Female Boxing Scene: Quintana vs Enriquez & the revolution ahead

Who better to imitate? Gennady Golovkin has been an inspiration to all professional boxers. Like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, he’s almost too good to be true. Both men are dedicated, hardworking and extremely courteous. With GGG’s record of 15-0 (15 KOs) in world title fights, 3-0 (3 KOs) against former world champions, he currently trains at the Summit in Big Bear, Calif.

On April 23, 2016, Boxing’s undefeated, unified World Middleweight Champ Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) will defend his titles at the Forum in Los Angeles against undefeated mandatory challenger Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KOs) in the Main Event and on the same fight card you have the consensus #1 Pound for Pound boxer in the world and WBC Flyweight World Champ Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (44-0, 38 KOs) battling McWilliams Arroyo (16-2, 14 KOs) of Puerto Rico. Both bouts will be televised Live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing startinging at 10 p.m. PT.

The Golovkin vs. Wade event is being promoted by K2 Promotions, GGG Promotions in association with TGB Promotions while the Gonzalez vs. McWilliams bout is being presented by K2 Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions and PR Best Boxing Promotions.

Take note we didn’t have to mention the above gentlemen were fighting for the male version of these titles. Soon after the Triple GGG announcement came the following addendum was added: the five promoters of this Super Fight are adding four young ladies to the undercard. Surely this news has major implications. It certainly does for the females trying to survive in the sport. When was the last time you saw this happen? No, we don’t have to go all the way back to the Christy Martin/Laila Ali days but it is rare. As an added drawing card, the five male promoters decided to elicit the help of the women, and as a consequence four of our local gals will get an opportunity to showcase their talents. The four combatants include 26-year-old Amaris “Diamond Girl” Quintana from San Diego (9-2, 1 KO) who will be facing 22-year-old Kenia Enriquez (15-1-0, 7 KOs) from Tijuana. Enriquez is the former WBO Female light flyweight world champion. Plus they have 23-year-old Seniesa Estrada (5-0, 1 KO) from East Los Angeles battling Selene Lopez (3-4-3, 1 KO) from Mexicali. It’s a given, all four boxers will do an admirable job of representing the females in this sport.

(top to bottom, l to r) Selene Lopez of Mexicali, Seniesa Estrada of East Los Angeles, Kenia Enriquez of Tijuana and Amaris Quintana of San Diego.

As convoluted as this may sound, both Quintana and Enriquez will be throwing extra hard in their match. How so? Quintana and Enriquez are good friends and have on many an occasion sparred against each another. Since they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, they will certainly be out to exploit them. And yes, both will easily set aside their friendship as soon as that opening bell sounds. That’s why most insiders predict this fight will be brutal. Just as in the fight scenes between Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson, the actors who played the lead roles in the 1999 movie Play it to the Bone, this will be a war. In the movie, Banderas and Harrelson were the best of friends and yet when they had to compete against each other for a title shot, all that buddy-pal stuff went out the window.

Outside of the ring, Quintana is one of those gals who carries a heart that never hates, a smile that never fades. Inside the ring, she goes full throttle no matter who she’s facing. The same way she rides her horse at a full gallop. The same way she works out at either of the gyms she frequents – the CrossFit Oracle or the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista. She’s always going at maximum speed.

To win, Quintana will need to cut off the ring, avoid being peppered by Enriquez’s stiff jab, be quicker and get inside to throw the hard shots to the body, land the surprise left hooks with an occasional all or nothing left uppercut. To avoid being worn down, she’ll need an assist from a conscientious referee who will need to prevent not only the constant holding but Enriquez’s attempts to push down on Quintana’s head or put her body weight on Quintana. Quintana’s most critical need is having more power behind every punch.

(top) The two star attractions, Kenia Enriquez (l) and Amaris Quintana (r). Below is a photo from last year’s Kenia Enriquez’s 2015 Female Amateur Boxing Tournament.

With women, it’s often about posing for a glamour photo to be marketable.

Kenia Enriquez is also an over-achiever. For example, there’s the story of how she got started in boxing. Her dad, Gustavo Pacheko Enriquez, a well-respected boxing coach, did not want either of his daughters to box. But Kenia kept insisting and always followed him to the gym. To discourage her, he had her spar with the toughest gal in the gym, an older, much bigger girl. His enforcer beat the crap out of Kenia. The fact she got her ass kicked, enticed her even more. It wasn’t long before they had a rematch and Kenia came out on top. Its been the same way with every sport, every game. She’d try something, maybe lose at first, and then she’d continued on until she mastered it.

In addition to being taller and weighing several pounds heavier then Quintana, Enriquez is also rugged. On a regular basis, she competes in those Baja California 10K runs. Together with fellow boxer Sandra Robles, sister Tania Enriquez, the three are always training, always sparring and presently she’s working on her second annual Kenia Enriquez Baja California Female Amateur Boxing Tournament to be held March 26 and 27, 2016. 

For Enriquez to win, she’ll need to keep that jab in Quintana’s face and occasionally unload with the combinations and big overhand rights. If Quintana ducks under her jab, Quintana’s head will be the target of her right uppercut or perhaps an illegal punch to the back of the head. As a last resort, she can grab and hold to prevent any retribution from Quintana. With her hard jab slowing Quintana down, it will be just a matter of time before Enriquez can take full control of the fight with her combinations.

Female Welterweight Champion of the World, Cecilia Braekhus

The 34 year-old, undisputed, undefeated Female Welterweight Champ of the World, Cecilia Braekhus, returned to the ring on February 27 after a year of inactivity to comprehensively outbox, outmuscle Montevideo, Uruguay’s Chris “El Bombón Asesino” Namus (21-3, 8 KOs), at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany. Despite her inactivity due to an injury and recuperation, Braekhus had an amazing performance, showing why she’s unbeatable. Even though the tough Namus hung in there till the final bell, the judges’ scorecards clearly reflected Braekhus’ dominance awarding her every round: 100-90 as The First Lady of Boxing improved her record to 28-0, 7 KOs.

Cecilia Braekhus is shown unloading a lethal uppercut on her opponent Chris Namus.

In other news, Guadalupe “Lupita” Martinez defended her WBC super-flyweight belt for the first time defeating Celeste Belém “Muñeca” González by a unanimous decision. The judges’ scores read 100-90, 98-92 and 99-91, all in favor of the champion.

Guadalupe “Lupita” Martinez defended her WBC Silver super-flyweight belt for the first time with a unanimous decision victory over Celeste Belem “Muneca” Gonzalez in Mexico City on February 29, 2016.

Mikaela Lauren (26-3, 11 KOs) who has spent considerable time training here in San Diego at The Arena in Point Loma signed a long-term promotional contract with Europe’s leading boxing promoter Team Sauerland. The WBC Female World Super Welterweight Champion now joins Team Sauerland’s ever-growing stable of Swedish stars to include Erik Skoglund, Klara Svensson, Anthony Yigit, Oscar Ahlin and Otto Wallin.

WBC Super Welterweight Champ Mikaela Lauren signs with Team Sauerland.

With her new deal, Lauren can now look forward to some substantial paydays, and one will likely include a rematch with the female pound-for-pound number one Cecilia Braekhus plus a domestic showdown with Team Sauerland stable-mate Klara Svensson.

‘‘When I fought Cecilia, I was just a novice,” said Lauren. “I’d only had six fights, but now I’m a World-class fighter and I’ve had 29 fights and I know what the game is about. I know I can beat Cecilia, especially with the help of Sauerland.

“The fight against Klara (Svensson) would be great for Sweden. At this moment we are the two biggest female fighters in the country and I’m sure it’s a fight everyone would love to see. I would need to move down a weight class and she would need to move up, but I’m sure this could happen. Klara calls herself the Swedish Princess, but after I beat her, I want to be known as the Swedish Queen.’’

At their pre-fight Press Conference, Zulina Munoz (r) poses for a photo with her next victim Christina “Irish Eyes are Smiling” McMahon.

The 28-year-old Zulina “La Loba” Muñoz (45-1-2, 27 KOs), the stunning blonde from Mexico City, Distrito Federal, by way of San Vincente Chicoloapan, will be defending her WBC super flyweight title on Saturday, March 12, against the extremely confident 41-year-old Christina “Irish eyes are smiling” McMahon from County Monaghan, Ireland. After winning her first seven fights, three by knockout, McMahon lost a 10 round unanimous decision to Alicia Ashley in October. Saturday’s bout will take place at the Josue Neri Santos Gym in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Our sources in Mexico City sound overly confident and have predicted: “In this “México vs Ireland” fight, the Mexican champion will move fluidly and hit Ms. McMahon with explosive power. It won’t be pretty.”

Alejandra “La Tigre” Jimenez (r) and Martha Elena “Shadow” Salazar (left) will be facing each other on March 18, in Cancun, Quintana, Mexico to decide who will become the first WBC Female Heavyweight Champion.

On March 18, 2016, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico will host the first World Boxing Council Female heavyweight championship. In this one, you have the undefeated Alejandra “La Tigre” Jiménez (5-0-0, 4 KOs) from Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, trying to knock off the current heavyweight champ and veteran of 16 years Martha Elena “Shadow” Salazar (13-4, 3 KOs) of San Francisco, Calif. who won the title back in 2014 by defeating Tanzee Daniel. Jiménez will enjoy both a two-inch height and two-inch reach advantage.

The Tiger vs. Shadow title fight will be held at the International “Oasis Arena Cancun.” The show is being presented by “Cancun Boxing”, “Golden Boy Promotions” and “Boxing Time Promotions.” Take note of the involvement by Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions – it appears he is making good on the promise he made at the recent Women’s WBC National Convention to get himself involved in promoting Female Boxing.

As you can see from the photo taken at a recent Press Conference, Jimenez, who is the challenger, is in excellent shape and poised to get the victory. She tipped the scales at 100 kg 300 grams which when converted to pounds comes to 221.12 pounds.

On the same Friday, March 18, light flyweight, 22-year-old southpaw Sandra “Perla Negra” Robles (12-2, 6 KOs) will be a headliner on a fight card at the Grand Hotel Tijuana in Tijuana with an opponent TBA. At one point, Robles had gone three years without a loss until losing to Anabel Ortiz (17-3) on September 5, 2015.

Sandra Robles (c) poses for a photo with her supporting cast which includes Kenia Enriquez’s father, Gustavo Pacheko Enriquez (l).

There is also talk of the 27-year-old Yessica “Kika” Chavez (26-4-3, 4 KOs) wanting a rematch against the WBC light flyweight champ Ibeth “La Roca” Zamora, or perhaps a fight with the Diamond champion Ava Knight.

On March 5, 2016, Yessica “Kika” Chavez (l) won a unanimous decision victory over Argentina’s Vanesa Taborda.

Chavez’s promoter, Reginaldo Kuchle, who praised the excellence of his fighter’s unanimous decision win over Vanesa Taborda, a fight that drew 7,500 fans, said, “The time is right for Chavez to showcase her superiority.”

(l to r) Female Champions Esmeralda Moreno, Irma “Torbellino” Garcia and Ibeth “La Roca” Zamora at the WBC National Convention in Tijuana. Photo: Jim Wyatt

In 2015, Ibeth Zamora defended her title three times (once against San Diego’s Jolene Blackshear) and now has a fight scheduled for Saturday, March 19th, versus Mari Ando in Toluca, Mexico. At this point, Zamora has wins over both Yessica Chavez and Ava Knight.

The revenge-minded Jelena Mrdjenovich (r), has promised not only her mates but Freddie Roach to take her title back from the Argentinian Edith Soledad Matthysse (l). *See addendum at the bottom of this article – full fight from YouTube

On Friday, March 11, the WBC and WBA have their 35-year-old featherweight champion, Argentinian Edith Soledad Matthysse (14-7-1, 1 KO) up at the Shaw Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberto, Canada to defend her titles against the 33-year-old Jelena Mrdjenovich who is from Edmonton, Alberto, Canada. In this much-anticipated rematch, Mrdjenovich, who had won seven in a row prior to her unanimous decision loss to Matthysse in Argentina on August 1, 2015, will now hold homecourt advantage.

“This is another big challenge,” said Matthysse. “Even though I clearly beat her last August, Mrdjenovich is an exceptionally tough rival. I clearly remember how she predicted she was going to knock me out. And I’m going to do just that, all over again!”

Mrdjenovich (35-10-1, 19 KOs) vowed, “This time it will be completely different. I’ve got I so many things to prove to Matthysse. Back then I had problems in my training camp. Now I’m going to make history. She achieved the best performance of her life and I, the worst. I will do everything to be champion again.”

So, there you have it, just a sampling of the active females who are certainly putting in the same effort as their male counterparts.