Brazilian star Esquiva Falcao makes his pro debut tonight

Brazilian star Esquiva Falcao makes his pro debut tonight
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
February 15, 2014


Prior to the 2012 Olympics in London, only one Brazilian fighter had earned a medal – Servilio de Oliveira, who earned bronze in the 1968 Mexico City Games.

In 2012, not only was this feat surpassed with the South American country earning both a silver and bronze, but it was achieved by two brothers, Esquiva and Yamaguchi Falcao.

Tonight, the silver-medal winning Esquiva Falcao makes his professional debut in a six-round bout on a small club show in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. The card will be televised by UniMas in the United States. More importantly, the bout will be televised on Brazilian network SporTV as part of a lucrative television deal that was struck when Falcao signed a deal with Top Rank at the end of 2013.

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Mia St. John avenges loss to Christy Martin, opportunity to pass the torch exists

Mia St. John avenges loss to Christy Martin, opportunity to pass the torch exists
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
August 17, 2012


Tuesday night in Friant, Calif., a lightly populated central California town, two of the most recognizable names in women's boxing squared off in a rematch ten years removed from an initial battle that took place on pay-per-view.

Now both in their mid 40s, Mia St. John exacted her revenge on Christy Martin in a non-televised clash that, according to the two combatants, signaled the end of their respective professional boxing careers. It also could perhaps signal the end of an era in which women's boxing was treated as a sideshow or an appetizer rather than legitimate competition.

Both Martin and St. John graced the covers of two major publications in their heyday. Martin, who was nicknamed “The Coal Miner's Daughter,” was on the cover of the April 15, 1996 edition of Sports Illustrated. St. John was featured on the cover of the November, 1999 cover of Playboy, showcasing a different set of assets.

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