LAS VEGAS ? Ana ?Hurricane? Julaton, a full-blooded Filipina, makes her pro debut against Elena Coto of Texas in a four-round superbantamweight bout spicing up the Mandalay Bay undercard that will lead to Manny Pacquiao taking on Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas this Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila).
Julaton, 27, is former taekwondo and wushu practitioner who turned to boxing only three years ago after being inspired by Pacquiao. It was Pacquiao who invited Julaton to fight in this weekend?s undercard and no less than Freddie Roach has trained her at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
?Freddie thinks Ana fights like Mike Tyson on the inside but Gerry Pe?alosa calls her the female Roy Jones, Jr.,? said Julaton?s manager Angelo Reyes, a Batangue?o who is part owner of the West Wind Bok Wu dojo in Berkeley, outside San Francisco. ?For a 122-pounder, she hits hard. She?s flashy. Her best punch is the left hook. She has huge handspeed and her footwork is remarkable. I think she?s more of a boxer than a puncher but some people insist she?s a boxer-puncher.?
Reyes said Roach has big plans for Julaton with a crack at the WBC title in sight for next year.
?Ana has never been to the Philippines but she?d love to visit,? said Reyes. ?Maybe, after this fight, she could go. She would love to meet President Arroyo.?
Reyes said Julaton?s plan was to represent the Philippines in women?s boxing at the 2012 London Olympics but when the International Olympic Committee ruled out the event, she decided to turn pro on Roach?s prodding.
?Freddie told her last July it was time to turn pro with her Olympic dream out the window,? said Reyes. ?Last year, Ana did everything possible to boost her ranking as an amateur. She won the Bay Area Golden Gloves and the California State titles and took the bronze in the national Golden Gloves. Then last June, she was robbed of the gold medal at the US Championships in Colorado. She was rated No. 2 amateur featherweight in the US but figured her future was in the pros.?
Julaton was born and raised in the US. Her parents Cesar and Emilia are pure Filipinos. She has a younger brother Cesar, Jr. and finished up to second year at the City College of San Francisco.
IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. and his father Nonito, Sr. worked with Julaton in their Bay Area gym before she left to train with Roach in Los Angeles over two weeks ago.
Two of Julaton?s close friends are US military taekwondo silver medalist Rachel Marcial and six-time national taekwondo champion Rometra Craig whose father Roger played on three Super Bowl champion teams with the San Francisco 49ers. They were inseparable in their teens.
?Her biggest asset is speed,? said Marcial, also a US-born Filipina. ?Her footwork and balance come from her taekwondo background.
I?ve known her since I was 12 and she was 14. Her family and friends are really proud of her. She teaches about 200 students in personalized taekwondo classes in her dojo and is very popular with the Filipino-American community.?
Julaton, who traces her roots to Pampanga, said she?s determined to make an impact in the ring. To prove she?s serious about boxing, she trains six to eight hours a day, six days a week ? and she has no time for boyfriends or shopping or lying around with a book on a rainy day.
?I feel I?m fighting for more than myself,? said Julaton, quoted by Reyes. ?I fight to represent both my countries ? the Philippines and the US, my dojo, my team, my fans and for the entire world of women?s boxing to get some respect.?
Reyes said fans love to watch Julaton in action because she?s ?a non-stop, let?s-get-down-and-throw-bombs type of fighter.? He added, ?She has always been able to put on a show with her excellent counterpunching and will even smile at her opponents during a match when dominating a bout.?
Don?t let the be-dimpled Julaton?s disarming smile fool you. In the ring, she lives up to her nickname ? Hurricane.
