A collection of women's biographies pertaining to boxing and their careers from beginning to present and future. Each bio contains an image of the boxer.

 

Vanessa R. Juarez

Vannessa started at the age of 8. She was the first female in the history of the Fort Worth Golden Gloves to box and win She is currently on the USA Woman's Elite Boxing Team at 119lbs representing the UsSA at all international events. She has 67 wins and 6 losses. In her ten years boxing she has managed to win 5 Silver Gloves State Tournaments, 6 Regional Golden Gloves, 1 all female show in San Antonio, 3 Female Golden Gloves Nationals, 2001-2002-2003 Ringside National Champion, 2004 Ringside World Tournament where she beat the Candaian Champion, 2003-2004-2005 Texas Female Champion, 2003 & 2004 USA Junior Olympic Champion, and won the USA Woman's National Championships in 2005 at 16 yrs old. She went to Russia in October of 2005 representing the USA in the Woman's Worlds. She has 7 belts and numerous trophies, and many medals. Her dream was to be able to be one of the first women to box in the Olympics however in October of 2005 the international committe decided that the Olympics weren't ready for Female Boxing. She will be in Colorado Springs Co at the Olympic training Center March 4-12, 2006 to try and capture one last National title. SHe has accomplished all she can in the Amatrur program so this spring she will enter the exciting world of Professional Fighting. And hopefully be the first Woman from Ft. Worth to be a Professional World Champion.

 

"Mean Snodene" Blakeney

" Mean Snodene" is one of several female pro fighters who trained at Richard Lord's gym in Austin, Texas.  She was born on August 7, 1972 in San Antonio, Texas. She made her pro boxing debut at the Music Hall in Austin on July 24, 1998, weighing in at 139 lbs and knocking out Randi Saenz (138 lbs) of Tyler, Texas at 1:45 of the second round of a scheduled four-rounder. Blakeney was the aggressor from the start in this fight.  On August 21, 1998 at the Belle Casino in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she weighed in at 136 lbs and won a four-round unanimous decision over Mary Ann Haik (133 lbs) of Pearl River, Louisiana, who fell to 2-4 with the loss..  On October 23, 1998 at the Music Hall in Austin, she weighed in at 138¼ lbs and won by TKO at 1:13 in the second round over Deshaun Mohammed (138 lbs) of Aurora, Colorado. Mohammed fell to 1-2. On November 20, 1998 in Marksville, Louisiana, Jeanne Martinez of Slidell, Louisiana moved her own pro record to 6-2-1 with a six-round split decision over the Texan. "Because I was in her backyard, I knew I had to knock her out to win", said Blakeney after this fight.

Sharon "Wild Thing" Anyos

5'3" junior welterweight Sharon "Wild Thing" Anyos from Australia is a boxer, kickboxer and karate competitor. Born on 13 October 1970, she began her love affair with the fight game as a "karate kid". Sharon entered her first tournament when she was six years old, and competed in non-contact karate until she was sixteen. She entered the Australian Koshiki Full Contact Titles in 1986 and won the Australian Women's Title. In 1989 she participated in the Brogoli Championships in Hawaii, and took second place Champion of Champions, second place in Black Belt Fighting and first place in Black Belt Forms. In 1989 she took fourth place in Black Belt Fighting at the Kobota World Cup in Los Angeles. Winning the Australian Koshiki Full Contact Karate title sparked Sharon's interest in kickboxing and Muay Thai, and in 1989 she won the WAKO Australian Kickboxing Lightweight title with wins over Nadine McDonald and Narelle Rockall. In 1991 she fought to draws with Songul Oruc and Stephanie Curtiss in WKO action, and in 1992 she again defeated Narelle Rockall in WAKO action. A loss to Stephanie Curtiss in 1993 did not deter her, and in 1995 she won an ISKA Australian title by unanimous decision over Debbie Merritt. A successful defense of this title against Merritt in 1996 was followed in 1997 by a TKO of Laura Skinner at 0:10 of the second round in a Muay Thai bout, and a unanimous decision over Holly Ferneley in a kickboxing bout.5'3" junior welterweight Sharon "Wild Thing" Anyos from Australia is a boxer, kickboxer and karate competitor. Born on 13 October 1970, she began her love affair with the fight game as a "karate kid". Sharon entered her first tournament when she was six years old, and competed in non-contact karate until she was sixteen. She entered the Australian Koshiki Full Contact Titles in 1986 and won the Australian Women's Title. In 1989 she participated in the Brogoli Championships in Hawaii, and took second place Champion of Champions, second place in Black Belt Fighting and first place in Black Belt Forms. In 1989 she took fourth place in Black Belt Fighting at the Kobota World Cup in Los Angeles.

 

Nina "Tha Bomb" Ahlin

5'0", 100-lb Nina "Tha Bomb" Ahlin was born in Painesville, Ohio, on 16 July 1973 and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.  Although "Tha Bomb" is a former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader, don't be fooled by her glamor photos! Nina is no sideline ornament once she steps into a boxing ring. She is a slick, sound technical boxer with good ring sense who keeps her composure under pressure, and counterpunches well. Nina became an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader in 1997 and began boxing that November. "I was at a party", she recounts, "there were all these boxers there, and one of them invited me to come down to the gym. I said I had been wanting to do this for years, so I might as well go down and take a look. And I've been going ever since." She made her amateur debut in April of 1998 against reigning Atlanta women's champ, Eve Toledo. Nina won a convincing decision, and went off to the pros under the managerial auspices of Steve Strelzik and Peter Morrison. On November 20, 1998 at the Atrium at Stone Mountain, Georgia, Nina weighed in at 104 lbs and won her pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over another Atlanta fighter, Natasha Wilburn (105 lbs).  When the bout was set up, Nina was supposed to have faced another debut boxer, Sonia Ruiz, but Wilburn was a late substitute. "The night of the weigh-in, I see Natasha's name, and I'm like 'Who is this?'. But I wanted to fight her and go all out or nothing", says Ahlin.  Wilburn already had significant fight experience, in eight losing efforts against an array of very capable boxers, including Para Draine, Anissa Zamarron, Mary Ortega twice, Leona Brown, Sengül Ôzokcu and Patricia Martinez. Ahlin also had an an upper respiratory infection at fight time, so her trainers were nervous. However, after four rounds, Nina's cool and calm boxing style had produced her first pro win and left Wilburn at 0-9.

 

Melissa Salamone

issa Salamone ... was born on June 2, 1969, in Queens, New York. Growing up in the tough Queensbridge Projects, Melissa never backed down from a challenge. She was an athlete and a fighter in the streets before becoming one in the ring. When her three brothers played stickball, baseball, basketball or football, they always picked her to be on their team. "They treated me like one of the guys," she says. "I was tough growing up. I always had a big mouth and I wouldn't back down. We had to defend each other." Melissa went on to play basketball at four colleges ... Mitchell, Pensacola Junior, Shelton Junior and Alabama University. On the court, she was a star point guard and there wasn't an opponent she couldn't beat. But at age 19, after resisting a family history of alcohol abuse, she became an alcoholic. Balancing booze, school and her marriage to fellow student Craig Salamone proved too much for her, and she was kicked off the basketball team at Alabama for being late to practice because of hangovers. She got herself reinstated, but realized that she needed a change.  She began boxing at the Morris Park Boxing Club in New York City after going to a fight where her friend Roy Jones Jr. knocked out his opponent. Thinking "that doesn't look too hard" and encouraged by her brother Lou, a WBA Light Heavyweight champion, Melissa trained for the New York Daily News Golden Gloves.  All three of Melissa's brothers, Richie, Juan, and Lou won Golden Gloves titles. Melissa matched their success in the prestigious tournament, winning the 132-lb division titles in 1996 and 1997.  Her opponent in the 1996 final was returning chamipion Denise Lutrick, who later fought professionally as Denise Moraetes. Melissa won a historic 5-0 decision in a match that brought the Friday-night crowd at Madison Square Garden to its feet.

 

"Downtown" Leona Brown

Dynamic 4'11" "Downtown" Leona Brown was born in Buffalo, New York on July 27, 1960 and now fights out of Pawling, New York.  Leona quickly achieved prominence as a professional boxer after getting into the ring at the age of 37. This relentless infighter and body puncher took the women's 119 lb title at the 70th New York Golden Gloves tournament with a win over Nancy Brody of the Julio Rivera Boxing Club. She then took the silver medal in the 119-lb division at the first US national amateur championships in Augusta, Georgia in 1997, losing a 4-1 decision to fellow New Yorker Patricia Alcivar. Leona won her pro debut, fighting at 118½ lbs, with a four-round unanimous decision over Lisa Foster (5'7", 118½ lbs) of Washington, D.C. at Yonkers Raceway, New York on November 21, 1997. Foster was also making her pro debut.  On January 19, 1998 at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, fighting at 117½ lbs, she won a 3rd-round TKO over Sue Chase (116½ lbs) of Ohio, a former state kickboxing champion. (This was Chase's thirteenth straight loss as a pro boxer.) At the same venue on March 21, 1998 she weighed in at 116 lbs and stopped Natasha Wilburn (113 lbs) of Atlanta by TKO at 1:49 of the fourth round. Wilburn fell to 0-5 with this loss. A bout with 39-year-old Vanessa McKnight of Columbia, South Carolina that was scheduled for the Tropicana on May 24, 1998 was called off at the last minute when the pre-fight medical found that McKnight was pregnant! Returning to the Tropicana on July 31, 1998, Leona won a six-round split decision over the skilful Sonya Emery of Austin, Texas, who fell to 4-3 (3 KO). On August 15, 1998 at Arizona Charlie's in Las Vegas, Leona came in at 117 lbs and took an eight-round unanimous decision over Suzanne Riccio-Major (115 lbs) of East Nassau, New York. The win over the capable Riccio-Major, who has fought for the IFBA and WIBF world bantamweight titles, boosted Leona's reputation and earned her a shot at the vacant IWBF junior flyweight title. On September 11, 1998, back at the Tropicana again, Leona faced Katie Burton (5'7", 121 lbs) of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada for the IWBF title. Katie, a promising 22-year old, was still a work in progress as a boxer despite being ranked #2 before this bout. Burton needed to stay outside and jab, but despite having a more than six-inch height advantage over Leona, she couldn't handle Leona's aggressive infighting style, nor could she figure out how to use her power to slow Leona down. She let Leona to get in close and often tried to hang on when she was in trouble, which allowed Leona to work her body at close quarters.

 

Keriann Mc Nulty

Keriann Mc Nulty, 17, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is already one of the top junior welterweight amateur boxers in the world! Keriann just recently won a USA National Boxing title at the Philadelphia's Women's Golden Gloves tournament, along with being chosen for the Philadelphia Golden Gloves "Outstanding Boxer" 2003 award. Keriann current amateur record is a flawless 17-1 (1KO), and is the WOmen's Golden GLoves National Champion 145lbs. weight class. She also holds a USKBA World Title in Full Contact kickboxing, and has a 23-2 (6KO) record.

 

Jennifer "The Razor" Barber

5'7", 125 lbs, born 09/14/1982, in Van Nuys, California. Coach: Stan Ward. Barber grew up taking martial arts from world renowned Kickboxing champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. Barber competed in karate tournaments for five years. In High School, she participated in Dance production, Basketball and Track & Field. Barber started boxing after watching a female bout on television,  and has been boxing for little over a year and a half since, at Jet's Gym under the instructions of Stan Ward. She's currently ranked #3 as a featherweight by USA Boxing. Jen's currently attending California State University of Northridge-Deaf Studies Major. She grew up with two deaf parents, which led her to major in Deaf Studies. Hobbies include: running, swimming, listening to a variety of music, training, reading, and buying clothes on sale! On the USA Boxing website, they said about Barber, "Although there will be no amateur boxing women competing in the 2004 Olympic Games, the California-based boxing woman still has high goals set for herself; she is very determined to master the sport. Learning the art of boxing, rather than pouting about females being unable to compete in the Olympic's boxing events, Jennifer "The Razor" Barber is preparing herself for the 2004 USA Women's National Championships to be held in July." Barber is the National P.A.L. Boxing Champion at 125. Jennifer, a senior at Cal. State Northridge just competed in the National Pal tournament last week Oct.3-9, 2005. Fighting three times within the week, she dominated her opponents from California, Tennessee, and Texas in the finals. She received the "Best Boxer" award for the female division. She now is on the National pal boxing team that will travel to the U.S. nationals in 2006.  

 

Jennifer "All-American" Alcorn

5'7" lightweight Jenifer "All-American" Alcorn grew up in le Grand, California and then moved to Fresno. Jennifer was well known in Fresno athletic circles before beginning her career as a boxer. She was a stand-out high school athlete and catcher of the Fresno State softball team, Despite only having six amateur belts, Jennifer fought in the women's nationals, 1999 USA Boxing National Championships, losing by 10-1 to eventual silver medalist Jean Martin of Brooklyn, N.Y. in the 139lb quarterfinal. Jennifer then launched a professional boxing career with one goal above all others... to set an example of achievement and success through hard work for her children.

Jackie Chavez

5'3" junior featherweight Jackie Chavez was born on June 1, 1983. She began her career in combat sports as an amateur kickboxer training with Tony Rosales at the Rosales Karate and Kickboxing Academy in Los Lunas, New Mexico, south of Albuquerque.  After winning a national kickboxing title at age 16 in a close fight with Audrey Vela of Austin, Texas, Jackie decided to try her hand at professional boxing. She made her pro boxing debut on October 5, 2001 at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, New Mexico, winning by a TKO at 0:29 in the third round over Brandy Leon of Prescott, Arizona. Chavez pressured Leon with combinations throughout the bout and knocked her down with a hard right before it was stopped. Leon fell to 1-5 with the loss. Returning to the Sky City Casino on December 14, 2001, Jackie  moved her record to 2-0 (1 KO) with a four-round majority decision over Nicole Gallegos of Albuquerque who fell to 0-2-1.

Donna Lee "Nature Girl" Biggers

5'2" featherweight/junior lightweight Donna Lee "Nature Girl" Biggers was born in Shelby, North Carolina on November 21, 1973 and is trained at Headhunter's Gym in Spartanburg, South Carolina by Billy Mitchem. Donna made her pro debut on July 19, 2003 at the National Guard Armory in Crossville, Tennessee, USA. She weighed in at 132 lbs and won a four-round unanimous decision over Helen Shari Penson (135 lbs) of Spartanburg, South Carolina, who was also making her pro debut.  Biggers had been training for her first fight since November, 2002. On September 6, 2004 at the Showplace in Richmond, Virginia,  Donna faced Penson again, this time TKO'ing her at 1:17 into the first round. On February 12, 2004 at Club Gemini in Raleigh, North Carolina, Donna won a second-round TKO over debut fighter Brandy Lynn Smith when Smith received an injury to her jaw. On March 27, 2004 at Jarrell's Gym in Savannah, Georgia, USA, Donna (128 lbs) moved to 4-0 with a third-round knockout of Brandy Lynn Smith (5'7", 128 lbs) of Union, South Carolina. Biggers was now 4-0 (3 KO) with her second straight win over Smith who is now 0-2.

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