Noriko Ann Kariya (born June 12, 1979) is a Canadian professional female boxer."For This Kariya, a Bantamweight, the Only Ice Is in Her Veins" - New York Times /ref>"Hockey siblings' sister sticks to boxing" - ESPN /ref>
Biography
Noriko Kariya grew up interested in becoming a
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
player. Her brothers,
Steve Kariya
Steven Tetsuo Kariya (born December 22, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and younger brother of former National Hockey League player Paul Kariya. Kariya was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
Playing career
Afte ...
,
Martin Kariya
Martin Tetsuya Kariya (born October 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He is the youngest brother of former NHL players Paul Kariya and Steve Kariya.
Playing career Amateur
Kariya had a standout NCAA college hockey ...
, and
Paul Kariya
Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a skilled and fast-skating offensive player, he played in the NHL for the Might ...
, whom she looked up to as a child, were professional hockey players. When Kariya moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to study at the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...
, she became a member of the women's
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
team, and joined the local boxing gym to keep in shape.
Kariya's presence at the gym was difficult for the gym's other patrons; many felt uncomfortable with having a woman
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
next to them. Kariya did not feel welcome but came to love the sport of
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
and wanted to pursue it as a career. Kariya moved to
Teddy Cruz
Teddy Cruz (born 1962 in Guatemala City, Guatemala) is an American architect, urbanist, Professor in Ancient Architecture and Urbanism in the Visual Arts Department at the University of California, San Diego. Cruz studied at Rafael Landivar Un ...
, who have also worked with
Arturo Gatti
Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
.
In May 2006, a photo of Kariya, with the nickname "Lady Bang", appeared on
Ring Magazine
''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...
. The nickname is a spin-off from her brother, Paul's, winning of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in both 1996 and 1997 for the most gentlemanly player of the year.
Amateur career
Noriko Kariya had ten amateur bouts, winning 9 and losing 1.
Professional career
Kariya debuted as a
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
fighter on May 29, 2005, beating Cindy Christian by a four-round decision at
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...
. Her next fight, and her first professional bout outside of Canada, took place on August 19 of the same year. She defeated Camille Casson in
Whippany, New Jersey
Whippany is a unincorporated community located within Hanover Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Whippany's name is derived from the Whippanong Native Americans, a tribe that once inhabited the area. Whippanong meant "place ...
by another four-round decision.
On January 28, 2006, Kariya defeated Maria Contreras on points at
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The bout was declared a draw (tie) after four rounds, and both women remained undefeated. On December 13, 2007, Kariya fought Salina Jordan at the
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...
with a third round referee decision of Kariya being the outright winner. A punch at the end of the first round by Kariya broke Salina Jordan's cheekbone.
Kariya has 9 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 2 knockout wins.