International Females Boxers Association

Fresh from the defense of her IFBA Welterweight World title against Miriam Brakache in her hometown of Albuquerque Jan 11th, Holly Holm will stake her crown again in the co-main event of a standout three-championship IFBA women’s boxing card February 7th at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, CA. (Pechanga Box Office open 10am to 10pm or call toll free (877) 711-2WIN and press 2) The show will be later televised on FSN’s Best Damn Championship Boxing on Friday, February 8, at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Declared “Fighter of the Year” by the IFBA and Ring Magazine in 2006, and by women’s boxing website WBAN in 2007, Holm will face the always-dangerous Belinda ”Brown Sugar” Laracuente out of New York City in the 147-pound division. Holm improved her record to 20-1-2, with 6KO’s, by crushing Mariem Brakache in a 7th round TKO.

Presented by Hollybrook Regency, Inc. in association with Roy Englebrecht Events, the powerful card, sanctioned by the IFBA, brings together some of the best women fighters in the world for one night of furious action at Pechanga Resort and Casino.

The vacant IFBA Lightweight (135 pound) title is also up for grabs in the co-main event, with Tampa, Florida’s Chevelle Hallback (26-5-1, 11KOs), the No. 1 lightweight in the world, taking on the 6th ranked Jr.  Lightweight Melissa Hernandez (7-1-1, 2KOs) of Bronx, NY.  Hallback was a sensation in her last appearance in July on the televised IFBA card at Pechanga, when she defeated Terri Blair of Louisville, KY, in a slugfest.

The IFBA Jr. Featherweight crown will be contested by Jr. Featherweight champion Lisa “Bad News” Brown (12-3-3, 4KOs) of Toronto, CAN, and Jeri Sitzes (14-6-1,6 KOs) of Springfield, MO. The Trinidad-born Brown won her IFBA title in Albuquerque, NM in March 2007 in a 10-round decision over hometown favorite Jackie Chavez of Las Lunas, NM.

But all eyes will be on the final match-up of the night. Holm, the preacher’s daughter, achieved her exalted status in the sweet science as a result of her quest for better ways to stay in shape-- moving up from aerobics to kickboxing to boxing.  She won a national amateur championship in 2001 and has never looked back, turning pro the next year. Holm headlined the first televised Best Damn Championship Boxing card in March 2007 at the Isleta Casino in Albuquerque, NM, where she and Ann Marie Saccurato, 141, White Plains, New York made history, fighting for six welterweight world title belts. Holm and Saccurato had an all-out war for ten rounds, with Holm winning the 10-round title bout by unanimous decision.

Laracuente is a stylish and skilled fighter originally from Puerto Rico, who has been boxing since 1997. In 1999, she defeated former WIBF World Champion Daniella Somers in an eight-round unanimous decision and then followed with three more wins, one of which gained Laracuente the WIBF Americas Junior Welterweight title.  She fought a valiant battle with Christy Martin in March 2000, but Martin won the controversial eight-round majority decision. In August 2005, Laracuente defeated Saccurato, and followed that up with a draw against Valanna McGee, but with such a strong performance it earned her the WBAN’s Fighter of the Month designation. In her last bout, on December 1, 2007 at Woodlands Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia, Laracuente lost a controversial eight-round split decision to Esther Phiri of Zambia for the GBU Intercontinental Junior Lightweight title.

Hall of Fame announcer Barry Tompkins calls the fights on the FSN Friday-night broadcast alongside Emmy award-winning boxing analyst Rich Marotta.

The IFBA is the most prolific sanctioning body of women’s boxing on television. “The quality of the fights that we will be presenting on FSN with this card will continue to attract fans to the women’s ring prowess,“ said IFBA President Judy Kulis. “The IFBA is leading the way in growing and showcasing a new generation of powerful women boxing stars.”

IFBA
2007 marked the 10-year anniversary of the founding of the IFBA and its many accomplishments. Since 1997, the IFBA has sanctioned over 100 women’s title bouts, and has been the first to sanction all women’s cards on cable and broadcast television including ESPN2, USA Network, Pay-Per-View, Fox Sports International and on SBS, MBC and MBC-ESPN in Korea.  With the help of various State Boxing Commissions, the IFBA established many of the rules used in the sport today. For more information, visit www.IFBA.com

FSN
FSN, its affiliates and other FNG-owned networks reach more than 82 million homes through 25 regional networks.  Based in Los Angeles, FSN owned – or affiliated regional sports networks serve as the TV home to 68 of the 82 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States. FSN produces close to 5,000 live events each year, including nearly 1000 in high definition.  For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN website at www.FOXSports.com. 

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