Leona Brown (born July 27, 1960) is a
female boxer who is the
WIBC world Bantamweight champion. Because of her age, many consider her to be "the
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...
of women's boxing". Brown's nickname, "Downtown", is both a homage to actress
Downtown Julie Brown
Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is an English-born actress, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show ''Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 19 ...
, and it also serves as name play, such as in the case of "
Hannah The Vegas Fox".
Career
A native of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, she now lives in
Wappingers Falls
Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the tow ...
, also a
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state city.
Brown was an award winning amateur boxer, winning the New York state
golden gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
award before turning professional, on September 27. 1997, beating
Judy Mayrand by a four round unanimous decision in
Germantown, Pennsylvania. Brown proceeded to win her first seven fights as a professional, including victories over
Sue Chase,
Sonya Emery and
Suzanne Riccio
Suzanne may refer to:
People
* Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name)
* S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838–1923), Belgian writer and inventor
* Suzanne, pen name of Renée Ménd ...
.
On her eighth professional bout, fought June 11, 1999 in
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...
, she fought for a world title for the first time, losing a ten round decision to
IFBA world Bantamweight champion
Eva Jones
Eva Jones-Young (born July 14, 1964), better known as Eva Jones, is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2009. She held the WIBF and IWBF bantamweight titles in 1998 and the IFBA bantamweight title in 1999.
Ca ...
. Her next bout was a six round unanimous decision loss at the hands of the noted
Margaret Sidoroff.
On October 1, 1999, Brown became a world champion for the first time, when she
knocked out
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 ...
Dee Dufoe
Dee may refer to:
People Surname
* Dee, an alternate spelling of the Welsh surname Day
* Dee, a romanization of several Chinese surnames, including:
** Those listed at Di (surname)
** Some Hokkien pronunciations of the surname Li ()
* Di Re ...
in round ten to become the IFBA's world Super Bantamweight champion.
That short success was followed by defeat and disappointment, however, as she lost seven of her next eight bouts, beginning with a world title unification against
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 ...
world Super Bantamweight champion
Michele Aboro
Michele Aboro (born 17 July 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2001. She retired an undefeated world champion, having held the WIBF super-bantamweight title from 2000 to 2001.
Michele Aboro, along with her ...
on May 13, 2000. Brown lost a ten round split decision, and her IFBA world title, to Aboro in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Other boxers that defeated her during this period included
Alicia Ashley
Alicia Ashley (born August 23, 1967) is a women's boxing participant who is the former WBC female world super bantamweight champion. Ashley is a Jamaican-American. Born in Jamaica, she moved to the United States at a young age. She is the younge ...
, Kathy Williams and
Lisa Brown (twice). Her only win during those eight bouts came against
Ria Ramnarine
Ria Ramnarine (born 12 October 1978) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2012. During her career, she held world titles in two weight-classes; the WIBA minimumweight title from 2005 to 2006; the ...
, by a knockout in round four, on July 27 of 2001.
After defeating
Renee Richardt, she was given another chance at the WIBF world Super Bantamweight title, flying over to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, where she lost to
Esther Schouten
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
by a ten round decision, on June 9, 2002. That loss marked the beginning of another losing streak for Brown, as she lost her next three bouts as well. These included a defeat at the hands of
Ada Vélez
Ada "Ace" Vélez (born September 15, 1969) is a Puerto Rican female professional boxer from Dania Beach, Florida who lives in Miami. Vélez was brought into boxing by former women's boxing world champion Bonnie Canino.
After a successful undefe ...
. She broke that streak with a fourth round knockout of
Terri Cruz on April 23, 2004, in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
After another loss and a win, she was given another chance at becoming world champion again, and, on November 20, Brown took on
Stephaney George of
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
for the
WIBC world Bantamweight title, in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
. Brown won a world title on a second division when she beat George by a unanimous decision, on a fight that the judges saw as a one-sided affair (all three judges scored the fight 100-90 in favor of Brown).
Leona Brown holds a professional boxing record of 13 wins and 14 losses, with 5 knockout wins.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of female boxers
This is a list of notable female boxers. For a list of notable male boxers, see List of male boxers.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
{, class="wikitable sortable"
, -
! Name
! National ...
References
External links
Leona Browna
Awakening Fighters*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Leona
1960 births
Living people
American women boxers
Bantamweight boxers
Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York
Boxers from New York (state)
People from Wappingers Falls, New York
World boxing champions
African-American boxers
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American women