Graciela Casillas – Pioneer Female Boxer

Graciela Cassillas, born in Los Angeles, California, one of the top female boxers and Martial Artists in the sport that had over 30 pro fights, was one of the true talents that fought in the late 1970’s – 1980’s.  She retired from competition in 1986 having earned the WKA and IWBA Bantamweight championship.  Cassillas said in her own words in a Martial Arts Magazine, “When I first entered the ring in 1977, I had little skill, however, what I lacked in finesse I made up in determination.  As I gained experience, I quickly learned how important it was to develop a strong base.  That meant understanding the importance of lower body mobility, defense, offense, and working in the ring. Cassillas said that she won 18 of her 32 fights by KO.

Cassillas first exposure to Martial Arts at the age of 17.  She was a high school student in a Catholic school in Oxnard, California, where she was living at the time.    Cassillas said, “A missionary who was working with us at the time asked if we were interested in taking  a self-defense course.  I began taking classes on the church premises, training every day of the year.”   When the course ended she then got into a private studio in Oxnard and soon after began competing in the full-contact karate tournaments.

Before Cassillas had her pro debut in boxing in which she fought and defeated Karen Bennett, she trained for about seven months at the Hoover Street Gym, in Los Angeles, California. While training in boxing at the time, she was also a student at the University of California in Santa Barbara and eventually earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, having majored in pre-law.

In September of 1980, Cassillas was featured in a magazine, and she stated, “Women’s Boxing still is not taken seriously in the pro leagues.  Women’s Boxing is a crowd pleaser and there are many more good women boxers now than there were two years ago, but the promoters haven’t caught on yet.  They still treat it like a joke.  The money is a joke, too.  A good male boxer can earn upwards of $50,000 af fight—my top purse to date has been a skimpy $1,000.