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"Dynamite" Dee Dufoe stands 5'4" tall and prefers to fight from 118 to 122
pounds, though most of her fights so far have been well over that ideal weight.
Dee was born on October 7, 1973 in Manila, The Philippines, but she was adopted to a family
in Center Point, Iowa. She was always an athlete, competing in high school
and college in various sports including volleyball, softball and basketball.
She was also a national level Tae Kwon Do competitor.
After being exposed to the massive publicity about professional kickboxer Kathy
Long, Dee decided to move to Bakersfield, California to train with Kathy's
trainer, Eric Nolan.
As an amateur kickboxer, Dee amassed a record of 9-1-1 with 6 KO's.
Her entree to pro boxing came at the invitation of Brian Allen, match maker
from Event Entertainment. Dee's first pro fight was a six-rounder on the
inaugural IFBA card at Fantasy Springs Casino in Reseda, California, on May
17 1997. Dee (135 lbs) was matched against a formidable opponent, experienced lightweight
Tracy Byrd (130 lbs), who was 6-0 with 4 KO's at the time.
Dee went the distance and caught Tracy with some pretty good right hands
in Rounds One and Two. She even managed to convince two judges that she won
a couple of rounds, but took the wrong end of a unanimous decision as Byrd
came on strong in the late going. (Dee has reportedly said that she doesn't
think Tracy Byrd hits hard!)
After that fight she had a run of four wins, losing only two rounds
out of twenty.
She defeated Albuquerque's Odelia Rodriguez over six rounds
at 124 lbs in an IFBA card
in Lula, Mississippi on October 24, 1997, knocking Rodriguez down in the
first round and staying on top of her the rest of the way for a unanimous
decision.
Dee fought Cynthia Prouder over six rounds on November 22, 1997 at the Tropicana
Hotel in Las Vegas. Prouder used her jab well but Dee waited for her chances
and became the first fighter to put a loss on Prouder's record, winning Rounds
Two to Six on all the judges' cards.
She fought on February 15, 1998, in an IFBA card at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi that
was seen live on ESPN2. This time fighting at 118 lbs, she defeated Shirley
Prescott (120 lbs) from Winnipeg, Canada over four rounds by a unanimous (40-36x3) decision. She moved her pro record to 4-1 by outpunching Prescott by
a wide margin. Prescott, who fell to 3-3 with the loss, apparently had no
answer for Dufoe's busier and more mobile style. (Dee had previously defeated
Prescott in kickboxing action on July 12, 1997.)
On April 9, 1998 at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, California, Dee (at 125 lbs) won a 6-round unanimous
decision over Cynthia Prouder (126 lbs) of Los Angeles. Dufoe advanced to 5-1, Prouder fell to 3-3-1.
On September 23, 1998 at Coeur d'Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho,USA, Dee
(126 lbs) won a six-round unanimous (57-58,56-58,57-58) decision over
Rolanda Andrews (126 lbs) of Atlanta, Georgia, who fell to 2-4 (1 KO)
with the loss.
On April 2, 1999 at the Convention and Trade Center
in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
Dee lost a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision to Deborah Nichols of Dalton, Georgia for
International Boxing Association Women's Featherweight title.
Dufoe was the busier fighter throughout most
of the fight and was able to negate the taller Nichols's
advantages by working at close quarters, but Nichols
landed the hardest shots. This was a busy, gritty
battle whose last seven rounds were seen tape-delayed on ESPN2.
Nichols remained unbeaten at 8-0-2, while Dufoe fell to 6-2.
In October 1, 1999, at the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana,
Dee (119 lbs) fought a pitched battle with
Leona Brown (119 lbs) of Pawling, New York for
the IFBA Junior Featherweight title. Brown
had rocked Dufoe in the seventh and ninth and was leading on the
scorecards when the referee stopped it with Dufoe in trouble
at 1:07 in the tenth. Brown, who had held
the IWBF Junior Featherweight title until mid-year (she was one of several
IWBF champions who were stripped for failure to defend within the specified
time), moved her pro record to 8-2. Dufoe slipped to 6-3 with her
second straight loss in a ten-round title fight.
Dee's
trainer Eric Nolan told me that Dee recognized that she was a work in process and
was extremely interested in learning. He added that Dee's best attributes included a very solid chin for
a super-bantamweight, good speed and natural endurance.
Page last updated:
Friday, June 02, 2023 |
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