Mónica Núñez (born 12 October 1976) is a Dominican former
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 ...
who competed from 2000 to 2005. She challenged once for the
IWBF super-middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ...
title in 2004 and once for the
WIBA middleweight title in 2005.
Núñez began her career by
knocking out
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, as ...
Claribel Ferreira in three rounds, on 9 June 2000, at
Santo Domingo
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.
Three decision wins followed, including one over previously undefeated Marylin Hernandez, before she fought for the first time at the "
Teo Cruz" coliseum, also in Santo Domingo. She knocked out Damaris Vizcaino in three rounds there, on 20 September 2002. Her next fight was also held there, as she beat Diana Garcia by a four-round decision on December 19 of the same year.
Following that victory, Núñez took the decision of leaving the Dominican Republic, probably looking for better fights and payoffs against better known opponents. She moved to the United States, settling in
Irvington, New Jersey
Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176.
The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.82 ...
. New Jersey was a logical choice for Nunez when it came down to choosing a state where to live in the United States for her: both New Jersey and New York have a large group of Dominican people, which would mean good crowd backing for Nunez whenever she fought in the US, particularly around the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...
area.
In her American debut, she lost, however, being handled her first professional defeat at the hands of Roselin Morales, who defeated Nunez by a four-round split decision on 23 October 2003, in
Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Morales fight was, of course, Núñez's first fight abroad.
On 4 December, she knocked out Shadina Pennybaker in two rounds, also in Allentown.
Núñez travelled to
Bermuda
)
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for her first fight of 2004, defeating
Teresa Perozzi
Teresa Perozzi (born 31 December 1974) is an American-Bermudian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2014. She held the WBA female middleweight title from 2011 to 2012 and also challenged for multiple world titles throughout he ...
there by a six-round majority decision on 12 June.
After one more victory, Núñez was given her first world championship try, for the
WIBF
The Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) is one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. Founded in March 1989, it is based in Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Mi ...
's world Super Middleweight championship. On 30 July, she fought
Laila Ali
Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female sup ...
in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
, being defeated by a ninth-round knockout by the world champion.
Offered a world title try at the Middleweight division, Núñez immediately accepted and she went down in weight to face the WIBA world champion
Leatitia Robinson
Leatitia Robinson (born September 30, 1980) an American professional boxer who held the IWBF middleweight title from 2002 to 2004 and the WIBA middleweight title from 2004 to 2006.
Amateur career
Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 19 ...
, on 11 February, 2005. She lost by knockout in the first round, in a fight held at
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
.
Núñez announced her plans to keep boxing in the Super Middleweight division soon after the fight with Robinson was over.
On 17 July, Nunez lost to
Ann Wolfe
Ann Wolfe (born January 17, 1971) is an American retired boxer, trainer and actress. Wolfe held world titles in three different weight classes simultaneously and is regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time. She is a member of the ...
by a seventh-round knockout in
Lula, Mississippi
Lula is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 204.
Geography
Lula is located near the northern border of Coahoma County. U.S. Route 49 passes southwest of the town, and U.S. Route 61 pa ...
.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Monica
1976 births
Living people
Dominican Republic women boxers
Middleweight boxers
Super-middleweight boxers
20th-century Dominican Republic women
21st-century Dominican Republic women