HISTORY OF
WOMEN'S BOXING

May 31, 2002, San Diego,  California
At the Scottish Rite Center, in San Diego, California, and promoted by Worldwide Boxing Promotions, Mary Lehman, 38, won a four-round majority decision over Annalisa Middleton of Oxnard. The San Diego-Union Tribune reported that after the fight, Lehman announced, "I’m a fighter. I’ve always been a fighter, but I never had an opportunity to be my true self." WBAN congratulates Lehman for her first win. Lehman has worked very hard to get to the point of turning pro. She has been boxing for three years, while being a practicing Civil Attorney, and wife and mother of two twin girls. Lehman is now 1-0-0 (0KO), and Middleton fell to 0-4-0 (0KO). 

May 25, 2002 - Las Vegas Hilton - Las Vegas, Nevada   
Mandy Lynn Lapointe, 115,  TKO1 :25 seconds Stephanie Dobbs, 113.  Lapointe improves her record to 2-1-1 (1KO).  Dobbs is now 0-2-0 (0KO). BILV Butch Gottlieb was covering this fight. 

May 25, 2002 - Delray Beach Tennis Center, in Boynton, Del Ray Beach Florida
Karla Redo, 139.5, TKO'd Myrian Bazile, 138, 1:43 in the first round in a scheduled six-round junior welterweight bout. According to news sources, Bazile’s corner could take no more of the punishment Redo was doing to their fighter, and they threw in the towel. Bazile was making her pro debut. 

May 24, 2002 - Madrid, Spain
At polideportivo Magariños, Maria Jose Rosa, Spain, 11-0-0 (1KO), won a ten-round unanimous decision over "winless as a pro" Sonia Pereira, Portugal, in (can you believe it) a title fight! You guessed it folks….The WIBF had a  title fight (Euro) with a boxer that has failed to win ONE pro fight as a boxer! The scoring of this match was 100-90, 100-90, 100-91. BUT...it gets better..... Pereira has not only fought a world title fight last night, but on 09/29/01, in Offenfach, Germany, she fought Nadia Loritz in a GBU 112 lb. world championship fight…and lost; On 10/28/00, in Vienne, Austria, Pereira fought Kristina Krek in a WIBF World title fight…and lost; On 10/23/99, in Frankfort, Germany, Daisy Lang won a 10-round decision over Pereira, 113, for a WIBF title and you guessed it…she lost; and on 05/05/95, In Germany, Regina Halmich stopped Pereira in the seventh round for a a European title. So for being winless at NOW 0-7-0, Pereira has now fought three world titles, and three European titles.  

May 24, 2002,  Budapest Hungary
Report by Jolly Dee: Poland's world champion, Agnieszka Rylik faced a relatively untested American opponent, Ragan Pudwill,  in Rylik's world title defence. Rylik looked fierce in her traditional black boxing attire. In the first round, it was a tentative round for both fighters.  Rylik gauged Pudwill's ability, before looking to step in.  In the second round, Rylik became more aggressive and began to dominant the round.  Rylik began scoring at will, stepping in and out with great accuracy.  Pudwill on the other hand looked blown already, getting hit with alarming frequency. In the third round, Rylik delivered hard and often blows.  Pudwill was dropped in this round, but managed to get up and taking the count and was saved by the end of the round.  In the fourth round, Pudwill was dropped again early in the round, and allowed to continue.  But, the next knockdown spelled the end for the American's game challenge.  Agnieszka Rylik, Poland, KO4 Ragan Pudwill, United States. This was a 10-round scheduled fight – Junior Welterweights – defense WIBF. Rylik improved her record to 12-0-0 (11 KO), and Pudwill fell to 3-7-0.  

May 24, 2002– Wonderland Ballroom, Revere, Mass. 
On a Rich Cappiello Promotions card, Ann Marie Saccurato TKO2 Ann Marie Francey in a scheduled four-round welterweight bout.

May 24, 2002, Cleveland, Ohio
Shadina Pennybaker scored a UD over Sabrina Hall, 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37. No knockdowns. Pennybaker is improved her record to 5-1-0 (2KO), and Hall is now 11-2-1 (2KO). 

May 24, 2002 -Rhodes-On-The-Pawtuxet
Cranston, Rhode Island
Missy Fiorentino,  Cranston, and Cincinnati's Vikki Clardy (3-3) went toe-to-toe in a featherweight battle, with Fiorentino landing a big left hook to score a second-round knockout.  Fiorentino is now 3-0-0 (3KO), and Clardy is 3-3-0.

May 23, 2002 – Houston, Texas
Super-middleweights Yolanda Swindell, won a four-round unanimous decision over decision over Geneva Buckhalter, Columbus, Mississippi. Swindell improved her record to 2-0-0 (1KO). Buckhalter fell to 2-10-1 (2KO). 

May 22, 2002 - Westwego, Louisiana
At the "Fight Night" at the Alario Center, Kenner Louisiana’s Angie Bordelon, won a four-round unanimous decision over Irichelle Duran in a featherweight bout. News sources reported that Duran was getting clipped with constant right hands, and that in the second round, Duran was knocked down. Judges scoring on this bout was 39-36. Bordelon improved her record to 3-6-0 (0 KO), and Duran is now 1-2-0 (1KO). 

May 22, 2002 - Kansas City, Missouri
Mary Elizabeth Ortega of Kansas City TKO2 Willicia Moorehead of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a scheduled 4-round lightweight bout. Ortega improved her record to 21-1-0 (5KO), and Moorehead fell to 2-9-0. 

May 20, 2002, Budapest, Hungary – Blue Alligator Box Promotion and Golden Gloves Ltd.
In a Jr. Lightweight bout, Angela Nagy, Hungary won a six-round decision over Katalin Hanko, Hungary; Jr. Bantamweight bout, Reka Krempf, Hungary won a four-round decision over Reka Pecsi-Huszar, Hungary; and in a Flyweight bout, Maria Narozsnik, Hungary won a six-round decision over Olena Samoday, of Hungary.

May 18, 2002 -Silver Star Casino, Choctaw, MS 
Last night at the Silver Star Casino, in Choctaw, Mississippi, Mia St. John apparently scooted by with winning a controversial majority decision over a brand new woman boxer who was reported to have a 2-0-0 record as a pro with an amateur background, Kristy Follmar.  (WBAN has Follmar's record at 1-0-0 with her only win as a pro fighting Yvonne Sidney out of Wisconsin. (News sources (Fightnews.com) reported that  St. John "escaped with an unexplainable majority decision".   The crowd booed loudly at the unbelievable decision, of 39-37, 39-37, and 38-38.  

May 18, 2002, - Madrid, Spain
Silvia Leon, Spain, won a unanimous decision over Julia Shvets, Russia. 

May 18, 2002 – Portland Boxing Club - Portland, Maine – Amateurs
Former kickboxer Lisa Kuronya, Freeport, Maine, 27 years old, 5’11", 144 lbs., TKO1 1:13 seconds with an onslaught of jabs and straight right hands to the head on Canadian Sabrina Beland. Kuronya did not waste time in forcing Beland into a standing eight-count within the first 30 seconds of the round. Kuronya said to the Press Herald, "This is the sport for me, I've been hit and hurt and it doesn't bother me. You get used to it and block it out of your mind." Three of the other canadians scheduled to fight in the amateur event in a rematch did not have the proper identification to cross the border and were turned away. Kuronya is now 5-0-0 (3KO) as an amateur.

May 17, 2002 – Argosy Atrium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Trisha Hill, who fought two highly acclaimed Muay Thai bouts with Angela Rivera as well as compiling an excellent amateur boxing record, made her pro boxing debut and fought Sue Bennett in a lightweight bout. All judges scoring was 40-36. Hill comes from the amateur ranks, and was nominated as "WBAN Fighter of the month" last year.  

May 17, 2002, Austin, Texas
There were two exciting women's matches on the card and two exhibition matches. In the first women's match of the night Linda Tenberg, 125, Austin, Texas, fought out-of-towner Gloria Ramirez in a four-rounder.  Hometown fans were rooting for Tenberg,  but Ramirez came out the winner.  Ramirez won the fight by a split decision, 37-39 (Ramirez), 39-37 (Tenberg), and 39-37 (Ramirez). Ramirez improved her record to 9-11-3 (2KO), and Tenberg fell to 6-5-0 (2KO). The card then featured two women's exhibition matches. Anissa Zamarron, 104, first fought a Isabel Manyseng for two rounds, and then she fought Maribel Zurita in another exhibition that was a two-round slugfest.  Zamarron and her two opponents wore headgear. In the second sanctioned match of the night, Delia "The Chiquita" Gonzalez, 110, took on hometown fighter, Jay Vega, 111 3/4,  in a six-rounder. Gonzalez and Vega fought toe-to-toe throughout the six rounds with Gonzalez pulling the fight off with a unanimous decision! Not bad in tonight's action where both boxers, Ramirez and Gonzalez fought hometown favorites....Gonzalez improves her record to 12-7-4 (3KO), and Vega suffered her first loss as a professional and is now 4-1-0 (0KO).

May 17, 2002 - Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas, NV  
In front of a packed house at the Orleans, Melinda Cooper, 116, now 2-0-0 (2KO) won by a TKO in the second round after, her opponent Elizabeth Cervantes, 115, did not come out for the third round.  Cooper, at only 18 years old, and only two pro fights under her belt, she is quickly demonstrating that she has the potential of being a top fighter in the sport. 

May 15, 2002 Treasure Chest Casino, in Kenner, Louisiana
There were four action-packed women's matches on the card! Lisa "Too Fierce" Foster, 121, 5-3-1 (2KO) fought Kathy Williams, 119 1/4, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, 13-4-0 (4KO) for the vacant IFBA Jr. Featherweight belt in a scheduled 10-rounder and STOPPED Williams 1:19 seconds in the ninth round.  Scotty Johnson who was ON SCENE at the fights said that Foster knocked Williams down in the first round, and that in the ninth, when Williams was knocked down, the ref stopped the fight. The fight between Jr. Middleweights Sunshine Fettkether, 2-2-2 (0KO), Phoenix, Arizona and Dakota Stone, 5-1-3 (0KO), of Seattle, Washington ended in a six-round majority draw;  Canadian Vaia Zaganas, 4-1-0 (2KO) won a six-round unanimous decision over New Yorker Dee Hamaguchi, 0-3-1 (0KO) with final judges scoring of 60-54 60-54 58-56; Raquelle Tebo, 3-1-1, Las Vegas, Nevada, won a unanimous decision over  Carla Wilcox, 1-2-0 (0KO), of Seattle, Washington. 

May 11, 2002 Colorado Springs, Colorado
At the Southern Colorado Expo,Nikki Conant, Las Vegas, Nevada, making her pro debut stopped Allegra Smith, early in the first round of a scheduled 168-lb four rounder. Ref Curtis Thrasher stopped the fight that was reported to have been a "mismatch" when Smith offered little defense to Conant's barrage of combinations and turned her back during the beginning of the match.

May 11, 2002  - Germany
Nadja Loritz was supposed to fight Anca Moise of Roumania. However, Anca pulled out of the fight and was substituted by Anca Perijoc, also from Roumania. According to the article, Nadja accepted that the substitute was 6,5 kgs (14 lbs) over the limit. Loritz won by a second round knockout.
Excerpt out of a German newspaper: "The same thing almost happened to the ladies fight, but it was possible to get a substitute. Anca was ready to step in for Anca Moise in the fight against Nadja Loritz, world champion of Global Boxing Union (GBU), who wants to swim along on the "boxing beauty wave" with Regina Halmich and Daisy Lang. Nadja Loritz, 34 from Koblenz, sees herself as a challenger for the starlet Halmich, and did not want to miss her fight, and accepted the the girl from Roumania weighed in 6.5 kgs (14 lbs) over the limit. The German girl won the fight by knockout in the second round."

May 11, 2002,  Greek Club in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Nicola Cubillo, 111 3/4, KO1 Amy Cameron, 106 3/4, for the Queensland Junior Bantamweight title.

May 9, 2002, Sunset Hills, Missouri
Renee Douglas won a four-round unanimous decision over Jerri Skyles in a featherweight bout. WBAN’s insider reported that Douglas controlled the fight with good defense and precise combinations.

May 7, 2002, in Little Rock, Arkansas
Patricia Demick, 138, won a controversial six-round split decision over Brenda Bell-Drexel, 142. In an exhibition,  Melissa Shaffer, making her pro debut won by a unanimous decision over Sara Goodson.  

May 11, 2002 - Brooklyn, Maryland -Amateur
BROOKLYN, Md.- (May 7)- Here at Thunder Dome, not your ordinary venue for a boxing card to take place, Baltimore and D.C.’s up and coming amateur talent once again had the opportunity to show off their skills before local family and friends. Thunder Dome, Brooklyn’s answer for Philadelphia’s Blue Horizon, is structurally similar to the famous two-story boxing venue, where many viewings of USA’s Tuesday Night Fights took place. The only thing missing on this night was the color and commentaries of Sean O’Grady and Al Albert.
In a women’s novice match at 139 pounds, Tricia Hanson, from the Brooklyn Boxing Club, pretty much had her way with a newcomer in Rochelle Detter, also from Nye’s. Hanson, coming off of her first loss as an amateur, immediately stalked Detter from the get go and was relentlessly dictating the action with an ‘in your face’ and toe-to-toe attack. The referee, after having issued a few standing eight counts to Detter, stopped the contest in the third round and awarded the match to Hanson.  The eighth match of the evening was also a women’s match at 156 pounds. April Alvarez, from the Midtown Boxing Club, valiantly tried to overcome the reach advantage that Christina Mellies, from Sugar Ray Leonard’s had over her. Alvarez immediately crowded the taller Mellies from the start of round one and tried to work the body, however, due to the experience of Mellies, Alvarez was unable to sustain her inside body attack. Mellies established a jab halfway through the first and never relinquished it from then on. Mellies won the match by decision.

May 5, 2002 - "Brawl ‘til They Fall" Tony Fortino Grand Hall, Convention Center, Pueblo, Colorado
In front of an estimated 350 boxing fans at the Tony Fortino Grand Hall, Convention Center, and promoted by Aguilar and Toribio Promotions, Terri Cruz, 123.4, of Denver, Colorado stopped her opponent Brandy Leon, 129.6, of Prescott, Arizona, 1:22 of the first round in the scheduled 125-lb six-round semi-main event.  Cruz improved her record to 5-2-2 (3KO), and Leon fell to 1-7-0. 

May 4, 2002 – Cow Palace, San Francisco Golden Gloves Championships - Amateurs
In the 71^st run of the SF Golden Gloves Championships, Cynthia Talmadge won a close decision over Cleo Chan of King’s Gym, in the 119 lb. Division, in the special seniors division. The special seniors division is for boxers with less than 10 fights. Talmadge and Chan fought ferociously for three rounds. Talmadge was able to throw more combinations and to connect more than Chan. Talmadge is now 2-0-0 as an amateur.

May 4, 2002 in México City, México
Erika Chavarria TKO1 Lorena Roque in a scheduled four-round featherweight bout.

May 3, 2002, Columbus, Ohio
On an L & M Productions card in Columbus, Ohio, Kelli Cofer, 124, TKO’d  Tamika Smith, 120.5, Cincinatti, Ohio 1:57 of the second round. Smith was making her pro debut, and has a reported and unconfirmed amateur background. WBAN’s inside reporter said Cofer knocked Smith down in the second round after a good series of solid shots, and that Smith showed a lot of heart and was tough. Smith did get on her feet before the countdown, but was unable to continue and the ref stopped the fight. 

May 3, 2002, Durango, Colorado
In one of the most exciting fights of the night, the co-main event that featured a six-rounder with women boxers in the bantamweight division with Adriana Delgado and Monica Michel ended in a draw. Judges scoring was 59-55, 58-56, and 57-57.

May 3, 2002, San Antonio, Texas
Maribel Zurita won a  unanimous decision over Gracie Oliverez in an exciting four-rounds. Final scoring for all three judges  was 39-37.

May 2, 2002 -Hyatt Regency Hotel, Irvine, 
Report by Craig Ogawa:  Featherweight Jo Jo Wyman defeated Jessica Mohs by unanimous decision before an overflow crowd Thursday night, derailing Mohs sudden, sharp ascent through the division ranks.  Wyman, a southpaw and nifty counterpuncher with great lateral movement, crippled Mohs with a punishing shot to the body in round 2 and had Mohs struggling to hang on in the 4th, according to Wyman’s trainer, Victor Hernandez. Sidestepping Mohs’ attack, Hernandez said Wyman successfully came over with right hooks to counteract the impressive power that Mohs has shown in recent victories, including a shocking one-sided battering of highly-rated Karen Martin (who lost a much closer fight by majority decision to Wyman in January).  Wyman, who earned praise from ESPN’s Teddy Atlas in her loss to undefeated Laura Serrano in March, will continue her string of tough matches against another undefeated woman, impressive Corinne Van Ryckdegroot, on the June 8th undercard of Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson in Memphis, Tennessee.  Meanwhile, Mohs had been mowing them down since re-entering the sport she left reluctantly more than a decade ago when she was 13. After a 1st-round  knockout of promising newcomer Rita Valentini, Mohs exploded again in the first against Martin, knocking her down 3 times en route to a stunning victory and suddenly establishing herself as a dangerous, unknown force in the featherweight division.  Against Wyman, however, she didn’t seem to come out with the same energy, said promoter Roy Engelbrecht.  Betwen rounds, her corner told her she had to step up the pace, he said.  But it can be hard to press the attack when you can’t find a target and, as Engelbrecht noted, “JoJo’s  a total pro, she’s one of the best.” Wyman has matured into one of the most sophisticated boxers out there and her ring movement can easily neutralize the power of less experienced opponents.  She’s also a strong, silent type. If Wyman was at all worried about the sheer, raw force of Mohs, she didn’t show it, according to her training partner, #2 ranked flyweight Wendy Rodriguez (although Rodriguez’s own first impression of Mohs was how big she looked!)  Wyman weighed in at 124 pounds. Mohs, WBAN's Fighter of the month and subject of a fascinating profile by senior editor Brian Ackley, weighed in at 125.  The semi-main event was part of a private, industry convention and fundraiser for the NAIOP, an association of commercial real estate developers and investors. Roy Engelbrecht, who continues to run the successful promotions group he started since selling it to Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, coordinated the program.  Report by Craig Ogawa. (A special thanks to Craig for submitting this report!) Wyman improved her record to 9-4-1 (0KO), and  Mohs is now 5-4-0 (1KO).