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5'6" featherweight Jennifer "The Razor" Barber was
born on 14 September 1982
in Van Nuys, California.
She showed her competitive
drive
in combat sports at a young age while studying karate.
She grew up taking martial arts from world renowned Kickboxing champion
Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. Barber competed in karate tournaments for
five years and
participated in dance, basketball and in track and field while in high
school.
Barber became interested in
boxing after watching a female bout on television. She trained at Jet's
Gym under the instruction of Stan Ward. Her karate background may have
contributed to the quick footwork she showed in a very successful first
year as an amateur.
Early
Highlights of Barber's Amateur Boxing Career
National Blue And International Blue & Gold
Champion: 2002-2005
Diamond Belt Champion: 2002-2004
Southern California District Champion: 2003-2005
Southern California Regional Champion: 2003-2005
Southern California District "Best Boxer": 2003
Boxer for Christ Champion: 2003 & 2005
California Pal Champion & Best Boxer: 2003-2005
National Pal Silver Medalist: 2003
 In the 125-lb senior division at the 2003
National Golden Gloves held from August 6 to 9 in Chicago, Jennifer
defeated Cara Castronuova of New York in her preliminary and Teresa
O’Toole of New York in her semifinal before defeating Jennifer Han of
Texas in the final. Following this performance, Jennifer was named
"Boxer of the Month" for August 2003 by USA Boxing.
In the 125-lb division at the
2004 National Golden Gloves held in October in Chicago. Jennifer
defeated Melissa Roberts of Connecticut
in her semifinal on October 21 but she lost to Jennifer Han the next
day, reversing the result of the previous year's GG final.
Although there was no amateur
boxing for women in the 2004 Olympics Barber still set high goals for
herself
and she entered the 2004 USA Women's National Championships.
In Jennifer's own words, "You can't just practice four to six
weeks before a tournament because boxing isn't a seasonal sport, it's a
year around sport."
Jennifer again lost to Jennifer Han of Texas,
this time by a 16-6 score in their quarterfinal on July 27.
At the US National
championships in Colorado Springs, CO in March 2005, Jennifer defeated Maureen Shea 16-14 in her 57-kg
quarterfinal.
Shea jumped out to the lead with a strong first round but Barber began
to work her way back into the bout, earning a one-point lead at the
halfway point that she was able to maintain through the last two
rounds. Barber then lost to Jennifer Han 23-17 in the semifinal. "She's
been studying me," said Han, "My left jab worked a
lot more in the past. I always lead with my left. My right hand,
though, worked better than it had in the past. I scored with my right."
(Melissa Roberts of Connecticut won the division by defeating Han
24-8)
At the 2005 National PAL
tournament in Oct.3-9, 2005.
she defeated Ana Julaton of California , Teresa O'Toole of Tennessee
3-1, and finally Jennifer Han of Texas 14-1 to win the 125-lb division.
Jennifer received the "Best Boxer" award for the female division for
this run.
Jennifer displays her amateur championship belts
At the 2006 USA National
Championships Jennifer won a 27-1 decision over Denise Sullivan in her
preliminary match but then fell to Ronica Jeffrey of California in a
closely-fought quarterfinal by a punch countback - following an 8-8
draw on the initial scorecard. (Melissa Roberts of Connecticut won the
division for the second straight year, with a 21-18 win over Ronica
Jeffrey.)
 Jennifer
turned pro in 2007 and won her debut on March 30 at 125½ lbs with a
four-round unanimous (40-36 x 3) decision over debuter Alex Kumbala
(130 lbs) at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California (see photo at
left)
On July 14, 2007 at the Civic
Auditorium in San Jose, California, Jennifer (124½
lbs) fought another experienced
amateur, Cynthia Talmadge (124¼
lbs) of San Francisco, to a four-round unanimous (40-36)
decision in Talmadge's pro debut.
On November 3, 2007 at Seven
Feathers Casino in Canyonville, Oregon, Jennifer (126 lbs) TKO'd local
pro debuter Maira Caberra (130 lbs) 40 seconds into the second round of
a scheduled four rounder.
Jennifer Barber quickly dealt with DJ Morrison
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mike Blair
On December 1, 2007 at Emerald
Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington, Jennifer (125 lbs) TKO'd DJ
Morrison (127 lbs) of Billings, Montana at 1:04 in the first
round, According to WBAN correspondent and photographer Mike
Blair: "Morrison
charged across the ring at the opening bell, swinging wild and wide. It
appeared that Morrison figured her only chance to win was to catch
Barber early. That is where Barber displayed a boxer’s discipline.
Instead of matching Morrison’s flailing punches with her own, Barber
stepped to the side and landed two crisp right hands to Morrison’s
ribs. When Morrison turned to face her, Barber threw a left that popped
Morrison’s head back. Morrison stepped forward, swinging lefts and
rights, hoping something would touch Barber. Barber again threw her
jab, then a right to the body. Every punch was tight, short and hard.
Morrison’s head popped skyward again as she turned away from Barber. At
that point the referee yelled to stop Barber from throwing a punch that
would have landed on the back of Morrison’s head. Barber squared her
shoulders as Morrison turned to face her again, and before Morrison
could cock her arms, her head was reeling and again she turned her
back. The referee this time stepped in and waved an end to the fight.
The end came at 1:04 of the first, so the fight lasted just about as
long as it has taken you to read this. However, in that minute,
Jennifer Barber was quite impressive. She quickly adjusted to the
barrage of Morrison punches. She remained calm and threw punches she
knew would connect. She pressed forward, and Morrison could really do
nothing but keep flailing or run." The
loss dropped Morrison's record to 0-4.
Barber corners Handi Hernandez
© Copyrighted photo taken by Lori Steinhorst
On February 7, 2008 at the
Pechanga Casino and Resort in Temecula, California, Jennifer TKO'd
Handi Hernandez of Chandler, Arizona at 0:50 in the third round of a
scheduled six-rounder on the undercard of an all-female card that
featured three IFBA world title fights. According to WBAN correspondent
Bill Ortega,
"Barber absorbed a quick left hook at the
beginning of the first round then went to work with some pretty boxing
and razor sharp punching. In the second round Barber landed a
three-punch combination that had Hernandez teetering backward. She
immediately cornered the Arizona fighter and rained punches on her. For
a moment it looked like the referee was going to stop the fight, but he
let it go on after Hernandez landed a left hook. The third round wasn’t
so lucky for Hernandez. Barber landed a left hook and saw that her
opponent was hurt and piled on the punches. Referee Tony Crebs stopped
the fight at 50 seconds into the third round." Barber,
who took one good shot to the face, called Hernandez a “one punch
boxer, with only a good left hook”. She added "I
want three more fights then I want to fight for the world title. I’m
only saying this because I have a lot of amateur fights.”
Hernandez fell to 5-3 (3 KO's) with the loss.
On April 24, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel, in Irvine,
California
Jennifer (123½
lbs) won by a clear four-round unanimous (40-36) decision over
Elizabeth Villarreal (127
lbs) of San Antonio, Texas. Villarreall fell to 5-6-2 (0
KO's).
“I wasn’t really satisfied with my
performance,” said Barber. “I wanted the knockout,
but I am happy with the win.”
On May 31, 2008 at the
Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, Colorado
Jennifer (119 lbs) TKO'd former IFBA
Bantamweight champion Adriana Delgado (120 lbs) of
Albuquerque, NM at !:02 in the third round of a scheduled
five-rounder. According to a
report
by Chris Cozzone on newmexicoboxing.com, 'Delgado was forced on the defensive
from the opening bell. Barber’s straight-on aggression, backed by a
steady cuffing of jabs and super-sharp right hands, had the former
champ seeking refuge all over the ring, to no avail. After regrouping
in her corner between rounds, Delgado came out trying to turn the fight
around, but Barber turned the one-sided affair from a trimming, to a
scalping. The very few counters thrown by Delgado had no effect on
Barber, who, not even blinking at Delgado’s close shave counters, was
relentless with pressure, and unremitting with her rights and lefts.
Delgado came out in the third, her face a bruised and bloody mess, and
the punishment continued until, closing in on the first minute, the
towel was thrown into the ring. Actually, it wasn’t a towel at all, but
an Adriana Delgado T-shirt, and it came not from her corner, but from a
very concerned relative, several rows back, who was screaming, “Stop
the fight! Stop the fight!” Time
was called by Referee Rocky Stapleton, who consulted with Delgado’s
chief corner man, Danny Romero, who spared his fighter further
punishment by calling it quits. This time, it was for real."
Barber improved to 7-0 (4 KO's)
while Delgado fell to 10-3-1 (4 KO's).
“I thought I’d win,
but not like that,” said Barber. "Seeing that she’s
a former world champ, I didn’t think I’d dominate that easily. But it’s
exactly what I needed. I want three more fights, then a shot at a world
title.”
On September 20, 2008
at Mile High Events Center in Commerce City, Colorado,
Jennifer (125 lbs) won an eight-round unanimous (80-71,80-71,79-72)
decision over Brooke Dierdorff
(124 lbs) of Elgin, Illinois for the vacant NABF featherweight title.
According
to Eric Duran of Rocky Mounutain Boxing, "In the opening round, Dierdorff,
who promised to test Barber, 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." Dierdorff fell to a deceptive 4-4-1
(3 KO's) as her losses have all been to top quality opponents - Ela
Nunez, Jeannine Garside
and
Alicia Ashley.
On November 20, 2008 at the
Palais des Sports in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France, Myriam Chomaz {128½
lbs) of Grenoble, France won a ten-round split (98-93 Barver, 96-94
Chomaz and 96-95 Chomaz) decision over Jennifer (126 lbs) for the
Interim WBC Super Featherweight title. WBAN correspondent Ewan Whyte
wrote that only a fragment of the bout was available to him on French
TV but "The
commentators said that it was a very hard fight and an even one, that
they saw Barber ahead earlier on, but that Chomaz had come back at her
towards the end. Jean-Claude Bouttier said that, in his opinion,
Barber, whom he described as ‘very, very good’, was worth at least a
draw. Christian Delcourt went further, describing the American as
‘super’, but concluded by saying that “that takes nothing away from the
victory of Myriam Chomaz”. Barber's
own web site stated that "Barber ... dominated the
fight by quickly establishing her razor sharp jab. From the start it
looked like Barber had a clear advantage in boxing skills, as Barber
repeatedly used her superior hand speed to beat Chomaz to the punch
bloodying her nose early. By the middle of the fight it seemed that all
Chomaz’s game plan was to try to push forward and land a big right
hand. 'We knew going into the fight that she was a right hand puncher
who liked to come forward. So the game plan was to take advantage of
that which Jenny did,' stated Coach Stan Ward, 'I thought Jenny fought
a perfect fight. She did everything I asked. It was apparent by the
decision that the only way for her to win the fight was to knock the
other girl out.” Chomaz had her moments in the fight landing a few big
rights but, it seemed Barber always had an answer with flashy
combinations of her own. “She wasn’t very strong as her record made it
seem' (said Barber), 'I felt like I landed the heavier shots throughout
the fight'.”
The controversial loss dropped Barber's pro
record to 8-1 (4 KO's) while Chomaz progressed to 10-1-0
(7 KOs).
Gloria Ramirez vs Jennifer Barber
Copyrighted photo
taken by Lori Steinhorst
On October 29 2009 at the
Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California, Jennifer (128 lbs) won a
six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,60-54) decision over veteran Gloria
Ramirez (129¾ lbs) of El Paso, Texas.
According
to WBAN's ringside correspondent Lori Steinhorst, "From the first round to the
last Barber was able to frustrate Ramirez with a honed set of skills
rarely seen in women's boxing. Ramirez, who was coming in off a draw
with Rhonda Luna, had the tools to do the job but was unable to find
her rhythm or execute her plan. For the most part, Ramirez is
a talented boxer with heart and drive.....but this was not her night.
Ramirez said 'I felt stiff, I could see the openings and I made her
miss, but I just couldn't get the shots off the way I wanted
to.' Barber had no problem with execution or movement. She
pressed the action and fired off flurries of punches that had the crowd
jumping from their seats and cheering wildly as their hometown girl
displayed an exhibition of speed, power and finesse that they have come
to expect from this gifted fighter. This was her night and she made the
most of it. If there was any ring rust from her lengthy
layoff.....there was no evidence of it. Barber was in spectacular form
with a brilliantly executed plan that was carried off immaculately!
This was in fact a glorious night for Barber who is a technician with
the precision and technique of a skilled surgeon in the removal of her
opponent! Bravo Jennifer....this is the way Women's Boxing should look!
This fight was the main event on this card and it truly deserved its
place."
Ramirez fell to 10-16-7
(1 KO) with the loss while Jennifer improved to 9-1 (4 KO's).
On
December 11, 2010 at Namseoul University in Choenan City, South
Korea, Jennifer (127¼ lbs) defeated reigning
champion Ji Hye Woo (126¼
lbs) from Seoul, South Korea by
a ten-round unanimous (99-94,97-94,97-94) decision. Barber controlled
the fight throughout and survived a head butt in the sixth round and
the ring doctor's later inspections of the resulting gash to
become the new IFBA World Junior Lightweight champion. "The girl was tough," said Barber's trainer Stan Ward, "but
there was no way Jenny was going to lose tonight. This was her
best all-round performance, I was so proud of her. She had been training nine years for this moment." Woo
fell
to 11-2-0 (1 KO) while Barber progressed to 10-1-0 (4 KO's).
Before
the fight in South Korea, Jennifer had said on her web site
"I know my career is coming to a
close because I want to start a family, so I plan on giving
it everything I have. I know I can win, but I need to
do everything possible to leave it out (of) the judges hands. I don't
want to experience what happened in France."
Jennifer
was named WBAN's "Fighter of the Month" in January 2011 for her win
over Ji Hye Woo.
Jennifer grew up with two deaf
parents, and this motivated her to major in Deaf Studies at Cal State
Northridge. She graduated with her B.A. in 2005 and she tells
WBAN that she made a pact with her coach not to turn pro until she had
graduated. She hopes to work with children with hearing impairments.
Her hobbies include: running, swimming, listening to a variety of
music, training, reading, and buying clothes on sale!
Stan Ward, a former California
heavyweight champion, has trained Jennifer as a professional. “She’s
very dedicated.” said Ward, "If she weren’t that disciplined I wouldn’t
waste time training her. She does everything I ask her to do with no
complaints.” Ward
stated in September 2011 that Barber was retiring from professional
boxing and the IFBA declared her Junior Lightweight title vacant.
Other Jennifer Barber 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: Thursday, October 20 2011
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