Maureen Anne Shea Carranza (born January 11, 1981) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. She held the WBC

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

female

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

title in 2011 and the IFBA super bantamweight title from 2014 to 2015, and challenged once for the WBA female super featherweight title in 2009. She is known as the "Real Million Dollar Baby" because of her work as the main sparring partner for

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

in her preparation for the 2004 movie, '' Million Dollar Baby''.

Early life

Maureen was born and raised in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York. Born in 1981, she was raised by a strict Irish father, a now retired

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

detective. Maureen's mother, of Mexican heritage, worked in the airline industry, allowing Maureen to frequently travel. Moe spent much of her youth growing up in the Bronx and in the Guadalajara,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In the amateurs, Maureen was known and respected for her boxing. First training out of NYBG with Luigi Olcese, she was eventually brought to Gleasons to train with well respected trainer Hector Roca. It was a gradual process in Shea's growth and preparation for the game of professional boxing. In 2004, when Hilary Swank came looking for Hector Roca to help her get ready for the movie '' Million Dollar Baby'', Roca paired Swank with Maureen Shea. Maureen was Hilary's main sparring partner in preparation for Swank's award-winning role in the movie. When the international media found out that Swank attended all of Maureen's amateur bouts, Maureen was thrust into the spotlight. It was Maureen's boxing, however, that captured the attention. Her nicknames include "The Bronx Bombshell", "The Real Million Dollar Baby", and "Moe".

Professional career

Maureen Shea of the Bronx, New York, is the former IFBA Jr Featherweight World Champion, former NABF Festherweight Champion, former NABA Featherweight Champion and former Interim WBC Featherweight Champion. Shea is one of the top professional female boxers in the world.

WBA Super Featherweight Championship

In February 2009, Maureen lost her first world title attempt to

Kina Malpartida Kina Malpartida Dyson (born March 25, 1980) is a Peruvian female professional boxer and National Surfing Champion. She held the World Boxing Association World Title in the Super Featherweight class from February 21, 2009, until October 30, 201 ...

. This bout was held at the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

Interim WBC Featherweight Championship

On December 12, 2011 Shea beat Colombian Diana Ayala to win the Interim WBC

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

Champion. This bout was held at the Estadio Centenario in

Los Mochis, Sinaloa Los Mochis () is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2010 census, the population was 362,613, which was 61 percent of the municipality's population. Los Mochis is th ...

NABA Featherweight Champion

On March 15, 2014 Shea beat Nohime Dennison of Albuquerque New Mexico as the Main Event on Top Players Promotions Ice Vs Fire 2 in Oxnard California to win the vacant NABA featherweight title

IFBA Jr Featherweight World Title

On July 11, 2014 Shea tko'd Angel Gladney of South Carolina to win the IFBA Jr Featherweight World Title. Fighting for the second time as the Main Event on Top Players Promotions Ice vs Fire 3, this was a historical fight being the FIRST ever World Title Fight in Ventura County. Maureen defended her IFBA world title as the co-feature to the Shane Mosely Vs Ricardo Mayorga main event on August 29, 2015 on Pay-Per-View versus

Yulihan Luna Yulihan Alejandra Luna Ávila (born 21 February 1994) is a Mexican professional boxer. She is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC female bantamweight title since 2020 and the IBF female junior featherweight title from 2014 to 201 ...

of Mexico. This bout resulted in a draw and was the first time a female fight was featured on Pay-Per-View in over a decade. Maureen has fought as a professional at Madison Square Garden three times, under such distinguished promoters such as Top Rank, Star Boxing, and was the first female to fight on Lou Dibella's Broadway Boxing series. Her fights have been televised on Pay Per View, Azteca Television, Telemundo, Madison Square Garden Network, and SNY. She has a record of 29-2 (13KO).

Personal life

She has overcome many obstacles, including being the victim of abuse, to achieve her current success. Of Irish and Mexican descent, Maureen has a large fan base of both ethnicities and is a crowd favorite. She currently lives in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

and trains at The Boxing Laboratory, home of Vasyl Lomenchenko. Maureen is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

Million Dollar Baby

Highly recognized for her work as Hilary Swank's main sparring partner for her award-winning role in "Million Dollar Baby", Maureen has utilized her ring success and become successful in mainstream media. In 2008, Maureen was nominated by MTV as one of their "2008 Toughest Coaches", for her role in their hour long season opening episode of "Made". In that show, Maureen guided a young lady who had no boxing experience; and in six weeks, prepared her for her first competitive amateur bout with a decision win. Later that year she was also nominated by PETA for their Sexiest Vegetarian award. Maureen has successfully translated her ring experience to ringside, having worked as a boxing analyst alongside highly respected commentators Al Bernstein, and Rich Marotta, on Top Rank "Latin Fury" PPV. She has also guest commentated on the MSG Network during the 2006 NY Golden Gloves, and currently hosts her own live TV show, "Shea's Corner" on Bronx Net Television. Shea has done work as President of Pandora Promotions, Motivational/Inspirational speaker, journalist,TV/radio personality, and Boxing Commentator.

Team Shea

*Advisor: Luigi Olcese *Head Trainer: Derik Santos *Cutman: Danny Milano/Carlos Vargas *Strength/conditioning:

Phil Daru Phil Daru (born November 20, 1988) is an American former mixed martial artist and college football player. Daru is noted for training UFC fighters, boxers, Olympic athletes, and NFL football players. He was named Best Strength and Conditioning ...

- Asst. Jose Rojas

References

External links

*
Maureen Shea official blog

Robert Ferguson's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Maureen American boxers of Mexican descent World boxing champions World featherweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions 1981 births Living people American women boxers Sportspeople from the Bronx Boxers from New York City American people of Irish descent