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Junior lightweight Natasha "The Nightmare" Spence
was born on June 24, 1985. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada and is trained by former pro super middleweight contender Syd
"The Jewel" Vanderpool, a 20-year veteran
of the boxing and fitness industries in Canada. "I've loved the sport
of boxing ever since I was a kid and I always wished I could be a
champion, like the ones on TV or in the movies. When the opportunity
came I grabbed it with both hands and never let go!”, says
Spence.
Natasha earned the nickname "The Nightmare" during
her fourteen-fight amateur career which included winning two Ontario
Golden
Gloves
Championships. Spence became known for
her fast hands, footwork and body punches.
She was named Best Female Novice Boxer at the Ontario
Golden
Gloves held in Kitchener, Ontario in April 2009. She was named
Best Female Open Boxer at the April; 2010 Ontario Golden
Gloves in London, Ontario. She was also named Best
Overall Female Boxer
for the years
of 2009 and 2010.
"Natasha proved
at the Golden Gloves that she has experience well beyond that of a
novice fighter", says
Vanderpool. "That just comes from her dedication in the gym,
the
attention she pays to herself, I mean, she watches video of herself
boxing all of the time, and makes the small adjustments to try and
improve her game. Yeah, look for her to turn Pro and do very, very
well, because here’s a girl who just loves performing, she loves
entertaining, and she loves getting in that ring and mixing it up.
She’s exciting to watch, and she’s going to be a Champion someday.”
Spence did not compete as
an amateur at the national or international levels but
went directly to her pro debut at age 25 on November
11, 2010
at the Hershey
Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, at 131½ lbs, winning by a TKO
at 1:07 in the second round over Bernadette Hume (133½ lbs) of
Toronto, whose pro record fell to 0-4.
 On April 8, 2011 at the Shaw
Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Natasha (131 lbs) battled
unbeaten "Vicious" Vanessa Bradford (130½ lbs) of Edmonton to a four-round split
(38-38,40-36,
38-39) draw (see photo at left by Guhdar Ali Photography). The Edmonton Sun's Murray Greig wrote that "Making her first appearance in almost a year, the 24-year-old
Edmontonian looked hesitant in the early going and ate a steady diet of
left hands from Spence through the first two rounds. Bradford finally
found her rhythm in the third, scoring with combinations and pressing
the action for the full two minutes.".
Bradford, who had boxed since age 12 and had 63
amateur fights, winning three Canadian amateur titles and nine
provincial championships, moved her pro record to
2-0-1 (0 KO's) with the draw, which sparked inevitable post-fight
controversy.
Before the fight Spence had told the BoxingExaminer.com: "I got to keep it under control. I thrive off of it. I love to
perform, I love the cameras and I love the audience. Like I said, I’m
not going to let it go to the judges." Ten days after the draw, she stated that "Inside the ring I felt like I
had it. I definitely won that fight but I came out with a
draw. I think I was prepared for everything she
brought. It threw me a little off guard the pace of the
fight. I was expecting her to bum rush me, that is what I
trained for, so it was a little slower than I expected. I’m a
counter puncher by nature. I still think I did a
good job picking the shots and that is what my corner wanted to
do. I’m not taking anything away from Vanessa at
all. She brought more than I was expecting. But I
do believe that was my fight." Bradford disagrred :" Natasha did come to
win, but after the first round I realized I had misjudged her style and
adjusted accordingly. I felt I won more rounds and was in
control." A rematch between the rival Canadians is clearly called for.
On August 5, 2011 at Chapiteau CCSE
Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Natasha (132½ lbs) TKO'd Zsofia Bedo
(134¼
lbs) of Szekesfehervar, Hungary at 0:33 of the final round of a
scheduled four-rounder. Jeff Emond Jeffrey wrote for BoxingExaminer.com: "Spence spent most of her time on the attack, putting Bedo on the ropes
many times over." Bedo, a much-featured tune-up opponent in
Europe fell to 3-23-1 (0 KO's) with the loss. 
Natasha Spence vs Lucia Larcinese in October 2011
© Copyrighted photo taken by Durell Wambolt
On October 22, 2011 at the
Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Natasha (130 lbs) won a four-round
unanimous decision over Lucia Larcinese (128 lbs) of Montreal.
Lou
Eisen wrote
on FightNetwork.com that "Much
talked about prospect Natasha “The Nightmare” Spence improved her
record to 3-0-1 with 2 kayos by dominating Lucia Larcinese in
what was essentially a schoolyard brawl as both gals flailed away,
basically throwing caution to the wind along with roundhouse and
windmill punches all throughout their four round tussle. In the end,
Natasha Spence’s energy won her a well-deserved four round
unanimous decision."
Rick McLean wrote for BoxingExaminer.com: "The opening round saw the faster Spence land the harder punches and had
Larcinese back peddling for most of the round. Spence utilized her jab
well and put a solid right hand behind it. Larcinese had a much better
second and third rounds however Spence was able to land the more telling
blows and continued to control the fight. In an all action fourth
round both fighters left it all in the ring going toe to toe until the
final bell." Larcinese fell to 4-8 (0
KO's) with the loss.
“I
love the sport and I love the performance”, says Spence. “People want
to be entertained, they want to see exciting fights and exciting
fighters. I work really hard in and out of the gym to give them that.”
Both eloquent and congenial outside the ring, Spence has no difficulty
finding razor sharp focus and ferocity inside the ropes. “ I eat, breathe and sleep boxing, and I surround myself with the right
people in order to succeed. When I get into the ring, I have no doubt
that I will win. I just know I’ve done everything I could have possibly
done to prepare myself. I know that I have out trained and will out
work my opponent. I have the speed, skill and drive that supports my
confidence,” says Spence. “Winning is just putting it all together.”
2012 should be a year for Spence to step up to
longer fights and more testing competition to fulfil the potential
seen in her by trainer Syd
Vanderpool, who says:
"It's like she
has tapped into some divine right to simply be the best female boxer.
As no stranger to the world champion stage, I recognize that rare trait
that only certain boxers have. Natasha has it."
Other
Natasha Spence 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, December 29, 2011
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