Rising Female Prospect Jennifer Salinas to Make Her DC Area Debut on Card
Two respected veterans with more 20 wins each will square off as the co-feature and a hard-hitting female prospect will make her first area appearance on the Jimmy Lange-headlined boxing card set for May 2 at the Patriot Center.
Washington, D.C.’s Purcell “Hard Rock” Miller (22-5-1, 18 KOs) will face Tom Wilt (21-6, 4 KOs) of Altoona, PA in an eight-round middleweight contest while featherweight Jennifer Salinas (9-1, 3 KOs), a Bolivian/American fighting out of Manassas, VA, has been added as a special attraction bout, Ice Promotions officials announced.
Miller was a top prospect fighting out of the District who won 16 of his first 17 bouts before suffering a 12-round split decision loss to Raul Frank for the vacant USBA welterweight fight. In his last fight held at the Patriot Center, he dropped an eight round decision to highly-regarded Larry Marks. Miller serves as the primary boxing instructor at the new LA Boxing gym in Georgetown/Washington, D.C.
A four-time Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion, the battle-tested Wilt is coming off a victory over Jerome Elder in his last fight. However, local fans best know Wilt from his valiant performance against Lange at the Patriot Center several years ago when he went the distance in their ten-round war before being stopped via TKO.
In a special attraction four-round bout, Salinas returns to the ring after a two-year layoff to give birth to her second child to compete in her backyard against Philadelphia’s tough Christina Leadbeater (2-2).
Born in Alexandria, VA to a Bolivian father and American mother, Salinas was raised in Santa Cruz, Bolivia from age two to 15 before moving back to the United States and Grand Rapids, MI. An active athlete with a competitive spirit and willingness to mix it up to match, she participated in soccer, swimming, and dancing and was the only girl to compete on the Rogers High School boys wrestling team. She more than held her own against her male competitors, placing fourth in the state championships and eighth at Nationals as a 125-pound sophomore.
Although she didn’t complete her final two years in high school, opting instead to enter the work field (she earned her GED), her experience competing daily on the boys wrestling squad proved invaluable and led her to another combat sport: boxing. Salinas used her natural aggressiveness and competitive fire to take up the “sweet science” in 2001, sparring against men at Alonso Gym in Michigan.
During three years of amateur competition she compiled an 8-2 record, earning Golden Glove honors and advancing to the national competition. In 2004, the same year she welcomed her first child, Salinas turned professional winning her debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Nicole Beard. Despite raising a child, she flourished as a pro, winning nine of her ten bouts. When her second child arrived in 2007, she put her career on hold to temporarily become a full-time mother.
Fast forward two years, now serving as a full-time trainer at LA Boxing (Chantilly and Reston gyms), Salinas is anxious to step back inside the ring and make her hometown debut at the Patriot Center in front of family and friends. Leading her team of fans will be her Dominican husband Ernest Guevara, four-year old daughter Jada, one-year old son John Pablo and ten-year old step-daughter LeTicia.
Popular Great Falls, VA junior middleweight Jimmy Lange headlines the May 2 event with a WBC USNBC Championship title fight against Frank Houghtaling. An action-packed undercard featuring an exciting mix of local and regional veterans and prospects is scheduled. Doors open at 6:30pm with the first fight set for 7:30pm.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com, calling 703-573-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT or 410-547-SEAT or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including the Patriot Center box office.
Two respected veterans with more 20 wins each will square off as the co-feature and a hard-hitting female prospect will make her first area appearance on the Jimmy Lange-headlined boxing card set for May 2 at the Patriot Center.
Washington, D.C.’s Purcell “Hard Rock” Miller (22-5-1, 18 KOs) will face Tom Wilt (21-6, 4 KOs) of Altoona, PA in an eight-round middleweight contest while featherweight Jennifer Salinas (9-1, 3 KOs), a Bolivian/American fighting out of Manassas, VA, has been added as a special attraction bout, Ice Promotions officials announced.
Miller was a top prospect fighting out of the District who won 16 of his first 17 bouts before suffering a 12-round split decision loss to Raul Frank for the vacant USBA welterweight fight. In his last fight held at the Patriot Center, he dropped an eight round decision to highly-regarded Larry Marks. Miller serves as the primary boxing instructor at the new LA Boxing gym in Georgetown/Washington, D.C.
A four-time Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion, the battle-tested Wilt is coming off a victory over Jerome Elder in his last fight. However, local fans best know Wilt from his valiant performance against Lange at the Patriot Center several years ago when he went the distance in their ten-round war before being stopped via TKO.
In a special attraction four-round bout, Salinas returns to the ring after a two-year layoff to give birth to her second child to compete in her backyard against Philadelphia’s tough Christina Leadbeater (2-2).
Born in Alexandria, VA to a Bolivian father and American mother, Salinas was raised in Santa Cruz, Bolivia from age two to 15 before moving back to the United States and Grand Rapids, MI. An active athlete with a competitive spirit and willingness to mix it up to match, she participated in soccer, swimming, and dancing and was the only girl to compete on the Rogers High School boys wrestling team. She more than held her own against her male competitors, placing fourth in the state championships and eighth at Nationals as a 125-pound sophomore.
Although she didn’t complete her final two years in high school, opting instead to enter the work field (she earned her GED), her experience competing daily on the boys wrestling squad proved invaluable and led her to another combat sport: boxing. Salinas used her natural aggressiveness and competitive fire to take up the “sweet science” in 2001, sparring against men at Alonso Gym in Michigan.
During three years of amateur competition she compiled an 8-2 record, earning Golden Glove honors and advancing to the national competition. In 2004, the same year she welcomed her first child, Salinas turned professional winning her debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Nicole Beard. Despite raising a child, she flourished as a pro, winning nine of her ten bouts. When her second child arrived in 2007, she put her career on hold to temporarily become a full-time mother.
Fast forward two years, now serving as a full-time trainer at LA Boxing (Chantilly and Reston gyms), Salinas is anxious to step back inside the ring and make her hometown debut at the Patriot Center in front of family and friends. Leading her team of fans will be her Dominican husband Ernest Guevara, four-year old daughter Jada, one-year old son John Pablo and ten-year old step-daughter LeTicia.
Popular Great Falls, VA junior middleweight Jimmy Lange headlines the May 2 event with a WBC USNBC Championship title fight against Frank Houghtaling. An action-packed undercard featuring an exciting mix of local and regional veterans and prospects is scheduled. Doors open at 6:30pm with the first fight set for 7:30pm.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com, calling 703-573-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT or 410-547-SEAT or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including the Patriot Center box office.
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