Boxing News : David A. Avila : St. John Wants Martin Before Retirement

St. John Wants Martin Before Retirement
by David A. Avila (February 09, 2004)

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Boxing's eye-catching Mia Rosales St. John took a unanimous decision against Ragan Pudwill this past Saturday but now she is thinking of retirement by the end of the year.

It's been a swerving road to respectability for St. John that started on a sour note for the Latina fighter who began her career fighting on nationally televised fights while protected and now has learned the finer points of the art of boxing.

But it took one fight to force her to learn.

"It only happened after I got knocked out," said St. John, 36, who lives in California.

Fighting against hard-hitting southpaw Rolanda Andrews in a San Antonio parking lot a few years back, St. John was stopped in the second round. She had just left Top Rank who had provided her with easy fights to build her record early in her career.

And why not?

The sexy brunette had been featured several times in Playboy magazine and boosted the visibility of the sport. It was easier for Top Rank to provide fights for St. John than keep fearsome Lucia Rijker who was recognized as peerless in female prizefighting, but unable to find opponents because of her talent.

St. John often found herself placed on the undercards of Oscar De La Hoya and other Top Rank fighters. The opponents she faced were not real fighters just opponents.

"Guys start to learn boxing when they are six years, I learned on national television," said St. John (31-3-2, 13 KOs), who early in her life lived in San Francisco, New Jersey and other parts of the country. "It was hard for me to learn how to fight."

Though experienced in Tae Kwon Do, St. John had difficulty learning the finer points of throwing a punch correctly, blocking and keeping her head up. Often she would flail away with her head down. One thing she did possess was a strong punch.

When Top Rank and Mia parted ways she no longer was provided with set up fights. She fended for herself and in a pivotal fight in Texas met a left hand by Andrews that dazed and stopped her. Right then she realized she needed real help and made a phone call to world champion Fernando Vargas who she had met before.

Vargas set up a meeting with Robert Garcia, a former junior lightweight world champion, and his father Eduardo Garcia, who trained both Vargas and Robert. The meeting resulted in St. John gaining valuable knowledge from all three Oxnard boxing icons.

"The only reason I got with them was because of Fernando Vargas," St. John says with graciousness. "I called him and said I need a trainer. He set me up with Eduardo and Robert in Oxnard and I never left."

The Oxnard team worked and drilled the Mexican-American lightweight. With years of fighting incorrectly it wasn't an easy task re-training her with certain defensive tactics. But one intangible St. John possessed was heart. Even during her early years fans could tell she had a competitive spirit.

But boxing critics and hardcore boxing fans abhorred her penchant for throwing punches with her head down and looping rights and lefts. Her footwork seemed awkward and her opponents were much worse.

"The media made me out to be in the elite but I wasn't. It was all the hype," said St. John who never overestimated her own skills. "I might have picked up slower because I came from a totally different sport. It was hard for me to make the change."

St. John was ridiculed by boxing writers and television commentators. But inside she knew she could learn and improve despite what her critics said.

"I'm better than my hardcore critics say. They saw me early in my television fights and they judged me on that," she said. "But once I got better and was with Eduardo Garcia I think I changed."

The results of that change came on Dec. 6, 2002 against one of the most feared fighters in female prizefighting Christy Martin. When the announcement was made that the pair would meet in Detroit, boxing critics and experts laughed. Most felt it wouldn't last a full round.

But most people did not realize St. John had been receiving coaching by the Garcias with help from "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas. They tweaked her miscues in the gym and when the former Playboy model met "the Coalminer's Daughter" in the ring it was not the same St. John.

"I wasn't really ready for Mia," confesses Martin, adding that she did not spar with anyone because of the lack of respect she had for St. John's boxing ability.

People watching the fight seemed to grimace and squint their eyes every time the two exchanged punches, but St. John was able to move side to side adroitly while landing an occasional punch.

"I was pumped for that fight," said St. John who managed to last 10 rounds with one of the more powerful punching female prizefighters around. "Christy was so strong."

After that fight, St. John beat Jessica Mohs then proceeded to accept a fight against lightweight world champion Jennifer Alcorn at the Selland Arena in Fresno.

It was a close fight that saw both fighters land power punches but Alcorn was surprised by St. John's grit that night on April 19, 2003.

"I expected a different fight," said Alcorn after the fight. "I thought she was going to run."

For 10 rounds the two fighters fought toe-to-toe with barely more than a foot separating each other. The fans were thrilled by the result and many favored this fight over the Floyd Mayweather match against Victoriano Sosa that had been the main event.

Feeling confident with her new abilities, St. John came close to accepting a match against the great Lucia Rijker, but decided against it when she found out the bout would not be televised.

"If I was going to fight Rijker it has to be a televised fight," said St. John. "If nobody sees the fight they can just say I was probably blown away. But if they can see the fight on television then they can judge for themselves."

St. John's career fittingly began on Valentine's Day in 1997 against Angela Villian in Indio. Now with seven years of professional experience that includes the phone calls to matchmakers and promoters, she is ready to move on to other things.

Recently St. John signed a contract with a clothing firm called Bling Bling. James "Lights Out" Toney was also signed to represent the modern fashion firm.

She also has appeared recently in national magazines Lowrider and in American Health and Fitness. She also has a workout DVD that will be released soon.

"You don't have to workout four hours to get in shape," St. John said.

Getting in shape has always been her forte regardless of the strenuous schedule for professional fighters.

But she is ready to hang up the gloves after seven years in the business that saw her often on the under cards of Oscar De La Hoya. Now wherever she fights St. John and Laila Ali are the two main draws in female prizefighting.

"I'm always amazed at the fans from all over," said St. John.

The California native is willing to travel any where in the world for a fight.

"I love to travel," she said, adding that she hopes a rematch against Martin can be made and doesn't care where the match is made.

"I'm going to retire and I'd like it to be the biggest match possible," said St. John, who beat Pudwill 40-36 on all three cards.

"Christy Martin and I have always wanted to do it again," she said. "That's the kind of fight I'd like to end my career. She's one of the best ever."

St. John, who has improved by leaps since receiving tutelage under the Garcias, feels she still has to prove to the hardcore boxing world she belongs among the respected ranks of female prizefighters. Currently she is ranked number four by the IFBA and number five by the WIBA in the 135-pound division.

"I know I was not the elite kind of boxer like Lucia, Christy Martin or Laila Ali," said St. John who won her second victory in two weeks. "I think everything changed when I got with the Garcias. I don't consider myself like Layla McCarter, but I'm good enough to hang with them. I'm just not in their league. But I'm good.