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October 25 - December 5, 2001
12-05-01
Hey Laila Ali… ANN WOLFE SAYS SHE’LL FIGHT
YOU FOR A HAMBURGER!!!
Wolfe to move up in weight
“Laila Ali, come on… I’ll fight for a Hamburger.” That was the challenging statement that two-time Junior Middle Weight World Champion Ann Wolfe made on National Television to Ali just after her third round TKO win over Gina Nicholas on November 16, 2001.
The Texas Shootout, which featured five world title bouts on an all female card, was one of the most spectacular events ever seen in the history of women’s boxing. And the main event of Ann Wolfe vs. Gina Nicholas did NOT disappoint.
Nicholas took a beating, absorbing vicious jabs, powerful upper cuts and crushing rights at the hands of the obviously stronger, more skilled Wolfe. Nearly KO'd at end of the second round, it was clear that Nicholas was hurt and tiring fast. Yet, she came out for the third round with the heart of a true warrior.
Nicholas could not continue to sustain the onslaught of Ann Wolfe, however, who hit her with a powerful upper cut, followed by two rights to the temple, knocking Nicholas to the canvas. Nicholas made it up by the count of five, but the referee correctly stopped the fight giving Wolfe the TKO win and her second world title at Jr. Middleweight.
Wolfe now says she will fight at Middleweight more often. She has already fought and beaten Mary Ann Almager, Diane Clark and Dakota Stone, all middleweights. Wolfe said she will fight Ali at 160 pounds "or and any weight Ali wants to fight at". Wolfe said money is not the issue. Brushing aside comments that Laila Ali would never fight her, Wolfe said if "Ali wants to be a true champion she will fight me, otherwise, she will never get the respect her name deserves". Ann Wolfe said "it's Ali's decision, put up or shut up."
The Texas Shootout (on which Wolfe vs. Nicholas was the main event) will air on DirecTV Sports on Friday, December 7th at 12:00pm (cdt), the 8th at 9:30pm (cdt), and the 18th at 11:00pm (cdt) on channel 632. It will also be broadcast on Telemundo in Mexico and throughout Central and South America as well as other international networks.
The full fight card video can be purchased in the catalogue section. Click here to find out how.
11-26-01
LINDA ROBINSON TO PROFESSIONALLY COMMENTATE BOXING
Former
boxer, Linda Robinson (5-2-0-2 KO’s) is adding yet another endeavor to
her long list of accomplishments.
Linda worked as a commentator along side of well known boxing commentators
James “Smitty” Smith and Sean “The Champ” O’Grady at the
November 16, 2001 female boxing extravaganza, the Texas Shootout, held in
Austin, TX
Linda Robinson, 39, has been a competitor all her
life. Born the youngest of nine children, Linda began her athletic career
on her grade school swim team. She progressed to the high school dive team
and was captain of her high school Varsity Cheerleading team as well.
After high school Linda attended Kansas State
University and Baylor University where she majored in Business
Administration. Linda worked as a professional fashion model for eight
years before becoming the publisher and editor of a health and fitness
magazine for six years.
Linda continued to pursue athletics
as an amateur racquetball player where she eventually was ranked as the
number three female player in the United States. In May 1998 Linda began
to train for professional boxing
and pursued that career until the summer of 2001 when Waco businessman
Brian Pardo decided to become a boxing promoter.
Linda said she was “right at
home” ringside at the Texas Shootout. “I enjoy the sport and I feel I
can make a contribution through my first hand knowledge of female boxing
and the use of my communication skills”, Linda said. Both Sean O’Grady
and Jim “Smitty” Smith said they enjoyed working with Linda and hope
to do so again.
11-19-01
Texas Shootout a Night of Action
Despite Tornadoes, driving
rain, an hotel evacuation during the weigh-in and tornado warnings on
fight night The Texas Shootout got under way about forty minutes late, but
it was well worth the wait. About 1,200 boxing fans were on hand to see
one of the strongest female cards in the history of boxing and they were
not disappointed.
Renowned ring announcer M.
Mark Beiro (replacing Michael Buffer who couldn’t get in) conducted the
ceremonies from the ring. James
“Smitty” Smith, Sean O’Grady and newcomer, former boxer Linda
Robinson, called the fight for American television. Benny Riccardo did the
honors for Telemuendo.
The Texas Shootout will be
televised by DirectTV Sports, some regions of Fox Sports Net and the
Madison Square Garden channel in the US and in Europe. The fight will also
be televised in all of Mexico, Central and South America.
The action got under way
with a spirited four rounder between Linda Tenberg and Jessica Mohs. Both
fighters went toe to toe for four rounds. Tenberg seemed to be the busier
fighter landing jabs and hard rights in fast succession. Mohs shook off
her shots and landed the harder punches, especially on the inside. In the
end, the judges gave a unanimous decision to Tenberg who seem to have the
hometown advantage. Tenberg improved her record to 6-4, while Mohs slipped
to 3-3.
Anani and Gibbs got under
way for the 140 lb. Title in a predictable way. The energetic Anani was
the aggressor throughout the fight, but frequently got caught with jabs
and fast, hard rights by Gibbs. Gibbs and Anani both landed hard shots on
a toe to toe basis that had the crowd on their feet for the first five
rounds.
Later, in the sixth round
Gibbs started loosing a little steam and was breathing through her mouth.
She started moving around the ring, her strong legs never failing her.
Anani tried to cut off the ring and got hit frequently moving in, but she
punished Gibbs on the inside with flurries of head and body shots fired in
quick succession.
At the end of ten rounds,
two of the judges scored the fight a majority draw (94-94) with the
dissenting judge going for Anani with a comfortable lead (96-92). RPM
Boxing scored the fight for Anani.
Perhaps the most brutal
fight of the night involved Valerie Mahfood and Trina Ortegon. Right from
the start Mahfood dominated the fight with well placed jabs, hooks and
hard rights. Ortegon was rocked a number of times, but always seemed to
answer with straight combinations that pushed Mahfood’s relentless
attack back.
Ortegon was wobbled in the
final seconds of the fourth round, but managed to hang on to the bell.
Mahfood landed more punches in combinations, while taking very few shots
herself. Nevertheless, Trina Ortegon fought back with the heart of a true
warrior, proving she has one of the best chins in the business. Both
fighters went non-stop for the entire ten rounds.
In the end, Mahfood took
the title by a unanimous decision.
The main event between Ann
Wolfe and Gina Nicholas was greatly anticipated by the crowd after seeing
the superlative performances of the TV undercard fights. Nicholas had said
she would not underestimate Wolfe again and flatly predicted a KO, as did
her corner. The typically soft-spoken Wolfe did not react, only saying she
was prepared to go ten rounds if she had to.
Tension filled the air as
the muscular Nicholas was introduced to the crowd. Many wondered if she
would KO Wolfe. Wolfe entered the ring in red, white and blue with a calm
look of resolve on her face.
As the bell sounded,
Nicholas moved in fast, but took a punishing series of hard jabs and
straight rights that wobbled her right away. Wolfe continued to pick her
apart, but did not move in for the kill.
In the second round, Wolfe
picked up the pace landing hard jabs and straight rights to the head.
Nicholas wasn’t able to get off any effective shots and was wobbled
badly at the end of the second round.
The same story unfolded in
the third round with Wolfe hardly being hit at all. In the middle of the
round Wolfe landed a series of straight rights that sent Nicholas to the
canvas flat on her back. She managed to get up by the count of five, but
the referee correctly stopped the fight giving Wolfe her second KO over
Nicholas and her second World Jr. Middleweight title.
The hometown crowd went
wild, standing and roaring with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Wolfe looked right
into the camera and called out Laila Ali.
Mary Ortega lost her
unbeaten record as Ada Velez moved to 9-0 and took home the WIBA 122 lb.
Title, her first championship. Both women boxed toe to toe for ten rounds,
but Velez landed the harder, crisper punches. Starting in the fifth round
Ortega began to tire and lost her mouthpiece three times during the
remainder of the fight.
Both women fought with
courage and spirit, but Velez who daunted Ortega at times, dominated the
later rounds landing with both hands at will and slipping most of
Ortega’s punches. Velez won by unanimous decision: 98-91,98-91, 96-93.
In the final fight of the
night Chevelle Hallback was again denied a win this time due to a stoppage
because of an accidental headbutt in the second round sustained by
Snowdene Blakeney. During the two rounds Hallback dominated with vicious
head and body shots that had Blakeney reeling at times, although she never
went down. Had it not been for the headbutt stoppage, it is doubtful
Blakeney could have sustained much more punishment from Hallback.
In all, it was a terrific
night of female fights featuring some of the best talent in the world.
Fans unanimously agreed they had never seen such a collection of well
matched talent and RPM Boxing is proud to have brought this memorable
fight card to female boxing.
11-14-01
TEXAS SHOOTOUT READY TO GO!
RPM
Boxing’s first major promotion, The Texas Shootout, is ready to head for
the history books of women’s boxing.
All
of the fighters are arriving today, November 14, 2001 in Austin, TX for
the event. Along with the fighters and their handlers numerous press
representatives and television crews are arriving in the Texas capital as
well. There is a lot of excitement in the air.
RPM
Boxing officially closed it’s Internet website sales of tickets today,
but tickets will continue to be available through UTTM (University of
Texas Ticketmaster) until Friday afternoon and then, any remaining tickets
will be available at the gate. Based on current ticket sales it appears
the fight will be a sell out.
Fighters
will be engaged in extensive press interviews prior to the weigh-in, which
is scheduled for 4:00 PM on Thursday, November 15th at the
Sheraton Austin Hotel.
The
landmark all female fight card will get under way precisely at 7:20 PM on
Friday, November 16, 2001 at the Austin, TX Convention Center. Five world
titles are at stake in this important female sports event.
10-30-01
November 16th fight card to have five World Championship Bouts
NICHOLAS TO REPLACE SJAUW
Mahfood to fight Ortegon
Gina Nicholas, 11-4-2 with 8 KO’s will replace Marishca Sjauw in the main event against Ann Wolfe on November 16, 2001 in Austin, TX for the WIBA Jr. Middleweight World Championship. Sjauw reportedly broke her hand while training in Europe last week and pulled out of the fight. This will be a rematch for Nicholas, who was KO’d by Ann Wolfe in April 2000.
Nicholas
was originally scheduled to fight Valerie Mahfood on the same card for the
160 Lb. Middleweight Intercontinental title. Due to the change, Mahfood,
11-4-0 with 7 KO’s will now take on Trina Ortegon, 9-4-0 with 2 KO’s
for the vacant WIBA Super Middleweight World Championship.
Trina
Ortegon is a highly regarded boxer with very good skills. She previously
defeated hard-hitting Diane Clark and Kendra Lenhart, who KO’d Mahfood
twice. She also defeated Suzy Taylor twice, but lost to Mary Ann Almager
twice.
The
Texas Shootout is now definitely the most “belt laden” fight card in
female boxing history. The historic match will be televised on DirecTV
Sports, which has more than 16 million subscribers.
10-26-01
Sjauw Out of Title Fight in November
Fighter Reports She Broke Hand in Training
RPM
said it was under the impression Sjauw was training in Fort Worth, TX
after her recent win over
Summer Deleon in New York. The company said it was informed Sjauw went to
Germany instead and broke her hand a day or two later while training there
for the up coming fight on November 16, 2001.
RPM
owner Brian Pardo said the company was not informed directly of the
accident, but read about it through press accounts. “We are sorry
Marishca broke her hand and will be unable to fight Ann Wolfe in
November”, Mr. Pardo said.
RPM Boxing said it would replace Sjauw with another boxer for the title
fight with Wolfe.
Dana Yarbrough 800-368-5569
Dyarbrough@lifepartnersinc.com
10-25-01
TEXAS SHOOTOUT TO BE TELEVISED
RPM Boxing’s first major promotion, The Texas
Shootout will be televised by Satellite Direct TV Sports. Well known
boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer will officiate. RPM said the show may
be televised live on November 16, 2001 or it may be taped for viewing on
November 30, 2001.
The
Texas Shootout is a major female boxing event featuring four world title
fights and one Intercontinental title fight. The main event will be a bout
for the WIBA 154 lb. Title between Ann Wolfe of Austin, TX and Marishca
Sjauw of the Netherlands.
In
addition, Sumya Anani will take on Fredia Gibbs for the WIBA 140 lb. World
Title. Chevelle Hallback will fight Snodene Blakeney for the 130 lb WIBA
World title and undefeated Mary Ortega will square off against undefeated
Ada Velez for the WIBA 122 lb. World Title.
Fighting
for the WIBA Intercontinental 160 lb. title will be tough Gina Nicholas
against equally tough Valerie Mahfood.
Linda Tenberg and Jessica Mohs will get the evening of action started in a
well-matched four round event.
The
Texas Shootout will be held at the Austin, TX Convention Center on
November 16, 2001 with the first bout scheduled at 7:00 PM.
Tickets will go on sale Friday, October 26, 2001 at the University of
Texas Ticket Master (UTTM). Simply call 512-477-6060. Later, tickets will
be available through RPM’s website, www.rpmboxing.com,
and at the gate on fight night.
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