thre action with a left hook
to the body, improved to 5-0-1 (4 KOs) with the win while
Meacham fell to 2-9-0 (0 KOs). On
September 15, 2012 at the Sleeman Center in Guelph, Ontario, Canada,
Natasha Spence won by a TKO at 0:48 in the first round over
Alexandra Gorog of Dunaföldvár, Hungary. Gorog did not look
eager to compete with Spence and was knocked down twice by
apparently innocuous blows. Gorog stayed on one knee
after her second trip to the canvas and the bout was stopped.
Spence moved to 6-0-1 (5 KO's) while Gorog fell to 2-3-0 (0 KO's). On
February 8, 2013 at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
Melissa St Vil (136 lbs) of Brooklyn, New York, won an eight-round
majority (76-76,79-73,78-74) decision over Natasha (130 lbs).
St.Vil improved her record to 4-1-2 (0 KO's).
On May 27, 2017, at the BN Arena, Hatillo, San Jose, Costa Rica,
Hanna Gabriels won a ten-round unanimous decision over Natasha Spence for
the WBO and WBA Super Welterweight belts. Gabriels was defending the
WBO belt. Final judges scores 99-91 on all cards
On December 2, 2023, at the Pickering Casino
Resort, Pickering,
Melinda Watpool, 170.5, won a six-round unanimous decision over Natasha
Spence, 168.5. Final judges scores was 60-54, 60-53, and 60-54.
On July 20, 2024 - Amalie
Arena, in Tampa, Florida, Spence was on this card - to read to
full story -
Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano
defeated Stevie Morgan by a second round TKO in a scheduled
ten-round bout. The bout was part of the “Fear No Man” Boxing
event headlined by Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry and was streamed on
DAZN PPV.
Serrano dominated the match and quickly handed Morgan her second
professional loss. Despite Morgan's size advantage, Serrano's
experience proved to be the deciding factor.
Full Story
On September 20, 2024, at the Pickering Casino Resort, Pickering,
Melinda Watpool won a ten-round unanimous decision over Natasha Spence.
Final judges scores were 99-91, 98-92, and 99-91. This was a rematch
for these two when they fought in December of 2023, when Watpool won that
bout by a six-round decision.
On April 26, 2025, at the Miccosukee Indian
Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, Elia Carranza, 152 3/4, won an eight-round unanimous decision over
Natasha Spence, 151 1/4.
On April 12, 2013 at Dover Downs
Casino and Hotel in Dover, Delaware, USA, Ronica Jeffrey (126 lbs) of New York won
an eight-round unanimous (79-73,80-72,79073) decision over Natasha (129 lbs) of for the WIBA's Interim Junior Lightweight title. Spence fell to 6-2-1 (5 KO's).
Natasha Spence Won by a Six-Round
Unanimous Decision over Maricela Cornejo For WBA Interim
Championship
Photos & Story
by Mike Blair
(AUG 10, 2025) Last night, the main event on the Roy Jones Jr.
card at Legends Casino in Toppenish, Washington was a battle to determine who
would wear the Middleweight WBA Interim Female Championship Title belt. Natasha
Spence, 157.1, (8-8-2 6KO) faced Maricela Cornejo, 157.9, (19-7 7KO) in the six round fight that
proved to be a contest featuring a puncher against a boxer.
Full
Story
Page
last updated: Monday, May 27, 2013
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