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‘Beautiful Brawlers’ Bouts Spotlight Women Boxers

Published

11 years ago

September 24, 2013

By Laura Wong

Boxing, like other high-contact fighting sports, can get ugly. Confined to a ring no larger than 25 square feet, a fighter’s only escape from the stalking blows of an opponent is to keep the gloves up and defend himself. Or herself, as owner of Babyface Boxing Gym, Blanca Gutierrez would have it.

< p>In 2011, Gutierrez and her trainers—some women, some former world champions, some both—held their inaugural event featuring an all-female amateur card.

They called it Beautiful Brawlers: a nod to their participants and a counter-story to historical disinterest and exclusion of women in boxing.

Beautiful Brawlers III brought more than 500 people to SportsHouse in Redwood City on Aug. 28. There were a total of 17 fights and a number of rising and current stars.

Olympian Queen Underwood edged out 2013 Adidas National Champion Stalacia Leggett in the four-round main event.

The 2013 national champion, Jamie Mitchell, defeated Casey Morton in an exciting three-round rematch. At ringside, world champions Ava Knight, Melissa McMorrow, Gina Guidi, Carina Moreno, and Jolene Blackshear provided their support and star power.

This reporter interviewed Gutierrez about the inspiration and mission of Beautiful Brawlers and trends in women’s boxing today.

Of course, many people want to know what attracts a woman athlete to start boxing in the first place.

“My father was a bantamweight boxer and a pioneer for the sport in the early 1950s,” said Gutierrez. “He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in June of 2011 and taught me the values of hard work, sacrifice and going after what you want in life.”

She remembers that her dad drank raw eggs in the morning, jumped rope, and shadowboxed all the time.

When he died in 2000, Gutierrez’s husband suggested that she open a gym, and she did: Babyface Boxing, named after her dad, Javier “Babyface” Gutierrez.

The idea of Beautiful Bawlers came about because women find it difficult to fight.

“I was a kickboxer, and I wanted to stay active, but it was impossible because there were not enough male coaches taking [female fighters] seriously and not enough girls competing,” she said.

“After all the frustrations, I decided that I would make an all-female card where girls could shine, be taken seriously, and fight the best of the best to elevate the sport of boxing for other females,” she said.

With the help of Martha Salazar [former WBE Champion] and Eliza Olson [former IBA and WBC Champion], she created sparring camps so that women could get ready, get sound advice and have some place to go where they know they are the focus, Gutierrez said.

“Now we have Olympic hopefuls on the Beautiful Brawlers card and our first Olympian: Queen Underwood, who became a Beautiful Brawler Champion after beating Stalacia Leggett for the title.”

Gutierrez says she is pleased that public perceptions of women in boxing are gradually changing.

“Public attention and attitudes are changing towards women’s boxing in the amateurs but not the pros,” she said. “Since Claressa Shields won the Gold, we got noticed, but that’s not enough.”

“The Beautiful Brawlers all-female boxing card sets the spotlight on more than just one female or three, unlike the Olympics which only lets three weight classes compete,” she said.

“We have some great things planned in the next few years. What we accomplish will not only shock us, but we will shock the boxing community.”

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Oakland Post: Week of January 8 – 14, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 8 – 14, 2025

Published

4 days ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

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Supreme Court Decision Confirms Convicted Felon Will Assume Presidency

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

Published

5 days ago

January 10, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s emergency request to block criminal proceedings in his New York hush money case, ensuring that a sentencing hearing will proceed as scheduled on Friday. The decision makes it official that, on January 20, for the first time in its history, the United States will inaugurate a convicted felon as its president.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

Trump was convicted in May for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to intervene in a state criminal case, particularly before all appeals in state courts were exhausted.

Trump’s legal team claimed the sentencing process would interfere with his transition to power and argued that evidence introduced during the trial included official actions protected under the Supreme Court’s prior ruling granting former presidents immunity for official conduct. Merchan, the New York judge who presided over the trial, ruled in December that the evidence presented was unrelated to Trump’s duties as president.

Prosecutors dismissed Trump’s objections, stating that the sentencing would take less than an hour and could be attended virtually. They said the public interest in proceeding to sentencing outweighed the President-elect’s claims of undue burden.

Justice Samuel Alito, one of the four dissenting justices, confirmed speaking to Trump by phone on Wednesday. Alito insisted the conversation did not involve the case, though the call drew criticism given his previous refusals to recuse himself from politically sensitive matters.

The sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Manhattan. As the nation moves closer to an unprecedented inauguration, questions about the implications of a convicted felon assuming the presidency remain.

“No one is above the law,” Bragg said.

Stacy M. Brown

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Activism

Barbara Lee Launches Campaign for Mayor of Oakland

“At this critical moment, we must not be a city divided, but a community united,” she Lee. “If elected I will bring my hands-on leadership, new ideas and decades of experience in identifying billions in resources for our great city, so all residents and businesses are stronger and safer and our community has optimism and confidence in Oakland’s future.”

Published

7 days ago

January 8, 2025

Oakland Post

By Post Staff

Barbara Lee on Wednesday morning formally announced her candidacy for Mayor in Oakland’s April 15 special election.

“Time and time again, Oaklanders have faced our toughest obstacles by uniting to meet our challenges,” said Lee.

“At this critical moment, we must not be a city divided but a community united,” she said. “If elected, I will bring my hands-on leadership, new ideas, and decades of experience in identifying billions in resources for our great city so all residents and businesses are stronger and safer and our community has optimism and confidence in Oakland’s future.”

“As Mayor, I’ll address our homelessness crisis, prioritize comprehensive public safety and mental health services, and lead with fiscal responsibility to deliver the core City services residents and business owners deserve. Let’s do this – together.”

“I’ve never shied away from a challenge,” said Lee. “I’m always ready to fight for Oakland.”

Watch her campaign video here, which is online at BarbaraLee4Oakland.com