Template:Short description Template:Infobox boxer

Sumya Anani (born February 12, 1972) is a retired American professional female boxer nicknamed "The Island Girl." She was 5'6" and boxed as a junior welterweight.<ref name="WBAN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She is best known for a 1996 bout which left her opponent severely injured and may have served as an inspiration for the film Million Dollar Baby.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Outside the ring, she is a yoga instructor and holistic healer.

Anani was born in Minnesota and raised in Kansas. She competed as a weightlifter in 1995 and 1996. She took up boxing for self-defense and started boxing professionally because she was "short on cash."<ref name="women">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She began to box professionally in the summer of 1996.

She began by boxing against relatively unknown opponents. Her fourth professional bout was in St. Joseph, Missouri against Katie Dallam, a novice welterweight who had only gotten her pro boxing license the day before<ref name = "WBAN" /> — a pairing described as "an obvious mismatch." In four rounds she landed 119 blows to Dallam's head. Dallam collapsed in her dressing room afterward and required brain surgery. Anani was so upset she considered quitting boxing.<ref name = "women" />

She came to prominence in the boxing world on September 30, 1997, when she defeated former WIBF lightweight champion Stacy Prestage by a knockout. On March 28, 1998 she scored "the sport's biggest upset" with a unanimous six-round decision over veteran Andrea DeShong, considered "the standard bearer for the sport."<ref name = "women" /> On December 18, 1998, she fought boxing star Christy Martin and won the match, handing Martin her first defeat since November 1989.<ref name = "WBAN" />

In 2016, Anani was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The IWBHF was created and founded by Sue TL Fox.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional boxing recordEdit

Template:BoxingRecordSummary

Template:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
29 Template:No2Loss 25–3–1 Template:Flagicon Terri Blair TKO 9 (10) May 27, 2006 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
28 Template:No2Loss 25–2–1 Template:Flagicon Terri Blair TKO 10 (10) Mar 25, 2006 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
27 Template:Yes2Win 25–1–1 Template:Flagicon Belinda Laracuente UD 10 Jan 22, 2005 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
26 Template:Yes2Win 24–1–1 Template:Flagicon Stephanie Jaramillo UD 10 Dec 4, 2004 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
25 Template:Yes2Win 23–1–1 Template:Flagicon Lisa Holewyne UD 6 Apr 24, 2004 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
24 Template:Yes2Win 22–1–1 Template:Flagicon Fredia Gibbs RTD 1 (8) Apr 18, 2003 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
23 Template:Yes2Win 21–1–1 Template:Flagicon Lisa Holewyne KO 5 (10) Nov 2, 2002 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
22 Template:Yes2Win 20–1–1 Template:Flagicon Jane Couch TKO 4 (10) Jun 21, 2002 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
21 Template:Yes2Win 19–1–1 Template:Flagicon Britt Van Buskirk UD 8 Feb 1, 2002 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
20 Template:DrawDraw 18–1–1 Template:Flagicon Fredia Gibbs PTS 10 Nov 16, 2001 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
19 Template:Yes2Win 18–1 Template:Flagicon Britt Van Buskirk UD 10 Oct 20, 2001 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
18 Template:Yes2Win 17–1 Template:Flagicon Elizabeth Mueller UD 10 May 11, 2001 Template:Flagicon Template:Small Template:Small
17 Template:No2Loss 16–1 Template:Flagicon Britt Van Buskirk SD 6 Sep 17, 2000 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
16 Template:Yes2Win 16–0 Template:Flagicon Vicki Woods UD 8 Jun 25, 2000 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
15 Template:Yes2Win 15–0 Template:Flagicon Dora Webber UD 10 Jun 11, 1999 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
14 Template:Yes2Win 14–0 Template:Flagicon Dora Webber UD 8 Mar 23, 1999 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
13 Template:Yes2Win 13–0 Template:Flagicon Denise Moraetes UD 8 Mar 12, 1999 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
12 Template:Yes2Win 12–0 Template:Flagicon Christy Martin MD 10 Dec 18, 1998 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
11 Template:Yes2Win 11–0 Template:Flagicon Alicia Sparks TKO 1 (6) Sep 18, 1998 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
10 Template:Yes2Win 10–0 Template:Flagicon Andrea DeShong UD 6 Mar 28, 1998 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
9 Template:Yes2Win 9–0 Template:Flagicon Loretta James TKO 1 (4) Jan 31, 1998 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
8 Template:Yes2Win 8–0 Template:Flagicon Charlotte Esparza KO 1 (4) Nov 13, 1997 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
7 Template:Yes2Win 7–0 Template:Flagicon Stacey Prestage KO 4 (6) Sep 30, 1997 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
6 Template:Yes2Win 6–0 Template:Flagicon Ashley Needham UD 4 Apr 2, 1997 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
5 Template:Yes2Win 5–0 Template:Flagicon Shelley Walden TKO 4 (4) Mar 19, 1997 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
4 Template:Yes2Win 4–0 Template:Flagicon Katherine Dallam TKO 4 (4) Dec 11, 1996 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
3 Template:Yes2Win 3–0 Template:Flagicon Valerie Almack TKO 2 (4) Oct 16, 1996 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
2 Template:Yes2Win 2–0 Template:Flagicon Jessica Breitfelder UD 4 Aug 26, 1996 Template:Flagicon Template:Small
1 Template:Yes2Win 1–0 Template:Flagicon Jessica Breitfelder UD 4 Aug 12, 1996 Template:Flagicon Template:Small

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

<references />

External linksEdit


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