The International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame Held in Brisbane, California

(SEPT 6)  On August 30, 2019, at the Double Tree Hotel, in Brisbane, California, the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame (IWBHF) held our sixth year in the sport to honor our twelve 2019 IWBHF Inductees, and special honorees who received other awards. [Photo credits: Mary Ann Owen]

We held our event just one day before the Beautiful Brawlers had their amateur show the following day, and in conjunction with our event. 

Many on our Team getting ready for the big event posing with world champions in the photo 

The 2019 class, was composed of twelve inductees, and it was the  largest class to date and raises the six year total of IWBHF inductees to forty-nine. It is, possibly, the most diverse of all six classes.  In 2020, we will be having our next event in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

The composition includes seven former boxers: Carina Moreno, Wendy Rodriguez, Bridget Riley, Martha Salazar, Lisa Holewyne, Terri Cruz and Missy Fiorentino. Also honored was Pat Emerick, a pioneer boxer who overcame untold obstacles in order to compete in the ring during the last century and whose award put her position as the second oldest IWBHF inductee, a mere five months behind Year I inductee, Barbara Buttrick.

Also in line who were inducted were David Avila, prominent, award winning, West Coast boxing writer and Stephen Blea, a widely praised boxing official who has worked tirelessly to raise the standards of amateur and professional boxing in this country.

Rounding out the 2019 class was Blanca Gutierrez, driving force behind Beautiful Brawlers, the West Coast promotion firm, a contributing impetus behind the recent resurgence in the sport, and Pat “Sandy” Martinez-Pino, a tireless, hardworking advocate for the sport with the AIBA, had been responsible for providing numerous opportunities within the sport, for qualified females. Due to her untimely death, last year, her award was posthumous.

In addition to the Hall inductions, special awards were presented to three 2016 inductees, former boxers, Elena Reid, Sumya Anani, and Britt VanBuskirk, along with 2017 inductee, Daisy Lang and Graciela Casillas, a leading female boxer during the early years of the modern sport, 1979-86. The evening’s program  featured guest speakers including the boxer widely considered to be the pathfinder for the sport, initial IWHBF inductee, Christy Martin, a tireless, world wide ambassador for the sport, WBC official, Jill Diamond and leading boxing promoter and long time advocate for the sport, Roy Engelbrecht. The evening was again MC’d by renowned Las Vegas ring announcer, Jake Gutierrez.   [See Photo Gallery]

A special thanks to our Sponsors, the WBC, Shooting Ninjas, Punch Gunk, and a special thanks to the Beautiful Brawlers who were in conjunction with our event.