April 28, 1976: First Professional Female Boxing Bout to take place in the state of California

The year was 1976….Pat Pineda was the first to obtain a boxing license in the state of California.  Pat had previously fought Teresa Kibby in March of 1976, fighting with her in a four-rounder at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, in Lake Tahoe (stateline), Nevada, promoted by the Father of Female Boxing, promoter Bill Dickson.  Kibby won the bout by decision. [The article from this information came from Boxing Illustrated Magazine, dated September 4, 1976]

Pineda then had the first fight to ever take place in California at the Forum, in Inglewood, against the much taller Kim Maybee who towered at 6’1″.  The fight ended in a loss for Pineda when she was KO’d in the second round of a scheduled four round bout.  Pineda then rematched with Maybee, with the bout ending in another loss for Pineda by a points in another four-round bout. That fight took place at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

To Pat Pineda’s credit and the pioneer female boxers of the 1970s, they did not have opportunities to fight in the amateurs, and so in essence, these fights that took place were nothing more than amateur bouts, that women needed the experience, but not the advantage of learning skills before becoming pro.  Can one only imaging males going straight into the sport with NO amateur experience?  Probably not.

When Sue TL Fox fought for the first time, she trained in a karate gym from November of 1975 to February 1976, where she was placed in a mismatch with Teresa Kibby, who had boxed 10 plus years with her professional boxer brothers and trained by her father who was in boxing for years and years. After 3 or 4 months of working out in boxing with a Karate Instructor, The night of the fight with Kibby… Fox had never stepped into a ring that had ropes, never had her hands wrapped, and the only thing she had going for her was being a black belt in karate.  Then the up’ed the round minutes two days before the fight! 

It was going to be four (2 minute rounds), and then she was notified that it was then going to be four (three minute) rounds.   Years later Fox contacted the Oregon Athletic Commission where the fight took place in Portland, Oregon and was told that the fight with Teresa Kibby was no more than an exhibition, and that it was not a sanctioned bout.  Fight Fax (the official record keeper of the sport) also confirmed that the fight was never turned in as a sanctioned bout and they were of the opinion that Fox’s fight and many of her fights, and other pioneer boxers were infact exhibitions not being reported to Fight Fax.