| |
5'8" junior middleweight Cristy "Code
Red" Nickel
was born Cristy Terherst on April 5, 1976 in Concord, California.
In the summer of 2002, she competed in body building competitions all over
Tennessee and Mississippi. She told WBAN: "By the end of the summer, I was so burned out on
weight training and dieting that I needed a change. I didn't want to stop
working out because I would lose my body and all the progress I made."
One day that November, she was wandering through the DeSoto Athletic Club in Olive Branch and met Nic
Germano, who taught a kickboxing class there. Germano asked Nickel-Terherst if she wanted to try it.
Although she had never done any boxing or
kickboxing, she fell in love with it immediately. A couple of months into the class, Germano offered Cristy a chance to fight in a real amateur kickboxing match,
which she did in February, 2003.
After that, she had a hard time finding female kickboxing opponents. She kept
training day in and day out but could not get a fight, and became
discouraged.
In January 2004, she approached Jimmy Blann of Blann's Boxing in Southaven and asked him about
switching to professional boxing. According to Cristy, "Jimmy has 2
kickboxing world titles and comes from 30 years of teaching boxing, kickboxing
and karate. He owns/operates his own boxing studio and karate dojo equipped with
state of the art training equipment and a staff of qualified trainers. Jimmy is
well known and respected in the south and all over the world as being a
no-nonsense coach and molds well to any student's personality. Jimmy has trained
hundreds of national and world champions over the years and his gym continues to
grow.
I knew he was the best coach. Jimmy and I talked about the risks of boxing on the professional circuit and
he made sure I knew what I was getting in to. He knew I had been training a year with no fights so he was
aware of my dedication and desire to fight. We immediately called Brian Young of Prize Fight Promoters and
asked him to put me on the monthly fight card in Tunica. Jimmy and Nic kicked my training up to 6 days a
week for 4 solid months. When April rolled around, I was ready to make my debut. I was in excellent shape
and was as prepared as I could be for my FIRST professional fight."
Cristy (149 lbs) made her pro debut on
April 3, 2004 at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi against Moroccan-born Mariem
"Punchanella" Brakache (151 lbs) of Atlanta,
Georgia. Brakache won a four-round
unanimous (40-37,40-36,40-36) decision and improved to
2-1 with the win.
Cristy told WBAN: "I was devastated! I fought my heart out, but she had
a few fights under her belt and quite frankly out-boxed me. Looking back, that
loss was the best thing that could have happened to me. Yes, I was humiliated in
front of my friends, family, co-workers, classmates and fellow boxers but I
learned a great deal. I knew I had to get back in that ring and come back
strong."
On May 22, 2004 at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, Cristy (153 lbs) won by a TKO over Leora Jackson (146 lbs) of
Springdale, Arkansas when Jackson did not answer the bell for the third round. "People say I looked like a totally different boxer and I
felt like it. I was more comfortable in the ring", says Cristy about this
fight. Jackson fell to 1-3 with the loss.
Cristy (left) vs. Michelle Ewing
© Copyrighted photo provided by Cristy Nickel
On June 19, 2004 at
Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, Cristy (155 lbs) TKO'd Michelle Ewing (145 lbs) of
Hickory, North Carolina at 1:45 in the first round of a scheduled four-rounder.
Nickel put Ewing on the mat three times before referee Keith Hughes called it off.
On one occasion Ewing took Nickel down with her ...
"My skill was improving and things were coming together," says
Cristy. Ewing fell to 0-8 with the loss.
On July 31, 2004 at Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, Cristy (150 lbs) TKO'd debut
fighter Kim Caplena of Little Rock, Arkansas at 1:28 in the first round.
Prefight, Nickel had stated, "It's going to be
over quick, first or second round. I'm in excellent shape. I can go the
distance, but I won't need to. She's scared, out of shape. I'm going to
establish my jab early and set her up with a right hook. That's probably what
I'll knock her out with."
World champion pro boxer Valerie Mahfood sent WBAN this
report
"Nickel, an obvious hometown favorite, entered the ring to heavy
metal music screaming something about a razor. With short auburn hair spiked
up as if she had stuck her finger in an electrical socket, she was able to
charge the crowd with the same energy. Singing along to the music, she
charmed the fans with her knee high red and black striped, pippy-long
stocking socks. Fashionably speaking, this fighter has flare!"
.jpg)
Cristy with her trademark socks
© Copyrighted photo provided by Cristy Nickel-Terherst
"Of course, she was also there to box,"
says Mahfood. "With 1:28 in the first round, the
referee called the fight against Caplena. During this short time, neither
boxer displayed an exorbitant amount of experience. But, then again, they’ve
only been boxing a few months each. Nickel has a clear passion for the sport
and I would look forward to seeing her a year from now."
"I could tell by this fight that I had really won over the heart of the
community",
says Nickel,
"because the sold out crowd of 2,000 was on their feet from the moment I
walked out until the moment I left the arena. They were so loud during the fight
that my ears were ringing and I couldn't even hear myself breathe. It was
exciting!"
On September 25, 2004 at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on the (non-televised) undercard of the Roy Jones Jr
HBO card
Cristy (158 lbs) again stopped Caplena (162 lbs), this time at 1:39 in the first
round. According to reporter Gary Parrish, "Caplena
seemed content to get jabbed and try to land a roundhouse counter punch to end
things with one swing, which was an unsuccessful approach against the
better-skilled Nickel. Nickel punished Caplena from the opening bell by landing
combinations at will. She knocked her down early, then ended the fight at the
1:39 mark of the first with a sharp jab."
''I
was just trying not to get hit by one of those wild punches," said
Cristy. ''I'm actually a little more cautious against a fighter like that
than a fighter with skill.
I knocked her out again a minute and a half
into the first round. This time, I hit harder and quicker. I kept my jab in
her face until I was set up to drop my straight right/left hook. Two or
three of those combinations sent Kim on her butt and eventually out of the
ring with a throbbing headache."
After this success and exposure, Nickel was eager for more. "After the Roy Jones Jr fight, I was receiving lots of attention. I was getting calls from promoters all over the
country to fight on their cards. It's quite clear from my Pippy Long-stocking, red/black striped socks and
spiked red hair that I'm unique and fun to watch in the ring. I knew I should keep the ball rolling."
.
On October 23, 2004 at Isle of Capri Casino in Lula, Mississippi,
Cristy (154 lbs) won a hard-fought four-round unanimous decision over Cassandra Lindsey (153 lbs)
of Colombus, Mississippi.
Lindsey was making her own debut. "My nose was broken and she was bleeding
bad also," recalls Nickel. "She was my first real tough opponent and it
was wonderful to mix it up and see what I was made of. I had to dig down deep to
finish that fight, but in the end, I out-boxed Cassandra and I was in better
shape."
On November 5, 2004 at Fitzgerald's in Tunica, Mississippi, Cristy (158 lbs)
won a four-round unanimous decision over Amy Milam (161 lbs) of Fort Smith, Arkansas
who fell to 0-2. "I threw everything at her but the kitchen sink but she was
solid and wouldn't go down. I worked her body and that seemed to weaken her but
it wasn't enough. Her nose was bleeding and eyes swelling by the end of the 4th
round."
On January 22, 2005 at Fitzgerald's in Tunica, Mississippi, Cristy won a hard
fought six-round split (57-56,56-58,57-56) decision in a rematch with Mariem
Brakache of Atlanta. Brakache received a standing eight count in the second
round, but the fight was close the rest of the way.
Nickel had said that her goal in boxing was to avenge her
debut loss to Brakache, who fell to 2-2-0 (1 KO) while Nickel improved to 7-1-0
(4 KO).
After the fight, Nickel said "A
win is a win. I found a way to win and that's all that matters. There's nothing
wrong with a close fight. We battled, people got their money's worth and it was
a good fight. Every boxer envisions a pretty win. Every boxer wants to win by
KO. But when the competition is as good as it was Saturday night, it turns into
a war. You can't always have Kodak moments every fight."
On April 30, 2005 at Isle of Capri Casino in Lula, Mississippi,
Cassandra Lindsey (131 lbs) of Columbus, Mississippi won a six-round majority
decision over Cristy (150½ lbs),
improving her own record to 2-2 (1 KO) and avenging
her earlier loss.
On August 20, 2005 at the Capital
Gym in Beijing, China, Mariem
Brakache (148 lbs) of Atlanta won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,99-91,98-92)
decision over Cristy (150 lbs) for the IBA Junior Middleweight world title.
On
March 17, 2005 at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York, over 2000
fans saw local favorite Elizabeth Mooney TKO Cristy at 0:43 in the third
round of a scheduled six rounder. The Times Union News reported that
Mooney confused Nickel-Terherst by switching to a southpaw stance, and dropped
her to one knee with a combination of punches. The ref stopped the fight after
talking with Cristy.
The 45-year old Mooney improved her record to 4-2-0 (2 KOs)
with the win.
WBAN's "Ask the Trainer" Tom Moraetes offered Cristy the chance to
train with him early in 2005 even though it meant her moving from Memphis to
Augusta, GA. "I know Tom's reputation and I knew it was a huge honor to come
train with Tom," Cristy states, "So I took a deep breath, packed up and
moved to Augusta ... I love training
with Tom. He has over 30 years of experience and I trust him completely. I
enjoy every, single day I step into that gym to train."
Until June 2006, Cristy was also the General Manager of the Augusta Boxing
Club. She taught boxing lessons to males and females ages 7 to 70. She also
does personal, private training with athletes.
In 2006, Christy's stint on MTV's reality show "MADE" got her
a job training high-end clients at the exclusive
"Trinity Boxing Gym" in Manhattan, NY. Owner Martin Snow asked Cristy to
move to New York and work for him, saying: "When I saw the work Cristy
did with the girl from MTV's MADE, I knew I needed to snatch Cristy up
before someone else did. I've never seen anyone make that big of an
improvement in such a short time in all my years of being a trainer. Cristy
has a gift and she'll fit in well with our gym." Cristy said that
she's excited by her new challenge, adding "Tom and the Augusta Boxing
Club have given me invaluable skills, lessons and life experiences that I
will never forget. I appreciate Tom and will always credit him for bringing
me to this point."
On March 15, 2008 at the WaMu Theatre in Madison
Square Garden, Olivia Fonseca (149 lbs) of Philadelphia won a four-round
unanimous (40-36,39-37, 39-37) decision over Cristy (149¾ lbs).
According to WBAN correspondent David Pambianchi,
"Each round, the pattern remained the same.
For the first three rounds, a strong Cristy could not land solid hits on
Olivia and had some trouble balancing after missing right hooks. While power
is dangerous, speed kills. Olivia often deflected and countered Cristy’s
punches, landing solid body and head shots that visibly stunned a frustrated
Cristy. During the fourth round, Olivia simply waited to pick her shots and
continue to score, left to the body, right to the head on a tiring Cristy."
Cristy holds a degree in
Exercise Science from the University of Memphis. She is not married and has
no kids.
Page last updated:
Friday November 11, 2022 |
|
