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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.
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 (see photo at left by Guhdar
Ali Photography). The Edmonton Sun's Murray Greig wrote
that "Making her first appearance in
almost a year, the 24-year-old Edmontonian looked hesitant in the early
going and ate a steady diet of left hands from Spence through the first
two rounds. Bradford finally found her rhythm in the third, scoring
with combinations and pressing the action for the full two minutes.".
Bradford, who had boxed since age 12
and had 63
amateur fights, winning three Canadian amateur titles and nine
provincial championships, moved her pro record to
2-0-1 (0 KO's) with the draw, which sparked
inevitable post-fight
controversy.
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
disagrred
:" 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. Jeff Emond Jeffrey wrote
for BoxingExaminer.com:
"Spence spent most of her time on the attack, putting Bedo on the ropes
many times over." Bedo, a much-featured tune-up opponent
in
Europe fell to 3-23-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.
Natasha Spence vs Lucia Larcinese in October 2011
© Copyrighted photo taken by Durell Wambolt
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.
Lou
Eisen wrote
on FightNetwork.com that "Much
talked about prospect Natasha “The Nightmare” Spence improved her
record to 3-0-1 with 2 kayos by dominating Lucia Larcinese in
what was essentially a schoolyard brawl as both gals flailed away,
basically throwing caution to the wind along with roundhouse and
windmill punches all throughout their four round tussle. In the end,
Natasha Spence’s energy won her a well-deserved four round
unanimous decision."
Rick McLean wrote for BoxingExaminer.com: "The opening round saw the
faster Spence land the harder punches and had Larcinese back peddling
for most of the round. Spence utilized her jab well and put a
solid right hand behind it. Larcinese had a much better
second and third rounds however Spence was able to land the more
telling blows and continued to control the fight. In an all
action fourth round both fighters left it all in the ring going toe to
toe until the final bell." Larcinese fell to 4-8
(0
KO's) with the loss.
“I
love the sport and I love the performance”, says
Spence. “People want
to be entertained, they want to see exciting fights and exciting
fighters. I work really hard in and out of the gym to give them that.”
Both eloquent and congenial outside the
ring, Spence has no difficulty
finding razor sharp focus and ferocity inside the ropes. “
I eat, breathe and sleep boxing, and I surround myself with the right
people in order to succeed. When I get into the ring, I have no doubt
that I will win. I just know I’ve done everything I could have possibly
done to prepare myself. I know that I have out trained and will out
work my opponent. I have the speed, skill and drive that supports my
confidence,” says Spence.
“Winning is just putting it all together.”
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, Artkansas 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 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).
Other
Natasha Spence links
To
check
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last updated: Monday, May 27, 2013
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