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2011 |
The Best ......and the Worst of 2011 |
Another year has
gone by and it is time to have the "hot"
picks and "not" picks
for the
year 2011! There were definitely
the GOOD, the BAD, and the NOT so
good this year
in women's boxing!
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Fighter of the
year
Anne-Sophie Mathis
| WBAN ran a poll for the
public to vote on their top fighter picks. The over-whelming
majority gave their thumbs up for Anne-Sophie Mathis. There were
some other close runner-ups ---but Mathis topped the bill on
this award! Mathis fought in THE "Biggest fight" of
the year in 2011, when she came from France to fight Holly
Holm on December 2, 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
That bout was named one of WBAN's top picks for the BEST
fight between two top women in the sport, and it was also
named as one of the greatest "knockouts" of the year, when
she stopped Holm by KO. In that world title bout, Mathis won
the WBAN Independent World Welterweight title and the IBA
belt against Holm. |
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Most Improved
Boxer of the Year
Jelena Mrdjenovich
| WBAN had the pleasure of
meeting Jelena Mrdjenovich in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the WBC Convention
where she was receiving an WBC award. As I told Mrdjenovich in Vegas, "You have come a long way!"
In 2011, Mrdjenovich became our "WBAN October 2011 Fighter
of the Month", when she went into foreign territory in
September, in Tokyo, Japan, and
defeated their "hometown queen" Fujin Raika, in a 10-round unanimous decision for the WBC super
featherweight eliminator contest, then in December, she had one
of the greatest KO's of 2011 against Olivia Gerula. |
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Top European
Fighter(s)
of the Year
Anne-Sophie Mathis
Cecilia Braekhus
| WBAN had a tie for the 2011
Top European Female boxer in the sport. Both
Anne-Sophie Mathis, 26-1-1 (22KO), of France, and
Cecilia Braekhus, 19-0-0 (4KO), of Norway received this
honor this year.
Both Mathis and Braekhus
currently fight in the "welterweight" division. WBAN
has Anne-Sophie rated #1 in our world rating, and Braekhus
is rated #3. Braekhus was the 2010 top European
Fighter of the year with WBAN also. |
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Best Latina Fighter of the Year
Ana Maria Torres
Ana Maria Torres is a
long-time veteran in the sport who has been boxing as a pro
since July of 1999. She had a stellar year in 2011,
when she fought one of the top women boxers in the world,
Jackie Nava twice in 2011. Her first fight with Nava
ended in a draw, and the second title fight she not only won
the fight, and title, but she made history with the WBC,
when her and Nava fought for the first women's Diamond WBC
Belt. The Torres vs. Nava II was only picked as one of
the best fights to take place in 2011.
 Honorable
Mentioned:
Jackie "Aztec
Princess" Nava,
Yesica Bopp, Mariana Juarez |
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Top Amateur
Boxer
of the Year
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor of Ireland is
one of the most outstanding amateur female boxers in the
world today. She has been WBAN's Fighter of the
Month and Amateur Boxer of the Year many times. She is
just "Unstoppable". Her current goal in the sport is to
compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.
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Most Entertaining
Boxer of the Year
Melissa "Huracan" Hernandez
This "Lil" Bad Girl is
definitely "Hands down" the most entertaining boxer in the
sport. There is "never a dull moment" around this
fighter. Not only that---the girl can fight!
She makes those fights a night to remember for boxing fans
with her talent and interesting style of boxing in the ring.
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Most
Accomplished
of the Year
Mariana "Barbie" Juarez
[Photo by Mary Ann Owen]
WBC World Champion, Mariana "Barbie" Juarez, just 31
years old, and living in Mexico City, Mexico, has been
boxing since 1998. She has accumulated a 32-5-3
(15KO) record and has fought worldwide. In
December she was an honored guest at the WBC Convention
where she received a TOP HONOR award, and deserving so,
the Female Champion of the Year 2011! WBAN was
present at the Awards Dinner and was able to see her
receive this prestigious award. |
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Most
Inspirational
Boxers of the Year
Diana Prazak
Ada "The Ace" Velez
| Diana Prazak joined a
boxing gym in 2008, coming in as not only a heavy smoker,
but weighing 196 lbs. She lost that weight through
training in boxing, and got hooked on the sport. She
had a fantastic win this year, when she stopped Lindsay
Garbatt on September 24, 2011 in Australia and won the WIBA
Junior Lightweight title by a TKO over Lindsay Garbatt
between the ninth and the tenth rounds.
Ada Velez began boxing
professionally in 1999. She fought for about eight years,
with her last fight taking place in 2007. Velez made a
"comeback" in 2010. In January she first fought a very
strong opponent Kaliesha West and had a six-round draw with
West. She then took Stacey "Stay-Lo" Reile in
February of 2010, and defeated Reile by a six-round
unanimous decision. Velez followed that up by defeating Mary
Elizabeth Ortega by a unanimous decision in December. This
year, she took on undefeated Melinda Cooper for the IBF
Junior Featherweight world championship, and delivered
Cooper her first loss as a boxer, and winning the IBF belt.
Velez then rematched with Cooper in November of 2011, and
again defeated Cooper. |
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Hottest Rising Star in
of the year 2011
Ava "Lady of Boxing" Knight
Ava Knight is not only
WBAN's TOP PICK as the Hottest Rising Star in the
sport---but she also lives up to her ring name "The Lady
of Boxing." She IS a lady outside the ring---but
in the ring, she is one of the toughest in the sport.
2011 was a fantastic year for Ava. She began with
first knocking out Gloria Salas, then fighting another
top boxer, Kaliesha West for the WBO Bantamweight Belt
having a draw with West. Ava then in another world title
bout, KO'd Arely Mucino in the second round to win
the IBF Flyweight Title. Lastly, Knight was named
by Comcast SportsNet for their Inaugural
NorCal Boxing Awards, as the female professional
fighter who achieved the most success in 2011.
Link to award
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| Honorable Mention:
Amanda "The Real Deal" Serrano;
Tatina
"Lil Tyson"
Anderson;
Ana
"Hurricane" Julaton,
Kaliesha
"Wild Wild"
West. |
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"Best and Busiest"
Women Boxers
in 2011
Yesica Bopp
Amanda Serrano
Katia Gutierrez
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Trainer of
the Year
Ann "Brown Sugar"
Wolfe
| Ann
Wolfe was not only one of the best female knockout
artist in the sport when she was boxing, outside of the
ring she is just as ferocious of a boxing trainer as she
was a fighter. This year, Ann was picked by
Yahoo Sports for 2011 as the boxing trainer of
the year. Boxing Writer Kevin Iole wrote the
following: "Her only fighter of note is James Kirkland,
but her impact was so great upon him that she’s the 2011
Yahoo! Sports Trainer of the Year. WBAN
could not agree more! |
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Best-Kept Secret in
Women's Boxing
Tatina "Lil Tyson" Anderson
| WBAN had
heard some really good things about Tatina
Anderson from many of the boxing folks, but
then we got to see this "Lil Tyson" in
action on November 20, 2011, when she did
what no one else was able to do, including
some of the best fighters in the world when
she stopped Victoria Cisneros! "Lil
Tyson" definitely lives up to her
name---minus chewing off her opponents
earlobes when she fights!
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"Rookie of the Year"
Debora Anahi Dionicius
| Can you
spell T-A-L-E-N-T! This new "Rookie",
Debora Dionicius, of Argentina, who joined
the pro ranks in 2011, has a reported 109
amateur fights coming into the pros---and
she is currently undefeated as a professional
boxer with a
7-0-0 (3KO) record. Debora accumulated this
boxing record in less than one years time
which qualified her as our top "Rookie"
boxer of the year. An
interesting tidbit of information on Dionicius is that she made her pro
debut on her birthday, and her
last fight on December 17, 2011, she
fought just hours after getting married!
How is that for a die-hard boxer? |
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Missing in Action for 2011
Jennifer "The
Razor" Barber
| Jennifer Barber,
10-1 (4KO) who won the IFBA Super
Featherweight World title in December 2010,
seemed to drop out of sight, and never fought in
2011. WBAN was told she retired from the
sport, but we never confirmed this "Missing in
Action" boxer who will truly be missed in the
sport if she does not return!
Jennifer Barber---please come back.... |
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Top THREE Biggest Knockouts
of
the Year 2011
Anne-Sophie Mathis vs. Holly
Holm
Jelena Mrdjenovich vs. Olivia Gerula
Ava Knight vs. Arely Mucino |
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Biggest Upsets of
the Year
Melissa McMorrow over
Eileen Olszewski
Diane Prazak TKO over Lindsay Garbatt
On June 24, 2011, in Woodhaven, New York, flyweight
Melissa McMorrow, 111,
of California, won an eight-round split decision
over local boxer
Eileen Olszewski, 110.5. The two fought for a local New
York Flyweight title. On
September 24, 2011, at the Grand Star Receptions, Altona
North, Victoria, Australia, super featherweight
Diane Prazak
won by TKO in the ninth round after her opponent
Lindsay Garbatt
who had suffered a complete closing of one of her eyes.
Prazak won the WIBA super featherweight title. |
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"Road
Warrior" of 2011
Melissa "Huracan" Hernandez
| If you do
just a little bit of checking on Melissa
Hernandez, originally from New York, and now
presently living in Florida, you will
see that Hernandez has fought out of her
area in just about every fight that she has
ever had! In 2011, she traveled to
Argentina, Australia, Canada, North
Carolina, and previous to that in 2010 and
further back, she has fought in New Mexico,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, Panama, Las Vegas,
Nevada, Primm, nevada, Connecticut,
California, Stateline, Nevada, Georgia,
Oregon, Washington, South Carolina.
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Biggest
Comeback
Fighter of the Year
Laura Serrano
| WBAN's top
pick for the biggest comeback boxer in 2011
goes to Laura Serrano, 17-4-3 (6KO).
Serrano, a long-time veteran has fought
since 1994. Serrano then left the
sport, got married, had a child with her
last pro fight taking place in 2007.
Serrano made a surprising comeback into
the sport in 2011, when she fought on
December 16, 2011, in Las Vegas.
Serrano did not take an easy opponent.
Serrano took on a tough veteran Ela
Nunez, who has been very active, and
fighting some of the best in the sport.
Serrano and Nunez fought to a six-round
majority draw. At the age of 44,
that is quite a comeback! |
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Top Five
Fights of the Year
Anne-Sophie Mathis vs. Holly Holm
Diana Prazak vs. Lindsay Garbatt
Dahianna
Santana vs. Stacey Reile II
Ada Velez vs.
Melinda Cooper II
Ana Maria Torres vs. Jackie Nava II
[photos of Cooper/Velez Santana/Reile by Mary Ann
Owen]
In 2011, we saw
one of the biggest fights in the history
take place when Holly Holm and
Anne-Sophie Mathis fought in New Mexico.
The fight was not only action-packed but we
saw Holm get stopped by the relentless and
aggressive Mathis.
We also saw an upset happen when Diana
Prazak took on world champion Lindsay
Garbatt. At the beginning of their
bout, it did not look good for Prazak, but
she ended up winning the fight by a
stoppage, and win the WIBA
Championship.
In an outright war between Dahianna
Santana and Stacey Reile was a
toe-to-toe action bout, that boxing fans
enjoyed thoroughly. It was one of the best
fights of the night on this card that took
place in Las Vegas. NV.
In the main event on the same card as the
Reile-Santana, Ada Velez and
Melinda Cooper went non-stop for 10
rounds. This was a grudge match
in the making of this rematch, that finally
was resolved when Velez won the fight by
decision, and successfully defended her IBF
title.
In the rematch of Ana Maria Torres and
Jackie Nava,
it was nothing short of fantastic, when they fought
for a WBC championship title.
These two also made boxing history with the
WBC to be the first females to fight for the
WBC Diamond World title belt.
These five top title bouts are what women's
boxing are all about. In WBAN's view,
every one of these boxers was a winner----and they represented the sport
at it's finest.... |
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Top
Photographer Covering Women's Boxing
Mary Ann Owen
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Mary Ann Owen of
BILV (BoxingInLasVegas.com), has been
covering women's boxing and the top major
men's bouts for many, many years now.
WBAN met Owen in 1998, and she has been
featuring her coverage on WBAN with women
boxers since that time. WBAN
would like to honor Owen for 2011 for her
devotion to the females, giving them
coverage that would not have happened if she
had not been at the event...and taking some
of the top female boxing photos in the sport
today. |
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The Top
"Cool" In the sport
for 2011
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Ring
Magazine Gives Due Respect to Women's Boxing
Ring
Magazine, THE BOXING MAGAZINE of the sport began having
a special segment in their magazine featuring stories on
some of the women boxers. In 2011, we have seen a
segment in the magazine with exposure to what is going
on in the sport.
This is just one of the types of coverage women's boxing
needs, and it is greatly appreciated to see due respect
given to many of these boxers.
Let's hope that with the upcoming 2012 Olympics that
will be taking place in London, will lift the sport to a
new level of exposure, and that more television networks
will begin to have more on the women on their programs.
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All-Female Amateur Boxing Card - "Beautiful
Brawlers"
This
event that took place on Saturday, September 10,
2011, is a prime example of "giving back to the
sport." Not only did Lori Steinhorst of Bad
Girls Boxing have another significant event that
took time, money, and an undying devotion to the
women boxers, but she is also looking to always be
there to help these women in the sport---some of
them struggling, and really need that help.
Also, involved in this event was Blanca Gutierrez,
of BabyFace Boxing. This was a history-first that
took place at the Pacifica Moose Lodge. Female boxers from all over California
including San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Palm Desert,
Fresno, Southern California, Oregon and Nevada made their way to
Pacifica to the first ever all female amateur boxing event ever
to take place in California. |
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All-Women's Boxing Camp held in Coachella
This is not the first
Camp that the Bad Girls Boxing Camp held for women
boxers---but this is the camp that WBAN attended
down in California at the Coachella Valley Boxing
Club. Their one-week boxing camp began on May
16, 2011. Lori Steinhorst of the BGB, had several amateur and pro female
boxers attending the week long camp, with world champions Ann
Marie Saccurato and Molly McConnell as the coaches. This
was definitely one of the top "Cools" in 2011 for
the sport! |
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Denver Police and WBC Cares Give to
Local Children for Christmas
Denver Police Officer
Nicholas Grove, on behalf of the Police Christmas
Crusade, and Police District 4, and retired Police
Officer C.C. Edwards, (director of the Denver Police
Brotherhood Youth Boxing Team), and Head Coach
Stephen Blea, and assistant
coaches Roman Sanchez, coach Steve Kniffin, were all on hand to
give a pizza party to Brotherhood boxers and family members and
local children of the neighborhood. They gave gifts from
Denver Police & Sponsors |
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USA's
Coach Halbert receives USOC's prestigious Olympic
Torch Award
An Award that Christy Halbert received could not be
any more deserving in 2011. "This will be the
first Olympic Games in history to include men and
women in all sports." This statement by Dr. Christy
Halbert in her acceptance speech received a
thunderous applause from the Olympians, leadership,
sponsors and fans in attendance. |
The "NOT SO GOOD"
, the Ridiculous, and most Tragic in the sport
for 2011!
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Six-Round
Baby Belt Title Bouts....PLEASE go away!
One of the very worst
things to take place in the sport in 2011, was
when some federations took it upon themselves to have
meaningless six-round title bouts. 12-minute bouts
to fight for a belt. For the sake of the sport of
women's boxing----the federations who are sanctioning
six round title "BABY BELT" fights need to abolish this
practice for 2012. |
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Reality
Boxing Show for Women Boxers in Mexico
What in the world was
all this hype about, with a REALITY show featuring
women boxers competing for $100,000. This
show, according to early press releases was to give
women boxers major exposure?
Honestly, WBAN had to
practically send out heat-seeking missiles to get
any kind of information about this "reality" show
that was video'd in Mexico to find out when it would
air, who won...and the list goes on...
What a lot of initial
FIZZLE, that ended in no more than DRIZZLE for the
women in the sport in 2011! |
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Biggest
"In the Ring" Robbery of
2011
Loli Munoz vs. Chris Namus
On March
19, 2011, at the Palacio Peñarol, Montevideo,
Uruguay, in WBAN's top pick for the biggest
rip-off of the year, it was simply amazing viewing
the tape of this fight between Loli Munoz vs. Chris
Namus. WBAN had received instant reports that
Munoz was severely ripped from this bout and the
title they were fighting for. It was such a
disgraceful display of a poor decision that the
fight was reversed to a no contest. Not to
mention the fact that the 10-round, was prematurely
ended at 1:28 seconds, instead of two minutes...The
two rematched this same year, and WBAN was "again"
informed that Munoz was ripped a second time----only
in the world of boxing! |
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Rola El-Halabi shot
by her Step-Father shortly before she was to step in the
ring to fight!
In April of 2011, female
boxer Rola El-Halabi was shot just prior to entering the
ring to fight. Her step-father Roy El-Halabi,
opened fire on her in her dressing room, just before she was
to fight Balijagic Adler in a IBF title bout. Roy was her
former manager as of January of 2011. |
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Absolutely Tragic: Former Female Pro Boxer Accused of
Murder!
In January of 2011,
44-year old Mona Nelson, 1-3-0 (0KO) of Texas, was
arrested for the murder of 12-year old Jonathan
Foster, of Houston, Texas. Foster came up missing on
Christmas eve, where he was living with his mother
and stepfather.
The boy's body was discovered in a ditch burned beyond
recognition. Nelson had admitted to police that she had been
with Jonathan on the day he came up missing, and she also made
an admission to the police that she was the one disposing of his
body in the ditch, but made no confession as to actually killing
the boy.
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