“La Reina” Celebrates at WBC Boxing Museum

Boxer Carina Moreno (21-2, 6 KOs) was honored recently when she received a special award at the World Boxing Council (WBC) Legends of Boxing Museum’s inductee luncheon held earlier this month in San Bernardino, California.

The petite powerhouse also made a generous donation to the fight museum, which first opened its doors in 2008.

After the awards and speeches had been made, the humble young woman presented a cache of boxing memorabilia, which will now grace the walls and glass cases of the unique museum. As I visited with the former WBC Female Minimumweight Champion, she and her trainer Rick Noble began to unveil Team Moreno’s winning donation to the WBC LBM boxing museum, which is located on the grounds of the American Sports University.

As I noticed the fight-worn treasures being placed on a display table in front of us, Carina explained to me that many of the cool items were from her WBC championship fight. In a true spirit of giving, the “Queen of the Ring” from Watsonville decided to donate her trunks, hand wraps, gloves, shoes, sports bra, mouthpiece and more from her world title fight. The newest WBC LBM Special Honoree also gave the Inland Empire museum several photos from her exciting bouts.

Coach Noble is understandably very proud of all her ring achievements. “She is a former WBC Straw Weight Champion at 105; a former first U.S. female to win that division on May 17, 2007,” he said. “She is a four-time World Champ in two weight divisions and is a three-time member of the Women’s U.S. team.”

Moreno, whose last fight was in 2009, is still training hard, keeping her world-class conditioning intact. While the crowd at the awards ceremony couldn’t help but notice her impressive and muscular arms, the female warrior (nicknamed “La Reina”) mentioned during our conversation that she runs five to six miles a day and does other strength and conditioning to stay in peak shape. A former amateur standout, the popular boxer from Northern California has been a professional fighter for over seven years now.

Throughout her career, Carina has proved herself to be a role model for little girls all over the world who someday hope to have a life inside the ropes. The knockout herself has had many women fighters to look up to that have also helped to pave the way in this male-dominated sport. And Moreno hopes to cement her own legacy in pugilism. A former kickboxer, the fighter is also currently promoting fights in the Santa Cruz area.

Celebrating her newest award and all of the day’s festivities, Carina was a big hit at the holiday event. Check out my snapshots of the beaming world titlist in this special sneak preview as she shares her championship items with the WBC LBM museum. Now all fans who visit this unique and one-of-a-kind tribute to the sweet science can enjoy seeing Moreno’s fight gear up close and personal.

Happy New Year to all–and see you at the fights!

Photos by Michele Chong