Sport Rings True for Carillo

Four years ago, the last thing the former Miss El Monte expected to be doing Friday night was sending a woman to the hospital after hitting her with a barrage of punches. But here was Linda Carillo bloodying the nose of Lameika Bowers and stopping her in the third round of the Women’s National Amateur Boxing Championships.

“I never thought I’d be doing this; it wasn’t even in my subconscious back then,� Carillo said.

Then again, maybe it isn’t that odd that a woman with a double major from UC Irvine in pre-law and abnormal behavior has turned to boxing for another form of competition.

“I’m in it for the love of the sport,� she said.

Carillo gave up on a paralegal degree to focus on boxing. She’s so good that she’s having a hard time finding opponents. In three years, Carillo has had 10 fights--winning eight--and at least 10 walkovers. Her victory Friday night at Santa Ana’s Salgado Center was her first fight since last year’s nationals in Augusta, Ga., where she finished third.

“That’s the heartbreak of this sport,� Carillo said. “It’s so new. But when this sport gets to where I want it to be, I’m going to be that much further ahead of everybody else.�

How old Carillo, 28, will be by then is hard to say. Women’s professional boxing has been gaining fans the last few years, but the sport is still enduring growing pains.

“If it’s going to be a real sport instead of a side show, they’re going to have to graduate boxers from the amateur ranks,� said Dean Lohuis, chief inspector for the state athletic commission.

Without national amateur championships, there can be no Olympics. Without the Olympics, there can be no Sugar Ray Leonards or Oscar De La Hoyas. So for most women’s boxers, the road to credibility and acceptance starts with the women’s amateur championships, which conclude tonight at the Arrowhead Pond at 7. The event will crown champions in 14 weight classes and will be the first all-female boxing show held in Southern California.

But this isn’t the first women’s boxing match in the Southland. Don Fraser, who used to promote boxing cards at the Irvine Marriott, put on a female bout at the Forum in 1977, and several women’s matches have appeared on shows at the Irvine Marriott and the Pond the past few years.

The rules are slightly different for women. Rounds last two minutes, as opposed to three minutes for men. Plastic chest protectors are worn and pregnancy tests are given before each woman steps in the ring.

The state athletic commission, which governs professional boxing, has done its best to treat men and women equally.

“Many states have separate rules for men and women,� Lohuis said. “We don’t.�

Lohuis said women could sign a waiver asking for two-minute rounds. Most do.

“To me, that tells me the women are still not quite as advanced as men,� he said. “They are certainly as competitive and exciting. In fact, two-minute rounds probably make for more exciting, action-packed rounds.�

Pay-per-view numbers bear that out. So do the pay days of the top women’s professional fighter, Christy Martin, who has been commanding $150,000 per fight.

“This is the most explosive area of women’s sports right now,� said Rick Kulis of Event Entertainment, whose company is co-promoting the amateur championships with the Pond. “It’s the one sport that delivers on the promise of excitement.�

But it doesn’t always deliver on the promise of skilled boxers. Most professional fighters, including Martin, entered boxing through martial arts or kick boxing and received little formal training in their early years. That began to change in 1993, when USA Boxing, the national governing body of Olympic-style boxing, recognized female boxing.

After last year’s first national amateur championships in Augusta, Ga., nearly one-third of the 65 women competitors turned pro. Most earn only a fraction of what Martin commands.

Women’s boxing as an Olympic event is probably at least two Games away, according to a USA Boxing official, but that reality hasn’t dampened Carillo’s spirit.

“The Olympics might not happen for me, but it’s going to happen for the younger fighters,� said Carillo, who plans to attend law school once her boxing career is over. “Anything I can do to help the sport is an honor for me.�

This from a woman who didn’t always find the sport very honorable. She was invited to a community center gym in El Monte just more three years ago, but she wasn’t sure what she was doing there.

“I told them, ‘Now I hope you understand this is for fitness,’ � Carillo said. “I told [trainer] Ben Lira, ‘You’ll never get me in the ring.’ �

Lira has surprisingly convinced quite a few women to take that first step.

“I thought this was something that would fly by,� he said. “I thought once they got hit, they’d be out the door. But they’ve proven to be just as tough as guys.�

Los Angeles’ Krysti Rosario, another Lira fighter, received a shiner under her right eye during Thursday’s quarterfinals and she was hit hard on her nose in Friday’s decision victory over Shelly Lay of Ogden, Utah.

“She got me with a few good shots,� Rosario said. “It reminded me where I was.�

Rosario was originally a kick boxer. She won all five of her fights, but gained no satisfaction from the sport and took up boxing less than a year ago.

“Boxing seemed to have more room to grow,� Rosario said. “It was not natural at first. I kicked a girl.�

Rosario looked more like a boxer Friday night, using her jab effectively and continually beating Lay to the punch.

“I just listen to what [Lira] says,� Rosario said. “I have to learn how to walk and how to jab.�

Carillo started slowly in her bout against Bowers of Richmond, Va., losing the first round. But she took control when she found Bowers’ nose with a crunching punch.

“I’m not sure if I caught her with a right hand or a left hook,� Carillo said. “But I saw the blood.�

Carillo will take on Rashell Hansen of Murray, Utah, tonight for the 106-pound title. Her boyfriend and her parents will be cheering.

“My parents have always supported me,� she said. “They were a little apprehensive at first, but they’ve always respected my judgment.�

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Women’s Boxing

* What: U.S. Amateur Boxing’s National Women’s Championships

* When: 7 tonight

* Where: Arrowhead Pond

* Notes: This year’s event drew more than 125 competitors in 14 weight classes. Winners become members of the first female national team that will represent the United States in international competitions. Last year, 67 women competed in the first women’s amateur national championships in Augusta, Ga.

* Tickets: $30 ringside, $15 floor/plaza, $10 plaza

* Information: (714) 740-2000