Ada "Ace" Vélez (born September 15, 1969) is a
Puerto Rican female professional boxer from
Dania Beach, Florida
Dania Beach (Dania until 1998) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 31,723. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai ala ...
who lives in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. Vélez was brought into boxing by former
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 ...
world champion
Bonnie Canino.
Career
After a successful undefeated amateur career that included a national title, Vélez became the first native Puerto Rican to win a women's world boxing championship on January 19, 2001, when she defeated Kathy Williams on a unanimous decision over 10 rounds to win the IBA bantamweight title. Ten months later, she moved up in weight and challenged undefeated Mary Elizabeth Ortega for the
WIBA super bantamweight title, again winning a 10-round unanimous decision.
Vélez won her first 10 pro fights before suffering her first loss as a professional, in her first defense of the WIBA title. On June 21, 2002,
Melissa Del Valle decisioned Vélez in
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...
in the featured bout on an all-women's card featuring world champions
Ann Wolfe,
Sumya Anani
Sumya Anani (born February 12, 1972) is a retired American professional female boxer nicknamed "The Island Girl." She was 5'6" and boxed as a junior welterweight. She is best known for a 1996 bout which left her opponent severely injured and may ...
,
Delia Gonzalez and Kelsey Jeffries.
On December 21, she bounced back to reclaim the IBA version of the world bantamweight title by decisioning Lakeysha Williams over 10 rounds.
Vélez has added the WIBA bantamweight title to her IBA belt on June 28, 2003, when she beat Gonzalez on a seventh-round disqualification.
Vélez traveled to Denmark to defend her WIBA bantamweight title against Anita Christensen. on January 17, 2004, Vélez lost a highly controversial 10 round split decision to Christensen. Vélez had knocked down Christensen in the 9th round, and looked to be the obvious winner of their encounter. The Danish press strongly criticized this decision, saying on record that Vélez was robbed of her title.
She fought
Melinda Cooper for the vacant
IBF super-bantamweight
Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...
title at the National Stadium in
San José, Costa Rica
San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...
, on 31 March 2011, winning by split decision with two of the ringside judges scoring the contest 96-94 in her favour while the third had it for her opponent by the same tally. A rematch on 20 November 2011 saw Vélez retain her title by majority decision. One judge scored the fight a 95-95 draw but was overruled by the other two who scored it in her favour 98-92 and 97-93 respectively.
She now teaches kids, teens, and adults boxing at Velez Boxing and Fitness in
Oakland Park, Florida
Oakland Park, officially the City of Oakland Park, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. As of the 2020 United States census ...
. She makes them do exercise machines, running, strength and conditioning, and boxing.
Vélez was inducted into the
International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.
Professional boxing record
See also
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List of female boxers
This is a list of notable female Women's boxing, boxers. For a list of notable male boxers, see List of male boxers.
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See also
{{Portal, Martial arts ...
*
List of southpaw stance boxers
This is a list of southpaw stance boxers. Southpaw is a boxing term that designates the stance where the boxer has his right hand and right foot forward, leading with right jabs, and following with a left cross right hook. Southpaw is the normal s ...
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List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*
Boxing in Puerto Rico
*
List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions
*
International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame
*
History of women in Puerto Rico
The recorded history of Puerto Rican women can trace its roots back to the era of the ''Taíno'', the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called ''Borinquen'' before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Span ...
References
External links
*
Ada Vélez - Profileat
Women Boxing Archive Network
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, -
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vélez, Ada
1969 births
Living people
Puerto Rican women boxers
American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent
People from Dania Beach, Florida
Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida
Boxers from Florida
Bantamweight boxers
World super-bantamweight boxing champions
International Boxing Federation champions
Women's International Boxing Association champions
Southpaw boxers
20th-century American sportswomen
21st-century American women