- Leona Brown
Infobox_Boxer
name = Leona Brown
nationality = American
realname = Leona Brown
nickname = Downtown
weight =Batamweight
birth_date = Birth date and age|1960|7|27|mf=y
birth_place =Pawling, New York , U.S.
home =Buffalo, New York
style = Orthodox
total = 30
wins = 13
KO = 5
losses = 17
draws = 0
no contests = 0Leona Brown (born
July 27 ,1960 ) is a female boxer who is the WIBC world Bantamweight champion. Because of her age, many consider her to be "theGeorge Foreman of women's boxing". Brown's nickname, "Downtown", is both a homage to actressDowntown Julie Brown , and it also serves as name play, such as in the case of "Hannah The Vegas Fox".A native of
Buffalo, New York , she now lives in Pawling, also aNew York state city.Brown was an award winning amateur boxer, winning the New York state golden gloves award before turning professional, on
September 27 . 1997, beatingJudy Mayrand by a four round unanimous decision inGermantown, Pennsylvania . Brown proceeded to win her first seven fights as a professional, including victories overSue Chase ,Sonya Emery andSuzanne Riccio .On her eighth professional bout, fought
June 11 ,1999 inBossier City, Louisiana , she fought for a world title for the first time, losing a ten round decision toIFBA world Bantamweight championEva Jones . Her next bout was a six round unanimous decision loss at the hands of the notedMargaret Sidoroff .On
October 1 ,1999 , Brown became a world champion for the first time, when she knocked outDee Dufoe in round ten to become the IFBA's world Super Bantamweight champion.That short success was followed by defeat and disappointment, however, as she lost seven of her next eight bouts, beginning with a world title unification against WIBF world Super Bantamweight champion
Michele Aboro onMay 13 ,2000 . Brown lost a ten round split decision, and her IFBA world title, to Aboro inGermany . Other boxers that defeated her during this period includedAlicia Ashley ,Kathy Williams and Lisa Brown (twice). Her only win during those eight bouts came againstRia Ramnarine , by a knockout in round four, onJuly 27 of 2001.After defeating
Renee Richardt , she was given another chance at the WIBF world Super Bantamweight title, flying over toAustria , where she lost toEsther Schouten by a ten round decision, onJune 9 ,2002 . That loss marked the beginning of another losing streak for Brown, as she lost her next three bouts as well. These included a defeat at the hands ofAda Velez . She broke that streak with a fourth round knockout ofTerri Cruz onApril 23 ,2004 , inDenver, Colorado .After another loss and a win, she was given another chance at becoming world champion again, and, on
November 20 , Brown took onStephaney George ofGuyana for the WIBC world Bantamweight title, inPoughkeepsie, New York . Brown won a world title on a second division when she beat George by a unanimous decision, on a fight that the judges saw as a one-sided affair (all three judges scored the fight 100-90 in favor of Brown).Leona Brown holds a professional boxing record of 13 wins and 14 losses, with 5 knockout wins.
External links
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* [http://www.downtownleonabrown.com Leona Brown's Official Web Site]
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