Marcela Acuña

Marcela Eliana Acuña (born 16 October 1976) is an Argentine professional boxer and part-time politician. She has held multiple super bantamweight world titles, including the IBF title since 2018; the WBA title from 2006 to 2008; the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2010; the WBO title from 2013 to 2014; the IBF title from 2016 to 2018; and the WBA interim featherweight title in 2016.

Early life

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} Acuña enjoyed boxing from a very early age. At the age of seven, she visited a boxing gym for the first time. Her first trainer, Ramon Chaparro, would many years later become her husband.

Marcela Acuña became an accomplished martial arts fighter before she decided to box for money. At the age of twelve, she had earned a black belt and she became South America's champion in her division by the age of fourteen. She made sixteen successful title defenses.

She had to retire from karate due to pregnancy. In 1995, she and Chaparro had their first son. After some time away from combat sports, Acuña decided that she would return, only this time, she would compete in boxing.

Professional boxing career

Acuña made her professional debut on 5 December 1997 against Christy Martin in Pompano Beach, Florida, on an undercard that was headlined by Johnny Tapia's world championship defense against Puerto Rico's Andy Agosto and which was shown nationally across the United States. Acuña was dropped in round ten, but she rose and finished the bout on her feet. Despite losing a unanimous decision by scores of 100-90 and 99-90 (twice), Acuña's performance was hailed by many fans and critics alike, considering that this was her first professional boxing bout.

In just her second professional fight she met Lucia Rijker on 25 September 1998, at Ledyard, Connecticut, for the vacant IBO super lightweight title. Acuña was knocked out in five rounds.

After losing her first two fights, Acuña stepped away from boxing.

Return to boxing

Acuña returned to boxing in 2001, and she and her rival, Jamillia Lawrence of New Jersey, made Argentine boxing history when they participated in the first ever women's boxing fight to be sanctioned by the Argentine boxing commission. Acuña got her first win, with a four-round split decision over the American at Buenos Aires, on 12 February of that year.

On 1 June, she obtained a six-round unanimous decision win over Luz Marina Sanabria Ledesma of Colombia, at Formosa.

Twenty eight days later, she got her first knockout win, when she defeated Uruguay's Andrea Pereyra in only two rounds.

On 11 August, she returned to Buenos Aires, to defeat Yolanda Marrugo, dropping her twice, on her way to a six-round unanimous decision.

On September 21, she fought at Carlos Monzón's birthplace, Santa Fe, when she was rematched with Pereyra. Acuña knocked out Pereyra in five rounds, and Pereyra required hospitalization after this fight. Acuña was awarded the "La Opinion's 80th anniversary" trophy that night.

On 12 October she knocked out Ana Dos Santos in two rounds, for her last appearance of 2001.

Her first fight of 2002 was preceded by much media hype. She was challenged by famous fitness instructor Patricia Quirico, who herself was making her professional debut when she boxed Acuña.

If for nothing else, the fight was widely expected because Quirico was a well known personality with developed body strength, who helped fan interest for the fight develop when she began to threaten Acuña through the media. Although she was 40 years old already, she seemed to feel an authentic dislike towards Acuña, and fans across Argentina spoke about the fight on the weeks prior to the event. The fact Quirico had participated in twenty three exhibition matches, as well as in karate and baseball also helped fan interest grow.

They met on 19 January 2002, at Buenos Aires. Acuña scored one of the quickest knockouts in boxing history, when she landed a right to Quirico's chin right after the first bell rang, and followed it with a left that sent Quirico to the floor. Quirico was counted out and Acuña officially won the fight at fourteen seconds of round one. The win earned her the Argentine Featherweight title.

On 1 March she had to fight one of her closest friends, Carmen Montiel, to defend her Argentina title. Acuña outpointed Montiel over ten rounds.

Next, she would have had her second world title try, on 6 April against Panama's Damaris Pinock Ortega, for the vacant WIBA title. The 2002 Argentine economic crisis, however, forced for the fight to be postponed.

On 29 June she and Montiel had a rematch, and Acuña again prevailed, by an eight-round unanimous decision.

World championships

Acuña then lost weight, going down all the way to the Super Bantamweight division to get her second try at becoming a world champion. In what was the first ever women's boxing world championship fight to be staged in Argentina, Acuña lost a split decision to champion Alicia Ashley.

Acuña then decided to take another two-year lay-off, but she had also decided to stay around the Super Bantamweight division's weight limit, because she wanted to fight in that division from there on. And when she returned for the second time, on 21 February 2003, she knocked out former Regina Halmich challenger Lourdes Gonzalez in two rounds to win the Argentine Super Bantamweight title.

On 10 May she fought in a place where boxing matches are rare: Tierra del Fuego, where she knocked out Ana Davila Ferreira in two rounds.

Then came a rematch with Ashley. On her third world title try, Acuña lost to Ashley for the second time, this time by a ten-round unanimous decision, on 14 June.

On 22 August she and her friend Carmen Montiel met for the third time, and Acuña again beat Montiel on points, this time in six rounds. This victory set up the stage for Acuña's fourth world title try.

On 6 December, she and Panamanian Pinock Ortega finally got to meet, and Acuña became world champion when she knocked out Ortega in the sixth round for the vacant WIBA Super Bantamweight title.

On 26 May 2004, she made her first world championship defense, knocking out Daysi Padilla in the first round. Padilla, who had former world champion Ricardo Cardona at her corner, also required a short stay at a hospital.

On 11 September 2004, Acuña knocked out Ana Camilla Santos in the third round of a non-title bout.

On 22 January 2005, she knocked out Maria Elena Miranda in three rounds to win the WIBA's vacant world Featherweight title, at Formosa.

In May 2019 she fought former world champion Jackie Nava to a draw.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In October 2023 she lost to former world champion Sarah Mahfoud, via unanimous decision.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
66	Template:DrawDraw	53–10–3	Natalia Josefina Alderete	SD	8 (8)	2024-04-12	Template:Small
65	Template:No2Loss	53–10–2	Sarah Mahfoud	UD	10 (10)	2023-10-07	Template:Small	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	53–9–2	Lucrecia Belen Arrieta	UD	10 (10)	2023-07-21	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	52–9–2	Natalia Josefina Alderete	UD	8 (8)	2023-03-10	Template:Small
62	Template:No2Loss	51–9–2	Débora Dionicius	UD	10 (10)	2022-12-23	Template:Small	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	51–8–2	Laura Soledad Griffa	UD	10 (10)	2022-09-24	Template:Small	Template:Small
60	Template:No2Loss	50–8–2	Débora Dionicius	UD	10 (10)	2021-11-20	Template:Small	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	50–7–2	Natalia Josefina Alderete	UD	6 (6)	2021-09-25	Template:Small
58	Template:DrawDraw	49–7–2	Jackie Nava	MD	10 (10)	2019-05-25	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	49–7–1	Yenifer Rodriguez	KO	5 (10)	2018-12-14	Template:Small	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	48–7–1	Mayerlin Rivas	SD	10 (10)	2018-10-19	Template:Small	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	47–7–1	Laura Soledad Griffa	UD	10 (10)	2018-08-10	Template:Small	Template:Small
54	Template:No2Loss	46–7–1	Daniela Romina Bermúdez	UD	10 (10)	2018-04-13	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	46–6–1	Shannon O'Connell	UD	10 (10)	2017-06-16	Template:Small	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	45–6–1	Yésica Marcos	KO	10 (10)	2016-12-16	Template:Small	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	44–6–1	Brenda Karen Carabajal	UD	10 (10)	2016-09-09	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	43–6–1	Mayra Alejandra Gomez	UD	10 (10)	2016-05-07	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	42–6–1	Edith Soledad Matthysse	UD	10 (10)	2014-08-23	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	41–6–1	Estrella Valverde	TKO	6 (10)	2014-03-28	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	40–6–1	Halanna Dos Santos	UD	10 (10)	2013-10-25	Template:Small	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	39–6–1	Melissa Hernández	UD	10 (10)	2013-07-13	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	38–6–1	Edith Soledad Matthysse	UD	10 (10)	2013-05-10	Template:Small
44	Template:DrawDraw	37–6–1	Yésica Marcos	SD	10 (10)	2013-01-25	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:No2Loss	37–6	Carolina Duer	UD	10 (10)	2012-12-21	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	37–5	Betiana Patricia Vinas	TD	9 (10)	2012-08-17	Template:Small	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	36–5	Maria Elena Villalobos	UD	10 (10)	2012-05-19	Template:Small	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	35–5	Rosilete Dos Santos	TKO	10 (10)	2010-08-20	Template:Small	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	34–5	Maria Elena Villalobos	UD	10 (10)	2010-04-10	Template:Small	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	33–5	Alicia Ashley	MD	10 (10)	2009-08-20	Template:Small	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	32–5	Jackie Nava	UD	10 (10)	2009-04-30	Template:Small	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	31–5	Alejandra Oliveras	UD	10 (10)	2008-12-04	Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	30–5	Paulina Cardona	RTD	5 (8)	2008-10-10	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	29–5	Danielle Bouchard	UD	10 (10)	2008-07-03	Template:Small	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	28–5	Anays Cecilia Gutierrez	RTD	3 (10)	2008-05-15	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	27–5	Adriana Salles	UD	8 (8)	2008-02-04	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	26–5	Claudia Andrea Lopez	UD	8 (8)	2007-10-27	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	25–5	Maria del Carmen Potenza	TD	6 (10)	2007-06-29	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	24–5	Yazmín Rivas	UD	10 (10)	2007-04-20	Template:Small	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	23–5	Maria del Carmen Potenza	MD	10 (10)	2007-01-27	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	22–5	Maribel Santana	RTD	2 (10)	2006-12-15	Template:Small	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	21–5	Paola Esther Herrera	TKO	1 (10)	2006-10-14	Template:Small	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	20–5	Anays Cecilia Gutierrez	UD	10 (10)	2006-08-12	Template:Small	Template:Small
24	Template:No2Loss	19–5	Sharon Anyos	UD	10 (10)	2005-10-22	Template:Small	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	19–4	Yolis Marrugo Franco	UD	8 (8)	2005-06-24	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	18–4	Nerys Rincon	RTD	2 (10)	2005-05-14	Template:Small	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	17–4	Maria Andrea Miranda	TKO	3 (10)	2005-01-22	Template:Small	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	16–4	Miura Davila Ferreira	TKO	3 (4)	2004-09-11	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	15–4	Monica Sabino Barbosa	TKO	4 (8)	2004-07-02	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	14–4	Daysi Padilla	TKO	1 (10)	2004-05-26	Template:Small	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	13–4	Damaris Pinock Ortega	TKO	6 (10)	2003-12-06	Template:Small	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	12–4	Maria del Carmen Montiel	UD	6 (6)	2003-08-22	Template:Small
15	Template:No2Loss	11–4	Alicia Ashley	UD	10 (10)	2003-06-14	Template:Small	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	11–3	Miura Davila Ferreira	TKO	5 (6)	2003-05-10	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	10–3	Lourdes Noemi Gonzalez	TKO	2 (10)	2003-02-20	Template:Small	Template:Small
12	Template:No2Loss	9–3	Alicia Ashley	SD	10 (10)	2002-11-15	Template:Small	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	9–2	Maria del Carmen Montiel	UD	8 (8)	2002-06-29	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	8–2	Maria del Carmen Montiel	UD	10 (10)	2002-03-01	Template:Small	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	7–2	Patricia Alejandra Quirico	KO	1 (10)	2002-01-19	Template:Small	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	6–2	Ana Dos Santos	KO	2 (6)	2001-10-12	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	5–2	Andrea Venecia Pereira	KO	5 (6)	2001-09-21	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	4–2	Yolis Marrugo Franco	UD	6 (6)	2001-08-11	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	3–2	Andrea Venecia Pereira	TKO	2 (4)	2001-06-30	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	2–2	Luz Mariana Sarabia	UD	6 (6)	2001-06-02	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	1–2	Jamillia Lawrence	SD	4 (4)	2001-04-28	Template:Small
2	Template:No2Loss	0–2	Lucia Rijker	KO	5 (10)	1998-09-25	Template:Small	Template:Small
1	Template:No2Loss	0–1	Christy Martin	UD	10 (10)	1997-12-05	Template:Small

Politics

In 2009 she was fourth on the Peronist list running for city council in Tres de Febrero Partido.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of female boxers

External links

• Template:Boxrec

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