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5'7" bantamweight Alesia "The Tigress" Graf was born Alesia-Tamara
Klimovich in Gomel, Belarus on
October 14, 1980. She moved to Germany in 1999. She has said
that she did not move to Germany in order to box, but intended to
study. However, she found that her knowledge of the German language was
insufficient and she changed her plans when she found herself becoming
successful in a boxing career. She moved
to Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, in 2011 and trains there
with coach and promoter Lee Murray (who coached several
Australian men's champions at the University boxing gym).
An athlete who also enjoys
swimming, basketball and beach volleyball.
Alesia Graf began boxing as an amateur in 2001. After fifteen fights
she won the
54-kg division of the first international women's tournament organized
by the
German Boxing Federation in Meppen, Germany in November,
2003. In this
event, which attracted considerable interest from journalists, radio
and TV
stations as ell as spectators, 35 women competed in eight weight
divisions.
Alesia first defeated Magdalene Dalecki (Bayer Leverkusen) 40-14, then
dispatched Carmen Carrido Chadez (BSC Augsburg) by 56-14. In the
tournament
final she won by a convincing 36-9 score over Halim Ay (BV Ibbenbüren)
and was
awarded the title of "best boxer" in the tournament.
Alesia joined the professional
ranks with Universum Box Promotion and manager
Klaus-Peter Kohl in February 2004. Under the direction of trainer
Torsten
Schmitz, who has guided the career of long-time German WIBF champion
Regina Halmich,
Alesia competes in the bantamweight
division where Universum had previously promoted Bulgarian fighter
Daisy Lang.
Alesia is benefiting from Universum's
ongoing contract for live boxing shows on German television and is also
sponsored by Stuttgart jeweler Ralf Haeffner.
She made her professional
debut on February 14, 2004 at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle
in Stuttgart at 119 lbs, winning a four-round unanimous decision over
Petra Jachmanova
(119 lbs) of Slovenia who fell to 0-3-1 with the loss.
 On
March 2, 2004 at the Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany,
Alesia progressed
to 2-0 (1 KO) with a second-round TKO of debut fighter Marina Zhekova
of
Bulgaria in a scheduled four-rounder.
On May 29, 2004 at Ostseehalle
in Kiel, Germany she won a decision over Simone Suciu
of Romania who fell to 0-7-0 with the loss.
On July 2, 2004 at Stadthalle
in Hattersheim, Germany, she won a four-round
decision over debut fighter Julia Kulikowa of the Ukraine.
On July 17, 2004 at Stadthalle
in Zwickau, Germany, she won a six-round decision
in a rematch with Petra Jachmanova, who was now 1-7-1.
On September 21, 2004 at
Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany she weighed in at
118½ lbs and TKO'd Pavla Stankeova (120 lbs) of Chechnya at 0:29 in the
second
round of a scheduled six-rounder. Stankeova fell to 0-4-0.
On November 6, 2004 at Erdgas
Arena in Riesa, Germany, Alesia (116¼ lbs) TKO'd Agnes Adonga
(117 lbs) of Uganda in a ten-rounder for the WIBF intercontinental
bantamweight
title. Graf won the bout after Adonga's corner
threw in the towel
after the third round. Adonga had already pleaded with her trainer to
stop the
fight after the second round, but he persuaded her to fight on for
another
stanza. However she was outclassed and he agreed to stop her suffering
after the
third. Adonga fell to 1-2-0 with this loss.
Graf vs. Santana in January 2005
On January 15, 2005 at
Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany Alesia (117¾ lbs)
TKO'd Dayana Santana (118½ lbs) of the Dominican Republic when Santana
would
not continue into the fifth round of a scheduled eight-rounder.
According to
WBAN correspondent Ewan Whyte, "Tonight
on the undercard of the Regina Halmich vs. Marylin Hernandez card
Alesia Graf’s
opponent, Dayan(n)a Santana, was a willowy girl from the Dominican
Republic with plenty of sass but an unorthodox
style and no idea how to cope with a fighter like Graf, who let her
burn herself out throwing haymakers into her
guard and flailing the air. Santana was quick on her feet and shuffled
and moved well enough in the earlier rounds,
but she had nothing in offence. Throughout the first two or three
rounds, Graf weakened her with body shots and hurt
her with powerful lefts. By the fourth, Santana was clearly demoralized
and tried for the first minute just to stay
out of range. Graf gestured as if to say: “Are we here to fight or
dance?” That shamed her into a confrontation she
would regret: in the second half of the round, Graf coolly beat her up,
trapping her repeatedly on the ropes and
hitting her with everything in her arsenal, including a wicked right
hook to the liver when she tried to turn away. Half way through the
round break, Santana plucked up the courage to tell her corner men she
wanted to quit. They
tried to talk her out of it, but ... when she couldn’t convince them,
she put her foot down: “No voy a pelear!” (“I’m not going to fight!”)
“Then I
suppose we’ll have to throw the towel in,” came the reply. But they
didn’t. Graf came out for the fifth and Santana stood her ground. Or
rather sat it. Then her trainer began
unfastening her gloves. and finally – with unconcealed reluctance --
the other guy in the corner produced a towel,
rather the way you produce your driving licence when you get stopped
for speeding."
Santana fell to 2-3-0.
On February 15, 2005 at Alte
Reithalle in Stuttgart, Germany, Alesia (118 lbs(
won a six-round unanimous decision over Oksana Romanova (114¾ lbs) of
the
Ukraine who fell to 2-3-1 with the loss. A German report said "Anyone
who has
not seen Alesia Graf in the
ring yet should use the next opportunity to do so! This young female
boxer is
simply phaenomenal. She has technical talents and boxes like a man. Her
leg work,
punch variations and in particular the lead left
hand are nearly perfect. The six rounds against the capable opponent
from the Ukraine were
an advertisement
for woman boxers. Universe Box Promotion was lucky to obtain the
contract with
the young woman from
Stuttgart. The successor to Regina Halmich is undoubtedly
found! It is
almost redundant to say that Alesia Graf won each round of this
fight."
Graf (R) battles Vasilyeva in March 2005
On March 16, 2005 at
Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany Alesia (119 lbs) won a
hard-fought six round majority (60-55,57-57,59-57) decision over Oksana
Vasilyeva
(120¼ lbs) of Russia. The hard-charging Vasilyeva provided a very clear
step
up in the level of competition for Graf, and came prepared to do battle
despite
the abundant technical skills of the German. Graf controlled the early
action
with her jab and her varied repertoire of following punches while the
undaunted
Russian came on strong and turned up the pressure on her in the later
rounds.
Graf's cleaner scoring punches in the early going were apparently
sufficient to
persuade one judge to award her five of six rounds, while the others
saw a much
closer fight that could easily have resulted in a draw.
Vasilyeva fell to 5-2-0,
her other loss being to Anastasia
Toktaulova.
On May 28, 2005 at the
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, Alesia
(115¾ lbs) lost
a ten round split (96-94,96-95,94-96) decision to Alicia Ashley (115¾
lbs)
of Westbury, New York, USA for the GBU Bantamweight title.
According to
WBAN correspondent Torben L., "Ashley
kept picking points with her very fast hands, and her upper body
movements made
it very difficult for Alesia Graf to find her target. Graf felt the
punching
power of Ashley in the second round, when she was sent to the canvas.
However,
she did not look particularly shaken and merely hit the canvas before
she was
back up again. It did look as if it was also a question of being off
balance at
the time she was hit. Graf had obvious problems dealing with Ashley's
southpaw
stance in the early rounds, but she did get more into the fight as it
progressed. Fighting from the middle of the ring, and chasing Ashley
she did
manage to deliver some telling punches, but was often caught by
Ashley's counter
punching. During most of the fight, Ashley kept hear guard fairly low,
relying
on her speed and footwork, but her brother, who worked her corner, told
her to
get her guard up as Graf was starting to get her punches through in the
later
rounds. Evidence of this was seen at the final bell, when Ashley was
bleeding
out of the right ear. Graf not only has a big fighter's heart, but also
good
skills, and might well have been able to come out of the fight as the
winner if
she had been able to find the right range.
No
doubt, she will make her mark in the
bantamweight division in the future, as she gains more experience.
Both boxers were very
well conditioned, and although the bout was fought at high pace
throughout, it
was obvious that they had done their homework in the gym."
Alicia Ashley improved her record to
12-5-1 (1 KO) while
Graf suffered her first pro loss and fell to 10-1-0 (4
KOs) ... see
also the
fight
photos.
On September 10,
2005 at DM-Arena in Karlsruhe, Germany, Alesia (118 lbs)
knocked out Liliana Martinez (119 lbs) of the Dominican Republic at
1:42 in the
third round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Martinez fell to 3-6-0 (3
KO's).
On November
15, 2005 at
Hohenstaufenhalle in Göppingen, Germany, Alesia (118 lbs) won a
10-round
unanimous (99-91,99-91,
100-91) decision over
Sharon
Gaines (118 lbs) of Kansas City, Missouri for the WIBF
Intercontinental
Bantamweight title.
Gaines fell to 9-5-0 (3 KO's).
On
February 28, 2006 at Alte Reithalle in Stuttgart, Germany,
Alesia (114
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,99-91) decision over
Marylin
Hernandez (114¼ lbs) of the Dominican Republic for the
vacant GBU Junior
Bantamweight title. Hernandez fell to 13-6 (7 KO's) with the loss.
On April 29, 2006 in Stuttgart,
Germany, Alesia (112½ lbs)
made her first defense of her GBU Junior Bantamweight belt, winning by
a TKO at
1:42 in the sixth round over Beatrix Farago (5'0", 113½
lbs) of Sopron, Hungary. Farago showed a lot of fighting
spirit and courage,
but simply did not have the boxing skills to pose any kind of threat to
Graf.
Farago had a clear disadvantage in reach, and hardly managed to get
inside to
deliver any telling punches. Graf was in command all through the fight,
until
the referee stopped it. Farago fell to 4-2-1
(2 KOs) with the
loss.
On
September 9, 2006 at Bördelandhalle in Magdeburg, Germany,
Maria
Jose Nunez Anchorena
(114¾ lbs) of Uruguay did not have the boxing skills to pose
any threat for a
very motivated Graf (114¼ lbs). Anchorena was wide open, and
Graf
took full advantage and punished her from the beginning of round
one. Graf
continued to catch Anchorena with left jabs and follow up with powerful
rights
in round two. The referee stopped the fight 42 seconds into round
three, after
Anchorena was caught with some very powerful blows on the ropes, and
failed to
return any punches.
Anchorena fell to 5-1-0
(4 KO's).
On November 18, 2006 at the
Burgwächter
Castello in Düsseldorf, Germany, Alesia (114¾ lbs) defeated Heather
Percival (114¾ lbs) of Fontana, California, by a ten-round unanimous
decision.
Graf was defending her GBU Junior Bantamweight title. Percival fell to
9-4 (1 KO).
On June 30, 2007 at Porsche Arena in Stuttgart,
Germany, Alesia (113¾ lbs) TKO'd late substitute Natasha Guthier (114½
lbs) of Karlsruhe, Germany at 1:03 into the third round of a scheduled
ten-rounder defending her GBU Junior Bantamweight title. Guthier
fell to 5-2-2 (2 KO's).
On September 15, 2007 at the Stadthalle in Rostock,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, Alesia won a 10-round unanimous (97-92,96-93,97-92) decision over
undefeated NABF bantamweight champion Zulina Munoz of México City,
México defending the GBU Junior Bantamweight title. After
Munoz demanded a rematch, Graf stated, "The Mexican can have
a rematch if she likes to get hit so much. However, then she'll get
KO'd." Munoz fell to 16-1-0
(15 KOs) in her first
appearance outside México.  On November 30, 2007 at the DM-Arena in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Alesis Graf (113½
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,97-94, 98-92) decision over
Esmeralda Moreno (113 lbs) of Mexico City defending the GBU Junior Bantamweight title. WBAN correspondent Torben L. said that "Esmeralda Moreno's disadvantage in height and reach was compensated
by speed, a good and repertoire of punches and the courage to take
Graf's punches to get in close. The first round went clearly to the
Mexican, who caught Graf with a couple of very powerful right hands,
and had her backed up in the corner twice and used the opportunity
to work her over with some very good combinations to the body and
head. When Graf sat down after the first
round, she had that "Oh no, not one of those days" expression on her
face. The second round began pretty much as the first ended, with
Moreno cornering Graf and punishing her with some very good body
punches. Graf looked slightly better in this round, but Moreno
stayed focused and kept marching forwards, which ought to have won
her the round. In the following rounds, Graf was able to get through with more
punches, although Moreno made an immediate payback in most of the
time. Graf's corner kept telling to keep her distance, and when
began following the advice, she was able to score with her counter
punching, and did not get caught on the ropes as often as she did in
the early rounds. In the later rounds Moreno lost some of her
precision, and began missing more punches, but she still kept coming
forward until the final bell. The fans gave both boxers loud and well
deserved applause for an action packed and well fought bout, but the
announcement of the scores, 97-93, 97-94 & 98-92 was received with
widespread booing by the Karlsruher crowd. Many had no doubt seen
the gutsy Mexican as the winner of this fight."
Graf improved her record to 19-1 (8 KO's) with the win. Moreno, who was fighting outsuide Mexico for the
first time, fell to 8-3 (3 KO's).
Hagar
Finer vs Alesia Graf in March 2008
On March 8, 2008 at the
Königspalast
in Krefeld,
Germany, Alesia (114¾ lbs)
won a 10-round unanimous (98-92,98-93,97-93)
decision over Hagar
Shmoulefeld Finer (114¾ lbs) of Tel-Aviv, Israel
for the GBU and WIBF Junior Bantamweight titles.
Shmoulefeld Finer, who had taken the fight at short notice, fell to 16-6-3
(4 KO's).
On May 3, 2008
at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, Alesia
(116 lbs) won by TKO at 1:32 in the fifth round over Rosilete Santos
(114¾ lbs) of Curitiba, Brazil. About five minutes of the
fight was televised on ZDF. When the referee stopped the
fight in round 5, after a series of hard punches from Graf, Santos was
very displeased with the ref's decision. Graf stated after the fight
that she didn't understand why the fight was broken off at that
stage. Santos fell
to 10-3-0 (7 KO's).
On
November 22, 2008 at Stadthalle in Rostock, Germany, Alesia (114½
lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,97-94,97-93) decision over
previously unbeaten Magdalena Dahlen (114¾ lbs) of Poland. Graf won the
WIBF/GBU Junior Bantamweight title. Erik Schmidt wrote
on Boxingnews24.com: "Graf
... narrowly won the first round with her fast combinations. However,
Dahlen ... landed the harder shots and put a lot of withering pressure
on Graf in the round. She showed a lot of movement, jabbing and landing
right hands to cause Graf to work hard ... In the second round, Dahlen
unloaded on Graf with right hand shots and left hooks, walking through
Graf’s jabs and overpowering her with big punches to the head. If
there’s any weakness in Graf’s game, it’s her lack of power and she
seemed to out of her element in the early going with the big power
punches thrown by Dahlen. The third round was close, with Dahlen
continuing to land heavy shots to the head and body of Graf. Starting
in the fourth round, Graf began to pull away from Dahlen, landing fast
shots – labs and combinations – and outworking Dahlen (who) was still
loading up with her shots but throwing a lot less often that she had in
the prior rounds of the fight. In the fifth round, Dahlen began to show
signs of tiring out, her punch output dropping off significantly during
the round. Graf took advantage of her lack of punches and began to rain
shots on Dahlen from the outside and dominate the action. In the sixth
round, Graf controlled the round with her lab, hitting Dahlen over and
over again with stinging jabs from the outside and staying out of range
of her big wind up shots. Dahlen connected with several big shots in
the seventh, causing Graf’s nose to bleed. Other than that, it was all
Graf, who tagged Dahlen with a lot of hard one-two punches. Dahlen
landed a few hard combinations in the eighth round, but like in the
previous round, she was badly outworked by Graf, who kept her under
constant withering fire. In rounds nine and ten, it was all Graf,
landing beautiful combinations and staying out of range of Dahlen’s big
right hand punches." Dahlen fell to 9-1 (3 KO's).
On March 7, 2009 at the
Frieberger Arena in Dresden, Germany, Alesia Graf (114¼ lbs) again
defeated Magdalena Dahlen (114¼ lbs) by a 10-round unanimous
(98-92,98-92,96-94) for the WIBF and GBU junior bantamweight
titles. Dahlen fell to 9-2 (3 KO's).
 On July 4, 2009 at the Color Line Arena, in
Hamburg, Germany Alesia Graf (114¾ lbs) won a ten-round split (96-93,94-95, 95-94)
decision over Terri Lynn Cruz (114¾ lbs) of Denver, Colorado, USA for the
WIBF Junior Bantamweight title. Graf was severely tested when she was
knocked down at the end of the sixth round by a perfect right cross.
She beat the count, which ended two seconds before the bell, and then
came on strong late in the fight to earn a somewhat controversial
decision. Former IFBA bantamweight titlist Cruz dropped to
17-6-2 (4 KO's). [Video rd 1] [Video rds 2,3] [Video rd 4] [Video rds 5,6,7] [Video rd 8] [Video rd 9] [Video rd 10]
On September 11, 2010 at Plaza
de Toros in México City, Ana
Maria
Torres (114½ lbs) of México City, México won a ten-round
unanimous (100-88 x 3) decision over
Alesia-Tamara Graf (114½
lbs) for the WBC Junior Bantamweight title. Graf,
who
was down twice in the third round, fell to 24-2-0 (9 KO's) with the
loss while Torres improved to 22-3-2 (13 KO's).
On December 21, 2011 at
the Fraternity Bowling and Recreation Club in Fairy Meadow, New South Wales,
Australia, Alesia Graf (119¾ lbs) TKO'd Naruemol Ubuabon (116
lbs, aka "Jubjang Lookmakarmwan") of Thailand at 0:53 in the
fifth round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the vacant WBU Junior
Featherweight title. Graf had a significant
advantage in height, reach and experience against the Thai boxer , a Muay Thai specialist who
fought with heart but had few answers for Graf's quick,
accurate jabs and combinations. The fight was stopped by the referee after
Ubuabon/Lookmakarmwan was hurt by a series of body punches. Graf, who is
now based at the University of Wollongong, Australia, improved
to 25-2-0 (10 KO's) while Ubuabon fell to 3-4 (0 KO's).
[Video]
 Other Alesia Graf links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with
huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records
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last updated:
Friday,
23 December 2011
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