(DEC 8) It's what is called a "tag" line and it was at the end of an article on the Anne Sophie Mathis/Belinda Laracuente fight last month in France; a ten round WBA light welterweight title bout won by Mathis on judges' scores of 96-94, 97-93, 98-92. The line noted that "Laracente (sic) is now 1-9 in her last ten bouts." The misspelling of "Laracuente" was the least of the writer's sins. Rather, the blithe labeling of Belinda Laracuente as a "1-9 fighter" is indicative of an almost total ignorance of the fighter and the sport of Women's boxing. It recalled the words of a neighborhood bookmaker, in long-ago Brooklyn who, explaining his world of wins and losses, would tell anyone who would listen, "It's never what the number is, it's what the number means."

An improved summary of the career of Belinda Laracuente, professional boxer, might read as follows: Laracuente has, over the course of her nine year professional boxing career, stepped into the ring with more quality fighters than anyone (ANYONE) who has ever competed in the sport of Women's boxing. It can also be assumed that every one of those quality fighters, fighting in their hometowns, in front of hometown crowds, came away from those bouts with Belinda Laracuente, knowing that they had been in the ring with a very talented boxer. Over those nine years, Belinda Laracuente has compiled an enviable 23-23-3 record. It is a record that is surely enviable to certain current female boxers in possession of "unbeaten" records; records earned at the expense of opponents who barely qualify for the label.

Those nine losses? In addition to Mathis, in France, Laracuente fought, over the past two years: Jaime Clampitt (in Rhode Island), Jessica Rakoczy (California), Holly Holm (California), Esther Phiri  (Zambia), Duda Yankovich (Brazil), Jelena Mrdjenovich (Canada), Melissa Fiorentino (Rhode Island) and Layla McCarter  (Nevada). If anyone is contemplating a group photo of the best lightweight and welterweight fighters in the sport of Women's boxing, the above list would be a wonderful place to start. Neither would it be an overstatement to speculate that those nine fighters represent more tough bouts than the average good female boxer will have in the course of a career. Belinda Laracuente averaged a bout every three months against fighters who came into the ring with an average winning percentage of 85%. Those fighters with their unbeaten records? Wake me when their opponents' winning percentage approaches 50%. And, finally, every one of those nine fights was held in the hometown of Laracuente's opponent (OK, Holly Holm did travel one state over, from New Mexico to California). And with those hometowns come hometown crowds, hometown judges and, in one instance, a relative of the hometown fighter, at ringside, judging the bout.

I sat down with Belinda Laracuente last week at Gleasons Gym and even I knew what the first question should be: "Why?" Why take fights only against the toughest opponents available? Why continually travel across the country, across oceans, to take those fights, knowing that anything short of a knockout usually results in a loss? Why not take a couple of easier bouts? "I love this sport," Belinda quickly replied, "and, best of all, I love the competition and real competition only comes with good fighters, not some easy opponent. I go into the ring, every time, to win. I've never been stopped, I've never been knocked down.

This sport is about respect; respect in the gym, respect in the boxing community and that respect comes with fighting the best fighters, wherever and whenever. And until the best fighters in our sport make that type of respect their top priority, our sport is not going to succeed. It's simple, the best fighters have to fight each other, on a continuing basis, not just once in a while."

Belinda Laracuente began her professional boxing career in February 1997 and after three years of breaking in against lesser ranked opposition, Laracuente had a seminal bout in Las Vegas (March 2000) against Christy Martin. It was there that Belinda Laracuente received an object lesson in a long standing boxing tradition: to win a bout against the top fighter, "you have to kill the king." In a very close fight, Martin was awarded a razor thin, majority decision (77-75, 77-75, 76-76). Not surprisingly, following the Martin bout, Laracuente was not high on the opponent list of many top fighters. Three years later (June 2003) she fought an eight round draw with Tracy Byrd and from that point forward, Laracuente's career has been a continuing succession of top flight opponents: Iva Weston, Sumya Anani  (when no one wanted to step in with Anani), Mary Jo Sanders, Kara Ro, Missy Fiorentino, Ann Marie Saccurato,  Fujin Raika, Chevelle Hallback, Valanna McGee, Miriam Lamare, all tough bouts, all road trips. That formula, taking tough fights against tough fighters, has been notably absent in a large part of the sport of Women's boxing in recent years. At the same time, Belinda Laracuente has been setting an example as to what it will take to regain respect for and interest in the sport of Women's boxing. It's not a formula that ensures a sparkling W/L record, but it is, rather, an example of how to conduct a top flight boxing career.

When asked, Laracuente lists the top three opponents from her all star group of opposition: Jessica Rakoczy, Chevelle Hallback, and Jaime Clampitt, high praise from a boxer who has, literally, fought everyone. Laracuente says she plans on fighting "another two or three years" which is good news for the sport, since she'll continue to set the example of how it's done both outside the ring, looking for the tough bouts and inside the ring, where her boxing skill includes just about "every move in the book" and some that are only in rare editions. Following retirement, Belinda plans to stay in the sport as a trainer and, possibly, as a manager; good news for up and coming fighters embarking on future careers in the sport. It ensures that there will be someone, a woman in a women's sport, who has not only "been there and done that" but has done it in exactly the right way.

Whenever Laracuente retires from the ring, she can be assured that she leaves a proper legacy. She has continually looked up, rather than down, for opponents and is willing to go anywhere for those bouts. That alone makes her unique in the sport and it can only be hoped, while there is still time, that other top female fighters will begin to follow her example. Because let one thing be very clear, any discussion of the sport's top fighters includes Belinda Laracuente. Laracuente's "numbers" don't begin to tell the story of a remarkable athlete who's compiled a wonderful professional career in the ring. It really is all about what the number means.