State of Women’s Boxing 2015

Published

10 years ago

January 13, 2015

Layla McCarter has been one of the best, if not the best female boxer in the world, pound for pound. Yet, few boxing fans know who she is, outside of the hardcore fans of the sport.

Few experts would refute McCarter is at the top of the mountain when it comes to skills. She hasn’t lost a fight since 2007 when Melissa Hernandez pulled the trick. Since then, lightweight McCarter has remained undefeated and knocked out a junior middleweight champion in the process. In her last fight she defeated the very skillful Hernandez to avenge her last defeat.

But the world only knows about Norway’s Cecilia Braekhus and Belgium’s Delfine Persoon, who fight in Europe where female boxing enjoys a large following. Their promoters are able to give them large purses, much larger than any American female fighters see. They enjoy home-town fights against others in almost all of their fights.

Are they better than McCarter?

That’s the current state of affairs with female boxing as the best boxers are not necessarily the undefeated big money-makers in Europe or Latin America.

With the exodus of several top notch female fighters to mixed martial arts, women’s pro boxing saw a sudden shift at the top of the realm.

Gone to MMA are Holly Holm, Ana Julaton and Jessica Rakoczy, who were good athletes and well suited for MMA. A number of other boxers fled to MMA, where a large door has opened for female fighters. What remains is a strong, more- skilled flank of female prizefighters in the women’s boxing scene.

Amateur girls are finally finding an opening worldwide and many are expected to shine in the next Olympic games slated for Brazil in 2016. American girls are jockeying for position on the U.S. team that saw only three positions in 2012. The next Olympics will have more openings. Amateurs in the U.S. and other countries have been able to gather sponsors.

Yes, sponsors have found their way to amateur boxing, yet not professional boxing.

It’s a strange paradox.

Amateur girls like Mikaela Mayer, Claressa Shields, Queen Underwood, Marlen Esparza and others worldwide have sponsor backing. That’s tremendous. But professional boxers rarely have any sponsors.

Pro Female Boxing

For the last five years, not one American girl was featured on a televised fight card. Yet, Mexican girls were featured almost weekly on Spanish language television broadcast in the U.S. How was that not an indicator that female boxing has a large audience?

American Latinos have always supported live boxing and televised fight cards. It’s a major reason that networks like HBO, Showtime, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, NBC Sports Network and others are televising boxing. Latinos are almost maniacal in their appetite for boxing and have shown a healthy appetite for female boxing.

Need proof?

Just watch Spanish language television like Azteca television, which almost has a weekly dose of female boxing. They have brought Jackie Nava, Arely Mucino, Mariana Juarez and Ibeth Silva to U.S. living rooms, yet American girls who are their equals or better, such as Melinda Cooper, Celina Salazar and Crystal Morales have not been televised to an American audience.

“I find it hard to believe that Mexico, a country known for its machismo, respects the sport of female boxing more than the United States, which is considered the land of opportunity,” said Felipe Leon, boxing writer for Fightnews.com.

No opportunities on televised fight cards have been offered by television networks nor have promoters of men’s boxing like Top Rank, Main Events or Golden Boy Promotions offered any openings to female bouts on their cards.

Women’s Boxing convention

Recently, in Las Vegas, the WBC held a convention and women’s boxing was a major topic on the weeklong agenda. The WBC, which is based in Mexico City, has supported female boxing for an entire decade. But promoters in the U.S. have not opened any doors for the women.

“I sincerely hope that Oscar De La Hoya comes through on his promise that he made at the WBC female convention of doing something with women’s boxing in the U.S., perhaps in 2015,” said Leon, who lives in Tijuana and covers boxing on both sides of the border. “The exposure and credibility it would gain with Golden Boy Promotions featuring at least one female fight on their cards will be unmeasurable.”

Sue Fox, a former pro boxer and the owner of WBAN.com, which covers female boxing, said television has been a major obstacle for women’s boxing in this country only.

“Without media exposure it is difficult to build fan bases,” said Fox, who added that women are also finding it hard to get on fight cards. “Without women being featured on televised cards fans don’t know they exist.”

Las Vegas prizefighter McCarter finds it ironic that she lives and trains in the “fight capital of the world” yet cannot find a spot on a big fight card in her hometown.

“They can’t say that men’s boxing is more popular. Some of these male fighters can’t even sell out a small show, but they are included in these big pay-per-view fight cards,” said McCarter. “A lot of these men boxers are boring. I can’t see why they are on the fight cards. Nobody wants to see them.”

McCarter has been a proven ticket seller in Las Vegas but it’s the minimal purses that have kept her from being able to have a solid career.

“I wish we could be able to simply train and fight like the men,” said McCarter, 35, who has been fighting professionally since 1998 and has fought in 58 pro bouts. “Women’s boxing is still suffering. Our sport needs the promoters who have money and networks to support women’s boxing as they do for the men. Put us on where we can be seen and pay us closer to what we deserve. That will make all the difference.”

McCarter’s not alone when it comes to wishing women’s boxing could get a helping hand.

Al Applerose, a director of a female boxing promotion company based in Southern California called Arqangel Promotions, said that for decades women’s boxing has worked in the shadows.

“Even though it’s very legit, it needs to be legitimized and accepted by the boxing fan (sports audience) population,” said Applerose whose company handles Melinda Cooper, Crystal Morales and Celina Salazar among others. “In this day and age TV is the measure of legitimization and acceptance. Women’s boxing needs that platform so the sports audience can appreciate it.”

In 2014 the WBC held a women’s convention where Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the Mexico-based sanctioning organization, gave his promise to aid the female side of the sport.

“I think women’s boxing has been better in a worldwide sense,” said Leon, who consistently follows and reports on female boxing. “Unfortunately it has not gotten the same traction in the United States. I think the talent pool right now in the United States is at an all-time high with exciting potential match ups throughout many divisions.”

James Pena, trainer for Melinda Cooper, said he’s surprised that American television has not seen the potential that other countries have seen.

“I don’t know what promoters or television networks are thinking,” said Pena, who lives in Las Vegas. “Women’s boxing can’t miss but these people don’t see it. They’re basically afraid of a sure thing. It’s their loss.”

Growth continues

The female boxing world has more than 1,200 professionals who work out daily in gyms in Tokyo, Japan to Las Vegas, Nevada. Almost every continent has female prizefighters toiling in gyms alongside their male counterparts. Female boxers have been around for more than 40 years, yet they still fly under the radar.

McCarter, who is arguably the best of all female boxers, turns 36 in April and has been breaking her head against the wall of criticism toward female boxing her entire career.

One day, a man about 6’1” and 220 pounds entered her gym and saw her training. He claimed he was a former military commando with martial arts training and no women could last a round with him. McCarter entered the boxing ring against him and promptly knocked him down within 20 seconds. He took off the gloves and left the gym.

Other female boxers have similar stories. But promoters and TV networks continue to ignore the women and those fans that follow them. Female boxing stands ready for a breakout year.

“It grew even more so in Mexico and in other parts of the world like Europe and Japan with women again being put front and center on many televised main events. We even had the first ever all-women convention in September,” said Leon, whose hometown of Tijuana has groomed two world champion females in Nava and Kenia Enriquez.

Will 2015 be the year?

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David A. Avila

Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser

Published

11 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Thomas Hauser

In recent years, there has been lavish praise and extensive criticism regarding Turki Alalshikh’s boxing initiative. Some of it has been warranted and some hasn’t. One issue deserves greater comment.

The judging has been pretty good.

Scoring a fight is subjective, which can open the door to bias, incompetence, and corruption.

Most people in boxing know who the good judges are. But some bad ones keep getting high-profile assignments. Why? Because they shade things toward the house fighter which is where the money lies.

When there’s a bad decision in boxing, almost always it favors the house fighter.

Overall, Turki Alalshikh’s fights have been marked by honest scoring.

Oleksandr Usyk went the distance four times against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Fury-Usyk I and Usyk-Joshua II could legitimately have been scored either way. It was in the Saudi’s financial interest (not to mention the interests of Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn) that Fury and Joshua win those fights. Yet Usyk won all four decisions.

Clearly, Turki Alalshikh wanted Hamzah Sheeraz to defeat Carlos Adames. Yet Adames retained his title when that bout was credibly scored a draw.

The list goes on.

Bad scoring trickles down from the top. Judges know that the monied interests behind a promotion want a certain fighter to win and that their receiving lucrative judging assignments in the future often depends on scoring the fight at hand a certain way.

The judging for Turki Alalshikh’s fights so far seems to have been based on the instruction, “Be fair. Get it right.”

Kudos for that.

****

Six years ago after unifying the four major cruiserweight titles, Oleksandr Usyk was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America as its “Fighter of the Year.” That designation was repeated in 2024 in recognition of his unifying the heavyweight crown.

While in New York to accept his most recent honor, Usyk sat with former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason for an interview that will air in early-June on the nationally syndicated television show Game Time.

Oleksandr came across as thoughtful and likeable during the conversation.

He shared memories of his father: “My father was a military guy. He teach me like a street fight, to work a knife, shooting. I use jujitsu, karate, wrestling, kickboxing. I say, ‘Poppa, what we do this for?’ . . . He says, ‘We prepare’ . . . ‘For what we prepare?’ . . . ‘For life.’”

Usyk won a gold medal in the 201-pound heavyweight division at the 2012 London Olympics. But his father died before Oleksandr could return home and show the medal to him. After Usyk beat Tyson Fury to unify the heavyweight crown, he cried as he proclaimed, “Hey, poppa, we did it.”

“A lot of people in Ukraine who hear that, they cry too,” Oleksandr told Esiason. “Is normal. [Some] people, ‘Hey man! Don’t cry.’ Why not cry? I like to cry.”

Speaking of the size differential between Fury and himself, Usyk noted, “For me, is like a story. David and Goliath. I not afraid because boxing is a sport. Yeah, it’s a guy a little bigger for me. No problem.”

Asked how he would describe his fighting style,” Oleksandr answered, “It’s a wonderful style.”

“Boxing for me is a gentleman’s sport,” he added. “Just respect for my opponents. A lot of people make a show. But if you make a good show and then bad boxing – [with a wave of his hand] PFFFTHF! First in boxing is class and skill; then the show.’

He explained how his training regimen includes holding his breath underwater: “I make like a fight time. Three minutes underwater, one minute rest, twelve rounds. Is hard.”

What’s the longest that Usyk has held his breath underwater?

“My record is 4 minutes 47 seconds.”

The interview closed with Oleksandr appealing directly to the American people to support his Ukrainian homeland in its defense against Russian aggression.

“I’m not political. I’m just [a] man who lives in Ukraine who’s worried for my people.”

And he talked of having brought some Ukrainian soldiers to his fights as guests: “They’re my power, my angels.”

****

Don King has been the subject of an endless stream of anecdotes. Jody Heaps (who spent three decades as a senior creative director and executive producer at Showtime) adds one more to the mix.

“Don had just brought Mike Tyson to Showtime,” Heaps recalls. “We were doing a shoot with Don sitting in a barber chair and he was in a great mood. Toward the end, someone came over to me and said, ‘If Don has the time, could you ask him about his favorite movie scene for a promotion we’re doing.’ So I asked Don what his favorite movie scene was. He told me movies weren’t his thing and said, ‘You tell me. What’s my favorite scene?’

“I talked it over with the crew,” Heaps continues. “Then I suggested the shower scene in Psycho. I figured Don had seen it. Everybody has seen it. But Don told me, ‘I don’t know anything about it. What happens in that scene?’ So I explained that you see Janet Leigh in shower. Then you see a silhouette on the shower curtain. The shower curtain is pulled aside. You see the knife plunging in again and again. And the last thing you see is blood circling down the drain.”

“Don says, ‘Okay; I’ve got it.’ He looks right at the camera and, with incredible drama, starts recreating the scene. Five seconds in, everyone is mesmerized. He takes us through Janet Leigh in the shower, the silhouette on the shower curtain, the knife plunging in again and again, the blood circling down the drain. And at the end, he laughed that loud booming laugh of his and proclaimed, ‘It was a clean kill!’

“There was stunned silence,” Heaps says in closing. “Don made it sound like it was real and he’d been there when it happened.”

****

Like most sports fans, I watched the first round of the NFL draft on April 24. I’ll do the same when the NBA draft is held on June 25. Allow me the following thoughts.

Adam Silver seems like a basketball fan.

Roger Goodell seems like a fan of making money.

Adam Silver looks sincere when he hugs a draftee.

Roger Goodell looks like he wants to take a shower.

Adam Silver comes across as though he has a sense of humor and can laugh at himself.

Roger Goodell comes across as though he doesn’t and can’t.

Adam Silver has James Dolan to deal with and keeps him in line.

Roger Goodell can’t put a lid on Jerry Jones.

Adam Silver is booed in good-natured fashion by fans at the draft.

Roger Goodell is booed with rabid enthusiasm

****

And last; a memory of Turki Alalshikh’s May 2 fight card in Times Square . . .

Security was tight. The police had been instructed to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk moving as they passed the ring enclosure which was blocked from view by a ten-foot-tall fence. Well before the event began, a young man with a video camera planted himself on the sidewalk across the street from the enclosure. A uniformed police officer approached and the following colloquy occurred.

Cop: I’m sorry, sir. You’ll have to move.

Young man: I’m with the media.

Cop: And I’m with the New York Police Department. You’ll have to move.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – will be published this month and is available for preorder at: https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329

In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Hiruta, Bohachuk, and Trinidad Win at the Commerce Casino

Published

21 hours ago

May 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Hiruta, Bohachuk, and Trinidad Win at the Commerce Casino

A jam-packed fight card featuring a world champion, top contenders and knockout artists delivered the action but no knockouts on Saturday in the Los Angeles area.

You can’t have everything.

Mizuki “Mimi” Hiruta (8-0, 2 KOs), fresh with a multi-year 360 Boxing Promotion’s contract deal, once again fought and defended the WBO super fly world title and this time against Argentina’s Carla Merino (16-3, 5 KOs) at Commerce Casino.

It was expected to be her toughest test.

Hiruta, who is trained and managed by Manny Robles, showed added poise and a sharp jab that created and established an invisible barrier that Merino could never crack. It was as simple as that.

A sharp right jab from the southpaw Japanese world champion in the opening round gave Merino something to figure out. When the Argentine fighter tried to counter Hiruta was out of range. That distance was a problem that Merino could not solve.

The pink-flame-haired Hiruta looks like an anime figure incapable of violence. But whenever Merino dared unload a combination Hiruta would eagerly pounce on the opportunity. It was clear that the champion’s speed and power was a problem.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training in Southern California and has sparred with numerous styles and situations in the talent-crazy Southern California area. Each time she fights the poise and polish gained from working with a variety of talent and skill partners seems to add more layers to the Japanese fighter’s arsenal.

After six rounds of clear control by Hiruta, the Argentine fighter finally made an assertive move to change the momentum with combination punching. Both exchanged but Hiruta cornered Merino and opened up with a seven-punch barrage.

In the eighth round Merino tried again to force an exchange and again Hiruta opened up with a three-punch combo followed by a four-punch combo. Merino dived inside the attack by the Japanese champion and accidentally butted Hiruta’s head. No serious damage appeared.

Merino tried valiantly to exchange with Hiruta but the strength, speed and agility were too much to overcome in the last two rounds of the fight. Left hand blows by the champion connected solidly several times in the final round.

After 10 rounds all three judges saw Hiruta the winner by decision 98-92 twice and 99-91. The fighter from Tokyo retains the WBO super fly title for the fourth time.

Bohachuk Wins

Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk (26-2, 24 KOs) defeated Mykal Fox (24-5, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision but had problems corralling the much taller fighter after 10 rounds in a super welterweight match.

It was only the second time Bohachuk won by decision.

Fox used movement all 10 rounds that never allowed Bohachuk to plant his feet to deliver his vaunted power. But though Fox had moments, they were not enough to offset the power shots that did land. Two judges scored it 97-93 for the Ukrainian and another had it 98-92

“Good experience for me,” said Bohachuk of Fox’s movement.

King of LA

In a super featherweight match Omar “King of LA” Trinidad (19-0-1, 13 KOs) dominated Nicaragua’s Alexander Espinoza (23-7-3, 8 KOs) but never came close to knocking out the spirited fighter. But did come close to dropping him.

The fighter out of the Boyle Heights area in the boxing hotbed of East L.A. was able to exchange freely with savage uppercuts to the body and head, but Espinoza would not quit. For 10 rounds Trinidad battered away at Espinoza but a knockout win was not possible.

After 10 rounds all three judges favored Trinidad (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) who retains his regional WBC title and his place in the featherweight rankings.

“I’m living the dream,” said Trinidad.

Maywood Fighter Medina on Target

Lupe Medina (10-0, 2 KOs) proved ready for the elite in knocking down world title challenger Maria Santizo (12-6, 6 KOs) and winning by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight match up.

Medina, a model-looking fighter out of Maywood, Calif, accepted a match against Santizo who had fought three times against world titlists including L.A. great Seniesa Estrada. She looked perfectly in her element.

Behind a ramrod jab and solid defense, Medina avoided the big swinging Santizo’s punches while countering accurately. For every home run swing by the Guatemalan fighter Medina would connect with a sharp right or left.

In the fifth round, Santizo opened up with a crisp three-punch combination and Medina opened up with her own four-punch blast that seemed to wobble the veteran fighter. Medina stepped on the gas and fired strategic blows but never left herself open for counters.

Medina didn’t waste time in the sixth round. A crisp one-two staggered Santizo who reeled backward. The referee ruled it a knockdown and Santizo was in trouble. Medina went into attack mode as Santizo pulled every trick she knew to keep from being overrun by the Maywood fighter.

In the last two rounds Medina seemed to look for the perfect shot to end the fight. Santizo kept busy with short shots and stayed away from meaningful exchanges. Medina also might have been gassed from expending so many punches in the prior round.

The two female fighters both seemed to want a knockout in the eighth round. Santizo was wary of Medina’s power and dived in close to smother Medina’s firing zone. Neither woman was able to connect with any significant shots.

After eight rounds all three judges scored in favor of Medina 77-74, 76-75 and 80-71.

It was proof Medina belongs among the top minimumweight fighters.

Other Bouts

In a super welterweight fight Michael Meyers (7-2) defeated Eduardo Diaz (9-4) by unanimous decision in a tough scrap. Mayers proved to be more accurate and was able to withstand a late rally by Diaz.

Abel Mejia (8-0) defeated Antonio Dunton El (6-4-2) by decision after six rounds in a super feather match.

Jocelyn Camarillo (4-0) won by split decision after four rounds versus Qianyue Zhao (0-2) in a light flyweight bout.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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David Allen Bursts Johnny Fisher’s Bubble at the Copper Box

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2025

Arne K. Lang

David-Allen-Bursts-Johnny-Fisher's-Bubble-at-the-Copper-Box

The first meeting between Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, and David Allen, the White Rhino, was an inelegant affair that produced an unpopular decision. Allen put Fisher on the canvas in the fifth frame and dominated the second half of the fight, but two of the judges thought that Fisher nicked it, allowing the “Bull” to keep his undefeated record. That match was staged last December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, underneath Usyk-Fury II.

The 26-year-old Fisher, who has a fervent following, was chalked a 13/5 favorite for the sequel today at London’s Copper Box Arena. At the weigh-in, Allen, who carried 265 pounds, looked as if he had been training at the neighborhood pub.

Through the first four rounds, Fisher fought cautiously, holding tight to his game plan. He worked his jab effectively and it appeared as if the match would go the full “10” with the Romford man winning a comfortable decision. However, in the waning moments of round five, he was a goner, left splattered on the canvas.

This was Fisher’s second trip to the mat. With 30 seconds remaining in the fifth, Allen put him on the deck with a clubbing right hand. Fisher got up swaying on unsteady legs, but referee Marcus McDonnell let the match continue. The coup-de-gras was a crunching left hook.

Fisher, who was 13-0 with 11 KOs heading in, went down face first with his arms extended. The towel flew in from his corner, but that was superfluous. He was out before he hit the canvas.

A high-class journeyman, the 33-year-old David Allen improved to 24-7-2 with his 16^th knockout. He promised fireworks – “going toe-to-toe, that’s just the way I’m wired” – and delivered the goods.

Other Bouts of Note

Northampton middleweight Kieron Conway added the BBBofC strap to his existing Commonwealth belt with a fourth-round stoppage of Welsh southpaw Gerome Warburton. It was the third win inside the distance in his last four outings for Conway who improved to 23-3-1 (7 KOs).

Conway trapped Warburton (15-2-2) in a corner, hurt him with a body punch, and followed up with a barrage that forced the referee to intervene as Warburton’s corner tossed in the white flag of surrender. The official time was 1:26 of round four. Warburton’s previous fight was a 6-rounder vs. an opponent who was 8-72-4.

In the penultimate fight on the card, George Liddard, the so-called “Billericay Bomber,” earned a date with Kieron Conway by dismantling Bristol’s Aaron Sutton who was on the canvas three times before his corner pulled him out in the final minute of the fifth frame.

The 22-year-old Liddard (12-0, 7 KOs) was a consensus 12/1 favorite over Sutton who brought a 19-1 record but against tepid opposition. His last three opponents were a combined 16-50-5 at the time that he fought them.

Also

In a bout that wasn’t part of the ESPN slate, Johnny Fisher stablemate John Hedges, a tall cruiserweight, won a comprehensive 10-round decision over Liverpool’s Nathan Quarless. The scores were 99-92, 98-92, and 97-93.

Purportedly 40-4 as an amateur, Hedges advanced his pro ledger to 11-0 (3). It was the second loss in 15 starts for the feather-fisted Quarless, a nephew of 1980s heavyweight gatekeeper Noel Quarless.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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