Women's Boxing: Latest News in Women's Boxing

IOWA CITY- It�s been more than 25 years since Iowa City has held a professional boxing card. The city has never hosted one with such an explosive pair of hometown sisters headlining the event. Emily and Katy Klinefelter, both with noted amateur backgrounds, will headline Iowa City�s first professional boxing show since 1981 on June 27th at the Johnson County Fairgrounds - 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE, in Iowa City.

TKO Boxing Promotions will present six bouts, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the first fight scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which are $60/front row, $40/rows 2-4, $20 general admission, are available by calling (800) 595-4849 www.tix.com or at tkoboxingpromotions.com For interviews members of the media can contact Adam Pollack at (319) 338-1633.

Emily, a 24-year-old bantamweight (118 pounds), has a 1-0 professional record, while Katy, a 20-year-old lightweight (135 pounds), will be making her pro debut. The pair are the only sisters in amateur boxing history to win national championships and finish a year each ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Pollack, who trains both Klinefelters at the ICOR Boxing Club in Iowa City, said the sisters can�t wait to fight in front of their diehard fans.

�This show will give Iowa City a chance to see local stars,� Pollack said. �This is an extremely rare treat. They have worked so hard to get to this point, and I expect them to put on quite a show. Emily and Katy are, without a doubt, two of the best female boxers in the country. People are going to be extremely impressed when they see these two in the ring.�

As amateurs, Emily captured 15 national and international titles and Katy won four national championships.�It�s really exciting to me,� Emily said of fighting in her hometown. �I think its going to be an important show because I�d love to have a long career and have a lot of my fights here in Iowa City, in my hometown. I feel that we have a lot of fans who want to follow our careers. They�re going to get a great show on June 27.�

Katy said, �My pro debut is really important to me, and to be able to have it in front of my hometown crowd is a great opportunity. I�m a little nervous but a lot more excited.�

Joining the Klinefelters on the card will be undefeated fighters Terrance Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska; Inka Laleye of St. Petersburg, Florida.; and Raul Tovar of Mission, Texas. Crawford is an Olympic Trials participant and Tovar is a National Police Athletic League silver medalist.

TKO Boxing promoter Chet Koerner said a successful show on June 27 will mean more fights for Iowa City in the future. �The girls have a great hometown following,� Koerner said. �And both girls have a ton of talent, they�re not just a novelty. Our goal is to bring a lot of top talent to Iowa City. Four times a year, we want to have the girls fight in their hometown.�

The headliners of this month�s event, the Klinefelter sisters, are two of the best female amateur boxers in history. They are certainly the best female boxers Iowa has ever produced. During her amateur career Emily won 15 national and international gold medals, including the U.S. Championships, PAL National Championships, National Golden Gloves, Ringside World Championships, Women�s World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan, and the Pan American Games in Argentina. She won 60 victories in her amateur career, including the last six U.S. tournaments in which she participated. She has represented the United States boxing in Russia, Sweden, Norway, Taiwan, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, and India. Emily was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. at 110 pounds during 2003 and 2004. After moving up from 110 to 119 pounds, Emily won Ringside, PAL, Golden Gloves and the U.S. National Championships, achieving boxing�s grand slam by winning all 4 tournaments in a row, something no woman had ever done.

Despite all this national and international success as an amateur, Emily said she feels extra pressure in trying to perform in front of her hometown friends and family. �I think you always get a little more nervous fighting in front of people who know you. You don�t want to let them down,� Emily said. �You want to do your very best to win in the best fashion. When you go somewhere else, the fans don�t know you or care about you in the same way. In your hometown, you have family, friends, and people you�ll see the next day. You don�t want to face them if you get beat up. So there is a little added pressure, but it will motivate me to do even better.�

Katy became the first member of ICOR Boxing Club and Iowa�s first female boxer to win a national title when she won the 2002 Women�s National Golden Gloves (13-14 year old division) at 119 pounds. Katy then won the 2003 U.S. Championships in the 15-16 year old 125 pound division, and also won the 2003 Women�s National Golden Gloves title at 125 pounds (15-16). Katy finished the year ranked No. 1 with 200 out of 200 possible ranking points. As an 18-year-old, Katy finished 2005 ranked No. 3 in the nation as a 125-pound senior (ages 17-34). In 2006, Katy Klinefelter won a gold medal at the Under 19 U.S. National Championships, silver at the National Golden Gloves, silver at the Brazilian Open Games, and bronze at the U.S. Championships (only defeated by eventual champion). Katy won bronze at the 2007 U.S. National Championships in the lightweight division, only losing to the eventual champion.

Katy said more is riding on this event than just her professional debut. This card is important for the sisters� boxing future, as well as the future of professional boxing in Iowa City. �Obviously we�re hoping the show is a success,� Katy said. �If it is, we can have several fights a year here and fight more often. Having a hometown behind you is a huge advantage. I�m hoping that having the fight here will get a lot more people interested. Just widening the boxing community in Iowa City is very important to us.�

Emily agreed. �Most successful fighters have a strong hometown following and get a lot of support in their home states,� Emily said. �That was something that always worried me: How can I have a good career if I can�t fight in my home state? So this will really test the waters and hopefully we can keep it going and build my career."

*Edited by WBAN