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5'8" junior
lightweight Kina Malpartida was born on March 25, 1980 in Lima, Peru. The daughter of
professional surfing champion Oscar Malpartida and international model Susy Dyson,
Kina was blessed with athletic ability and beauty. As a child in Punta
Hermosa, Peru she loved to surf and participated
in basketball and tennis, but
she
always liked contact sports and did karate from ages 6 to 14. "I loved
karate, it was a big part of my life", she
told Mike Altamura,
"but then I stopped. I just started growing up and I changed my mind, but I
still always loved it. And then one day in Peru my friend took me to one of his
boxing lessons, and from then on, I loved it. The first time I tried it, I loved
it. I thought, ‘This is for me, this is wonderful.’ Just the whole intensity of
it, and all that sweating, and just committing yourself to do the best you can
is what got me into it."
Kina's father died in a skydiving accident and Kina moved to Australia when she was 19.
"My
mum was having a hard time in Peru, she had no money to support me at all and I
had just finished high school. She was going through a crisis with her own ...
mental health ... and I didn’t have a father. My uncle realized the problem we
were having at home with my mum, and he saw that I was having a hard time, and
he offered me a ticket to come overseas and study a career. He knew my life, how
I lived, and he thought Australia would be perfect for me and my brother too. He
paid for me to come over, he helped me out the first couple years."
Kina took a university course in business and restaurant management but also became a
competitive boxer.
She had just two amateur fights (1 win, 1 disqualification after just 10 seconds for
using her elbow!) before she decided to turn pro.
On August 22, 2003 at Southport RSL Club in
Southport, Queensland, Australia, Kina (139 lbs) won her pro debut with a three-round unanimous
decision over another pro debut fighter, Katrina Harding (140¾ lbs).
On November 28, 2003, again at Southport RSL Club, Kina
(133¼ lbs) TKO'd pro debuter Sharon Bischoff (135¾ lbs) of Brisbane in
the second round.
On April 3, 2004 at Shire Hall in Gatton, Queensland,
Australia, Kina (128¾ lbs) won a three-round
unanimous (29-28,29-28,30-27) decision over
Leona Nicholls (126¾ lbs) of Gatton who fell
to 0-2..
On April 23, 2004 at Southport RSL Club Kina (127¾
lbs) won by a six-round majority (59-56,59-56,58-58)
decision over the more experienced Holly Ferneley (129½ lbs) of
South Australia. "She
was putting a lot of pressure on me. She was always coming forward. Holly is a
tough girl, like I seen her fight Sharon Anyos and she
was pretty tough then ... (but) she looked way better when she fought me
compared to when she fought Sharon. I saw that she had improved heaps."
Ferneley fell to 1-5-1
with this loss, which would be her last fight as a pro boxer.
Kina Malpartida wins against Mirelle Walford
On February 11, 2005 at Bronco's
Leagues Club in Brisbane, Australia, Kina (138 lbs) defeated Mirelle
Walford (140¾ lbs) of
Melbourne by a four-round (40-35,40-36,40-36) unanimous decision Publicist Mike Altamura
told WBAN that Kina proved to be the stronger fighter but Mirelle
fought back all the way and showed great sportsmanship until the final bell.
He said that Kina dominated the fight even though she got a little tired halfway, landing shots which her reach allowed her to do effectively. Mirelle landed some solid blows which didn't faze Kina,
according to Altamura.
Malpartida later said that she broke her hand with her first good punch of the
fight, telling
Mike Altamura: "I felt
like a lump in my hand, and just a lot of pain. And it was different than the
pain I’ve felt before, because I’ve stuffed up my knuckle before, the first
knuckle after the thumb. I’ve done that before, but it’s always been that I
could keep punching anyhow. But this one was just like a pain that I felt that I
shouldn’t be punching with it, but I did keep on punching with it anyway."
In 2005 Kina moved to California hoping to further her career as professional
boxer by being closer to major centers of activity in the sport.
On February 23, 2006 at the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (134 lbs) won a
four-round unanimous (40-36,39-37,39-37) decision over Lisa Martin (134¼ lbs) of
Oceanside, California, who fell to 2-4 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On April 20, 2006 Kina (134¼ lbs) suffered her first pro loss when Japanese-born
Miriam Nakamoto (138½ lbs) of Los Angeles defeated her by a four-round unanimous
(40-32,40-32,40-32) decision, moving her own pro boxing record to 2-0.
Malpartida was knocked down four times in this bout but still finished the fight
on her feet. (Nakamoto, who is
better known as a Muay Thai boxer from the TV series Fight Girls, briefly boxed
in 2005-2006 and ran up a 2-2 record.)
On July 19, 2007 Kina (128½ lbs) returned to the ring at the Marriott in Irvine,
California and won a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-36,39-37) decision over
Crystal Morales (5'5". 132 lbs) of Oxnard, California who fell to 6-7-1 (1 KO)
with the loss.
On September 27, 2007 at the Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (127¾ lbs) won
a four-round unanimous (40-36,40-36,40-36) decision over Elizabeth Villarrreal
(128 lbs) of San Antonio, Texas, who fell to 4-4-2 (0 KO's).
 On November 29, 2007 at the Marriott in Irvine, California, Kina (126 lbs,
at right in photo) was TKO'd by always-dangerous Ela Nunez (126 lbs) of Jamestown, New York at 1:02 in the fifth round
of a scheduled six-rounder. The OC Register
reported that: "Nunez came out winging wild power shots from the
opening bell, while Malpartida tried to use her height and reach to land 1-2
combinations and keep her at bay. One of Nunez’s wild shots landed in the
closing seconds of the third round as she dropped Malpartida with a vicious
right hand. Somehow, Malpartida beat the count and got saved by the bell."
Nunez improved to .5-2-0 (1 KO) with this win. (There is streaming video
of this bout on the WBAN Member Records Site).
On November 20, 2008 at San Manuel Casino in Highland, California, Kina
lost a hard-fought six-round split (56-57,56-57,58-55) decision to
Rhonda Luna of Irvine, California, who improved to
13-1-1 (1 KO) with the win.
David Avila
reported that"Rhonda Luna ...
needed a last round knockdown of Kina Malpartida to win a split decision.
Luna and Malpartida started slowly as both fighter’s styles were not
agreeable. Several right hands by Luna probably won her the first round as
the extremely tall Peruvian fighter needed to gauze her jab. For the next
three rounds Malpartida began to find a mark for her long jab and began
peppering Luna consistently. At times a right hand to the body or head would
land for Luna, but Malpartida began scoring heavily with the jabs and
occasional right hands. Suddenly, Luna seemed to find her footwork and
distance in the fifth round. Though neither fighter landed much, it was body
work by the Rowland Heights fighter that could have squeezed a point from
the judges. The last round seemed to spark both fighters but it was Luna who
landed an overhand right hand to drop Malpartida in the corner. She beat the
count but the damage was done. Luna forged ahead with punches from all
angles but the tall Peruvian managed to evade too many big blows. It was the
sixth round that proved the difference in the fight. 'I
knew she was that kind of fighter,' said Luna about Malpartida’s ability to
stick and move. 'I give her all the respect.'"
 On February 21, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Kina won the
vacant WBA Junior Lightweight title when she TKO'd undefeated local favorite
Maureen Shea from the Bronx, NY at 1:35 in the tenth
round of a scheduled ten-rounder.
Malpartida caught Shea with
a straight right to the head, sending her sprawling face down on the canvas.
Shea got back to her feet after a six count, but referee Eddie Cotton
judged that she was unsteady on her feet and stopped the fight. Shea, a slow but
hard hitter with precise punches, had started well, scoring a flash knockdown in
the first round, catching Malpartida backing up with a picture perfect left
hook. Malpartida did not appear hurt and was back on her feet quickly but kept
her right hand high against her head throughout the fight to guard against a
repeat shot from Shea, After a defensive second round, Malpartida's confidence
grew as the fight progressed and used her height and reach advantage to try to
keep the fight in the mid-ring and counter-punch while Shea pursued her
aggressively. Shea went to the canvas midway through the tenth but it was
ruled a slip. Malpartida then scored with several big punches before landing the
right that ended the bout. (Malpartida was well ahead on all three scorecards going
into the final round, 87-83,87-83,88-81,
according
to WBAN correspondent Bernie McCoy). Shea fell to 13-1-0
(7 KO's).
On June 20, 2009 at Coliseo Eduardo Dibos Dammert in
Lima, Peru, Kina (130 lbs) returned to her native country and did not disappoint
local fans when she TKO'd Halana Dos Santos (129¾
lbs) of Sao Felipe Brazil at 1:40 in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-round
bout. Malpartida was defending her WBA Junior Lightweight title. Dos
Santos was overpowered by Malpartida's lightning-quick combinations and went to
the canvas more than once. After the fight
Malpartida
said, “This is a dream come true. It’s the best thing that has
ever happened to me, and it brings me great joy to dedicate this victory to
Peru. I dedicate this triumph to the poorest, to those who struggle, to all of
Peru and to my father.”
Malpartida improved her
record to 10-3 (3 KO's) with the win while Dos Santos, who protested the
stoppage, fell to 11-2 (6 KO's).
According to news sources Malpartida will be defending her WBA title in Peru
again in the early Fall.
Malpartida's other pro sport is surfing.
Kina had surfing in her blood as her father was a three-time national
champion in Peru. She competed as
a professional surfer but
says
that she was more of a 'soul surfer' who did it for pleasure: "I never liked the competition in the surf, it was not my passion, it was
because everyone encouraged me and gave me clothes and tables, but the idea of
competing was what I hated more."
 Kina
lists her non-boxing fun activities as hanging out with her friends, going surfing,
listening to music and eating good
food. "I love my food. And I love the
beach. I love the beach, playing a game of soccer, or maybe a game of
basketball if I can. Just even doing a little extra sport outside of boxing,
you know. Just doing anything that is active. I am very social too. I love
people. People are one of my biggest things. I love hanging out, talking,
having a laugh here and there."
Other Kina Malpartida 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, August 18, 2009 |
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