Women’s boxing history will be made when an all-women’s pay-per-view card, “Finally,”“Finally” Pay-Per-View
Friday, June 13, 2008 – 10 PM/ET (8 PM/MT)
Isleta Casino & Resort, Albuquerque, NM
10 Rounds – IFBA World Junior Middleweights
Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm (21-1-2, 6 KOs), Albuquerque, MN vs.
Mary Jo Sanders (25-0, 8 KOs), Detroit, MI
10 Rounds – IFBA World Lightweight Championship
Chevelle “Fists of Steel” Hallback (26-5-2, 11 KOs), Tampa, FL vs.
Jeannine “G9” Garside (7-0-1, 3 KOs), Windsor, Ontario, Canada
10 Rounds – IBA World Strawweight & IFBA World Mini-Flyweight Championships
Wendy “Little Thunder” Rodriguez (18-4, 3 KOs), Los Angeles, CA vs.
Hollie “Hot Stuff” Dunaway (21-6, 10 KOs), Las Vegas, NV
10 Rounds – IFBA World Junior Flyweight Championship
Carina “La Reina” Moreno (17-1, 5 KOs), Watsonville, CA vs.
Eileen “Hawaian Mongoose” Olszewski (5-0-1, 0 KOs), New York, NY
“Finally” Pay-Per-View Fighters
Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm: A preacher’s daughter growing up in New Mexico, she got into boxing through aerobics – actually kickboxing – and now years later she is arguably the leading female pound-for-pound boxer today with seven world title belts, covering three different weight classes (light welterweight to light middleweight)…..tried gymnastics, swimming and diving before she got into kickboxing in 2002…..6-0 as an amateur kick-boxer, including top honors in a national championship, but soon switched to boxing and made her pro boxing debut January 24, 2002 in Albuquerque, defeating Martha Deitchman by third-round TKO…… the 2007 WBAN and The Ring, as well as the IFBA 2006 & 2007 Fighter of the Year…..perfect 10-0 record in world title fights. Named The Ring magazine’s 2005 and 2006 Fighter of the Year, Holly has fought on ESPN2 and The Best Damn Sports Show….reigning IFBA, IBA, WBC, WBA, WIBA & GBU welterweight champion.
Mary Jo Sanders: The Queen of the Middleweights is a born athlete, the daughter of Football Hall of Fame inductee and former Detroit Lions star tight end, Charlie Sanders…..she excelled in track and field, basketball, gymnastics, bodybuilding – 1998 Miss Natural Michigan heavyweight champion – and kickboxing….also competed in Tough Woman contests, in which, she won a world championship in the open-weight competition in 2000, giving away as much as 90 pounds to her opponent…..a gifted boxer who won her division in the 2002 Detroit Golden Gloves and has gone on to win all 25 of her professional prizefights, four world titles in four different divisions – light welterweight through middleweight. She is 5-0 in world title fights and has beaten nine world champions….reigning IBA middleweight champion.
Chevelle Hallback: Pound-for-pound arguably one of the top athletes in women’s boxing today, as well as one of the most recognized female fighters because of exposure she’s received several times on television, and her willingness to take on some of the sport’s biggest names…..unable to find suitable opponents when she first started boxing in 1996, she skipped amateur boxing and turned pro on February 21, 1997, stopping Connie Plosser in the opening round of their fight in Miami…..the subject of a short film entitled, Fists of Steel, directed by Annie Griffith, about female boxing, gender-politics, family and religious issues….studied psychology at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa…..reigning WIBA & IB junior middleweight champion.
Jeannie “G9” Garside: Highly-decorated Canadian amateur boxer and rising star in professional boxing, capturing the WIBA super bantamweight title in only her fourth pro fight, and the WIBA featherweight title in her seventh…. Jeannine started boxing after watching Christy Martin fight on a Mike Tyson undercard in1996, quickly developing into the 1998 & 1999 British Columbia champion and 1998 British Columbia Fighter of the Year. She earned a spot on the Canadian National Women’s Boxing Team and won a gold medal in the 2000 Canadian National Championships….boxing career suffered a set-back when she tore an ACL in her knee during a touch football game in 2000, which required reconstructive surgery….in 2001 she reached the semifinals of the AIBA World Amateur Championships but the following year she won her fourth straight national title. Garside finished her amateur career with a 40-5 record and she made her pro debut on December 4, 2004, taking a four-round decision from Heather Percival in Tacoma, Washington….managed by well known Jackie Kallen….reigning WIBA featherweight champion.
Hollie “Hot Stuff” Dunaway: Only 23-years-old and has captured four world titles….. no amateur background and began boxing at 18 in Fort Smith, Arkansas….became interested in boxing, feeling that it looked like fun, by watching other females training at the World Class Fitness Center in Fort Smith…..first turned pro in 2003, getting stopped in the second round against Melissa Shaffer (3-0) in Memphis, Tennessee. Because Hollie didn’t have a promoter, she became a road warrior, fighting her opponents in their backyard, which explains her 3-3 start as a pro and relatively slow development until moving to St. Louis and signing with Rumble Time Promotions in 2007….recently relocated in Las Vegas to help hr boxing career….reigning WIBF-GBU & WIBC minimumweight and NABF flyweight champion.
Wendy “Little Thunder” Rodriguez: Holds a degree in child development and works in infancy relationship, making home visits for play therapy with needy children who are sick….. the diminutive (4-11) fighter is certainly testimony to the old statement about good things coming in small packages…she packs a solid punch and already has captured three titles….the stylish boxer compensates for her lack of size by frustrating her opponents with slick moves and tremendous boxing skills….had only had six amateur matches, including a win by four-round decision against Canadian National silver medalist Tracey Stevens, before turning pro on May 14, 1999, winning a four-round decision versus Lisa Butler…she is the reigning IBA junior flyweight champion.
Eileen “The Hawaiian Mongoose” Olszewski: By boxing standard a late bloomer having captured her first world title at the tender age of 39…..former New York Knicks dancer, born in Hawaii as Miyoko Kuwaye….became a world champion in only her sixth pro fight…..ballet student who also has done stunt work in movies… first introduced to boxing nearly 20 years ago by her father, but she really didn’t get into it until meeting her now husband and head trainer, Matthew, at his New York martial arts studio when she was preparing for a role as a stunt double…..a natural from the beginning, albeit her late start, she went on to make her mark in amateur boxing, winning three U.S. national championships, as well as a gold medal at the 2001 Pan-Am Games. She retired at the age of 35 after registering a 28-0 record in U.S. amateur competition and 3-4 in International matches……made her pro debut on November 3, 2007, winning a four-round decision from Kimberly Torres at the Montecello Raceway in New York….reigning WIBA flyweight champion.
Carina “La Reina” Moreno: She sells tortillas and manning the cash register at her family’s Tacos Moreno in Watsonville, California… relatively shy, wide eyed 26-year old who was the World Boxing Council’s 2007 Female Fighter of the Year…..her cousin taught her how to hit the heavy bag when she was seven, never realizing that she’d grow into a 5’ 0” fighting machine and world-class boxer…at 18 she started out as a kick-boxer but she soon discovered that finding opponents was going to be a problem, so she got into boxing, and the rest is history…..started boxing in 2000 and she immediately showed her potential, defeating 2-time national champion Linda Carrillo in the final of the USA Boxing Everlast National Championships. Off of the aforementioned performance, she was chosen to represent the United States in the Feenix Box Cup in Finland, where she won a gold medal and was selected “Best Fighter of the Tournament”….. her highly-decorated amateur career (36-2) concluded after she learned that female boxing would not be included in the 2004 Olympics….made her pro debut on July 3, 2003, winning a four-round decision against Cecelia Barraza (2-0) and went on to win her first eight pro bouts…..a business student at Cabrillo Junior College in Aptos (CA), she balances school, working at her family’s restaurant and her boxing career, training nights in gyms at Watsonville, Gilroy, San Jose, Los Angeles and Reno, Nevada….often spars with men who outweigh her by as much as 20 pounds, runs 3-4 miles every morning, and lifts weight three times a week.
Women's Boxing is supported the night before by an all-women’s nationally televised show, Fox Sport Network’s Best Damn Championship Fight Night Period. A total of six world championship bouts will be held for seven different world titles –6 International Female Boxers Association (IFBA) and one International Boxing Association (IBA).
Fox Sports Net’s Best Damn Championship Fight Night Period
Thursday, June 12, 2008 – 7 PM/ET
Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
10 Rounds – IFBA World Junior Featherweight Championship
Lisa “Bad News” Brown (14-3-3, 4 KOs), Toronto, Canada vs.
Alicia “Slick” Ashley (14-7-1, 1 KO), Westbury, New York
10 Rounds – IFBA World Flyweight Championship
Elena “Baby Doll” Reid (19-4-5, 5 KOs), Las Vegas, NV vs.
Crystal Hoy (3-1-2, 2 KOs), Las Vegas, NV
6 Rounds – Junior Featherweights
Melinda Cooper (18-0, 10 KOs), Las Vegas, NV vs.
Donna Lee Biggers (19-7-1, 16 KOs), Shelby, NC
6 Rounds – Junior Featherweights
Jeri Sitzes (14-7-1, 6 KOs), Springfield, MO vs.
Ela “Bam Bam” Nunez (6-3, 2 KOs), Jamestown, NY
6 Rounds – Middleweights
Jill Emery (8-2, 3 KOs), New York, NY vs.
Cristy Nickel (7-6, 4 KOs), New York, NY
Best Damn Championships Fight Night Period Fighters
Lisa “Bad News” Brown: Trinidad and Tobago born, lives in Toronto…..late bloomer who didn’t start boxing until she was 26, after watching Christy Martin fight Dierdre Gogarty on a Mike Tyson PPC card, as well as encouraged by her husband and former pro boxer, Errol Brown, who still serves as her head trainer…..Lisa moved with her family in 1988 to a suburb of Toronto, where she won a pair of Ottawa regional championships. She competed in the Canadian national amateur championships in 1998, when she came within a point of capturing a gold medal, which she won the following year…..won 26 of 32 amateur matches, turned pro May 5, 2000 in Tucson (AZ), defeating Leilano Salazar by fourth-round TKO…..reigning IFBA World Junior Featherweight Champion.
Alicia Ashley
Alicia “Slick” Ashley: Transformed kick-boxer who was 10-0-1 before switching to boxing in the mid-nineties…..moved to New York City from her native Jamaica with her family at the age of 11, intending to follow in the footsteps of her professional dancing father……dance student since the age of six, she received scholarships to the renowned Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham schools….brother, Maurice, is the first and only black International Chess Grandmaster, while her other brother and head trainer, Devon, is 4-time World champion kick-boxer……devastating knee injury ended her dance career but she got into karate to fill the void, excelled at it, but quickly learned that she needed to develop boxing skills to successfully compete in kick-boxing……eventually became an amateur boxer and went on to win three consecutive New York Golden Gloves titles as well as a pair of U.S. National championships as a 125-pound boxer. After winning 16 of 18 amateur bouts she turned pro January 29, 1999, winning a six-round split decision against Lisa Howarth in Atlantic City…..Reigning NABF super bantamweight champion.
Elena “Baby Doll” Reid: One of the most athletic women boxers in the world. She played soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball and was a cheerleader through high school….no amateur boxing background….she started boxing at 15 and but competed in karate and kick-boxing, winning an Arizona state kickboxing title when she was 17…..made her pro boxing debut on April 18, 2000, winning a four-round decision against Jo Ellen Caldwell ….also a professional MMA fighter….reigning IFBA World flyweight champion
Elena Reid
Crystal Hoy: The best kept secret in women’s boxing today….. relatively unknown having fought only four times between 2002 and 2004, inactive since November 19, 2005when she walked up the three steps into the ring to face Lovato in their 8-round title fight… the dangerous Hoy floored Lovato twice in the seventh round but she lost a controversial decision (74-76, 74-76, 74-75) in Lovato’s hometown of Albuquerque that was met by heavy booing upon announcement…after the fight Lovato called Hoy an underestimated, hard hitter who was her toughest opponent…..took title fight against fellow Las Vegan Elena Reid on two weeks notice…..they have sparred several times....trained by highly respected Jessie Reid.
Melinda Cooper: Las Vegas crowd favorite who at the tender age of 23 rates among the most dominant smaller weight fighters in the world today….started boxing in 1996 when she wondered into the Nevada Partners gym and met trainer James Pena. …..developed into a U.S. national amateur champion, winning the Women’s National Golden Gloves in the 112-pound division for 14-15 year olds, the first of many regional and national titles she collected….. the first Nevada female to capture a USA Boxing National Championship, taking gold at the 2000 U.S. Everlast Championships in the 106-pound junior division. She added the 125-pound crown junior division at the 2001 Women’s National Golden Gloves…..after posting an impressive 37-2 amateur record, she turned pro at 17 with a four-round unanimous decision March 23, 2002 against Annalisa Middleton in Las Vegas. …Reigning IBA flyweight champion.
Donna Lee “Nature Girl” Biggers: At 34 has become the unofficial gatekeeper of the featherweight and super bantamweight divisions in women’s boxing…..dangerous slugger got into boxing by accident, always staying in shape, one day she ran into Billy Mitchem, who owed Headhunter’s Gym in nearby Spartanburg, South Carolina. Biggers checked out his gym, tried boxing, and fell in love with the sport….. pro debut was July 19, 2003, when she won a four-round decision against Helen Shari Penson in Tennessee. Donna Lee went unbeaten through her first 12 fights (11-0-1)….former 3-time world champion.
Jeri “Fists of Fury” Stizes: Active professional boxing as well as kickboxing, in which, she sports a perfect 9-0 record…..Never one to duck an opponent, Sitzes has taken on all comers in boxing since making her pro debut May 9, 2007 on the short end of a four-round decision to Renee Richardt (7-0-1) in St. Louis. Jeri started a pattern of winning a few, losing a few, but many of her losses would be to world champions and top contenders such as Melinda Cooper, Lisa Brown, Kelsey Jeffries, and Mary Ortega.
Ela “Bam Bam” Nunez: A 30-year-old single mother of four, the Puerto Rico native has been boxing since she was 10, despite not having too much of an amateur background. She lost her first two pro fights to the same boxer, Dominga Olivo, by four and six round decisions in 2007. Nunez’ first victory was a four-round shutout (40-36 three times) versus Addy Irizarry at Mohegan Sun.
Jill Emery: Bucknell University graduate with one of the richest amateur pedigrees in women’s professional boxing…3-time US Nationals champion, captured top honors four years in the New York Daily News Golden Gloves Championship, won a gold medal in the 2004 Women’s World Boxing Tournament, and was named 2004 USA Boxing’s Female Athlete of the Year….extended her amateur career in hopes of women’s boxing being added to the Olympics. When that didn’t come to fruition she turned pro on February 4, 2005, winning a four-round decision against Cassandra Lindsey in Florida….the 5-8, southpaw on June 23, 2007 became the winner of the first women’s pro fight in Ireland by eight-round decision versus Angel McKenzie in a shutout performance, winning all eight rounds on the scorecard….fitness trainer in New York City.
Cristy Nickel
Cristy “Code Red” Nickel: U. of Memphis graduate involved in exercise and wellness since 1994….born in California but raised on a family ranch in the mountains of northern Idaho….dreamed of becoming a fitness competitor and did at 17, when she began to grow after watching a “Ms. Fitness” competition on television. After graduating and moving to a larger city, she began to lift weights, watch her diet and study about the sport of body building…..In the summer of 2003 Cristy finally competed in her first competition, placing in the top 5 in all three of the shows she competed in….all of the extreme dieting and twice-a-day training took its toll on and she burned out by the end of that summer….started looking for a workout that would allow her to maintain her fitness level and she discovered boxing….In April 2004, Cristy made her pro debut against Miriam Brakache and, despite dropping a four round decision, fans immediately took to the new fighter with the spiked hair and intriguing fight wardrobe choice…..In 2005, she was one of only six Americans fighters, including Eric “Butterbean” Ecsh and Mia St. John, to be invited to fight on a card in Beijing, China……received a call in the spring of 2006 from the producers of MTV’s hit reality show “MADE.” They were looking for a boxing coach to turn a lazy high school quitter into a hard-hitting boxer in only six weeks and put her in a real fight. Nickel auditioned against coaches from all over the country and after an intense and lengthy screening process, she was offered the position, and the episode was chosen as the season premier, continuing to re-run to date in over 60 countries. The success of the show landed her an opportunity to move to New York City in June, 2005….started her own business as a personal trainer and boxing coach at “Peak Performance,” New York’s exclusive private training facility on West 21st and 6th in the Flat Iron District…. her expanding clientele list includes numerous celebrities (including Katie Couric), CEO’s, athletes, writers, editors, new moms, and stressed-out Wall Street brokers, to name a few.
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