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5'0" 106-lb Carina Moreno is the shy girl with big eyes and a big smile who warms tortillas and
runs the cash register at her family's Tacos Moreno taqueria in Watsonville,
California. She is also the winner of
multiple national amateur boxing titles ... and a rising star in the punishing world of
professional boxing.
Carina was born in Watsonville on October 9, 1981.
When she was about seven, her mother María used to take Carina and her three brothers to the house of a
cousin who boxed. One day the cousin said he would show Carina how to defend
herself, and taught her how to hit the heavy bag he had set up in the garage.
A couple of years later, Carina scored her first knockout ... in an accident where she ran into a
boy with her
forehead and the collision cost him some teeth. “It wasn’t on purpose,” says María,
although Carina concedes that
“when I was little, I used to fight ... I used to always be fighting guys”.
When Carina was a teenager, her brothers took karate, which she didn't enjoy "because it wasn’t as aggressive as
boxing". She ran cross-country and track while in high school.
Nearing age 18, after looking for a real boxing gym,
she enrolled in a cardio kickboxing class at a fitness center. Her instructor
offered her extra classes for a more intense workout, and soon
offered to train her for amateur kickboxing competition.
On March 23, 1999 at the Fair Grounds in Vallejo, California, Carina (112 lbs)
defeated Marilyn Gil (108 lbs) of San Jose, California, by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 and 30-26) in an IKF International Rules amateur bout
On December 22, 1999 in Fresno, California,
Carina (109 lbs, then 4-1) fought Monica Mendoza (119 lbs, 0-1) of Fresno in an exciting
three-round exhibition bout. The promoters had tried to book a real match
for her, but nobody wanted to go up against her in a bout which could have been for an IKF
California State Title.
Hoping to get more competition as a boxer,
Carina switched from kickboxing to boxing under the guidance of trainer Rick Noble, who
also trains Kelsey Jeffries. Noble's first
impression of Carina was “she was extremely quiet.”
"Me and my friend thought we were ready to fight already when we got to his
gym", says Carina. "Rick saw us, and he said not yet. He said we
needed about eight months. We were like ... ‘Eight months? This guy is crazy, we
don’t need eight months!' Every day we would ask him, ‘When can we fight? When can we
fight?’ He’d say, ‘Are you guys running?’ We said 'no' and he’d say, ‘Then add
another month to it.’
He finally took us to a place called Smokers in San Francisco, where anyone who wants to go in and spar can go. I did really good. From there, it took me less than eight months before I was ready for my first fight."
Carina began boxing in January 2000. In April of that year she entered the USA Boxing Everlast National Championships
at
the Chaparral Center in Midland, Texas. She won her 106-lb semifinal bout on April 13 with
a 42-1 decision over Catherine Herway of San Antonio, Texas. On April 15, Carina defeated two-time defending
national champion Linda Carrillo of South El Monte in the final by a 17-11 margin.
"I was really up for it," said Moreno of her bout against the 30-year old TV anchorwoman,
"I knew I could take her and I knew I was stronger than her and had more speed than she did.
Even though she was the number one in the nation, I couldn't let that get to me."
Moreno's youth and speed were the main difference in the bout and she said she felt in
control throughout it.
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After the 2000 nationals, Moreno
and seven other female boxers were chosen to represent the USA in the
international Feenix Box Cup in Turku, Finland. Also on that USA team were Maricela Ortiz (100
lbs), Julia Day (119), Stella Nijhof (125),
Melissa Florentino (139), Desiree Mistretta (147), Jill Emery (156) and
Leatitia Robinson (165). |
| Carina won the gold
medal in the 48-kg division of the Feenix Cup, defeating
Krisztina Belinszky of Hungary by a 5-0 score in the quarterfinal on May 5
(see above), Aroussia Hadjam of France by RSC-2 in the semifinal on May 6 (at
right, Moreno in red), and Jamie Behl of Canada in the final by an 18-16 score.
Carina was also selected "Best Fighter of the Tournament". |
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On August 11, 2000 in the 106-lb Open Division Semi-Finals of the 2000 US National/international Golden Gloves in
Augusta, Georgia, Carina won a 3-2 decision over Tisha Luna (Hartford, CT). On
August 12, she won a 4-1 decision over Vaia Zaganas of Burnaby, BC, Canada in
a toe-to-toe battle that might have gone either way.
Zaganas
took the decision by shaking her head in disbelief and claimed that she had been
robbed. ``It was close", said Moreno, "but I thought I won because I landed more jabs and had the more effective blows''.
Moreno was now undefeated in 10 amateur starts.
On September 3, 2000 in the Senior 106-lb Division of the 15th Annual Blue and Gold Invitational at
Esther Snyder Community Center in Baldwin Park, California,
Carina again defeated Linda Carrillo of South El Monte, California, this time by a 3-2 score.
On December 13, 2000 in the 106-lb open final of the 2000 Police Athletic League Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana,
Carina stopped Abner Mares of Gardens, California by RSC at 1:40 in the first round.
In the 2001 US National Golden Gloves competition in Augusta, Georgia,
Carina again competed in the 106-lb open division, winning her semifinal
bout on August 10 with a 5-0 decision over Samantha Sanchez of Illinois,
and her final on August 11 over Alicia Avila of Colorado by a 5-0 decision.
At the 2001 USA Boxing National Championships at the Marine Corps Base at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina in September 19-22, 2001
Carina won her preliminary bout in the 106-lb division over Mandi Matigli of
Canton, Ohio by a 25-4 score,
and the final over Linda Carrillo of South El Monte, California by a 18-4 margin.
On October 13 2001 in the 106-lb division of the Women's Pan-American Boxing Championships in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
Carina defeated Monay Mincy of New York by a 13-6 score after previously
defeating her in the semifinal by a 22-4 tally.
 At the
inaugural AIBA World Amateur Women's Championships at the
High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2001,
Carina lost to eventual world champion Hulya Sahin of Turkey in the 106 lb/48 kg semifinal by an 11-4 score.
She had previously won her preliminary bout over Zhao Li of China by a 23-13 margin.
(Sahin is now boxing professionally as Julia "Sunshine" Sahin.)
Carina was named "Female Amateur Boxer of the Year" by WBAN in 2001.
On August 2, 2002 in the 106-lb division at the 2002 USA Boxing National Championships in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
Carina defeated Monay Mincy of New York, NY by a 13-12 score in the final.
In her preliminary bout on July 30 she had defeated Alicia Avila of
Colorado Springs, Colorado by a 19-5 decision and on
August 1 she had defeated Samantha Sanchez of Aurora, Illinois by a 24-5
score.
On August 24, 2002 at the US National Golden Gloves in Chicago, Illinois,
Carina defeated Samantha Sanchez of Aurora, Illinois in the 106-lb open final after winning another
decision over Monay Mincy in the semifinal.
Carina fought in the 106 lb/48 kg division at the second AIBA Women's World Championships held on October 21-28 2002 in Antalya, Turkey,
but lost in the quarterfinal under some controversy. She won her preliminary bout
over a Romanian boxer (I don't know the name of this opponent) on
October 22, but then lost to Tatyana Lebedeva of the Ukraine on October 24.
The scoring of the bout was controversial. Lebedeva's amateur status was
also questioned because she had competed professionally in the Ukraine in 1998.
(Lebedeva herself lost to North Korea's Ri Yong-Hiang, who was voted the best boxer in the
tournament, in the 48-kg final.)
On April 16 -19, 2003 Carina competed in the 119-lb division of the Golden Gloves in
San Francisco, California, defeating Valerie Evans of San Jose, California by a 5-0
score. She defeated Jennifer Nguyen of Palo Alto, California in the final, also by a 5-0 score, and
was voted Best Boxer of the tournament.
 Moreno's goal had been to compete in the 2004 Olympics
in Athens, Greece if those had included female
boxing. When it became clear that they would not, Rick Noble told her it was time for her to take the next step
and start over as a professional.
With her strong amateur record of
36-2, Moreno had trouble finding professional opponents willing to take her on
at first, according to promoter
Jerry Hoffman.
"Finding an opponent for Carina has been one of the toughest matches I've ever had to make.
She's so good that nobody wants to fight her," said Hoffman.
"She might be able to beat veteran fighters like Mary Duron
or Marilyn Salcido, but it's not right, at this point, to put her against somebody with
10 pro fights. Finding a quality, competitive opponent with a similar level of experience
who is willing to fight Carina has been a real challenge."
Unable to find an opponent at her usual 106 lbs,
Carina made her pro debut on July 3, 2003 in a 110-lb bout with southpaw Cecilia
"Boom Boom" Barraza of Chicago in front of a sold-out
crowd at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey, California. "I'm very happy to be making my pro debut in Monterey," she said
in a pre-fight interview. "It's nice that people from my home town have a chance to come watch me. A lot of them have never seen me fight, so I'm very excited for the opportunity.
We just couldn't find anybody who wanted to fight me at 104 or 106 pounds, so
I'm moving up to 110 pounds for this one," said Moreno, adding "those four pounds are really a difference.
I'm pretty sure Barazza walks around at 115, 116, maybe 119, so this is going to be big change. I walk around at
about 108, but I'm almost up to 110, now, and I'm feeling very strong."
Moreno (in white) bloodies Cecilia Barraza in her pro debut
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
Carina weighed in at 109½ lbs,
and won a four-round unanimous (40-36) decision over Barraza (109 lbs), who fell
to 2-1-0 (0 KO). Moreno attacked for the full four rounds, taking charge
early and dominating Barraza with an effective jab followed up by two- and three-punch
combinations. Barraza’s nose began to bleed in the second from the mounting
barrage of straight
rights and lead-off left hooks. Moreno's ring movement and combinations kept Barraza off balance in the third,
and Carina almost finished her off
when she drove her into a corner late in the third. Moreno went for a KO and punished Barrazza from all angles in the fourth.
With 12 seconds left, the referee asked the Chicago fighter if she wanted to continue; Barraza nodded 'yes' and Moreno waded in with one last huge right to Barraza's nose. The crowd was
noisily behind Carina
with every punch but Barraza showed lots of heart by hanging in until the final bell
with a broken nose. (For more photos of this bout by Mary Ann Owen and Jesus
Sanchez see WBAN Photo
Galleries #76 and #77 on the WBAN Records Member Site.)
After the fight,
Moreno explained that Barraza's team had told hers that the Chicago southpaw was
actually a right-hander. "We had people back in Chicago," said trainer Rick Noble, so Moreno
had adjusted by training with southpaws. "When I entered the ring, I was bouncing all around, and I looked into her eyes," said Moreno.
"I was just thinking, she tried to pull a fast on me, and I was going to make her pay."
On September 25, 2003 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California,
Carina (113½ lbs) won a first-round TKO over badly overmatched
Brittney Conan (112½ lbs) of Broomfield, Colorado, who
fell to 0-4.WBAN correspondent and photographer Jesus Sanchez reported
that Carina landed a solid right hand and Conan turned her back and quit.
Carina splits the defense of Michelle Gatewood
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On November 29, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey, California,
Carina (110½ lbs) won the semi-main event by a TKO of Michelle Gatewood (107½
lbs) of Spokane, Washington at 0:57 in the third round. Gatewood fell to 1-2-0 (1 KO) with the loss.
WBAN correspondent Jesus Sanchez reported,
"This bout was all Moreno as Carina gave
Michelle no real opportunity to do any damage. Carina's ring
movement and combinations were too much for Gatewood. There
were no knockdowns but the referee, acting on the advice of
the doctor between rounds, stopped this bout 57 seconds into
round three."
For more photos of this bout by Jesus Sanchez see WBAN
Photo Gallery #125 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
 On June 12, 2004
at San Jose State University Events Center in San Jose, California
Carina (111 lbs) won her first-ever six-round fight with a unanimous (60-53) decision over
Stephanie Dobbs (110 lbs) from Moore, Oklahoma. Moreno
was set to fight again three weeks later, so she was looking to escape a tough physical battle
with Dobbs uninjured. She stuck Dobbs repeatedly with a long left jab, then peppered her with effective combinations.
Moreno used ring movement effectively and stung Dobbs occasionally with a lead right
in the opening round.
She snapped Dobbs' head back with a left hook 30 seconds into the second, then followed with an effective combination
10 seconds later. Dobbs went to the canvas just before the second-round bell,
but leaped to
her feet immediately. Dobbs insisted to referee Marty Simmons that she had been
pushed, but Moreno was credited for a knockdown. There were several head clashes
that made both fighters pull back. "She was coming in with her head a lot, and with another fight coming up, I didn't want to get cut," Moreno said.
"I didn't
get my punches off as well as I wanted to tonight, and she definitely showed she could take a punch."
Dobbs, who had taken the fight at short notice,
didn't dispute the decision, but disagreed with the judges giving Moreno every
round.
"I know I won at least two of those rounds, and there's no way she knocked me down," said
Dobbs,"that was definitely a push."
Rick Noble was pleased with his fighter's first six-rounder.
"She did a good job. Carina picked it up in the fifth and sixth rounds and
put a lot of good punches together, like she normally does. And this girl was a
good test for us."
Moreno was also pleased, but said
"I think I could have knocked her out if I had worked the body more in the earlier rounds. I could tell she was starting to slow down a little bit in these last two
rounds. I felt good throughout the fight and I think I did pretty good ... I feel I could go four or
five more rounds."
Carina backs Dee Hamaguchi into a corner
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On July 3, 2004 in Monterey, California,
Carina won a six-round unanimous (60-54,60-54,60-53) decision over
Diedre Hamaguchi of Harlem, New York, in a 106
lb bout. Carina dominated the tough but badly outgunned Hamaguchi, using her
jab to set up her right hand. By the fourth round Hamaguchi’s nose was badly bloodied. Carina appeared to be going for a knockout with
straight rights in the final round, but Deidre gamely hung on to force a decision. Hamaguchi took this fight at less than a week's notice.
For more on this bout, see the
fight
report by Jesus Sanchez and WBAN
Photo Gallery #188 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
Carina lands a left to Maribel Ocasio Soto
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On August 14, 2004 at the Sports
Complex, Salinas, California,
Carina (109 lbs) advanced to 6-0-0 (2 KO) with
a six-round unanimous (60-54) decision over Maribel Ocasio
Soto (112 lbs) of Puerto Rico who fell to 4-8-2 (0 KO). According to
WBAN correspondent Jesus
Sanchez, Maribel was
overmatched and constantly held Carina throughout the fight but
the referee did not warn Maribel or deduct any points
for the constant holding. Carina landed her straight right almost at
will but there were no knockdowns. For more photos of this bout, see WBAN
Photo Gallery #193 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
Carina vs. Yvonne Caples in November 2004
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On November 27, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, California, Carina (107
lbs) won an eight-round shutout (80-72 on all scorecards) decision over
Yvonne Caples (5'4", 108 lbs). Moreno made it
look easy against the experienced and taller Caples, a former IFBA world Junior
Flyweight champion who had stepped in to take the bout at short notice. Caples,
a southpaw, used a busy right jab and accurate left crosses in the first round
and generally tried counterpunching tactics against the aggressive Moreno ...
but Carina dominated the later rounds with her own jab and outworked Caples with
quick combinations to the body. She bloodied Caples' nose in the fifth and
appeared to get stronger and more confident as the fight went on with the crowd
chanting "Carina-Carina". Caples had her moments in the fight, but they were too
few and far between. "The girl loves to give bloody noses," said Moreno's
trainer, Rick Noble, adding that "Yvonne took this fight on short notice but
she's been training. You've got to figure she's going to come here and win three
or four rounds against us, at least, but she didn't do that tonight."
"This was a huge win for me," Moreno told Monterey Herald reporter Dennis
Taylor, "She's one of the best in the world, and to come out on top in a
fight like this makes me so happy. We were not trained for a lefty, and she
holds her hands low, and she's a little bit awkward, all of which made her
difficult."
"She was a busy fighter," said Caples. "I'd have to say she's right up
there with anybody I've fought." For more photos and video of this
bout, see WBAN Photo
Gallery #227 on the WBAN Records Member Site.
Carina was scheduled to fight Nongmai Sor Siriporn of Thailand for the WBC Straw-weight title
on November 7, 2005. The bout was held in the Klong Luang Prison in
Pathum Thani, Thailand, in an outdoor arena next to where Siriporn was serving a
four-and-a-half year prison term for dealing
drugs. Carina withdrew from this bout for medical reasons and was replaced by
Nanako Kikuchi of Japan, who won the bout and the
title handily over the inexperienced Siriporn.
On November 19, 2005 in Monterey,
California, Carina instead TKO'd 30-year-old Sandra Ortiz of Topeka, Kansas in
the second round. Isaiah Guzman of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that
"Moreno bloodied Sandra Ortiz's nose in the first round, then spread it across
her opponent's face with stiff jabs and crosses until referee Marty Sammon
stopped the fight 1:12 into the second round." Ortiz fell to 4-3-1 (4
KOs) with this loss, her first by a stoppage.
Carina battles Wendy Rodriguez
© Copyrighted photograph taken by J & P
Photographers
On January 21, 2006 at
Coushatta Casino Resort in
Kinder, Louisiana Wendy Rodriguez (4'11", 105¾
lbs) of Los Angeles won by a split decision over Carina (108¼
lbs) after the scheduled ten-rounder ended in the sixth due to a deep cut that Rodriguez
had received from what the referee ruled was an accidental headbutt. The tiny Rodriguez had trouble with Moreno's reach advantage in
this fight, as she had to work her way in past Moreno's strong jab. After
several close rounds, Rodriguez found the way inside in the fourth and was able
to back Moreno up with a strong body attack. Moreno came back well in the
fifth but after Rodriguez suffered the gash over her right eye, the fight
was halted and went to the scorecards for a decision: 58-56 for Moreno, and
59-55, 58-56 for Rodriguez. Moreno disputed the decision,
saying that the gash over Rodriguez's right eye was caused by a punch, so |
