Taking a line from Peter Finch in the film Network, Ana Julaton?s mad as hell, and she?s not going to take it anymore.
?I?m sick of all these fighters getting a chance on TV when they don?t even fill up the stands,? she told CSNBayArea.com before Friday’s matchup with Yesica Marcos in San Martin, Argentina. ?I?m a fan of Guillermo Rigondeaux, but there were more people at my fight against Kelsey Jeffries without any TV backing than there were for his world title fight, and he gets the shot on TV. He gets the shot. This is where I?m at right now.?
In the past, her ?Hurricane? nickname was emblematic of her whirlwind fighting style, not her demeanor. Not today.
Her long, black hair is highlighted by flashy, golden braids. The signature smile remains, but now it?s accompanied by an outspoken voice, and frustration about her inability to secure a major cable event on American TV.
?I need to blast my opponents,? Julaton said. ?I need to kick the (obscenity) out of them, wake some (obscenity) up and say, ?Hey, you know what? She?s more exciting than this dude.? They need to put me on TV because I can fight way better than they do. And Marcos, she?s my stepping stone. She?s what?s in the way of me getting where I need to be because this is my career.
?I have given up everything. I?ve given up school. I?ve given up relationships. I?ve given up all the other things, just so I can do this sport in this country where a lot of guys don?t respect women boxers ? so this fight is kind of my way of saying that you better get ready to spend all those TV dollars on someone who?s deserving, and that?s Ana Julaton. I?m sorry to sound so fed up, but I?ve put up my blood, sweat, and tears for this.
The reason for this torrent of resentment?
For one, Friday marks the second straight time Daly City?s Julaton (10-2-1, 1 KO) must defend her World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior featherweight title belt in the unfriendly confines of her challenger ? atypical for an established champion.
?They didn?t even have a purse bid so our promoter Allan Tremblay could bid on hosting the event,? said Angelo Reyes, Julaton?s advisor and head trainer. ?The WBO just decided to hold the fight in Marcos? (18-0-1, 6 KOs) hometown. Unbelievable, huh? That?s boxing for you.?
Further complicating matters is the fact that the last time a Filipino won a title bout in Argentina a month ago, he ended the night hiding under the ring after a 30-minute riot ensued.
Johnriel Casimero barely escaped with his life as he and his team were brutally attacked by chair-chucking spectators following his Feb. 10 knockout of local junior flyweight interim champion Luis Lazarte in Buenos Aires.
?Yes, of course I am concerned,? Tremblay said. ?I have worked diligently behind the scenes with the commission in Argentina, the WBO, and most importantly, [Marcos?] promoter, Osvaldo Rivero, all of whom have assured me measures are in place to prevent a repeat of what previously happened.?
Julaton will have a police escort and additional officers will be present at ringside. Extra security has been promised for the champion?s corner, but the threat of crowd violence is peripheral.
?Right now that?s the image because of that incident, and to be fair, it shouldn?t necessarily be a reflection of Argentina,? Julaton said. ?Then again, if something similar happens, it happens, but right now I?m just focused on the fight.?
There’s also a concern about the neutrality of judges and how they could be influenced by a threatening crowd presence. Tremblay said it’s been addressed.
?I will meet individually and collectively with the officials when they arrive on the scene to challenge their professionalism under these circumstances,? he said. ?Further, I have challenged Ana to leave no doubt in the ring.?
Safety and fairness anxieties aside, another quandary facing Julaton is the continued devaluing of the Bay Area fighter?s position in the unified 122-pound rankings.
While the universally respected Women?s Boxing Archive Network (WBAN) has her fifth, the Internet database BoxRec puts her at ninth, below sixth-ranked Maria Elena Villalobos (whom Julaton has already defeated) and Marcos at third.
?In terms of having the respect, to be a woman boxer and hold a world championship belt, and not have a chance to get on TV in America is not right,? Julaton said. ?I?ve learned so much about this business, and with the position I?m in, I just can?t stay where I?m at for very long. I just can?t, especially when you see what Gina Carano did on Showtime.?
In mixed martial arts, Carano became a ratings juggernaut with her matinee looks, drawing 856,000 viewers in a Strikeforce title fight despite getting knocked out in the first round by Cris ?Cyborg? Santos.
Just last week, Ronda Rousey?s ruthless elbow-dislocating armbar of Miesha Tate reportedly attracted 506,000 sets of eyeballs for the same promotion on the same network, leading UFC chief Dana White to predict that Rousey would ?be a big star.?
Despite this successful blueprint for women in combat sports, it?s becoming clear that pro boxing in America refuses to follow suit. In her several appearances on Canadian and Filipino TV, Julaton?s blood-and-guts performances have consistently topped the ratings and proved she has the skills to accompany her matinee looks.
Still, her team has received neither a call nor e-mail from HBO, Showtime, or even ESPN2. One place where female fisticuffs thrives is south of the border, and Julaton plans to make a statement against Marcos in order to force a fight against Mexico?s Jackie Nava (26-4-3, 11 KOs), the recognized No. 1 in both top-10 junior featherweight lists.
?A fight with Nava would definitely be our best chance to attract enough mainstream support for an American televised audience,? Reyes said. ?We?ve contacted Top Rank and Zanfer numerous times, and with the support she gets from the Mexican fans who buy the same pay-per-views that we see in America, it would make for a great fight.?
Nava currently holds the World Boxing Association (WBA) version of Julaton?s belt, and the Tijuana product known as ?The Aztec Princess? recently indicated to CSNBayArea.com that a March 31 title defense in Manila would likely be her next move.
If the Mexican star does make the trip to Southeast Asia and emerges triumphant, it would be perfect timing for Julaton?a Filipina-American who customarily holds her post-victory celebrations in the Philippine capital city ? to personally acquaint herself with her ultimate target after the fight.
?That?s a good thing so people in the Philippines will know who she is,? Julaton said. ?It?s important for my opponent to have a big following to make this fight as big as possible.?
When asked for her thoughts on unifying belts with ?The Hurricane,? Nava simply tweeted, ?Sounds good. Cheers.?
The proposed matchup makes sense in more ways than one. With her Mexico-based promoter, Zanfer, having strong ties with Top Rank, it?s not out of the realm of possibility that the Las Vegas company could put Nava on the June 9 undercard of Manny Pacquiao?s clash with Tim Bradley.
Combine that thought with Pacquiao?s longtime friendship with ?The Hurricane? and this sport?s raging Filipino-Mexican ring rivalry, and suddenly, the Top Rank brass would have a viable women?s fight to sell on what will be a worldwide pay-per-view broadcast.
That’s all predicated on Julaton winning in San Martin. Marcos, 26 is an aggressive pressure fighter who likes to back her opponents into the ropes and break them down with left hooks to the body before finishing upstairs in the later rounds.
According to Reyes, this strategy plays right into Julaton’s hands.
?Yesica likes to work the body but to do that you have to commit to your punches, and Ana will be too fast for her,? he said. ?Ana?s more of a mover and counter-puncher, so I don?t see Yesica being able to catch her. In fact, if she gets comes to fight and gets careless, I see Ana stopping her big time.?
Of course, brawling rather than boxing leads to more inside fighting, and when the action is in a phone booth, the likelihood of being cut increases significantly.
Julaton is no stranger to cuts, having been worked on by a plastic surgeon on numerous occasions. The latest followed her September with Jessica Villafranca when the Mexican challenger opened a laceration over Julaton’s forehead.
?The cut is fine,? Julaton said. ?It took awhile, but it?s healed and I?ve had no problems with it whatsoever in my camp in Las Vegas. I?m just ready to go, ready to fight, [and] ready to do this.?
With March being Women?s History Month, maybe it?s time for Ana Julaton to start authoring a chapter of her own beginning this Friday in Argentina.
?I?ve been learning from the best trainers like Freddie [Roach],? Julaton said. ?I?ve been learning from Nonito [Donaire] Sr. I?ve been learning from Angelo. I?ve seen all these champs like Manny [Pacquiao], [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr., and Amir [Khan] get the chance to be stars on TV. And yes, they deserve what they get because they work really hard. But I do, too. It?s my turn.?
A tape-delayed broadcast of Julaton vs. Marcos is scheduled to air on cable channel GMA Pinoy TV on Sunday at 11 a.m. Check your local listings.
DONAIRE?S COMEBACK CONTINUES WITH SECOND TELEVISED TANGLE Speaking of Donaire Sr., he has been busy preparing his son Glenn for a Friday bout against Omar Salado (23-4-2, 14 KOs). Like ?The Hurricane,? Donaire (18-4-1, 10 KOs) travels to a venue in his opponent?s hometown, in this case the Auditorio Plaza Condesa in Mexico City.
After a three-year hiatus from the sport to focus on his day job as a delivery truck driver, the 32-year-old father of two from San Leandro decided to give boxing one last shot.
?I?ve been preparing for this fight for almost two months,? the younger Donaire told Philippine News? Truth Esguerra. ?I feel really strong, and I feel a lot faster now. I train six days a week, two times a day, and sometimes three times a day. I?m going to do my best.?
Befitting his blue-collar background, step one on the comeback trail was a workmanlike eighth-round stoppage of former strawweight titlist Alex ?Nene? Sanchez for a regional flyweight belt last December.
Now he moves up from 112 to 115 pounds for another minor strap, this time in the junior bantamweight division against Salado, who like Donaire is a two-time former world title challenger.
?I feel excited to watch [Glenn] train,? said his father, Nonito Sr. ?There?s no doubts with training, compared with the past. His mentality?s totally different. He?s definitely hungry.
?He?s really improved, from his head movement, hand speed, [and] footwork. He doesn?t wait to get hit anymore to retaliate. He?s a lot harder to find in the ring now.?
With new promoter Felix ?Tuto? Zabala behind him, a win would likely get Donaire ranked in the top 15 of one of the four major alphabet organizations and get him closer to one last shot at a world title.
The bout will air on Telemundo at 11:30 p.m. Friday night.
