 |
| WBO Champion and Pinay Ana Julaton |
She’s of pure Filipino stock (she traces her roots to Pozorrubio, Pangasinan).
She’s gorgeous in person – tall, svelte, and ultra feminine in long tresses.
And that boxing champion belt around her belt is the real thing – she’s the reigning WBO world champion in the super-bantamweight division. And her coach is none other than THE Freddie Roach (Manny Pacquiao’s trainer)!
Her name is ANA “The Hurricane” JULATON.
I personally was interested in meeting her. I must confess this was the first time I was hearing about her because I really am not a boxing aficionado (least of all women’s boxing). But it intrigued me that a Pinay was making a name for herself in a realm normally associated with men.
Truth be told, I expected a manly female boxer with huge leg and arm muscles and a face that was more masculine than feminine. I think my reference was the female wrestlers I’d catch on TV every so often. But the moment I saw Ana, I was dumbfounded. In front of me was a beautiful (and I am not exaggerating), long-haired, feminine lady in a sleeveless blouse over maong pants and high heels. Her figure was more appropriate for a catwalk and she really looked fit and toned. And with a constant, radiant smile, she just made an awesome first impression on me.
I got to throw the first question at her: Why boxing?
And she explained that she was really into a lot of martial arts, including taekwondo, and when she tried boxing, she just naturally fell in love with it.
Here are some pictures I took of her. See for yourselves what the combination of beauty, brains AND brawn looks like…
Ana first visited the country last July 2010 after winning the vacant SBO 122-pound title belt with a split decision over Mexican Maria Elena Villalobos in Ontario, Canada. In that visit, she was able to meet Pres. Aquino at Malacanang, where she personally presented him with the Everlast gloves she used in winning the WBO super-bantamweight title.
Ana will defend her WBO title this coming February 25 at the Craneway Pavilion, Point Richmond, California against a tough and skillful veteran, Francesca Alcanter, who has a boxing record of 18-9-1. The fight, set over 10 rounds, has been dubbed “The Return of the Hurricane” (so titled because Ana is known as ‘The Hurricane’).
A native of San Francisco, California, Ana owns a record of 7-2-1. Despite a few fights to her name, it is truly proof of her boxing talent that she has already defeated female boxers with more boxing fights and longer fighting experiences under their belts. She begins her training with Freddie Roach next week at the famed Wild Card gym.
This fight will be telecast LIVE on TV5 and its soon-to-be-launched Aksyon TV UHF Channel 41, the Kapatid network’s sports and news channel.
Let’s all support our kababayan, Ana, on Feb. 25. Here’s another Pinay that all of us can truly be proud of.
