Sonya Anne Emery (born July 7, 1972 in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

U.S. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

), better known plainly as Sonya Emery, is a former female boxer who boxed professionally from 1997 to 1998. Emery had a significant amateur

women's boxing Although women have participated in boxing for almost as long as the sport has existed, female fights have been effectively outlawed for most of boxing's history until recently, with athletic commissioners refusing to sanction or issue licenses ...

career, winning various state and national championships, sparking interest when she announced she was to become a professional. She debuted as a professional boxer on August 19 of '97, with a second- round

knockout 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, a ...

win over

Colleen Smith Colleen Smith (May 31, 1925 – December 28, 2018) was a Canadian former infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 120 lb., Smith batted and threw right handed. She was born in Vancouver, Briti ...

at her hometown of Austin. Her second bout was on January 6 of '98, when she met Cinthya Prouder. Emery suffered her first career defeat when outpointed by Prouder over four rounds. On February 11, she met the very experienced Gloria Ramirez at

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, losing by a four-round split decision. In March of that year, Emery traveled halfway across the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, to meet Colleen Smith in a rematch, at

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. She defeated Smith for a second time, this time by knockout in round three. Next for Emery was Angelica Villain, on May 1, back in Emery's home state. With a knockout 24 seconds into the first round, Emery scored one of the quickest wins in male or female boxing history. Only seven days later, she made her

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

debut, when she knocked out the highly touted Valerie Troike in three rounds. That was Troike's first career defeat, after six fights without a loss. After the win against Troike, however, Emery's career started to go down, as she lost two of her final three bouts as a professional. On July 31, she met future world champion " Downtown Leona Brown" in

Atlantic City, New Jersey 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, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, losing by a six-round split decision. On August 15, she beat the well-known Jayla Ortiz by a six-round unanimous decision, in what would turn out to be her career's final win. That fight was also held in Las Vegas. Emery went to

Worley, Idaho Worley is a city in southwestern Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 257 at the 2010 census, up from 223 in 2000.

, a city where women's boxing is a main attraction, to meet

Theresa Arnold Theresa Arnold (born September 20, 1962) is a female boxer who beat a number of name fighters during her career. A native of Boise, Idaho, she still lives in her hometown. Arnold was important in women's boxing popularity rise in Idaho. Only ...

on November 23, and she lost a close, eight-round split decision (scores of 75–78, 75-77 and 77–76). Curiously, this would be the last fight both for Emery and for Arnold, as the two rivals announced their retirement soon after the fight. Sonya Emery compiled a lifetime record of five wins and four losses, with four wins by knockout. She was never KOed herself.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, Sonya 1972 births Living people American women boxers Sportspeople from Austin, Texas 21st-century American women