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5'2½" 118-lb southpaw Lisa "Bad News" Brown was born on 17 Jan 1971 in
Port of Spain, Trinidad and now lives in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.
The only girl in a family of four, she emigrated to Canada in 1988 at age 17.
She began boxing as an amateur at age 26, encouraged by her pro boxer husband Errol Brown. Like many women who entered
the boxing ring in the late 1990's, Lisa says she was also motivated by seeing Christy Martin
fight Dierdre Gogarty in 1996 on a Mike Tyson Pay-Per-View card.
Lisa won two bantamweight championships in her home province of Ontario, and
she competed in the Canadian
national amateur championships in 1998 and 1999.
At the 1998 Canadian nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, Lisa took the silver medal at 54 kg when she dropped a
tough 3-2 decision to Patricia Picotin of Quebec in the title match on January 17. Canadian amateur boxer
Misty Shearer told me "this was a really close fight. Lisa was a bit more aggressive but Patricia was able to
counter really well. Lisa had good power and went to the body well but Patricia was quick to counter and was able to get off
the ropes and move out of Lisa's way."
On July 10, 1998 at the Lackawanna County Stadium, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Lisa represented Canada in the
119-lb division of the first-ever dual meet between the USA and Canadian national women's amateur boxing teams. She lost by
a razor-thin 11-10 decision to Elizabeth Aguilera of West Covina, California.
On January 24, 1999, in the finals of the 1999 Canadian nationals in Sudbury, Ontario, Lisa won the 54-kg
division by a walkover.
On March 27, 1999 in a 54-kg bout the second leg of the Canada-Sweden Dual at the Atlas Boxing Club in
Toronto, Lisa was edged out by Sweden's Frida Emanuelsson by a hard fought 7-6 decision.
Lisa turned pro with a 26-6 amateur record behind her, but she then had a hard time finding opponents who were
willing to fight her.
She finally secured a debut fight on May 5, 2000 at the Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, by stepping into
the ring against Tucson's own Leilani Salazar as a late substitute for Valory Troike of Las
Vegas. Lisa took this fight on just a few days' notice, telling Arizona Daily Star reporter Bruce Pascoe afterwards:
"I know my abilities ... I know as long as I went out there and fight the way I know I can, there was no way I'd
lose."
Lisa spoiled Salazar's first professional fight in Tucson by TKO'ing her at 0:49 of the fourth and final
round. The late substitution may even have worked in Lisa's favor, because Salazar didn't seem ready for Lisa's aggressive
southpaw style. Brown won the first round easily but Salazar made a comeback, urged on by her hometown fans, until the fight
was stopped at 49 seconds into a wild final round. Brown landed several good combinations early in the round, then had
Salazar pinned against the ropes when the fight was called. It turned out that Brown had good reason to go for the KO and
not take her chances on a decision on Salazar's turf ... one judge had the fight even going into the fourth, one had it
29-28 for Salazar and the other 29-28 for Brown. Leilani's disappointment showed as she said
"she didn't wear me down;
it was just a bunch of wrestling" but her trainer Hank McCadden had praise for Lisa, saying
"I don't want to take
anything away from (her), she's a good fighter." Salazar fell to 3-5 with the loss and hasn't fought professionally
again.
On June 27, 2000 in Orangeville, Ontario, Lisa (122 lbs) moved her pro record to 2-0 in a much easier match,
scoring a first-round TKO over debut fighter Jeanette Sanabria (121 lbs) of Cleveland, Ohio, who hasn't fought since. On September 23, 2000 before 3000 fans at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, Lisa mounted a non-stop attack
to TKO Shondell Alfred of Georgetown, Guyana at 1:06 in the second round. Brown stunned Alfred with a left hook that had her
pitching and stumbling forward, prompting the referee to stop the bout. Alfred, who fell to 4-2 with the loss, had lasted
over three and a half rounds against another former Canadian national champion, Doris Hackl, that June. Unlike Lisa's
previous opponents, she's kept on fighting after her loss to the "Bad News" girl!)
On November 11, 2000 at Skylon Towers in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Lisa moved to 4-0 with a four-round
unanimous (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) decision over Donna Parsons of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Parsons hasn't fought since.
 Lisa's fifth pro bout represented a significant step up in competition. She took on an experienced pro
warrior in a six round war on a card aptly billed as the “Border Explosion” on April 27, 2001 at the Convention Center in
Niagara Falls, New York. A crowd announced as 4500 saw an entertaining battle as Lisa won a six-round unanimous (57-55,
57-56, 57-56) decision over the scrappy IFBA Junior Featherweight champion "Downtown" Leona
Brown of Pawling, New York. Leona took a series of big punches from Lisa in the first round and went down hard from a
right uppercut. Leona then came back to floor Lisa with a quick counter right over a lazy left later in the same round. Lisa
decked Leona twice more with right uppercuts in the second but Leona pressed the action after Lisa began to tire in the
third. Leona outhustled Lisa in the second half of the fight and had Lisa "on the verge of a knockout" at the
final bell, according to according to FightNews reporter Andre Courtemanche who was at ringside. Leona Brown fell to
8-7 (2 KO's), while Lisa advanced to 5-0 (3 KO's).
On August 31, 2001 at Cedar Bridge Academy in Bermuda City, Bermuda, Lisa (116½ lbs) won the vacant IWBF
Bantamweight title with a ten-round decision over Leona Brown (117 lbs) who fell to 9-8 (3 KOs).
There were no knockdowns in this hard-fought rematch of their April cross-border war in Niagara Falls.
On December 21, 2002 at War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lisa (121½ lbs) won a six-round
unanimous (60-54) decision over Karen Martin (121 lbs), now living in the U.K. Martin fell to 6-4-0 (5 KO).
On April 26, 2003 at Hamilton Place Theater in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Lisa won a convincing four-round
unanimous (40-36) decision over fellow Ontarian Olga Heron of Mississauga. Brown remained undefeated at 8-0-0 (3 KO) while
Heron slipped to 3-1-0 (1 KO). Brown stepped in to fight Heron at short notice on a card that had to be reorganized due to
restrictions on medical testing in Ontario caused by the SARS outbreak in Toronto. Brown surprised a game but overmatched
Heron with a very aggressive start in this fight.
 On
July 11, 2003 at Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio, 5'9"
Kelli Cofer of Shelby, Ohio and Lisa both stayed
undefeated as they battled each other to a six-round draw (58-56,56-58,57-57) in a junior featherweight contest. The much
taller Cofer, who left the ring visibly shaken by the decision, progressed to 10-0-2 (4 KO) .
(WBAN's Brian Ackley scored this fight 58-56 for Cofer.)
While she's been the IWBF Bantamweight champion, Lisa has had difficulty persuading opponents to agree to face
her, so she has started taking fights as a junior featherweight just to stay active.
On October 30, 2003 at Seminole Coconut Creek Casino in Hollywood, Florida,
Ada Velez (5'3", 118 lbs) of Hollywood and Lisa (116½ lbs) fought to a ten-round majority draw in a
hard and closely-fought bout for Velez's WIBA Bantamweight world title. After a feeling-out round, the two southpaws traded
punches toe to toe with Brown's back to the ropes in the second. Brown used the ring better in the third and her footwork
and defensive skills negated Velez's aggression and earned her points on the scorecards in the middle rounds. The crowd was
solidly behind the Puerto Rican and local resident Velez but Brown's quickness and boxing skills held her in check. Velez
pushed the pace harder in the late going and wobbled Brown once near the end of the final round, but Brown had done enough
to earn the decision on one judge's card. The scorecards were 96-94 for Brown, and two even at 95-95, so Velez kept her
title belt. Brown remained undefeated at 8-0-2 (3 KO) while Velez, the IBA and WIBA champion progressed to 14-1-2 (6 KO).
[Fight report and photos]
Lisa told reporters that she thought she had won the fight but was still pleased with getting a majority draw on Velez's
home turf, saying that she had made fans and gained respect with the bout. She offered Velez a rematch in Canada or the
USA and said she would put her IWBF belt on the line if Velez accepts the return engagement.
On May 26, 2004 at the
Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Lisa (122 lbs) won a six-round
unanimous (59-54,59-54,60-53) decision over Jeri Sitzes (122 lbs) of Springfield,
Missouri. Lisa controlled the first round by beating Jeri to
the punch and
knocked Jeri down near the end of the stanza. Sitzes felt it was a
slip but the ref gave her an eight count anyway. Lisa
controlled the start and end of an action-packed second round but they
raded hard when Jeri pinned her in the
corner midway through it. Round three was evenly fought with less action,
but Lisa returned to beating Jerri to the punch in the fourth. Lisa
controlled most of the fifth but Jeri finished it with a good flurry, while the
sixth was
close. Sitzes fell to 5-3-1.
On December 10, 2004 at
Southport Sharks in Southport, Queensland, Australia, Sharon
Anyos of Australia won a ten-round
majority (96-96,96-95,100-91) decision over Lisa defending
her WBF Women's Featherweight Title.
According to
WBAN correspondent Mike Altamura, "While
the 34-year-old Anyos constantly charged forward, the southpaw Brown looked to
effectively counterpunch with swift straight left hands. Anyos established a
decent pace in the opening stanza, constantly pressing the attack and despite
landing few punchers, with Brown content to just throw the occasional counter,
won the round on work-rate alone. A scrappy sort of round ensued in the second,
with again few scoring punchers, although Brown was able to get home with a
couple rights hooks late to clinch the round. The Australian was the busier
fighter in the third, but the 5’2 ½” Brown was clearly the more effective,
making Anyos pay with precise left hands each time she either leaned in, or
missed with the jab. Anyos made a slight adjustment in the fourth, trapping the
Canadian on the ropes and firing to her well-cut midsection on a few occasions.
It was enough to snare the round, but Brown came back in the fifth, twisting and
rolling out of the incoming traffic, and scoring with the left hand. Rounds six
and seven were close, Anyos again throwing more leather, but Brown a lot more
prudent with her shots. Hard scoring rounds, maybe leaning towards the defending
champion due to sheer aggression. There was little that landed of note in the
eighth, although Brown did counter brilliantly in one exchange with her back to
the ropes, which probably shaded it in her direction. In the final two stanzas,
Anyos continued to walk forward, but Brown, picking her spots, seemed to offset
her opponent’s offence, using her ring smarts to walk her into her crisp left
counters. A close, well-contested, and high-octane encounter. I preferred the
challenger’s effective counters over Anyos’ work rate, and had Brown winning
97-94, although there was little separating these two gutsy combatants in at
least four of the rounds." Anyos is now 8-3 (1 KO). Brown suffered her
first loss and is 9-1-2 (3 KO).
Anyos praised Brown after the fight, saying “Lisa Brown came here and put up
a great fight. I think she showed what a true champion she is, and it was a
very, very close fight. I’m happy we got the decision. To Lisa and her husband
who came over here, again at short notice, you’se are great people, I hope you
enjoyed Australia, we loved having you here, and we welcome you back any time.”
Lisa said "It was tough. I think I did enough to win, but hey, I’m
in Australia, I’m in her hometown, and I guess the judging went her way. But
next time ...”
Lisa (at left in upper photo) KO'd Stephaney George in Feb 2005
© Copyrighted photos taken by Durell Wambolt
On February 18, 2005 at the Docks Nightclub in Toronto, Canada, Lisa (123½ lbs)
knocked out Stephaney George (120 lbs) of Guyana at 1:18 in the second round of
a scheduled six-rounder. After a quiet first round, Lisa came out much more
aggressively in the second and landed solid straight lefts and rights that
snapped George's head back. Midway through the round Lisa followed a sharp right
hook to the side of George’s head with a left uppercut that caught George flush
on the chin and snapped her head back violently, knocking her out cold. George was
on the canvas for several minutes, while Lisa Brown held her hand; she
was shaking when carried out of the ring by paramedics, but her trainers said
later that she was not seriously hurt. Brown improved to 10-1-2 (4 KOs) while
George fell to 5-4.
On June 18, 2005 at Shaw Convention Center in Edmonton, Alberta, Lisa won a
clear (59-51,60-53,59-54) six-round unanimous decision over 5'9"
Kelli Cofer of
Willard, Ohio in the co-main event of Canada's first all-female pro boxing card.
The shorter but stronger Brown rattled Cofer in the fifth and had the lanky American dangling on the edge
the rest of the way. She kept up the pummeling in the sixth and final round,
landing a barrage of straight lefts and hard uppercuts.
Cofer went to the canvas from an overhand left with five seconds left in the
fight. "I looked at the tape (of our previous fight) and saw that if I
continued to use the jab, it would help me set up my punches and take her out. I
usually like to throw the combinations so using the jab and come with the right
hook, they are not expecting the right hook coming, so I tried to use that as
much as possible. I was surprised that she could keep taking the punches, but
there was no way she could sustain herself against that kind of pressure," said Brown.
"The business is taking your opponent out. ''I smelled blood and I wanted to
take her out and go home." Cofer fell to 10-3-4 (4 KOs).
On September 23, 2005 at Jean Pierre Sport Complex in Port of Spain, Trinidad
and Tobago, Lisa (121¾ lbs) used a relentless body attack to pound out a clear
ten-round unanimous (98-92,100-90,100-90) decision over IFBA Bantamweight
champion Jackie Chavez (120 lbs) of Albuquerque, New
Mexico for the WIBC and WIBA Junior Featherweight titles. According to local
reports, Lisa peppered Chavez with left hooks to run up a big lead before Chavez
tried to make a comeback in the late going. Lisa, fighting in her
birthplace for the first time as a pro boxer, improved to 12-1-2 (4 KOs) while
Chavez suffered her first pro loss and fell to 9-1-0 (3 KOs). A dispute between
the WIBC and the promoters over the organization and supervision of the card
later caused the WIBC to withdraw its sanctioning from the event, so the fight
will not count as a WIBC title bout.
Lisa Brown battles Jeannine Garside for the WIBA title
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 18, 2005 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
former four-time Canadian national 57-kg amateur champion Jeannine
Garside (121¾ lbs) of Windsor, Ontario won the WIBA Junior Featherweight
title with a ten round unanimous (99-90,99-90,98-91) decision over Lisa (120¾
lbs). Jeannine dropped Lisa for an eight count in the third round en route to
dominating the rest of the fight with a steady barrage of solid punches. Lisa
fell to 12-2-2 (4 KOs) with her most decisive pro loss to date while Jeannine
Garside improved to 4-0 (1 KO). (For more of Mary Ann Owen's photos of this
fight card, see
MPEG/Photo Gallery #306
on the WBAN Records Member Site).
On June 23, 2006 at the Shaw
Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Jeannine
Garside (121 lbs) and Lisa (121 lbs)
fought to a 10-round majority draw in a defense of Garside's WIBA title Final
judges' scores were 95-95, 95-95, and 96-94 for Brown. Brown came out strong in
the early rounds in an attempt to reclaim her title, winning the first
three by setting the pace with effective aggression, getting off first and
landing harder and more frequently. Garside made
adjustments in the fourth and closed the bout well, trading toe to toe with
Brown. “I thought I was pacing myself,” Garside
told
reporter Doug Rowe. “I thought I was taking the rounds. I had her back to the
ropes and I had her hurt three times in the fight. I am confused. What they want
is to see me fight her again and that’s fine. There will not be any question the
next time I fight her. I has nothing to do with revenge, it just has to do with
who is the champ, and I am the champ!”
Lisa was equally adamant that she had won the bout, telling Rowe: “It
was robbery. I came out to fight, I did what I had to do . . . I come and give
the fight of my life and they call it a draw. I can’t believe it. The first time
I fought her, I wasn’t in shape, I had so much going on I wasn’t mentally in
shape, mentally and physically. This time I actually got my game together and I
was hungry. So I came out to put on the best fight of my life.”
Negotiations are reportedly under way for a third
match between the two Ontario rivals. Jeannine
moved her pro record to 5-0-1 (2 KOs).
Lisa battles Melissa Hernandez in November 2006
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 4, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta,
Lisa (121 lbs) lost a ten-round unanimous (96-94,96-94,98-92)
decision to Melissa Hernandez (5'3", 119 lbs) of New York for the WIBA
Junior Featherweight title, which Jeannine Garside had vacated to fight on the
same card for the WIBA Featherweight belt. According to a
report
by Shawn Roth of FightNews Canada, "Both
fighters looked fresh and willing to brawl as the fight opened but the youth of
Hernandez quickly took over. Brown seemed unable to catch the much more agile
Hernandez with any real significant punches in the early going. Hernandez used
her elusiveness to duck out of Brown’s punches and counter with a nice right
hand that she used effectively through the match. Brown caught Hernandez with a
good left jab and right hook combo in the third, but Hernandez seemed able to
absorb the shots well and keep on moving. Hernandez continued to frustrate Brown
in the middle rounds, pinning the older fighter on the ropes and teeing off on
her. When Brown was able to muster an attack, Hernandez was able to quickly move
from trouble, but Brown did manage to catch the American with a left jab before
she could maneuver away from Brown late in the seventh. The final rounds saw
Brown come out looking sharper than the previous rounds as the two exchanged
some hard blows while on the ropes. Brown connected a quality left jab on
Hernandez in the ninth, but once again, the younger Hernandez responded with a
hard right jab. In the end, Hernandez proved too quick and conditioned for Brown
to handle." Lisa fell to 12-3-3 (4 KOs)
with the loss, while Hernandez improved to 6-0-1 (2 KO's).
Lisa vs. Jackie Chavez in March 2007
© Copyrighted photograph by Mary Ann Owen
On March 22, 2007 at the Isleta Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico,
Lisa (122 lbs) won the IFBA Junior Featherweight title with a 10-round unanimous
(99-91,97-93,97-94) decision over Jackie Chavez (122 lbs) of nearby Los Lunas, New Mexico. Lisa's power and ring experience controlled most of the bout
while Chavez's best round was in the fifth, when she came alive with the
home crowd chanting her name throwing a barrage of sharp combos with Brown
pinned near the ropes in the closing moments. Lisa Brown improved to
13-3-3 (4 KOs) while Chavez fell to
9-3-0 (3 KOs). (For coverage of the
weigh-in, and more fight photos by Mary Ann Owen and Patricia Butaud, see
MPEG/Photo Galleries #419 and #420
on the WBAN Member Site).
Lisa is trained at the Cabbagetown Boxing Club in Toronto
by Mike Doesburg and her husband Errol. She can be reached by contacting trainer Doesburg at (416)-961-2912 after
4 p.m. EST.
To check out fight reports, complete
up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
!
Other Lisa Brown Links
Page last updated:
Monday, 24 December 2007 |
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