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DIANE SYVERSON, a roller
derby queen decided to try her hand at boxing in 1977. She was a 26-year-old,
5''7" weighing 147 lbs. SYVERSON had a good reach and used that
advantage
when fighting her opponents. SYVERSON was very popular in California due to her
looking more like a double for television star, Dinah Shore, than a boxer.
SYVERSON quickly became one of the top attractions among female
boxers in California. The same promoters that were pessimistic about female boxing
just a year earlier were quickly starting to sing praise for the newly found athletics.
Although SYVERSON enjoyed boxing, she was a versatile
woman who not only boxed,
but was also interested in law enforcement and attended
criminal justice classes at an East Los Angeles College while working as a bricklayer.
In her first Los Angeles ring appearance in 1977,
SYVERSON scored a close four-round decision over Theresa
"Princess Red Star' Kibby-- the two had boxed a draw in Fresno just three
weeks prior to that bout.
SYVERSON's most impressive win in her brief pro
career was a fourth-round knockout over Kim Maybee in Fresno, as Diane spotted her
middleweight opponent almost 20 pounds.
Diane's highlights: She has also fought Lady Tyger
Trimiar,
was from comments of past fans of hers who have seen her fight, she
was known to be one of the toughest fighters in the 70's and
80's. (WBAN has numerous photos, one video of Syverson when
she was doing some real amateur - type boxing for Judell Long, in a
makeshift ring, that were sent in by fans.) Syverson didn't box that
long, but the time she did, she became known by many.) These are not
on the site any longer. (Inset photo: Syverson vs. Lady Tyger
Trimiar - Los Angeles)
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