| |
5'8" junior
lightweight Kina Malpartida was born on March 25,
1980 in Lima, Peru. The daughter of professional surfing champion Oscar
Malpartida and international model Susy Dyson, Kina was blessed with
athletic ability and beauty. As a child in Punta Hermosa,
Peru she loved to surf and participated in soccer, basketball and
tennis, but
she
always liked contact sports and did karate from ages 6 to 14. "I
loved karate, it was a big part of my life", she
told
Mike Altamura,
"but then I stopped. I just started growing up and
I changed my mind, but I still always loved it. And then one day in
Peru my friend took me to one of his boxing lessons, and from then on,
I loved it. The first time I tried it, I loved it. I thought, ‘This is
for me, this is wonderful.’ Just the whole intensity of it, and all
that sweating, and just committing yourself to do the best you can is
what got me into it."
Kina's father died in a
skydiving accident and Kina moved to Australia when she was 19.
"My mum was
having a hard time in Peru, she had no money to support me at all and I
had just finished high school. She was going through a crisis with her
own ... mental health ... and I didn’t have a father. My uncle realized
the problem we were having at home with my mum, and he saw that I was
having a hard time, and he offered me a ticket to come overseas and
study a career. He knew my life, how I lived, and he thought Australia
would be perfect for me and my brother too. He paid for me to come
over, he helped me out the first couple years."
Kina took a university course
in business and restaurant management but also became a competitive
boxer.
She had just two amateur fights (1 win, 1 disqualification after just
10 seconds for using her elbow!) before she decided to turn
pro.
On August 22, 2003 at Southport RSL Club in
Southport, Queensland, Australia, Kina (139 lbs) won her pro debut with
a three-round unanimous decision over another pro debut fighter,
Katrina Harding (140¾ lbs).
On November 28, 2003, again at Southport RSL Club,
Kina (133¼ lbs) TKO'd pro debuter Sharon Bischoff (135¾ lbs) of
Brisbane in the second round.
On April 3, 2004 at Shire Hall in Gatton, Queensland,
Australia, Kina (128¾
lbs) won a three-round unanimous (29-28,29-28,30-27) decision over Leona Nicholls (126¾ lbs) of Gatton who
fell to 0-2..
On April 23, 2004 at Southport RSL Club Kina (127¾ lbs) won by a six-round
majority (59-56,59-56,58-58) decision over the more experienced Holly Ferneley
(129½ lbs)
of South Australia. "She was putting
a lot of pressure on me. She was always coming forward. Holly is a
tough girl, like I seen her fight Sharon
Anyos and she was pretty tough then ... (but) she looked way
better when she fought me compared to when she fought Sharon. I saw
that she had improved heaps."
Ferneley fell
to 1-5-1 with this loss, which would be her last fight as a pro boxer.
On February 11, 2005 at Bronco's
Leagues Club in Brisbane, Australia, Kina (138 lbs) defeated Mirelle
Walford (140¾
lbs) of Melbourne by a four-round (40-35,40-36,40-36) unanimous
decision Publicist Mike Altamura told WBAN that Kina proved to be the
stronger fighter but Mirelle fought back all the way and showed great
sportsmanship until the final bell. He said that Kina
dominated
the fight even though she got a little tired halfway, landing
shots which her reach allowed her to do effectively. Mirelle
landed some solid blows which didn't faze Kina, according to
Altamura.
Malpartida later said that she
broke her hand with her first good punch of the fight, telling
Mike Altamura: "I felt like a
lump in my hand, and just a lot of pain. And it was different than the
pain I’ve felt before, because I’ve stuffed up my knuckle before, the
first knuckle after the thumb. I’ve done that before, but it’s always
been that I could keep punching anyhow. But this one was just like a
pain that I felt that I shouldn’t be punching with it, but I did keep
on punching with it anyway."
In 2005 Kina moved to
California hoping to further her career as professional boxer by being
closer to major centers of activity in the sport.
On February 23, 2006 at the
Grand Ballroom of the Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (134 lbs)
won a four-round unanimous (40-36,39-37,39-37) decision over Lisa
Martin (134¼ lbs) of Oceanside, California, who fell to 2-4 (0 KO's)
with the loss.
On April 20, 2006 Kina (134¼
lbs) suffered her first pro loss when Japanese-born Miriam Nakamoto
(138½ lbs) of Los Angeles defeated her by a four-round unanimous
(40-32,40-32,40-32) decision, moving her own pro boxing record to 2-0.
Malpartida was knocked down four times in this bout but still finished
the fight on her feet. (Nakamoto, who is better known as a
Muay Thai boxer from the TV series Fight Girls, briefly boxed in
2005-2006 and ran up a 2-2 record.)
On July 19, 2007 Kina (128½
lbs) returned to the ring at the Marriott in Irvine, California and won
a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-36,39-37) decision over Crystal
Morales (5'5". 132 lbs) of Oxnard, California who fell to 6-7-1 (1 KO)
with the loss.
On September 27, 2007 at the
Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (127¾ lbs) won a four-round
unanimous (40-36,40-36,40-36) decision over Elizabeth Villarrreal (128
lbs) of San Antonio, Texas, who fell to 4-4-2 (0 KO's).
On
November 29, 2007 at the Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (126 lbs,
at right in photo) was TKO'd by always-dangerous Ela Nunez (126 lbs) of
Jamestown, New York at 1:02 in the fifth round of a scheduled
six-rounder. The OC
Register reported that: "Nunez came out winging wild power
shots from the opening bell, while Malpartida tried to use her height
and reach to land 1-2 combinations and keep her at bay. One of Nunez’s
wild shots landed in the closing seconds of the third round as she
dropped Malpartida with a vicious right hand. Somehow, Malpartida beat
the count and got saved by the bell."
Nunez improved to .5-2-0 (1 KO) with this win.
(There is streaming video of this bout on the WBAN Member Records Site).
On November 20, 2008
at San Manuel Casino in Highland, California, Kina lost a hard-fought
six-round split (56-57,56-57,58-55) decision to
Rhonda Luna of
Irvine, California, who improved to 13-1-1 (1 KO) with the
win. David Avila
reported
that"Rhonda Luna
... needed a last round knockdown of Kina Malpartida to win a
split decision. Luna and Malpartida started slowly as both fighter’s
styles were not agreeable. Several right hands by Luna probably won her
the first round as the extremely tall Peruvian fighter needed to gauze
her jab. For the next three rounds Malpartida began to find a mark for
her long jab and began peppering Luna consistently. At times a right
hand to the body or head would land for Luna, but Malpartida began
scoring heavily with the jabs and occasional right hands. Suddenly,
Luna seemed to find her footwork and distance in the fifth round.
Though neither fighter landed much, it was body work by the Rowland
Heights fighter that could have squeezed a point from the judges. The
last round seemed to spark both fighters but it was Luna who landed an
overhand right hand to drop Malpartida in the corner. She beat the
count but the damage was done. Luna forged ahead with punches from all
angles but the tall Peruvian managed to evade too many big blows. It
was the sixth round that proved the difference in the fight. 'I knew she was
that kind of fighter,' said Luna about Malpartida’s ability to stick
and move. 'I give her all the respect.'"
On February 21, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in
New York City. Kina won the vacant WBA Junior Lightweight title when
she TKO'd undefeated local favorite
Maureen Shea
from the Bronx, NY at 1:35 in the tenth round of a scheduled
ten-rounder.
Malpartida caught Shea with a
straight right to the head, sending her sprawling face down on the
canvas. Shea got back to her feet after a six count, but referee Eddie
Cotton judged that she was unsteady on her feet and stopped the fight.
Shea, a slow but hard hitter with precise punches, had started well,
scoring a flash knockdown in the first round, catching Malpartida
backing up with a picture perfect left hook. Malpartida did not appear
hurt and was back on her feet quickly but kept her right hand high
against her head throughout the fight to guard against a repeat shot
from Shea, After a defensive second round, Malpartida's confidence grew
as the fight progressed and used her height and reach advantage to try
to keep the fight in the mid-ring and counter-punch while
Shea pursued her aggressively. Shea went to the canvas midway through
the tenth but it was ruled a slip. Malpartida then scored with several
big punches before landing the right that ended the bout. (Malpartida
was well ahead on all three scorecards going into the final round,
87-83,87-83,88-81, according
to WBAN correspondent Bernie McCoy). Shea fell
to 13-1-0 (7 KO's).
On June 20, 2009 at Coliseo Eduardo Dibos Dammert in
Lima, Peru, Kina (130 lbs) returned to her native country and did not
disappoint local fans when she TKO'd Halana Dos Santos (129¾ lbs) of Sao Felipe Brazil at
1:40 in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-round bout. Malpartida was
defending her WBA Junior Lightweight title. Dos Santos
was overpowered by Malpartida's lightning-quick combinations and went
to the canvas more than once.
After the fight Malpartida said,
“This is a dream come true. It’s the
best thing that has ever happened to me, and it brings me great joy to
dedicate this victory to Peru. I dedicate this triumph to the poorest,
to those who struggle, to all of Peru and to my father.”
Malpartida improved her record
to 10-3 (3 KO's) with the win while Dos Santos, who protested the
stoppage, fell to 11-2 (6 KO's).
On
December 5, 2009 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario,
California, Kina (129 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (98-91,98-91,
97-92) decision over Lyndsey Scragg (128¾ lbs) of Wednesbury, England
defending the WBA Junior Lightweight title. Scragg dropped to
10-2 (3 KO's).
On
June 26, 2010 at the Jockey Club in Lima, Peru, Kina (129 lbs) won a
ten-round unaninimous (98-91 x 3) decision over Liliana Palmera (127¾
lbs) of Monteria, Colombia defending the WBA Junior Lightweight title.
Malpartida was knocked down in the second round but won every
other on the scorecards. Palmera fell to 19-7-2 (12 KO's).
On
April 16, 2011 at Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru,
Kina (129
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,97-93) decision over Rhonda Luna
(5'2", 130 lbs) of Irvine, California defending the WBA Junior
Lightweight title and avenging her earlier split
decision loss.
Malpartida used her footwork and mobility to control the
action
and withstood a late charge from Luna, who fell to 16-3-2 (2
KO's)
while Malpartida improved to 13-3-0 (3 KO's).
On May 19, 2012 at Coliseo
Miguel Grau in Callao, Peru, Kina Malpartida (129½
lbs) won by a fifth-round TKO over unranked Sriphrae
Nongkipahuyuth of Buriram, Thailand for the WBA Junior
Lightweight title. Nongkipahuyuth
who has lost her only two fights outside Thailand and has rarely fought
anyone other than pro debuters, fell to 11-2-1 (4 KO's).
On December 8, 2012 at the National Indoor
Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, Kina (128½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(98-91,97-92,98-91) decision over Marilyn Hernandez of Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic defending the WBA Junior Lightweight title.
Malpartida went to the canvas in the fourth but dominated most of the
action. Hernandez fell to 24-9 (15 KO's) while Malpartida advanced her
record to 15-3 (4 KO's).
Kina had surfing in her blood
as her father was a three-time national champion in Peru. She competed
as a professional surfer but says
that she was more of a 'soul surfer' who did it for pleasure: "I
never liked the competition in the surf, it was not my passion, it was
because everyone encouraged me and gave me clothes and tables, but the
idea of competing was what I hated more."
Kina
lists her non-boxing fun activities as hanging out with her friends,
going surfing, listening to music and eating good food. "I
love my food. And I love the beach. I love the beach, playing a game of
soccer, or maybe a game of basketball if I can. Just even doing a
little extra sport outside of boxing, you know. Just doing anything
that is active. I am very social too. I love people. People are one of
my biggest things. I love hanging out, talking, having a laugh here and
there."
Page last updated:
Friday June 6, 2013
|
|
