By Vivek Wallace: The Filipino’s finest, boxer Ana “Hurricane” Julaton, will “take her talents to South Beach” this evening as she takes on one of the division’s most powerful punchers in Angel Gladney. Julaton has been widely celebrated as a result of not only her Fil-Am roots, but also the fact that she was one of the quickest fighters in the history of the sport (male or female) to nearly unify a division, winning 2 of the available 3 titles at Super-Bantamweight in only 7 professional fights.
After seeing the fruits of her labor materialize, the articulate Filipina decided it was time to follow her homeland compadre, P4P King Manny Pacquiao, in attempting to conquer a new weight class. As the old adage states, “to he who much is given, much is expected”. In the case of Julaton, she’s no “he”, but she is on the brink of receiving “much”, and is willing to do all the treacherous work “expected” to make it happen.
In an era of the sport where female fighting doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, I spoke to a man who had a different take, and plans to change that quickly fading perspective. That man is Orion Sports Management’s leader, and promoter to Ana Julaton, the Canadian based Allan Tramblay. Here’s what he had to say:
VW: Allan, in only a short time, Ana has become one of the most decorated female fighters in the sport, but female boxing doesn’t always hold the weight in the minds of some fans that male fighting does. Explain to us the vision you have for Ana, and how you plan to turn that vision from a still photo into a motion picture, bringing it to life?
AT: We’ve always put female fights on most of our cards but this particular move is more about Ana herself than it is female boxing. The first time I saw her she actually lost, but what i saw in her……the personality, the determination; I knew if she was trained right to garner that upside we could have something special on our hands. She’s entertaining, she’s articulate, she’s charming and she’s drop dead gorgeous, so she represents her sport to the highest order and being Filipina, certainly helps. You just want to see her do well because she’s so dedicated. I can remember being in the Philippines for a while with her. Had we stayed longer she’d be a rockstar! She has amazing star potential.
VW: As if winning two divisional titles after only 7 pro fights isn’t enough, now we see her stepping up in weight elevate her status even more. Talk to me a little about this move.
AT: We thought this would be the perfect spot, to put her in at 128lbs. If she’s comfortable at the weight we’ll move on from 122 and test ourselves at that weight. Many opportunities exist in the higher weight divisions, and with a trainer like Freddie Roach, we think we can enhance her experience and capitalize.
VW: Allan, globally we see alot of changes in the sport, and if it impacts male boxing, I’m sure the female circuit, which already operates on smaller budgets, has to be suffering. Talk to me a little about the changes you see in the sport as a promoter and where you think the sport is headed.
AT: Challenged. The sport is very challenged, right now. No question. Some of the challenges stem from the emergence of UFC/MMA, but then it’s also linked to the economy. The disposable income part of it has put a foot to the throat of the sport. Look at England. There used to be 3 television networks so promoters could compete with them all and get a number of dates. Now there’s only one (SKY). All others have bailed out. So, prices go down, which allows a monopoly, and they’ll pick and choose who they want to work with. Fighters who were used to getting paid one thing now have to take less. It’s a mirror of what’s happening around the world in the sport. I think over time the sport will be successful, but it’s certainly a challenge and we’ll all have to stay the course to see the sport get through.
VW: Allan, I know you all have a few things to tend to so I’ll cut this short, but what other studs do we have to look forward to on this card here in Miami tonight?
AT: I have one young fighter in particular named Felix Mercedes, a Puerto Rican out of Buffalo, New York. I used to manage “Baby” Joe Mesi who obviously had his career end due to medical issues. But he was an amazing attraction in the Buffalo area and it took a local guy up there to bring boxing to such a celebrated level. Since him, we’ve been trying to develop a new base in that area and the kid that’s leading the charge is Felix. Absolutely incredible talent. He’s a jr. welterweight. Keep an eye out for him.
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VivekWallace747)