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5'3" 118-lb southpaw Ada "Ace" Velez (b. Sept 15 1970) is from Puerto Rico and boxes out of
Hollywood, Florida. She was originally trained by former IFBA and WIBF world
featherweight champion Bonnie Canino and Bert Rodriguez
but is now trained at Warriors Gym in Hollywood by Isiah Clark and Benny Collins.
She posted an 8-0 record as an amateur
and won the 119-lb gold medal at the 1999 USA Boxing Women's Nationals
with a 13-2 defeat of California's Jamie Baron.
Ada made her pro debut
on August 21, 1999 at the National Guard Armory in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a
second-round KO of Jocelyn Fontanella of Vero Beach, who fell to 0-2.
On June 30, 2000 at Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, she won
a four-round unanimous decision over
Ohio veteran Sue Chase (a former kickboxer and Christy Martin opponent
whose overall pro boxing record fell to a staggering 1-22-1 with this loss!)
 On October 8, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois, she scored a second-round TKO over local favorite
Jimi Chartrand of Joliet, Illinois, who slipped to 1-1-1.
On October 18, 2000 at the Angelo Dundee Training Center in Davie, Florida,
Ada (121¾ lbs) TKO'd Pamela Opdyke (123½ lbs) of New Orleans, Louisiana at 1:45 of the
fourth round in a scheduled six-round bout. Opdyke fell to 0-6.
On November 15, 2000
at the Angelo Dundee Center in Davie, Florida, she weighed in at 119 lbs and TKO'd
Lisa Foster (119½ lbs)
of Maryland at 1:48 in the second round of a scheduled four-round bout.
According to the report I received from Ryan Wissow,
"Velez dazzled Foster, then administered a beating on (her) in the
second round ... Foster turned away and said "no mas".
Foster's record fell to 2-3-1.
 Velez won her first pro title on December 15, 2000 at
the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Velez weighed in at 120 lbs and
won the WIBF North American junior featherweight title by a
unanimous (80-72,80-72,80-71) eight-round decision over
Linda Tenberg (122¼ lbs) of Austin, Texas.
Velez opened a deep gash over
Tenberg's left eye in the second round and pummeled her
for the rest of the bout. "I knew she was very strong,"
said Velez, "I knew she wasn't going to be knocked out.
It was a tough fight. Hopefully, this is the beginning of
many, many belts." Tenberg fell to 4-3 with the loss.
On January 19, 2001 at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan,
Ada weighed in at 117 lbs and won the IBA Bantamweight title
with a unanimous (97-93,99-91,100-90) 10-round decision over the
IBA's Junior Bantamweight champion, Kathy Williams (5'5", 117¾ lbs)
of Thunder Bay, Canada. Velez used her speed to get inside against Williams, beat her to the punch, and get
away without taking much in return. Williams came closest to solving Velez's southpaw style in the
second and third rounds using her own hand speed, but she wasn't able to keep this up.
Velez controlled the later going and wore her more experienced foe down with her right.
Williams, who had taken the fight at six days' notice, was gracious in
her praise for Velez after the bout, stating that Ada had surprised her
with her skills. Williams, herself a former national amateur champion,
fell to 12-3 (4 KO's) as a pro boxer with the loss.
[Fight report]
Ada Velez was named WBAN's Fighter of the Month in February 2001. On June 29, 2001 at Dover Downs Racetrack in Dover, Delaware,
Ada maintained a perfect 8-0 (4 KO's) record
with a four-round majority (40-36,40-36,38-38) decision over Jamillia Lawrence of Atlantic City,
who dropped to 7-5 (4 KO's). This was also a hard-fought bout, with Velez landing the harder shots
throughout but Lawrence challenging her hard, especially in the final round.
Trainer Bonnie Canino told WBAN: "Ada Velez
did real good, since she had a car accident three weeks ago with a badly
sprained ankle, which she wasn't able to practice on till last week. Jamilla
threw a lot of power punches as Ada was able to block and escape from her
power punches. Ada returned the same punishment back to Jamilla . Ada's
skills pulled through the fight showing why she is the champ."
 On November 16, 2001 at the Convention Center in Austin, Texas,
Ada won the WIBA 122-lb world title by outboxing unbeaten
Mary Elizabeth Ortega of Kansas City for a clear ten-round unanimous (96-93,98-91,98-91)
decision. Velez bloodied Ortega's nose but Ortega gave her a good fight
all the way to a rousing toe-to-toe finish in the final round.
Ortega slipped to 19-1 (4 KOs).
On January 25, 2002 at Walter C. Young Pavilion in Pembroke Pines, Florida:
Ada (120 lbs) stopped a badly overmatched Angie Bordelon (120½ lbs)
of New Orleans
at 1:54 in the second round. Velez sent Bordelon to the canvas twice in the second
before the bout was stopped. Bordelon fell to
2-6-0 (0 KO). This questionable piece of matchmaking on a home-state card didn't do much to prepare her for her next fight,
against her toughest opponent yet ...
On June 21, 2002 at the Convention Center in Waco, Texas,
Melissa Salamone (Del Valle) (120¾ lbs)
proved that she's still a major force in women's boxing by coming down in weight
to win a solid ten-round unanimous (97-93,97-93,99-91) decision Ada
(then #2 Ranked Junior Featherweight, 121½ lbs) for the
WIBA 122-lb title. Melissa was the aggressor for most of the bout and wore Ada
down with a steady body attack and effective work inside.
Salamone/Del Valle moved to 26-0-1 (11 KO).
On July 18, 2002 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon,
IFBA Featherweight champion and #4 ranked Featherweight
Layla McCarter of Las Vegas, Nevada fought
Ada Velez to a six-round majority draw (58-56 Velez,57-57,57-57) in a non-title bout.
McCarter moved to 11-7-4 (2 KOs) with her second bout in a week.
On November 9, 2002 at South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, Florida,
Ada Velez advanced to 11-1-1 (6 KO) with a fourth-round TKO of Rolanda Andrews of Atlanta, Georgia, who fell to
6-6-0 (3 KO) with the loss. Velez was the aggressor throughout the fight and Andrews wasn't able to handle
her fast pace, although they both traded some solid leather at close quarters. The fight was
stopped in the fourth after Andrews took a number of hard shots without offering resistance.
WBAN’s Inside reporter said that
"in the first round, Ada came out and felt Rolanda's abilities and finished
strong in the last 30 seconds to win the round on the judges' scorecard. In the
second round, Ada proceeded to keep a fast and relentless pace and worked
Rolanda’s body. In the third round, Ada came out again with a fast pace and
almost stopped Rolanda with hooks and an uppercut to the chin---Rolanda grabbed
and held, but Ada did not grab back and she worked her punches in close. In the
fourth round, Ada resumed the aggression with a barrage of combinations throwing
them at all angles, Rolanda did not answer back, and took many hard punches, so
the referee jumped in and stopped the bout. Ada and Rolanda’s fight was of the
most exciting fights on the card."
In action vs. LaKeysha Williams, December 2002 On December 20, 2002 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida,
Velez had trouble making the 118 lb weight for a defense of her
IBA Bantamweight title ... but then had no trouble scoring a 10-round
unanimous (100-90,100-90,100-90) decision over LaKeysha Williams (118 lbs) of Philadelphia to retain the belt. Williams fell to 6-5-1 (1 KO).
On March 29, 2003 at Seminole Indian Casino in Coconut Creek, Florida, Ada (120 lbs) won by a disqualification over former IFBA
Junior Featherweight champion
Leona Brown (120 lbs) of Pawling, New York at 1:18 in the seventh round. Referee Armando Garcia had previously deducted
two points from Brown for holding. Velez progressed to 13-1-1 (6 KO) while Brown fell to 10-11-0 (4 KO).
On June 28, 2003 at Coconut Creek Casino in Miami, Florida, Ada (118 lbs) won the vacant WIBA Bantamweight title Delia Gonzalez
(114½ lbs) of Chamberino, New Mexico was disqualified for excessive holding at 1:25 in the seventh round. Gonzalez
had had two points deducted in the earlier rounds for holding before being disqualified by referee Armando Garcia.
Gonzalez apparently had no answer for Velez except trying to tie her up. Gonzalez fell to 13-9-4 (3 KO).
On October 30, 2003 at Seminole Coconut Creek Casino in Hollywood, Florida,
Ada (118 lbs) and Lisa Brown
(5'2", 116½ lbs) of Ontario, Canada fought to a ten-round majority draw in a hard-fought bout for
Velez's WIBA Bantamweight world title. After a feeling-out round, the two southpaws went toe to toe with
Brown's back to the ropes in the second. Brown used the ring better in the third and her footwork and
defensive skills negated Velez's aggression and earned her points on the scorecards in the middle rounds.
The crowd was solidly behind the Puerto Rican and local resident Velez but Brown's slick boxing skills
held her in check. Velez pushed the pace in the late going and wobbled Brown once in the final round, but
Brown had done enough to earn the decision on one judge's card. The scorecards were 96-94 for Brown, and
two cards even at 95-95. Brown, the IWBF Bantamweight champion, remained undefeated at 8-0-2 (3 KO).
[Fight report
and photos].
Lisa Brown offered Velez a rematch in Canada or the USA and said she would put her IWBF belt on the
line if Velez accepts the return engagement.
On January 17, 2004 at Radisson SAS hotel in Aarhus, Denmark, Anita Christensen (117¾ lbs) of Randers,
Denmark won a controversial split (93-97,97-94,96-95) decision over Ada. Velez had weighed in at 117½ lbs in this
ten-rounder for the WIBA and WIBF Bantamweight titles. Christensen was knocked down in the eighth round
and Velez was the aggressor for much of the fight. WIBA official Ryan Wissow stated that he scored the bout 96-93 in favor of Velez and adds that
"This was not a good
decision in my opinion. I thought Velez won the fight, as did most of the media ringside. I am going to
strongly recommend a rematch to the promoter."
Adding to the controversy,
both judges who called the fight for Christensen were from Denmark, while the
judge who called it for Velez was from Finland. Velez was unhappy with the
decision and left the ring without congratulating Christiansen, who
advanced to 15-0-0 (6 KO). Velez returned to the ring in 2007,
saying "It's not about the money ... the money is not out there.
There is not much respect out there for women's boxing. I am doing this for
the love of the sport. This is about a little unfinished business I have
left in the ring. This time I leave the sport, I want to leave on top. I
want my son to be proud of me. I just came back to the gym to stay in shape
and the next thing I know Bonnie (Canino) is telling me I still have it in
me. When I came back and started sparring with the guys my confidence came
back. I was hurt when they took that decision away from me in Denmark. I
fought my heart out and they took that decision away from me." On August
10, 2007 on ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” at the Expo Center in Springfield,
Missouri, USA Jeri Sitzes (126 lbs) of Springfield
won a six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,58-56) decision over Ada (127 lbs) of
Hollywood, Florida. This was a comeback fight for the 36-year-old
Velez after a three-and-a-half year layoff from competition. Sitzes, who was
the WBAN #4 ranked featherweight,
improved her record to 13-6-1 (5 KOs) while Velez fell to 14-3-2 (6
KOs).
Ada Velez and Jackie Chavez, Sept. 2007
© Copyrighted photograph by J.B.Gallegos
courtesy Fresquez ProductionsOn September 21, 2007 at the Santa
Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, New Mexico, Ada Velez (122 lbs) won a
six-round majority (58-56,58-56,57-57) decision over
Jackie Chavez (122 lbs) of Los Lunas, New Mexico.
Velez wasn't slowed by anything that a busy Chavez threw, but was more
effective with her own punches. Chavez's ineffective opening right
appeared to be her undoing. Chavez fell to 9-4-0 (3 KOs).
(For
more fight photos by J.B.Gallegos, see
Photo Gallery #450
on the WBAN Member Site).
On November 24, 2007 at Paragon Casino and Resort in
Marksville, Louisiana, Ada Velez (121½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(97-93,98-92,100-90) decision over Kasha Chamblin (121½ lbs) of Lafayette,
Louisiana for the vacant IBA Junior Featherweight title. Chamblin fell
to 10-2 (2 KOs) with the loss.
On January 21, 2010 at San Manuel Indian Casino in Highland,
California, Ada Velez again returned to competition and fought to a six-round
majority draw with 21-year-old Kaliesha West of Moreno Valley, CA.
According to a
fight report by
David Avila, "West
opened fast with several left hook follow ups that caught Velez flush. A few
body shots added some steam to her attack as the Californian captured the
first round pretty decisively. The second round saw West fight from
the outside and score with some quick right hands from outside and some loud
booming punches to the body. Inside the fighting was even with Velez finally
landing a resounding right hook at the bell. Velez changed direction in the third
round and began to attack the body. Several double right hooks to the body
and head landed flush. During the middle both fighters worked each others
body with West also landing several double hooks to the body and head.
Several clean punches by West finished off the round. West opened the fourth round by
catching Velez walking into a left hook flush on the jaw. The Puerto Rican
took the blow and walked inside as both traded blows to the body with equal
verve. It was a close round but that left hook by West was the best punch of
the round. Velez had her best round yet as West
seemed to slow down in the fifth round. Working the body and head Velez
pressed the action as West used her jab from the outside to keep Velez at
bay. The Florida based fighter scored most of the punches as she pressed the action and kept
the fight inside. A number of times both fighters clashed heads with West
backing up with a grimace each time they collided. In the final round Velez opened fast
as West tried to keep her spacing. With some good combinations to the body
and head Velez kept the fight at her pace and distance. West rallied in the
middle with a solid left hook and some combos but with mere seconds
remaining Velez landed just enough to win her the final round. Judge Jerry Cantu scored it 59-55 for
West but judges Marty Denkin and Jose Cobian had it 57-57 for a majority
draw." Velez was now 16-3-3 (6 KOs) while West moved her record to
11-1-1 (2 KOs),
On February 27, 2010 at the
Electricians Union Hall, in Miami, Florida, Ada Velez (121 lbs) won a
six-round unanimous decision over Stacey "Stay-Lo"
Reile of Miami. WBAN was told that this fight was the best bout on the
card and was a great fight that rekindled the audience's passion for boxing,
especially women's boxing. Velez improved her record
to 17-3-3 (6 KO's) while dropping Reile to 9-2 (4 KO's).
Former world champion and trainer Bonnie Canino
told WBAN, "Velez and her team have great respect for Stacy Reile. She
demonstrated great heart and is a good representative for the sport. Ada
Velez is looking for her next fight to be at 118, where she will dominate
anyone who challenges her."
 More Ada Velez Links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
Page last updated:
Tuesday, 02 March 2010 |
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