(NOV 19) I remember the
first time someone asked me why I wrote about boxing: "Ain't no
good stories in this sport," a well worn boxing "lifer"
declared, in a well worn gym, close by the train station, on
North Charles Street in Baltimore, "all those stories end up
bad." Over the years, I found that declaration to be,
essentially, more right than wrong; if you're searching for
"feel good" tales, boxing is probably not the place to begin.
But every once in a while, you come across a narrative where the
pendulum that cuts through this often cruel sport swings in
favor of just the right fighter at just the right time.
Tiffany Junot has been a
professional boxer for over six years, compiling a 9-3-1 record
and earning the reputation of a "bell to bell" fighter with six
KO wins. On November 11, Junot won the WBC light middleweight
title with a 10 round unanimous decision over Mia St. John in
Bakersfield, CA. I spoke with Junot last week from her New
Orleans home and she articulated just what the win meant to her:
"I still haven't come down, this was the biggest win of my
career and was meaningful to me for so many reasons.
Prior to the title fight, Junot,
who turned professional more than six years ago, after a
successful amateur career, had not had a bout since July 2011
when she dropped a six round decision to Kuulei Kupihea in
Hawaii. That gap in Junot's ring resume was due to the fact that
the boxer, at the time residing in and fighting out of Houston,
returned to her New Orleans hometown, after the Hawaii bout, to
assume primary caregiver responsibility for her father who was
diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2011 and succumbed to
the disease in December. "We were very close," Junot recalled,
"my dad was my biggest fan. I was glad I was able to spend time
with him in his final months, but it took a big toll on me,
probably even more than I realized at the time."
While her father's death was the defining event for Junot in
2011, a part of her, the fighter part, cannot let go of that
bout in Hawaii. "The time difference going to the Islands is
substantial," she notes, "and doesn't really hit you until two
days after you arrive. I should have had at least five days in
Hawaii to get oriented to the time change. I got two. Also,
Kupihea is a southpaw and like all left-handers, awkward to
fight. I just didn't feel at the top of my game in the ring and
knew I was in trouble midway through the fight. The unanimous
decision for her was the right call and she was the better
fighter that night. Under different circumstances, in a
different venue, I think it's a different fight."
Following her father's death, Junot did not return to Houston,
staying in New Orleans and continuing to train, waiting for
another bout. "I've always been known for staying in shape, not
just good shape, fight ready shape. When I train, I train like I
have a fight next week. But that period after my dad's passing
was a long time with nothing but gym work. Training is fine, but
training to fight and fighting are two very different things and
fighting was the opportunity I was waiting for." It came in late
October when Roy Englebrecht came searching for a replacement
for Molly McConnell who had dropped out, due to injury, as an
opponent for Mia St. John's initial defense of the WBC light
middleweight title she (St. John) won against Christy Martin in
August. Englebrecht, who had promoted the St. John/Martin bout
was glad to get Junot on two weeks notice. "I knew her
reputation as an "action" fighter and thought she'd give a good
account of herself with Mia. Her father's death fit into the
theme of the night's program ("Fight for Life") which was a
benefit for families in the Bakersfield area battling cancer."
"Was I ready?," Junot asks, incredulously, "I was beyond ready.
After all the waiting, all the gym work all the running, I never
felt better going into a fight than this one. Sure, I was a bit
apprehensive, it was a WBC title fight against a very well known
and popular fighter, in her part of the country. But from the
first round, everythiing worked. I felt in control the entire
bout, from start to finish and, frankly, I thought I won every
round. Of course, the cards were much closer (98-94, 96-94 (2x)
) and, believe me, I've been around long enough to understand
that. I understand who I was fighting and where we were
fighting, but I never had a doubt as to which way the decision
was going. Look, Mia has had a long and distinguished career and
I appreciate the opportunity to fight her, but this was not one
of my hardest fights. I think I'm ready to step up and defend
the title against whoever is out there."
What does the future hold for Junot? Roy Englebrecht, one of the
more imaginative and visionary promoters in the sport and long
considered a premier advocate of Women's boxing in this country,
is already thinking in terms of staging Junot's next bout in New
Orleans. Once one of the great boxing towns, the Crescent City
has absorbed Katrina and economic haymakers and has lost much of
the former glory that was provided by a trinity of great
fighters, Willie Pastrano, Ralph Dupas and Tony Licata, all of
whom stormed out of New Orleans to achieve national prominence.
Now, New Orleans can boast of another WBC title holder in the
person of Tiffany Junot and Englebrecht feels it would be a
natural progression in her career to bring her and her title
back home, where she has never fought. Junot, naturally, loves
the idea and even added a promotional lagniappe of her own:
"Wouldn't it be great if the bout could be staged in the old
Municipal Auditorium, that was New Orleans boxing, at it's
best."
That's for the fertile minds of good promoters and creative
matchmakers. For now, Tiffany Junot continues to enjoy what she
has accomplished after many years of overcoming personal
heartbreak outside the ring and the obstacles, within the ropes,
all too common to female boxers in today's sport. Many of these
talented athletes, if provided with an opportunity to showcase
their talent, have the ability to rise in the sport as high as
that talent will take them. But so many of these female boxers
fail to get such an opportunity because they lack a well
financed support system or are not fortunate enough to come
under the auspices of a promoter like Roy Englebrecht (of whom
there are not nearly enough in this sport). And yet these
fighters, as Tiffany Junot did, toil day after day, in gyms
across the country, waiting, like Tiffany Junot waited, for the
all too rare type of opportunity that put Junot in the ring with
a shot at a WBC belt.
Tiffany Junot got her chance and she not only jumped at it, she
slam dunked it. Will she continue to add to the initial success
that her ring skills, her determination and her will seem to
forecast? The good news is she'll probably get the opportunity.
The flip side is that boxing is the most unforgiving of sports
and that "lifer" in that Baltimore gym was right: most boxing
stories don't end well. But, still the thought lingers: "Every
Once in a While."
WBAN
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