Alicia Ashley (born August 23, 1967) is a Jamaican-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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1999 to 2018. She held the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC) female

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

title twice between 2011 and 2016. Ashley was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

in 2023.

Personal life

Born in Jamaica, Ashley moved to the United States at a young age. She is the younger sister of chess grandmaster

Maurice Ashley Maurice Ashley (born March 6, 1966) is a Jamaican and American chess player, author, and commentator. In 1999, he earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). Ashley is well known as a commentator for high-profile chess even ...

and former world kickboxing champion Devon Ashley.

Career

Ashley began her professional

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

career on January 29, 1999, defeating

Lisa Howarth Lisa Howarth (born February 1974) is a British former professional kickboxing, kickboxer, and Muay thai practitioner. She is a multiple-time kickboxing and Muay thai world champion, in which she is a two-time World Kickboxing Association super f ...

by a six-round split decision in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. On her second professional boxing fight, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, she suffered her first defeat when she was outpointed over six rounds by Doris Hackl on June 20 of that year. Ashley rebounded from that defeat with an eight-round decision win over Bonnie Canino June 27 at

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the U ...

. After her first three fights, she took a seven-month hiatus from boxing, but on February 11, 2000, she returned, losing by an eight-round decision to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Laura Serrano Laura Serrano Garcia (born October 20, 1967, in Mexico City) is a Mexican boxer. Serrano began boxing at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, where she was studying to become a lawyer. She wanted to lose weight and stay i ...

, also in Tunica. After splitting her two next fights, she met " Downtown Leona Brown": on June 29, she beat Brown on points over eight rounds in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Next, she fought Kelsey Jeffries, who, until that bout, had lost only one of her nine fights. On September 3, Ashley beat Jeffries by a six-round unanimous decision in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. Ashley had only one fight in 2001, a decision victory, and then, on January 13, 2002, she made her

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

debut, drawing (tying) in six rounds with Layla McCarter. Her next fight fought on February 23 of that year, was also her first world title try, when she and Jeffries were rematched with the vacant IWBF world

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, ...

title on the line. Ashley became a world champion by defeating Jeffries, this time by a ten-round split decision, at

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Ashley lost her next fight when she met the experienced Chevelle Hallback for Hallback's WIBA world Junior Lightweight title by a ten-round unanimous decision in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

on August 27. Ashley then went down in weight, returning to the Super Bantamweight division. On November 15, she defeated

Marcela Acuña Marcela Eliana Acuña (born 16 October 1976) is an Argentine professional boxer and part-time politician. She has held multiple super bantamweight world titles, including the IBF title since 2018; the WBA title from 2006 to 2008; the WBC titl ...

by a ten-round split decision in

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Punilla Valley, Sierras Chicas on the Primero River, Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province an ...

, to win the WIBF's vacant world Super Bantamweight title. But this decision win was controversial (the fight was scored 96-94 by two judges for Ashley and 97-95 by the third for Acuña), and the WIBF ordered an immediate rematch between the two women fighters. On June 14, 2003, she and Acuña met again, this time at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Ashley retained the title the second time around with a ten-round unanimous decision. On November 15, she lost her title to Esther Schouten by a ten-round split decision in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Her next was against Shondell Alfred, on March 27, 2004, in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. She defeated Alfred by an eight-round decision. After a hiatus that lasted almost one year, Ashley returned to boxing on March 3, 2005. when she knocked out Elena Reid in seven rounds at Laughlin, she also fought in the World Combat League. She lost the fight against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

's Marcela Eliana Acuna for the WBC female world super bantamweight title by a majority decision at the Estadio Luna Park in

on August 20, 2009. After winning two fights in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Ashley won the vacant WBC female super bantamweight title via a unanimous decision at the Hunts Point Produce Market in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

on July 23, 2011. On 1 October 2016 at Dort Federal Event Center in Flint Michigan, she lost her title to Fatuma Zarika by split decision. In 2023, Ashley was inducted into the

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Alicia Ashley - Profile
at Women Boxing Archive Network * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Alicia 1967 births Living people Jamaican women boxers Boxers from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican emigrants to the United States American women boxers Southpaw boxers World Boxing Council champions Super-flyweight boxers Bantamweight boxers World super-bantamweight boxing champions 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen

Personal life

Career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links