PORTLAND, OR - (March 5, 2018) The International Women's Boxing
Hall of Fame has announced the 2018 inductees. The eight
honorees include five retired boxers, a referee, a boxing judge
and a journalist. The fighters include Myriam Lamare, Belinda
Laracuente, Jessica Rakoczy, Mary Jo Sanders and
Vonda Ward; the boxing judge is Julie Lederman, the referee,
honored posthumously, is Belle Martell and the
journalist, the first male ever so honored, is Bernie McCoy.
The 2018 inductees
bring the five year IWBHF total to thirty seven. The Hall was conceived and
founded in 2014 by Sue Fox, founder/publisher and editor of WBAN, the longtime site of
record for the sport of Women's boxing. WBAN, for two decades, has
spotlighted and brought awareness to the sport of female boxing and five years
ago, Fox crystallized that focus with the establishment a Hall of Fame, centered
solely on the sport.
The five boxers being honored represent headline fighters from the past two
decades in the sport and represented an era when the best of the female boxers,
more often than not, were matched with other top fighters in their weight class.
The five inductees represent countries ranging from France, Puerto Rico and
Canada and include two U.S. athletes, an indication of the burgeoning
international flavor into which the sport has evolved.
Myriam Lamare - Photo Credit/Courtesy
Myriam Lamareepitomized the noun "fighter." She had one gear,
"all out" and knew only one direction, "straight ahead." It is not an
overstatement to call her two bouts with Anne Sophie Mathis fights that served
to ignite interest in the sport of female boxing in Europe. Lamare fought 177
rounds over her career and was in the ring with every top boxer in the sport,
ranging from Mathis to Holm to Braekus.
Belinda Laracuente- Photo Credit/J and P
Photography
Belinda Laracuenteset the bar high for a "go anywhere, fight
anyone" reputation. The Puerto Rican born boxer fought every good fighter in the
sport, including Christy Martin, Sumya Anani and Holly Holm in this country and
Myriam Lamare in France, Esther Phiri in Zambia, Duda Yankovich in Brazil,
Jelena Mrdjenovich in Canada and Emiko Raika in Japan. It was said that
Laracuente, in the ring, had every move in the book along with some that were
only in rare editions.
Jessica Rakoczy - Photo Credit/Courtesy
Jessica Rakoczycame out of Hamilton, Ontario and followed the
pattern of the other inductees in looking up the rankings for opponents,
fighting Layla McCarter, Jenifer Alcor+n and Jane Couch. But it was her 2007 loss
to Ann Marie Saccurato that is often talked about when the subject is "best
fights, ever," in the sport. For Rakoczy, the bout was a text book example of
the ring adage that even in defeat, the "good ones" often bring out the best in
themselves and their sport.
Mary Jo Sanders - Photo Credit/Courtesy
Mary Jo Sandershad twenty five wins over a sterling career
coming out of the quintessential fight town of Detroit. She also had a loss and
a draw on her record, both against the "face" of the sport, at the time, Holly
Holm. The Holm bouts were the highlights of a career for a very fundamentally
skilled fighter who had big wins against Layla McCarter and Chevelle Hallback.
Vonda Ward - Photo Credit/Courtesy
Vonda Ward
might well be considered the best all around female athlete ever to box
professionally. She was an outstanding high school basketball player in
Cleveland before matriculating to the University of Tennessee to play for
legendary coach Pat Summitt. In the ring, Ward compiled an estimable 23-1
record, beating heavyweight fighters such as Carleton Ewell, Martha Salazar and
Marsha Valley, losing only to highly regarded Ann Wolfe.
Julie Lederman - Photo Credit/Courtesy
Julie Ledermangrew up in a boxing household. As such, it is
fair to assume she was probably exposed to the sport from a young age. Those two
circumstances may have had something to do with her gravitating to the sport as
a boxing judge. Those two circumstances have nothing to do with her becoming one
of the top officials in the NYSAC. Similar to the fighters honored by the IWBHF,
she is a very good boxing judge, not a very good female boxing judge; she is
also not a very good judge with a well known last name. She is a very good judge
well worthy of induction into the IWBHF.
Belle Martell, who is honored with
induction posthumously, was the first female referee licensed in California in
April,1940. She continued, along with her husband, Art, to be a factor in boxing
for the following two decades serving also as an active promoter in the state's
amateur ranks along with being a highly sought after ring announcer.
Bernie McCoy began writing while in the
Army, serving with the Armed Forces Press Service. Upon discharge, he alternated
between advertising (copywriting for the Reynolds Tobacco and Coca-Cola
accounts) and the newspaper business (sports writing in St. Louis, New Orleans
and various New York suburban papers) before retiring from two decades as part
of the Media department at Pepsi Cola. Subsequently, he has written extensively
about Women's boxing for a number of Internet sites, most notably, WBAN. Founder
and publisher, Sue Fox remarked "while always a staunch advocate and strong
supporter of the sport, (McCoy) never pulled his punches in his writing."
While the fifth class of the IWBHF may be
slightly more diverse than previous groups, including three "non-participant"
inductees, this ground breaking enterprise continues to forge ahead with it's
focus and mission, to provide recognition to a sport and it's integral figures,
past and present, who have contributed to the progress thus far achieved and to
the future growth of the sport and it's athletes.
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