Valerie Rebecca Mahfood (born February 1, 1974) is a female boxer who is a former world Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion. Known as "The Big Bad Wolfe", Mahfood is known in the boxing world by her brawling style of fighting, and by her traditional trademark purple mohawk. She now resides in Groves, Texas (Beaumont area)

Career

Mahfood began boxing professionally July 27, 1997, knocking out Jeanne Martinez in the first round, in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. On April 23, 1998, she beat Brenda Cooper by a four round decision in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, marking her

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

debut. She lost two of her next three fights, but she rebounded to win five fights in a row, which earned her first title try: on September 17, 1999, she knocked out Kathy Rivers in ten rounds at

Panama City, Panama Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, to conquer the

WIBF The Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) is one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. Founded in March 1989, it is based in Miami, Florida, and presided over by Barbara Buttrick. The ...

's world Light Heavyweight title. This was also her first fight abroad. She won three non-title bouts after that, and then, on August 10, 2000, she went down in weight to the Super Middleweight division, to fight

Mary Ann Almager Mary Ann Almager (born December 5, 1968) is an American former professional female boxer. Born in Seminole, Texas, she is a resident of Ruidoso, New Mexico. Her nickname is "Gorgeous". Almager was attracted to boxing after her two brothers st ...

for the vacant IWBF title. She won her second title, with a fifth round knockout of Almager in Houston. On her next fight, she became the first boxer to defeat

Ann Wolfe Ann Wolfe (born January 17, 1971) is an American retired boxer, trainer and actress. Wolfe held world titles in three different weight classes simultaneously and is regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time. She is a member of th ...

, knocking her out in three rounds. And till this day it stands as Ann Wolfe's only career loss. On November 16, 2001, she won the WIBA title by outpointing Trina Ortegon over ten rounds at

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and, shortly after, she beat Almager again, by an eight round split decision. Mahfood and

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's I ...

met in a long-awaited bout on November 8, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, It was ESPN 2 Friday night fights series most view telecast and it was the first time a female world title fight was the main event on ESPN. A bloodied Mahfood was stopped by Ali in eight rounds, in a fight that unified the IWBF and WIBA world titles. On June 21, 2003, Mahfood and Ali had a rematch, this time in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Staple Center on the undercard of the Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko World heavyweight Title. Mahfood lost by TKO in six while trying to recover her world title. Ali, however, suffered a serious cut (to her right eyelid) for the first (and to date, only) time in her boxing career (along with a bloodied nose). Ali retains a permanent scar from the encounter. She won four of her next six fights, the lone loss in that span being a unanimous decision in a rematch against Wolfe. She also had a draw (tie) against Kathy Rivers, in a rematch of their Panama bout which Mahfood had won. On September 24, 2004, Mahfood, sporting her traditional trademark purple

Mohawk hairstyle The mohawk (also referred to as a Mohican) is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. It is today worn as an emblem of non-conformity. The m ...

, was dropped twice in the final seconds as she dropped a ten round unanimous decision to Leatitia Robinson in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. On November 6, 2004, Mahfood TKOd Yolanda Swindell in the second round. Mahfood then went to Germany, and lost a 10 round unanimous decision to Natasha Ragosina. On August 20, 2005, Mahfood fought

, losing a ten round decision to Wolfe. In 2007 Mahfood fought

Mary Jo Sanders Mary Jo Sanders (born January 13, 1974) is an American retired professional boxer. She is also daughter of NFL Hall of Famer, Charlie Sanders. In a highly anticipated bout in 2008 with Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is a ...

for a world title. Mahfood has a record of 19 wins, 14 losses and 1 draw, with nine knockout wins.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

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Womenboxing.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahfood, Valerie 1974 births Living people American women boxers Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas Boxers from Texas World boxing champions Middleweight boxers 21st-century American women