Three Top Female Fights Tonight: Napoleon, Reis, Joseph and More on UFC Fight Pass
By David A. Avila
WBA super middleweight titlist Alicia Napoleon leads a trio of female bouts as she meets Schemelle Baldwin the challenger for the world title today.
Napoleon (11-1, 6 KOs) makes the second defense of the title when she meets Delaware’s Baldwin (3-0-1, 2 KOs) at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Mass. This and two other female bouts are part of the DiBella Entertainment boxing card that will be streamed by UFC Fight Pass.
Both Napoleon and Baldwin are 33 years old but the champion has fought many of the best middleweights and super middleweights since her pro debut in 2014. But this is female prizefighting and in the heavier weight divisions a newcomer like Baldwin can sometimes surprise.
This will be Baldwin’s first attempt at a world title and first time facing someone with a winning record. Still, fights are won inside the boxing ring not on paper. Both fighters have knockout power.
Napoleon announced this week she will be participating in VADA testing which examines each fighter for performance enhancement drugs in their system. It’s been proven that female PED use is even more dangerous and gives the user a more dangerous advantage than men have when using PEDs.
It’s an important step for women prizefighters. Earlier, both Heather Hardy and Amanda Serrano announced they too will be signing up for VADA testing. Both are champions and their inclusion in the program is like a clarion call. They are set to meet each other on Sept. 13 at Madison Square Garden for Hardy’s WBO featherweight title that Serrano formerly held but vacated.
Other female fights
Former middleweight titlist Kali Reis has dropped down to the super lightweight division and will be facing Patricia Juarez the middle sister of Mexico’s famous fighting siblings Mariana “Barby” Juarez and Lourdes “La Pequena Lulu” Juarez.
Reis (15-7-1) is a former WBC titlist and made a bigger splash on HBO’s final boxing telecast when she battled unified welterweight world champion Cecilia Braekhus at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles in May 2018. Her knockdown of Braekhus and rally after a slow start made her a fighter to watch. She also realized she could fight at a lower weight class where there is more competition.
Juarez (4-1), who lives in Colorado, started her pro career much later than her two younger sisters. Despite the delay she has shown durability especially against hard-hitting Selina Barrios. That fight saw Juarez exchange blows with the Texan for 10 rounds in a loss by decision. Can she withstand the firepower of Reis is the question.
Another female bout to watch will be the six-round bantamweight clash between Helen Joseph and Martina Horgasz.
Joseph (16-3-2, 10 KOs) is a 30-year-old Nigerian native fighting out of Connecticut and has shown electric knockout power. It also made her a much-avoided fighter who needed someone to help give her exposure. Now with DiBella Entertainment she has exactly what she needs. She just recently fought three weeks ago in defeating Hungary’s Edina Kiss by decision.
Horgasz (5-3, 4 KOs) is another Hungarian fighter but has knockout power too. She is only 20 years old with two years of pro experience, but like Kiss, has no fear. It’s a young gun versus a veteran gunslinger when these two meet. It could end quickly.
If you like female prizefighting obtaining UFC Fight Pass would be beneficial. They have been regularly streaming elite female title fights and non-title fights for most of 2019. It’s quite a bargain. Here is the link: https://www.ufc.tv/page/fightpass
UFC Fight Pass will stream the card beginning at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.
(Photo via Facebook and Womenofboxing)