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5'$' featherweight Brooke "No Mercy" Dierdorff was
born on June 15, 1981, in Canton, Illinois. She grew up as the youngest of
three in a small town - Somonauk, Illinois - and graduated from Somonuk High
School in 1999.
Brooke participated in basketball, volleyball, softball, and track
throughout school. She was offered a scholarship to play basketball
but instead joined the U.S. Army after high school in 2000.
Dierdorff was enlisted in the U.S. Army for two years. While serving in the
Army she attended a female fight and became interested in the sport of
boxing. She was released from the Army and returned home to Illinois
where she began training at Jessie
(The) TorresBoxing Gym in Aurora, Illinois in October 2004.
Dierdorff competed in the Women's Chicago Golden Gloves Nationals in October
2004 and took second place in the 138-lb open division despite never
having competed before. After the National Tournament Dierdorff met
Sam Colonna from Windy City Gym and began training with him, traveling the hour and a half drive to Chicago.
.
Dierdorff took first place in te 125-lb division at the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament in May 2005
and tnen competed in 7 shows throughout Chicago, moving her amateur record
to 10-1.
In November 2005 she competed once again in the Women's Chicago Golden
Gloves Nationals and took second place competing three days in a row. She beat
two top contenders who were ranked 2nd and 3rd, but lost by decision in the
finals.
In 2006 Dierdorff again competed in the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament
taking first place.
Dierdorff (L) vs Mayfield in her pro debut
On September 1, 2006 she won her pro debut at the Par-A-Dice
Casino in East Peoria, Illinois, weighing in at 122½ lbs and TKO'ing Geboria Mayfield
(5'5½",122½ lbs) of Columbus, Mississippi at 1:34 in the second round of a scheduled
four-rounder. Mayfiel fell to 1-1 with the loss.
Dierdorff (R) vs Mercedes Mercury
On January 26, 2007
at the Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois, promoted by Eight Count and
Golden Boy Promotions, Dierdorff (123½ lbs) TKO’d Mercedes Mercury (127 lbs) of
Centennial, Colorado at 1:05 in the
fourth round of a scheduled four round bout. Mercury fell to 3-9-0 with the
loss.
On April 7, 2007 at the Par-A-Dice Casino in Peoria,
Illinois, Dierdorff (130½ lbs) brutalized DJ Morrison (132 lbs) of Billings, Montana from the opening bell
until the bout was stopped at 1:12 of the first round of the scheduled four
Dierdorff raised her record to 3-0 (3 KO's) while Morrison fell to 0-2.
Dierdorff (R) vs St. John in April 2007
© Copyrighted photo by Juan C. Allyon
This same month on April 20,
2007, at the Star Plaza Theater, in Merrillville, Indiana, Dierdorff (129
lbs) pulled
an upset when she beat seasoned veteran Mia St.John (136½ lbs). Dierdorff won by a six-round split decision (judges scores 59-55 (St. John) ,
59-55, 58-56 (Dierdorff). Dierdorff came out very aggressively in the early rounds,
while St. John whose left eye was nearly swollen shut, finished the fight
strong. According
to WBAN correspondent Juan C. Allyon, "Whatever
illusions Rosales-St. John harbored going in, they were jarred loose with a
booming right to the head in round one. The blow stopped St.John in her
tracks and caused her to do a slight stutter step. The war was on. Both had
their moments, as they mauled, slugged and roughed each other up non-stop
for six rounds. It wasn’t so much a boxing match, but a primeval brawl with
pink gloves on. Dierdorff crowded and threw the full weight of her body
behind virtually every swing, winging hurtful blows to body and head.
Rosales-St.John slugged back fiercely, catching her more aggressive foe with
rights coming in and combinations in close. There was a lot of grappling in
close and a little hitting and holding on her part. Yet, for all her
experience, she couldn’t quite offset her younger tormentor’s raw aggression
and power. Dierdorff wasn’t intimidated and, at times, manhandled Rosales-St.John
when pinned on the ropes, forcibly grabbing and turning her back to the
ropes. She was just that strong and energetic. And, she was beating Rosales-St.John
up. In the fourth, Rosales-St. John fell on her backside from what appeared
to be a punch landed while she was off balance and squared-up. Referee Kurt
Spivey ruled it a slip. Going into the sixth and final round, St.John
appeared behind in points. Gathering herself up, she repeatedly backed
Dierdorff to the ropes and battered with both fists. Dierdorff fought back
hard, but fighting in her first six-rounder, she seemed to tire and was
clearly edged in this round." Dierdorff was a late replacement for Rita Figueroa who was
injured during training. Dierdorff earned an
honorable mention with WBAN as fighter of the month for this win.
[
Video-youtube]
"I took that fight on four
days notice after Rita Figueroa got hurt and had to drop out", Brooke
later
told
WBAN correspondent Bernie McCoy. "I didn't have time to properly train and
make weight but I still thought I won easily. There was a lot of talk about
how I got a 'hometown' decision. The fact is I live in Illinois and the
fight was in Indiana, and the truth is that Mia was the attraction that
night, she was the 'house' fighter. She even came into the ring wearing the
promoter's logo ... I won that first bout straight up."
Villarreal vs Dierdorff in July 2007
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On July 2,
2007, Elizabeth Villerreal Moreno (126¾
lbs) from San Antonio, Texas
met Dierdorff
(123½ lbs)
at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California for a six-round featherweight bout that was scheduled to be televised. The fight
was declared a technical draw and stopped after its second
round from an accidental headbutt that took place in the first round.
[Photo
gallery #424].
Garside vs Dierdorff in September 2007
© Copyrighted photos taken by Dan Graschuk
On September 21, 2007, at the
Meadowbrook Music Festival, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Border City Boxing
Club's Jeannine "Heartless" Garside TKO'd
Dierdorff at 1:10 in the sixth round, of a scheduled six round bout. Both fighters
carried undefeated records into the ring, and there was no love lost between
the two from the opening bell. Garside knocked Dierdorff down three times,
before referee Frank Garza called a halt to the bout in round six. In one news article they stated,
"Garside came out aggressively, sending Dierdorff down for a flash knockdown
at the end of the first round with an extended flurry along the ropes.
Showing her toughness, Dierdorff recovered well and the next five rounds
were a festival of power punching that had the crowd roaring at every turn
of momentum. Back and forth the two women went, first one taking the
initiative and then the other. Dierdorff's corner threw in the towel in the
6th and final round after Dierdorff was knocked down again." The
fight was not without controversy after Garside punched at Dierdorff after Dierdorff went down against
the ropes in the first round, risking a disqualification. Dierdorff recovered
well and her accurate punching made a fight of it until Garside got the upper
hand in the final round. Garside's record
improved to 7-0-1 (3 KOs), while Dierdorff's
fell to 4-1-1 (3 KOs). (For more of Dan Graschuk's photos of this
fight, see
MPEG/Photo Gallery #447
on the WBAN Records Member Site).
On January
31, 2008 at the Utopia Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York, former IWBF
world champion Alicia "Slick" Ashley
(121 lbs) of Westbury, New York lived up to her
nickname with a smooth eight round unanimous (79-73,78-74,80-72) decision over a game Dierdorff
(120 lbs) employing early round, ring-wide, movement and late round,
pinpoint punching, WBAN correspondent Bernie McCoy
wrote
that ""Slick" is not only Ashley's
nickname, it's an accurate description of her silky smooth moves in the
ring. That graceful aspect of Ashley's repertoire was on full display over
eight rounds against a game, determined Brooke Dierdorff, who defines the
description, "she comes to fight." Dierdorff took the fight to Ashley early
in the bout, but Ashley's movement was the defining factor for the first
couple of rounds. In the middle rounds, Ashley started to land her jab
frequently and had Dierdorff bleeding from the nose. Dierdorff's best round
was the fifth when she managed to catch Ashley with a couple of hard shots,
but the veteran fighter regrouped, got back into her rhythm and clinched the
bout with big seventh and eighth rounds, when Ashley landed her hardest
punches of the bout." The win
gave the veteran Ashley the vacant NABF super bantamweight crown and improved her record to 14-7-1.
[Video
- You Tube]
On March 27, 2008, at the Main
Street Armory, in Rochester, New York, featherweight Ela Nunez (126 lbs) TKO’d Dierdorff
(127 lbs) at 1:05 in the fifth round of a scheduled eight rounder.
Nunez improved to 6-3 (2 KO's) with the win.
On September
20, 2008, at the Mile High Events Center in Commerce City, Colorado,
undefeated Jennifer Barber (125 lbs) from
Northridge, California won an eight-round unanimous (80-71,80-71,79-72) decision over Dierdorff
(124 lbs) for the vacant NABF featherweight title.
According to Eric Duran of Rocky Mountain Boxing, "In
the opening round, Dierdorff ... came out with the
strategy of trying to bully Barber. It worked for most of the first round as Dierdorff banged away at the body when both fighters were clinched. In the 2nd
round, it was more of the same, Dierdorff banging away in the clinch. Barber's
skills were on display with some nice combinations, but it was the pressure of
Dierdorff that won her the round on my card. Round 3 was all Barber as she
picked up her pace and displayed some very good boxing abilities. In the first
minute of the round, Barber opened up a cut over the left eye of Dierdorff with
a counter right hand. Barber ends the round with a straight right that buckles
the knees of Dierdorff.
In Round 4, Barber opened up her arsenal of weapons, unleashing furious
combinations onto Dierdorff. Midway through the round, Barber catches Dierdorff
with a straight right hand that wobbles her. Round 5 started off with back and
forth action as both fighters are putting in work. Yet it's Barber who weathers
the storm and dominates the remainder of the round with lead left hooks and lead
right hands. Round 6 was slow as both fighters look to rest before the
championship rounds of this 8 round contest. Barber establishes her herself in
the round with a straight right hand that hurts the fading Dierdorff. Round 7
was all Barber as a counter left hook flattens Dierdorff in the opening minute
of the round. A nice 'short shot' hook. From there on out, Barber continues to
catch Dierdorff with flush shots as the blood from the previous cut over
Dierdorff's eye continues to flow. After 8 rounds of beautiful boxing, Barber
slows her pace and coasts to easy victory, keeping Dierdorff at bay with a
stinging jab." Barber improved her pro record to 8-0 (4 KO's)
with this win.
St.John and Dierdorff before their rematch
On April 4, 2009 at Ciudad Victoria in
Tamaulipas, Mexico, Brooke Dierdorff (131 lbs) won an
eight round unanimous (76-77,78-76,77-75) decision over Mia St. John (130
lbs) for the WBC International lightweight title.
According to James
Blears at Boxingscene.com, "Mia who'd lost
in their first encounter in April 2007 due to a telephone booth style brawl,
tried to use her longer reach this time around to box, but Brooke was
again successful with her rough tactics which weren't elegant, but they
proved effective. Mia started well boxing intelligently, but as the fight
wore on there were more and more clinches. Mia whose left cheek was scuffed
raw fought back with courage, cuffing Brooke in clinches with some short
rights and going to the body. But Brooke's work rate was higher and she was
giving marginally more than she was taking although there were not too many
clean connecting punches. Mia caught Brooke charging in with a peach of a
long arching right hook at the beginning of the eighth and final round. More
of this marksmanship would have won her the fight, but Brooke had smothered
her style. To their credit, both ladies showed their class with great sportswomanship following the final bell. And the crowd applauded Brooke for
a hard fought win". St.John fell to 45-10-2 (18 KO's) with the loss.
Dierdorff (L) vs Mary McGee in February 2010
© Copyrighted photo courtesy Team No Mercy
On February 26, 2010 at the Hammond Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana, Brooke
(133 lbs) won a six-round unanimous (58-56,58-56,58-56) decision over
previously unbeaten local favorite Mary McGee (136
lbs) of Gary, Indiana.
According to NW Indiana Times correspondent Nate Ulrich, "Dierdorff
controlled the first four rounds with several hard charges that repeatedly
pinned McGee against the ropes. McGee, however, opened the fifth round with a
relentless attack and ended the sixth by drawing blood from Dierdorff's nose.
Still, McGee's late emergence wasn't enough in the end." Dierdorff
improved to 6-4-1 (3 KO's) with the win, dropping McGee to 17-1 (10 KO's).
The win over McGee earned Dierdorff WBAN's Fighter of the Month award for March
2010.
Dierdorff attended college full time at
Colorado Technical University On-Line and graduated with a Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration in 2007. She can be contacted thrugh
trainer/manager Chris Millbrook (tel. 630-687-3746) or Eddie Montalvo
(tel 813-447-3215).
To check out videos and photos of Dierdorff, you can visit her
MySpace site: www.myspace.com/nomercyboxerchick
Other Boxer Name 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:
Wednesday March 10, 2010 |
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