LEADERS IN WOMEN'S RIGHTS; . . . AND LEFTS AND UPPERCUTS AND IN ESTABLISHING FEMALE PRO BOXING.Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer Boxing promoter Don King had been bugging Jay Larkin of Showtime about televising a bout featuring Christy Martin Christy Martin (born June 12, 1968) is a female boxer. Martin, who is married to her manager and trainer Jim Martin and promoted by Don King, is nicknamed The Coal Miner's Daughter. , a promising woman fighter he thought he could sell to the public. Larkin, executive producer of Showtime Championship Boxing Showtime Championship Boxing is a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March of 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. , resisted. He was convinced Martin didn't have the skills after watching her fight. What was it about her that would attract boxing fans? Why take the gamble? He just couldn't see potential. That was the summer of 1995. Then came Feb. 10, 1996, in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . When headliner Tommy Morrison This article is about the American boxer. For other persons of the same name, see Tom Morrison (disambiguation). Tommy David Morrison (January 2, 1969, Jay, Oklahoma) is a heavyweight boxer, and the former World Boxing Organization champion. was unable to fight because he had tested positive for HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , Showtime turned to Martin, who had improved markedly, and Sue Chase to fill out the card. Viewer response was favorable, which set up the biggest night in the history of women's boxing Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1904. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. . On March 16, on the undercard un·der·card n. The event or events coming before and supporting the main event, as of boxing matches. of the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno fight, Martin engaged Ireland's Deirdre Gogarty Deirdre Gogarty (born November 10, 1969) is a female boxer who was born in Drogheda,Ireland. Because of legal issues regarding women's boxing in her native country, Gogarty currently cannot engage in competition there, and now she fights out of New Orleans, Louisiana. in bloody warfare and millions of viewers - both live and at home - went wild. Soon afterward, Martin graced the cover of Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated is the largest weekly American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the country. . It was the birth - or, perhaps, rebirth - of women's boxing, which is experiencing myriad growing pains grow·ing pains pl.n. Pains in the limbs and joints of children or adolescents, frequently occurring at night and often attributed to rapid growth but arising from various unrelated causes. but also shows promise in a sport doggedly dominated by men. Tonight, women's boxing comes to the Valley in a unique way: An all-women's card will take place at the Country Club in Reseda and on pay-per-view and satellite television, the first such event in California. ``There was a tremendous buzz in the streets,'' said Larkin, referring to the aftermath of the Martin-Gogarty fight. ``Everyone was talking about the women who fought on Showtime. There were many hits on our website. Celebrities were saying, `Did you see those girls go at it?' ``That led to the cover of Sports Illustrated. After that, women's boxing took on a whole new importance.'' Some are opposed to the idea of women fighting. Others simply can't take it seriously. When the women fight - even when Martin fights - the mood of the spectators (mostly men) shifts. They become energized by what is still an unusual spectacle. At the same time, they poke fun. To them, it's entertainment akin to professional wrestling Noun 1. professional wrestling - wrestling for money sport - the occupation of athletes who compete for pay rassling, wrestling, grappling - the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down . Jackie Kallen Jackie Kallen: Born Jackie Kaplan in 1946 into a middle-class Jewish family in Detroit. She attended Schulze Elementary and Mumford High School. She is a boxing manager, one of the sport's first, and quite possibly most successful female managers. , commissioner of the newly formed International Female Boxing Association, which is sanctioning tonight's card, admitted it. ``Up to this point, it's been treated like a step above mud wrestling,'' she said. And it irks the fighters. Bridgett ``Baby Doll'' Riley of Sherman Oaks, who fights on tonight's card, has heard all the wisecracks but finds comfort. ``People can think what they want,'' she said. ``I'll tell you one thing, though: When they're flipping through the channels on TV, whether they like it or not, they stop on the channel showing women's boxing.'' Indeed, the key is this: The sport of boxing and its fans are taking notice. Larkin said it's difficult to quantify the growth in popularity, saying only he's heard overwhelmingly favorable responses, enough so that the cable network plans to use Martin and other women fighters in main events soon. Meanwhile, boxing organizations - including the most powerful in the sport - and athletic commissions that have traditionally catered only to men are expanding to include women. The IFBA IFBA International Female Boxers Association IFBA International Fire Buff Associates IFBA International Federation of Broomball Associations IFBA Integral Fuel Burnable Absorber IFBA Iowa Farm Business Association IFBA Independent Food Brokers of America and the 3-year-old Women's International Boxing Federation The WIBF (Women's International Boxing Federation) is, along with the WIBA, IWBF and others, one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. cater solely to women. And promoters can't ignore the demand. Bob Arum doesn't like women's boxing - ``At my age, I'm just not used to it,'' he said - but has one of the world's best fighters, Lucia Rijker, under contract. ``Everywhere I go, they ask for women's boxing. If I'm going to do it, I might as well have the best,'' he said. Without question, the demand is there. But what about the supply? Women's boxing faces many serious obstacles, obstacles it hasn't been able to overcome during surges of popularity in the past. Among them: The lack of respect, lack of structure and questions about safety. However, none is more significant than lack of fighters. For example, in California, only 14 women are licensed to box (compared to roughly 700 men). Bobby Mitchell, who makes women's matches for King, believes roughly 500 are licensed nationwide. Apparently, the number has grown significantly since Martin's emergence. Lilly Rodriguez, a former fighter who works with Riley, said more and more women are walking into her gym, most with kickboxing or martial arts backgrounds. Still, the dearth of qualified fighters causes problems. Matchmakers Matchmakers are an elongate confectionery product made by Nestlé. Thin, twig-like and brittle, they were first launched in 1968 by Rowntree's and were just one third of the length they are now. For many years they were available in either mint, coffee or orange flavour. have difficulty making competitive bouts. Often, unreasonable gaps in skill, experience and/or weight make for one-sided fights, too many of which could hinder the sport's growth. Women's boxing needs depth in each weight division so promoters and managers can methodically build interest in their fighters rather than throw combatants together randomly. Many of the women's fights are entertaining but none carry the weight of men's major title bouts. ``There've been girls with four, five fights who've gone through every opponent in the city,'' said Kallen, whose organization was founded only last month. ``. . . That's the way it's going to be until the sport is organized. Then, the girls will come out of the woodwork.'' Lack of organization is a universal concern. Again, boxing organizations have turned their attention to the women but they have a long way to go. A glaring problem is lack of background on many fighters - no one knows how good many of the women are until they actually step into the ring. Arum arum, common name for the Araceae, a plant family mainly composed of species of herbaceous terrestrial and epiphytic plants found in moist to wet habitats of the tropics and subtropics; some are native to temperate zones. , for one, is disturbed. ``At least with men's boxing, there's a track record on all people,'' he said. ``You pretty well know who's a tomato can and who's not. How do you tell in women's boxing? ``You end up getting horrible mismatches. People could get hurt.'' That was an issue raised at a recent medical conference on boxing in Aruba: Are women in any more danger than men? No one knows. Dr. Barry Jordan, formerly with the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State Athletic Commission, said research must be conducted. Among the subjects: What type of breast protectors work best and whether pelvic guards are necessary. ``One of the things the organizations plan to do is survey amateur and professional (women) boxers to get an idea of training habits, sparring habits, how often they compete, get a feel for how many women there are, get an idea of what questions they have,'' Jordan said. ``At the moment, though, there's no medical reason to stop them from boxing.'' Only time will tell whether anything can stop the women. ALL-WOMEN'S CARD When: 6 p.m. today. Where: Country Club in Reseda. Featured fighters: Yvonne Trevino of Peoria, Ariz., vs. Jolene Blackshear of Rohnert Park, 8 rounds, flyweights; Bridgett ``Baby Doll'' Riley of Sherman Oaks vs. Teresa Arnold of Boise, Idaho, 8 rounds bantamweights; Gina Guidi of San Jose vs. Angela Buchanan of Ashville, N.C., 8 rounds, welterweights; Fredia ``The Cheetah'' Gibbs of Studio City vs. Maria Fortaleza of Nicaragua, 6 rounds, welterweights. TV: Residential pay-per-view on DirecTV and TVN TVN Televisión Nacional de Chile (Chilean official TV network) TVN Televisora Nacional (Panamanian TV Network) TVN Total Volatile Nitrogen TVN Telewizja Nowa (Polish TV network) ; closed circuit at selected commercial establishments. Tickets: $25 to $75. TWO TOUGH WOMEN BRIDGETT ``BABY DOLL'' RILEY Residence: Sherman Oaks Record: 3-0, 2 KOs Riley, a native of St. Louis, was a competitive gymnast as a child when she attended a karate tournament in which her brother competed. ``That was it for me,'' he said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. , I just went crazy watching the women spar. I just had to do it. It lit a fire in my heart. I was dying to get in there.'' It wasn't long before she was in there: Riley ultimately won four world kickboxing titles before turning to the higher-profile and bigger-money sport of boxing. She's also made a living in film and on television, most notably as a regular on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ("MMPR") is an American live-action television series, created for the American market, based on the sixteenth installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. . However, her first love is the ring. ``Some people ask me, `Why would a woman want to fight?' '' she said. ``I answer, `Why does Oscar De La Hoya Oscar de la Hoya (IPA pronunciation: [ˈɑs.kɛɹ dɛ.lɑ.ˈhɔɪ.jɑ][1]) (born February 4, 1973) — nicknamed the Golden Boy want to fight?' It's the same reason. ``I'm a big girl. I love makeup and shopping, every bit of it. I also like fighting. This is my sport.'' YVONNE TREVINO Residence: Peoria, Ariz. Record: 4-1-1, 3 KOs Trevino, an all-around athlete growing up, gave up a cross country scholarship when she became a single mother. Six years later, she found her true calling. In 1993, she stumbled upon a kickboxing tournament on television and decided to give it a try. Only three bouts into her career, she won a world championship. Last year, she graduated to boxing and also appeared in movies and on TV. ``I feel like I threw away an opportunity years ago,'' she said. ``Eventually, I want to make enough money to get a degree in sports medicine sports medicine, branch of medicine concerned with physical fitness and with the treatment and prevention of injuries and other disorders related to sports. Knee, leg, back, and shoulder injuries; stiffness and pain in joints; tendinitis; "tennis elbow"; and , holistic medicine holistic medicine, system of health care based on a concept of the "whole" person as one whose body, mind, spirit, and emotions are in balance with the environment. . ``I have a 10-year-old daughter. I want to be a good example for her, to be a go-getter and keep trying even with obstacles in the way.'' Trevino takes that attitude into her training. She runs six miles every morning and spends hours in the gym later each day. ``If only people could see how devoted we are,'' she said. ``I think we'd get more respect.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, 2 Boxes Photo: (1--Color) Bridgett ``Baby Doll'' Riley of Sherman Oaks, who fights on tonight's card in Reseda, is 3-0 with two knockouts. (2--Color) Boxer Dee Dufo works out with trainer Eric Nolan. Dufo is one of 14 women licensed to box in California. Hans Gutknecht / Daily News (3) BRIDGETT ``BABY DOLL'' RILEY (4) YVONNE TREVINO Box: (1--Color) ALL-WOMEN'S CARD (See Text) (2) TWO TOUGH WOMEN - BRIDGETT ``BABY DOLL'' RILEY - YVONNE TREVINO (See Text) |
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