Exclusive Boxing Interview: Hollie Dunaway
At one time, if you asked even the sternest boxing fan to name the women’s champion of the world, odds are that you would have heard one name, Christy Martin, almost having you believe that there was only one division amongst the females. For years, “The Coal Miners Daughter”, with her action packed bouts and hometown girl appeal, was the face of womenʼs boxing, hands down.
If you asked who was the most skilled fighter in women’s boxing, the name Lucia Rijker would have been the first that came to the mind of most. Rijker, known as “The Dutch Destroyer”, was as skilled in the ring as any man and her power was equally impressive.
Aside from the two names mentioned above, chances are that most would have drawn nothing but blanks when discussing the ladies of the ring.
It was not until Layla Ali, the daughter of “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali, entered the game that women’s boxing seemed to skyrocket into the attention of the mainstream media. Of course, anything attached to the name “Ali” will garner attention, so as Layla began to win more fights, we began to see more focus towards female pugilists as a whole. Once the flood gates opened, so did the talent pool.
Names like Vonda Ward, Mary Jo Sanders, Layla McCarter and Holly Holm emerged and began to become mainstays on the sports news pages. As these fighters began to receive more exposure, people began to take more of an interest in women’s boxing.
The more this interest peaked, the more that people started to see that the skills of the women fighters had evolved from the status quo of the late 1980ʼs and mid 1990ʼs, when most would just come into the ring ill prepared, out of shape and flailing wildly, showing little more skill than a couple of middle school kids slugging it out on the playground.
This evolution had fans actually paying attention to what went on in the womenʼs divisions and promoters started to schedule them on the undercards of major pay per view events: the sport of boxing had officially added a whole new avenue for fans to pay attention to.
Today, one of the stars of women’s boxing is a young lady from Van Buren, Arkansas born October 18, 1984 to the name of Hollie Natasha Dunaway, better known to her fans as “Hot Stuff”.
Hollie Dunaway, 21-6 (10), in her own word,s was never really into the sport of boxing growing up, in fact, it was something that she had never given a single thought to and until her pro debut, Hollie hadnʼt even seen a pro boxing match, let alone participated in one.
Her involvement of the sport came about in what she describes as “accidental at best”. Hollieʼs interest in boxing was piqued when she noticed some ladies training at a local fitness gym; Dunaway thought it was something that she might want to give a go to, except for one problem; she was shy and couldnʼt bring herself to approach the trainer about it.
Oddly enough, it was just a short time later that the same trainer approached her, asking if she would be interested in giving boxing a try and if she was, he might be able to get her a bout in a couple of month’s time.
After learning the basics and developing her 1-2 punch combo, word came in that a last minute replacement was needed for a local show. Accepting the fight without hesitation, Hollie stepped into Memphis, Tennesseeʼs Daisy Theater on February 4, 2003 as a minimumweight with two weeks training under her belt and a whole lot of enthusiasm, ready to make her pro debut and for her efforts, she went home with two rounds of experience and a second round TKO loss.
Hollie continued her career, winning her second bout via first round TKO before losing again in her third bout via TKO in the second round. Losing two of your first three bouts by stoppage may have been enough to deter even the toughest of men in trying for a fourth time but Hollie stuck with it, going on a two bout winning streak before losing once more in July of 2003 by a majority decision.
After taking three months off, Hollie returned to the ring in high gear, going on an 11 bout win streak and picking up a minor title and her first world title in the process with a win over the WIBA Minimumweight Champion at the time, Terri Moss.
After the Moss win, Dunaway received the opportunity to face the highly touted Regina Halmich for the WIBF Flyweight Championship. Stepping into hostile territory in Halmich’s home country of Germany, and front of the largest crowd of her career, Hollie performed like a seasoned veteran.
Dunaway took Halmich, who at the time many thought was boxing’s pound for pound best female fighter in world, 10 full rounds and while she lost the bout, Dunaway had officially put the boxing world on notice; Hollie Dunaway was to be taken seriously, very seriously!
In her second bout after losing to Halmich, Dunaway faced the woman to whom she had lost her pro debut to, Melissa Schaffer, in what would be the second defense of Dunaway’s world title. At the end of the bout and after what Dunaway thought had been a good performance on her behalf, she could hardly believe her ears as the ring announcer followed the scorecards with “And New WIBA…”
As her heart sank, Hollie looked on in disbelief while her opponent began to celebrate. But a split second later, Dunawayʼs disappointment was erased as the words “Hollie ‘Hot stuff’ Dunaway” followed the the second half of the announcement.
Apparently a mistake had been made somewhere in the paperwork, leaving the announcer to believe the title was vacant at the time of the bout. With a sigh of relief and her title firmly intact, Hollie continued on her march towards becoming one of the worldʼs elite female titlists.
After four more fights in the minimumweight division, Hollie stepped up to light flyweight and positioned herself as the overall ranked #2 fighter of that division. On June 13, 2008, Dunaway will once again step onto the big stage of womenʼs boxing by competing in her first Pay Per View broadcast when she faces former opponent and current IBA Junior Flyweight Champion, Wendy “Little Thunder” Rodriguez, 18-4 (3). The bout is for the vacant IBA Strawweight title.
While Hollie currently still holds the WIBF and WIBC versions of the minimum weight world titles along with the NABF Flyweight crown, the chance to claim a fourth title strap as a pro is a task that she is more than up to and a victory will help solidify her place as one of the best female fighters on the planet.
Recently, SaddoBoxing had the chance to speak with Hollie on her upcoming bout with Rodriguez, how it feels to be one of the sport’s elite women and if successful on June 13, what her plans for the future hold. Read it here first, exclusively at SaddoBoxing.
SaddoBoxing: In just a little over one month, you will be facing Wendy Rodriguez for the vacant IBA version of the strawweight championship. If successful, it will be your fourth world title; how do you feel? How has training been going?
Hollie Dunaway: “I am ready. The first time Wendy and I fought, it was an eight round bout, and I took every round in that fight so I was really not impressed with her. From what I understand, she has been claiming that she was not that into the bout and there were weight problems so that’s why she had such a bad performance. I was the one who actually took the fight on shorter notice, I only had two weeks to prepare.”
SB: This bout will be televised on PPV and broadcast to what may be the largest televised audience that either you or your opponent, Wendy Rodriguez, are used to. Is there any added pressure?
HD: “Yes, of course, there will be the pressure to look good. My manager has a $1000 knockout bonus on the fight. If I can score a KO or TKO, I will get the $1000 added to my purse. If I donʼt score the KO, he is going to donate the $1000 to charity, and it is going to be announced before the start of the bout. I am a generous person, but I have to admit I would like to go home with that extra $1000 [laughs].
“I expect Wendy to come out the aggressor in this fight, try and put pressure on me that she didnʼt in the first fight because there is more at stake. The last time we fought, I had just started with a new trainer and wanted to go in and look good, use the stuff we had worked on in the gym.
“While we were in the ring, I noticed that Wendy likes to get into the corner a lot, but like I said, I was more concerned with getting in work and make an impressive showing the scoring a knockout. This time though if she does the same thing, I am not going to let up, I am going to knock her out the first chance I get. When I train, I visualize the fight in my head. I see what is going to happen, Iʼm confident I am going to get the win.”
SB: When I was looking at your history and how you became involved in the sport, I found it interesting that it all happened pretty much by accident, you never had any real plans to become a professional fighter. Since that time, you have done quite well for yourself; are you glad that you took that chance?
HD: “I am, to be honest, I never had any doubts going into that first fight that I was going to win. I have always been a competitive. Even though I didnʼt win, I kept that same attitude, and now that I stuck with it, look how it has turned out so far. So yes, I have to say I am glad.”
SB: In the beginning, things did not go so well. You were stopped in your first bout, stopped your opponent in your second bout, but then you were stopped again in your third bout. If there was some amateur experience or something to fall back on, you may have known a little bit more that things like this can happen once turning pro, but you had your first bout literally after two weeks of training. Most people would have said “enough of this” and hung them up; what made you keep going?
HD: “There is nothing like that feeling of being in the ring, even when you are getting hit. Where I am from in Arkansas, I never experienced anything like this, I had never even been to a boxing match, let alone [participated] in one. When I am in the ring and going at it with my opponent and I hear people screaming my name, there is nothing that I could compare that feeling to except if I was maybe a rock star or something like that. That alone was enough to keep me going.”
SB: When you went to Germany and fought Regina Halmich, it was your first experience at a big stage with so many onlookers. Was that a bit intimidating for you?
HD: “A little bit, I had never been in front of such a big live audience. When you are in another fighter’s home country, especially one as popular as Regina, it changes things. You are in the ring doing well and you land a big shot, but all you hear from the crowd is silence and then when your opponent lands, just the slightest shot, they erupt.
“You are not really sure on what to think of it. I was kind of brought over there in the opponent role, if you know what I mean, but really, I am not disappointed that I went there for the fight, even though I lost a decision. It was a great experience, I returned there [Europe] to fight two more times and shortly after, I fought Wendy the first time she had signed to fight Regina.
“I was contacted a while later to come over and help Regina prepare for the fight. They were great over there and treated me well; I look forward to going back.”
SB: At what point exactly was it that you knew you were going to be so successful in the sport?
HD: “I always knew, even after my first fight, I knew this was for me. I was sheltered growing up and once I started boxing it was like I found my calling. I picked up on things quickly, I stayed in the gym seven days a week, my trainer had to tell me to go home and take a rest. I would come in and just ask to be taught something so I could go and practice it.”
SB: In your next fight you will be facing an opponent from the past, Wendy Rodriguez, is there anything to lead you to believe this bout may be tougher then the first?
HD: “I think it is going to be tougher for her, she is definitely going to try and fight harder than last time, but it isnʼt going to do her any good. Since the last time we met, she has not really done that much, one fight with a girl that turned her back every time a shot was landed on her and her fight with Regina Halmich.
“I not only fought Regina as well, but went on to go about 100 rounds in sparring with her. I have learned a lot since we last met and I have fought the better opponents since we last met.”
SB: If successful, this will be your fourth world title. People in this sport rarely become world champions once, let alone four times; how important is it for you to achieve this?
HD: “Very important. The main reason is I want to lock up the titles. If I fight the best in my divisions and keep claiming titles, the top level fighters will have no choice but to face me. Everyone underestimates me for some reason, not quite as much as they used to, but there are some out there that still do.
“Why? I am not really sure, but after winning titles in multiple divisions and stepping in with the best, you would think they would stop. Eventually, I will leave them no choice but to stop underestimating my abilities.”
SB: If you do win the title at strawweight, what are your plans for the future? Are there any thoughts on possibly a rematch with Carina Moreno or Julia Sahin?
HD: “I would like a rematch with either one of them. I donʼt know if they would be willing to fight me again, but I am more than willing to fight them. The last time I fought them, I went to their hometowns and faced them. In doing so, I was given the short end of the decision. I beat both of them and they both know it. A fighter does not have to actually say they lost for you to know even they thought they lost, the look on their faces shows it all.
“There was one of the WBC judges from the Moreno fight, that after we looked back on his scoring of her previous bout,s he hadnʼt had her losing a single round in I think it was five of her fights that he was the judge for. If I get the opportunity to face either, I am not going to do it in their hometown, that is for sure.”
SB: Holly, before we go is there anything that you would like to say to your supporters?
HD: “I just want to thank everyone for supporting me, they have been great. I hope they watch my fight with Rodriguez June 13th, I promise they will not be disappointed.”
SB: Holly, thanks you for your time, itʼs been great speaking with you, Good luck on June 13th.
HD: “Thank you.”
