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5'3" junior welterweight Sharon "Wild Thing" Anyos
from Australia is a boxer,
kickboxer and karate competitor. Born on 13 October 1970, she began
her love affair with the fight game as a "karate kid".
Sharon entered her first tournament when she was six years old,
and competed in non-contact karate until she was sixteen.
She entered the Australian
Koshiki Full Contact Titles in 1986 and won the
Australian Women's Title. In 1989 she participated in the Brogoli
Championships in Hawaii, and took second place Champion of Champions,
second place in Black Belt Fighting and first place in Black Belt
Forms.
In 1989 she took fourth place in Black Belt Fighting at the Kobota
World
Cup in Los Angeles.
Winning the Australian Koshiki
Full Contact Karate title sparked Sharon's interest in
kickboxing and Muay Thai, and in 1989 she won the WAKO Australian
Kickboxing
Lightweight title with wins over Nadine McDonald and Narelle Rockall.
In 1991
she fought to draws with Songul Oruc and Stephanie Curtiss in WKO
action, and
in 1992 she again defeated Narelle Rockall in WAKO action. A loss to
Stephanie
Curtiss in 1993 did not deter her, and in 1995 she won an ISKA
Australian
title by unanimous decision over Debbie Merritt. A successful defense
of this title
against Merritt in 1996 was followed in 1997 by a TKO of Laura Skinner
at 0:10 of the second round in a Muay Thai bout, and a unanimous
decision over Holly Ferneley in
a kickboxing bout.
In her pro boxing debut,
Sharon (126 lb) won the ANBF Women's Junior Lightweight Title by a
second-round TKO
over Cathy Hawkins (126 lb) on July 4, 1998 at Carrara Basketball
Stadium. This
was Australia's
first ever sanctioned women's boxing bout.
She then won the OBA
Women's Junior
Welterweight Title, defeating Holly Ferneley by
unanimous decision (see the picture above, kindly provided by Brian
Anyos).
February 1999 saw Sharon's
diary full with contests throughout the year, but
she had problems with opponents pulling out before the dates of her
fights.
On September 18, 1999 at
Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia,
Sharon (at 138½ lbs) moved her pro record to 3-0 with a
unanimous
six-round decision over previously undefeated Wena Karaka (137 lbs)
of New Zealand for the OBA
Welterweight title. Sharon won every
round on the judges' scorecards. Karaka fell to 2-1 with the loss.
Sharon next came down in
weight to take a world title fight ... facing
England's own Jane
Couch for the vacant WBF Women's Lightweight world title in
London, England on 31 October, 1999.
In a prefight interview
Sharon told Dee why this bout was a ten-year dream come true for her,
but it
was far from her dream bout once Team Anyos was at the David Lloyd
Tennis Centre
Club, Raynes Park in London!
Sharon's trainer/father Les Anyos sent Dee a
scathing
report on the circumstances under which
Sharon came away on the short end of a unanimous
(99-92; 98-94; 96-95) decision and her first boxing loss.
Correspondent James Clifford
wrote that "In an all action bout Couch's
superior ringcraft and boxing technique proved to be the decisive
factors in overcoming Anyos'
relentless aggression. The pace and intensity was frantic as Anyos
worked aggressively to get
inside Couch's reach and land telling blows. Couch who started her
career as a brawler type
fighter showed the dividends of her boxing training regime under Tex
Woodward ... from the
opening rounds when Couch was experiencing problems measuring the
distance for punches to
quell Anyos' attacks, Couch took over in the middle rounds using a
variety of well timed
uppercuts, straight rights and effective jabs to pull ahead. Going into
the last round in a
closely fought bout both fighters displayed tremendous conditioning and
desire to win with Anyos
probably feeling that she needed a big round to sway the decision
managing to back Couch up at times.
The scores of the judges were unanimous but varied: John Coyle 99-92,
Terry O'Connor 98-94 and
Larry O'Connell (of Holyfield vs. Lewis fame) 96-95."
"Ringside commenting
for the TV was former WBO Middleweight and Super-Middleweight champion
Steve Collins.
In his first time watching women's boxing live Collins was very
impressed by the bout and remarked
that the decision could have gone the other way in Anyos' favor but
Couch managed to pull it out
with her superior technique. Commentating for Bravo Cable TV, Claude
Abrams, editor of respected
fight paper "Boxing News" had started the evening very skeptical about
women's boxing. After the bout
he was very complimentary, stating that "… if that had been a men's
fight we would have been talking
about it for months …. and I don't think we should treat these girls
any different".
"World famous
Manager/Promoter Mickey Duff believed it was a great contest and Couch
was fortunate to get the decision. Couch's trainer Tex Woodward
conceded that 'all-action Sharon caused a few problems.'"
Clifford concluded: "Sharon
Anyos probably learnt more in defeat than her three victories combined
and proved not only
is she the 'Wildthing' but also the real thing. She's certainly
championship material."
Sharon later became the first
woman to receive an award from the
Australian National Boxing Federation. At their Annual Awards
Presentation Dinner in Brisbane on February 11, 2000, she got an
Outstanding Achievement Award for her WBF world title
fight with Jane Couch. According to Sharon's father and trainer Les
Anyos. this was a "first" for a previously exclusively male event in a
nation that only embraced women's boxing officially in 1998. Sharon was
also named "First Lady of Australian Boxing".
She then looked to California
as a place to get more fight
experience and to train.
On May 6, 2000 at Fantasy
Springs Casino in Indio, California, she weighed in at 125 lbs and
moved her pro boxing record to
4-1 with a convincing four-round unanimous (40-36 on all cards)
decision over
Cynthia Prouder
(127½ lbs) of Los Angeles,
whose record fell to 5-7-1. As she had done against Couch, Anyos fought
a fast-paced
fight, and was able to keep Prouder from setting up and going to work.
Sharon then trained at
California's Coachella Valley
Boxing Club with IFBA champion Sandy
Yard.
On October 14, 2000 at
Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga, California,
Sharon took on JoJo Wyman
of Woodland Hills, California over ten rounds for the newly created
WIBA Featherweight
title, this time coming away with a hard-fought unanimous (96-94)
decision to
take the belt.
The fight was non-stop action
from round 1 through round 10 and neither fighter
backed up an inch. Although a vocal Australian
contingent cheered for
Sharon, the crowd was largely for Wyman, a popular local
boxer.
One correspondent told me: "At
the end of the fight, I thought
Jo Jo had an edge, but it was so close I could not be certain. It was
truly a
great fight",
Another said: "This was a close one to call
and many felt that Wyman deserved the decision. There were boos from
the audience when the decision was announced ... but the booing was
neither vociferous or nasty, more just a
natural expression of disappointment over the hometown favorite
losing a close one. No one I saw, either in the audience or in the
ring, was outraged over the decision ... it really
was a great fight and everyone recognized it." Wyman fell to
7-3 while
Sharon
improved
her pro boxing record to 5-1.
At the Australian Boxing
Awards night on February 17, 2001, Sharon received the Australian
Female
Fighter of the Year award, plus a historic award for pioneering women's
boxing in Australia and
for being the first Australian female world boxing champion.
On November 30, 2001 at
Coolangatta Hotel in Queensland, Australia, Sharon (148¾ lbs) won a
six-round
unanimous (60-55,60-55,60-54) decision over Holly Ferneley (128 lbs),
who fell to 0-4-1 as a pro boxer. Anyos was
very aggressive in the early rounds and Ferneley was cut over her eye
in a clash of heads. Local reports say that
Ferneley said "it was fun" and Anyos that Ferneley was a good fighter
but that she (Anyos)
was feeling the effects of ring rust.
On December 18, 2002 in
Tokyo, Japan, Japanese featherweight champion Emiko
Raika of Tokyo defeated Sharon by a hard-fought ten-round
split
(98-97,98-99,99-98) decision for the WIBA Featherweight title. Anyos
controlled the early going but appeared to run
out of gas in the later rounds, By the end of the fight, Raika was
badly battered around her left eye
but she took the
title belt and advanced her own record to 5-1-0 (2 KO).
In a rematch on November 30,
2003 in Tokyo, Japan,
Emiko Raika
succesfully defended the WIBA Featherweight title with a ten-round
majority
decision over Sharon. Raika improved her record to 9-1-1 (4 KO).
Sharon Anyos lands to the face of Linda Tenberg
© copyrighted photograph by Renee from Extreme Images
On October 1, 2004 at
Southport Sharks in Southport, Queensland, Australia, Sharon (125 lbs)
won a ten-round unanimous (99-91,100-90,100-90) decision over Linda Tenberg (5'6", 126 lbs)
of Austin, Texas for the vacant WBF Women's Featherweight
Title. Anyos came out aggressively and traded with
Tenberg against the ropes but Tenberg initially fought back well at
close range. Anyos kept up the pressure in the second, and
caught Tenberg with several hard rights, but Tenberg came out strong
for the third round and landed several good rights of her own. Anyos
continued to take the fight to Tenberg in the fourth and fifth as
Tenberg began to tire and the Texan's punches were wider and less
accurate. Anyos began to dominate in the sixth and seventh, swarming
Tenberg, and landing with combinations and a hard left hook. Tenberg
was hurt at times but showed no sign of quitting. Sharon kept firing
jabs and combinations in the eighth as Tenberg began to show her
handiwork under her left eye. Anyos counterpunched until late in the
tenth when she put on an aggressive flurry to end the fight. Anyos
improved to 7-3-0 (1 KO) while Tenberg fell to 11-10 (6 KO). For a full
WBAN fight report by Mike “Kryptonite” Altamura, go
here.
For more fight photos by Extreme Images, see Photo Gallery #214 on
the WBAN
Member Site.
 After
the fight, Anyos told reporters “I hope everyone enjoyed it
because I had a fantastic time in here. I knew I was in here for 10
rounds. I trained for 10 rounds and I wanted to show some classy
boxing." Anyos also praised three-time world champion Jeff
Fenech, who had once opposed women's boxing, for promoting
the fight. "If it wasn't for Jeff Fenech you wouldn't be
seeing what you are seeing on TV here in Australia," she said.
Fenech admitted that Anyos had
changed his view of the women's sport. "I feel proud to be
associated with Sharon and her whole family," he
said. "She came to Sydney and convinced me to put this fight
on. Girls can do it as good as we can."
On December 10, 2004 at
Southport Sharks in Southport, Queensland, Australia, Sharon won a
ten-round majority decision over Lisa
Brown of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, defending her WBF
Women's Featherweight Title. According
to WBAN correspondent Mike Altamura, "While the 34-year-old
Anyos constantly charged forward, the southpaw Brown looked to
effectively counterpunch with swift straight left hands. Anyos
established a decent pace in the opening stanza, constantly pressing
the attack and despite landing few punchers, with Brown content to just
throw the occasional counter, won the round on work-rate alone. A
scrappy sort of round ensued in the second, with again few scoring
punchers, although Brown was able to get home with a couple rights
hooks late to clinch the round. The Australian was the busier fighter
in the third, but the 5’2 ½” Brown was clearly the more effective,
making Anyos pay with precise left hands each time she either leaned
in, or missed with the jab. Anyos made a slight adjustment in the
fourth, trapping the Canadian on the ropes and firing to her well-cut
midsection on a few occasions. It was enough to snare the round, but
Brown came back in the fifth, twisting and rolling out of the incoming
traffic, and scoring with the left hand. Rounds six and seven were
close, Anyos again throwing more leather, but Brown a lot more prudent
with her shots. Hard scoring rounds, maybe leaning towards the
defending champion due to sheer aggression. There was little that
landed of note in the eighth, although Brown did counter brilliantly in
one exchange with her back to the ropes, which probably shaded it in
her direction. In the final two stanzas, Anyos continued to walk
forward, but Brown, picking her spots, seemed to offset her opponent’s
offence, using her ring smarts to walk her into her crisp left
counters. A close, well-contested, and high-octane encounter. I
preferred the challenger’s effective counters over Anyos’ work rate,
and had Brown winning 97-94, although there was little separating these
two gutsy combatants in at least four of the rounds."
Brown suffered her first loss and is 9-1-2 (3 KO).
Sharon told Altamura: “I’d like to say
that we did have an original opponent, Layla McCarter, that was meant
to take the fight. However, four weeks ago she pulled out. I was left
to try and find an opponent, so I tried to find someone that was as
strong as I could find, someone that has obviously never lost a fight,
and Lisa Brown popped up on the internet and she accepted. I knew it
was going to be a struggle, and I knew that Australia was going to be
in for one of the best female fights they were ever gonna see. I am
more than happy to give Lisa a rematch because that was an awesome
fight and I think that we’re both very strong girls.”
Anyos also praised Brown, saying “Lisa Brown came here and
put up a great fight. I think she showed what a true champion she is,
and it was a very, very close fight. I’m happy we got the decision. To
Lisa and her husband who came over here, again at short notice, you’se
are great people, I hope you enjoyed Australia, we loved having you
here, and we welcome you back any time.” Lisa
Brown said "It was tough. I think I did enough to win, but
hey, I’m in Australia, I’m in her hometown, and I guess the judging
went her way. But next time ...”
On February 23, 2005 at
Vodafone Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Sharon (124¼ lbs) won by a TKO
over Nurys Rincón (5'4½", 125½ lbs) of Arjona, Colombia when Rincón was
unable to come out for the seventh round due to a rib injury.
Rincón had entered the ring wearing a body suit and a pad
over her ribs to protect a previous injury, and the fight was delayed
while she was instructed to remove this extra protection.
Anyos attacked the vulnerable area in the third round and Rincón, who
was also deducted a point for holding, apparently fought the next three
rounds with broken ribs (it's unclear whether or not she brought this
injury into the ring, hence the padding). Anyos improved her record to 9-3 (2 KO) while Rincón slipped to 7-1-2 (2 KOs).
On March 31, 2005 at
Waitakere's Trusts Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, Sharon won a
four-round split decision of debut fighter
Christina Tai of New Zealand in what has been described to me as a
"home town" tilt in the scoring towards the New Zealand boxer after a
bout that was controlled by Anyos. Anyos improved her record to 10-3 (2 KO).
Sharon Anyos vs. Marcela Acuña for the WBC title
Photo by Carley's
Photography courtesy Team
Anyos
On October 21, 2005 at Gold
Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia, Sharon
won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,96-94,96-94) decision over 29-year-old
former WIBA Featherweight champion Marcela
Acuña of Formosa, Argentina for the vacant WBC Women's
Featherweight title. The hard-hitting Acuña landed the most
damaging punches in this fight, but Anyos was busier and used her reach
advantage to outbox her for the decision. Anyos kept her distance to
take the first two rounds but got into a slugging match with the
dangerous Argentinian, who has a strong right hand punch. Anyos took
some heavy shots in this round and looked in danger of losing her
composure according to Eastside Boxing's ringside correspondent Tony
Nobbs. She got back to boxing in the later rounds and used her speed to
control the action, holding off a strong charge by Acuña in the ninth
as the crowd chanted her nickname "Wild Thing". "I am very
very proud," said Anyos after the fight, sporting a badly
swollen left cheek. "I felt strong every round. The girl can
punch and she also headbutts quite well. I felt I won at
least eight of the 10 rounds which to me is all that matters. I've been
to war to win the best world title you could ever be
given." Acuña fell to 19-5-0 (12 KOs)
with the loss while Anyos improved to 11-3-0 (2 KO).
Manager David Viola said
Anyos deserved national recognition after becoming the country's first
female world boxing champion. "We have our 'Million
Dollar Baby' here. This is not Hollywood," said Viola,
"this girl trains six hours a day. She's one of
the most focused, determined, feisty, arrogant ladies I've ever met.
Very difficult to manage but I love her to death."
On June 9, 2006 in Southport,
Queensland, Australia, Sharon TKO'd 20-year-old Konsuay Deksukhotnai of
Thailand at 0:49 in the fourth round of a scheduled (non-title)
eight-rounder. Anyos took some right hands from her smaller opponent in
Round One, but she gained control of the fight in the second round and
out-punched Deksukhothai the rest of the way. A flurry of right hands
in the fourth forced the Thai boxer into the ropes and referee Alan
Simpson stopped the bout. Sharon improved to
12-3-0 (3 KO) with the win, which also netted her a
new yellow Porsche with number plate "Wildthing" from a local
businessman. Deksukhothai's record was given as 5-3 (2 KO's),
but Thai boxing records are hard to verify and often contain a mix of
sanctioned and unsanctioned bouts.
On September 23, 2006 at
Southport Sharks Club on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia,
Sharon Anyos successfully defended her WBC world
featherweight title when she stopped Esther
Schouten of the Netherlands at 1:37 in
the sixth round. Anyos told the news media that it was her
hardest fight so far, and that she was pleased that she won the bout
this way. After Schouten had set the pace in the first round with some
strong right hands that had the local crowd nervous, Anyos took control
in the second and outworked her taller opponent, eventually
wearing her down. In the fourth round, Schouten was cut over her left
eye by an Anyos right, and referee Brad Vocale intervened to have the
ring physician check the cut. Schouten tried to time Anyos
with uppercuts as she charged forward but could not recover the
initiative. The fight was stopped In the sixth round when Anyos threw a
barrage of combinations which stunned Schouten, leaving her wobbling at
the knees against the ropes and in no condition to return
fire. Schouten fell to 18-4-1 (9 KO’s).
"I wasn't worried
after Esther fought so well in round one," said Anyos'
trainer Lovemore Ndou. "I knew that Sharon could make it
easier for herself by staying calm and working off the jab. Eventually
she was going to catch her. Once she caught her, I knew she was going
to break her down and that's what happened."
On February 23, 2007 at the
RSL Club in Southport, Queensland, Sharon (128¾ lbs) won a six-round
unanimous (60-54,59-54,59-54) decision over little-known Thai boxer
Satreelek Paradorngym a.k.a. Pradisam Chuthaporn (5'1", 124¼
lbs) who was reputedly 5-1-0 (1 KO) coming into
the bout (but Thai female boxing records are hard to verify because of
inconsistent recording of boxers' names). Anyos improved to 14-3-0
(4 KO's) with the win.
© Copyrighted photo by Carley's Photography courtesy Team Anyos
Sharon holds a fifth degree
black belt in karate and is a nationally licensed boxing trainer,
kickboxing instructor and karate coach.
Sharon is
trained by Lovemore Ndou and can be contacted at
wildstar@bigpond.net.au.
To check out more detailed fight reports and Sharon
Anyos's complete up-to-date boxing records, you can go to the
WBAN Records
Member Site
Other
Sharon Anyos links
Page
last updated:
Saturday February 24, 2007
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