Christy Martin and Ava Knight Receive Honors

The 2016 Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (NVBHOF) hosted their annual awards this past weekend at the legendary Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and this year’s event will be memorable for many reasons. This installment featured many women working in boxing from champions to promoters, photographers, and more.

The female force was strong this year and NVBHOF Founder and President Rich Marotta and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Michelle Corrales-Lewis took time to shine the spotlight on these deserving women. Here’s my special recap and exclusive snapshots from the eye-popping weekend of activities.

Champ Christy Martin was ushered into the Hall of Fame as the very first female inductee of the NVBHOF. “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” has 49 victories during her historic career. She has bounced back from a shocking personal tragedy (stabbed and shot by her ex-husband) and perseveres promoting fights. This lady is a warrior and a true champ. Christy attended the weekend with her parents, her longtime partner Sherry Lusk, boxing promoter Mercedes Vazquez, and many friends who came out to support her. The West Virginia fighter has been through so much and her emotional speech had the audience completely enthralled, hanging on her every word.

Champion Ava Knight was also honored during the two-day extravaganza as President Marotta presented the “2016 Female Fighter of the Year” award to Ava on Friday night. Known as the “First Lady of Boxing,” the pride of Chico, California has fought 20 times including her two bouts in Mexico this year. The 27-year-old continues to aim for the top. Trained by Ben Bautista, the Las Vegas resident is always ready to fight. She hopes to lace up again soon but for now has a packed schedule traveling the globe with the popular band DNCE (“Cake by the Ocean”). Ava is the personal trainer of pop star Joe Jonas during their current world tour; the very next morning after Saturday’s banquet, Knight flew to Japan to continue on with DNCE’s concert run. Speaking from her heart, she thanked everyone for their support and vowed to continue fighting for women’s boxing.

The star-studded weekend featured a Meet & Greet open to the public on Friday along with a VIP Cocktail Party Friday night at the famed Garden of the Gods pool at Caesars, and a Celebrity Gifting Lounge and the 4th Annual NVBHOF Induction Gala, Dinner and Ceremony on Saturday. The parties were full of glitz and glamour and no detail was left unturned. Ticket holders were in awe from start to finish.

And alongside Rich Marotta, Michelle Corrales-Lewis (widow of Diego Corrales) brings her own personal expertise to this show. While the NVBHOF is still relatively new at just four years strong since its inception, this awards gala continues to blossom and grow, wowing the crowd each and every year. Marotta gives Michelle a lot of credit in what she has brought to this nonprofit organization. I’ve personally watched the dynamo handle everything in her own professional and classy way. And with almost 900 attendees and fans in the ballroom, it’s not an easy job to please everyone. But Marotta and Corrales-Lewis and their crew get the job done.

There were also several other notable ladies who represented at this 2016 NVBHOF. Champ Laura Serrano (“La Poeta del Ring”) is one of the hardworking Board of Directors who I witnessed working tirelessly behind the scenes. She is always a class act and an integral part of this yearly gathering. Laura is a role model for her work in boxing and as a scholar outside the ropes.

Dawn “Dee” Kelley is also another lady who made sure things went smoothly. Dee supervised the Meet & Greet and also was in charge of fighter relations. The vivacious wife of Kevin “The Flushing Flash” Kelley has never-ending energy and is a great asset to the NVBHOF.

The NVBHOF has proven to give a voice to women working in boxing. We have fought through stereotypes and sexism, fighting for equality in a male-dominated sport. We still have a long way to go as female fighters continue to strive for bigger paychecks, more TV exposure, and better opportunities that their male counterparts get in the sweet science. But women like Christy Martin and Ava Knight have proven they are as tough as the men and females continue to be a force in the sport.

I also caught up with many other women who are involved in boxing including the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) and WBC Cares’ Jill Diamond and WBC Senior Executive Director Nancy Rodriguez. The WBC had a fun, free photo booth for the champs and fans at the Meet & Greet and Saturday’s lead-up to the gala. This X Factor Photo Booth was a huge hit with the crowd and the printed photos provided a unique souvenir as the attendees got to hold a WBC green and gold championship belt like a real pro. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman lent a huge show of support, commenting on the powerful women in boxing: “This year is one that will mark the new era of women’s boxing and it is time for the boxing industry to give the due respect and opportunities to them.”

Popular champ Mia St. John was also at the awards. Rivals in the ring, friends outside the ropes. Mia and Christy reconnected in the Mecca of Boxing as Martin made history as the first female inductee. Mia has her own charity (“El Saber Es Poder”) and fights to bring awareness in mental health as she fights for justice for her son, Julian St. John.

Champion Elena Reid also was at the awards; known as “Baby Doll” this fierce competitor in the ring has experience in boxing, karate, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. She may only be 5’2″ but she sure packs a punch while gloving up. Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton is also a fierce warrior who fights in boxing and MMA. The Filipina champ has 14 victories as a pro.

It was great catching up and reconnecting with all of these ladies. I’ve attended this always sold-out event since its inception. The NVBHOF began as a one-night award show and has now expanded into a packed two-day affair full of once-in-a-lifetime moments!

And this year’s soirée featured more women than ever. Besides the ladies I’ve mentioned above, I also ran into Crystina Poncher (this year’s emcee along with Bernardo Osuna), ringside photographer and author Mary Ann Owen (“Extraordinary Women of the Ring”), Cleto Reyes’ Elizabeth Reyes, singer Bridget Gonzalez (who sang the Mexican National Anthem at the gala), and many other females involved in the fight game like Shannon Torres Gilman, Shelley Williams, Carla Ja, Claudia Ollis, Rachel Donaire and more.

I also want to mention a strong squad of NVBHOF volunteers (almost all female) working at the Meet & Greet, ticket booth and behind the scenes setting up. These young ladies (ReRe, Tiffany, Victoria, Asia, Karen, Melinda and more) worked nonstop assisting their fearless leader Michelle Corrales-Lewis.

All in all, the female presence was extra strong this year. In the words of Beyoncé: “Who run the world? GIRLS!”

Congrats again to Christy Martin and Ava Knight–and BRAVO to all the ladies at the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame!

Photos by Michele Chong