Mia St. John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mia Rosales St. John (born June 24, 1967) is an American professional boxer, model, businesswoman, and a Tae Kwon Do champion.
St. John, a Mexican-American born in San Francisco, California attended California State University, earning a degree in Psychology. While a student, she compiled a Tae Kwon Do record of 27-1, was awarded a black belt, and worked as a model to fund her education.
She married Kristoff St. John, star of Young and the Restless, but they later divorced. They have two children, son Julian and daughter Paris.
At the age of 29, St. John decided to become a professional boxer. In St. John’s first bout on February 14, 1997, she knocked out Angelica Villain in 54 seconds of the first round and earning her the nickname "The Knockout."
St. John, under contract first to Don King and then Top Rank Boxing, was featured on the undercard of Oscar De La Hoya bouts. She had 23 fights, won 22 with one draw, 3 KOs and 9 TKOs. All fights were four-rounders and most were televised gaining her national attention. St. John was crowned the "Queen of the Four-Rounders", a title she hated. St. John’s opponents were selected by Top Rank without her input.
After her 20th bout, St. John was injured in a skiing accident that threatened possible amputation of one of her legs. She underwent two operations to remove a blood clot.
In November 1999, St. John appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine and in an 11 page pictorial. She said she wanted to show that she was a feminine woman as well as an athlete. Critical of her career, the boxing press added the term "Bunny Boxer" in describing St. John.
St. John did not renew her contract with Top Rank in 2001, becoming her own manager and promoter. On November 9, 2001 she lost her first fight to Rolanda Andrews with a TKO in the second round, St. John’s first contest after parting with Top Rank.
St. John turned to trainers Eduardo and Roberto Garcia to learn proper punching techniques, footwork, and defensive strategies, undoing much of her Tae Kwon Do training. St. John won her next four bouts, one by TKO.
On December 6, 2002 St. John fought top boxer Christy Martin. Martin had a record of 44 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws. The press laughed at the match-up and predicted St. John would be knocked out early in the bout. St. John, coming up two weight classes, lost the bout but fought toe-to-toe with Martin all ten rounds for a credible performance.
St. John’s record after leaving Top Rank was 18 wins (4 TKOs), 3 losses, and 1 draw.
On June 12, 2005 and after 47 professional bouts and 9 years, St. John was given a title bout with Liz Drew. St. John won by unanimous decision, earning the IFBA Lightweight World Title. She followed this win with a unanimous decision over Donna Biggers in August, winning the IBA Lightweight Title.
St. John has fought top opponents Christy Martin, Jenifer Alcorn, Jessica Rakoczy, Holly Holm, and Jelena Mrdjenovich, fighters in their prime. In these high-profile contests, her critics predicted early stoppages or that St. John would run from her opponents. Promoters planned and expected knockouts of St. John. She proved them wrong and fought toe-to-toe for the distance with the best fighters of the time. St. John has competed in 18 states in the U.S., Canada, and China.
St. John’s most recent fight was against local favorite Jaime Clampitt in Providence, Rhode Island on February 9th, 2007. Following Clampitt’s last bout when she lost her IWBF Lightweight title to Featherweight champion Melissa Fiorentino in May 2006, this fight was an unchecked brawl with Clampitt throwing St. John to the floor twice and head butts bloodying both fighters. Clampitt was awarded the decision.
As of February 2007, St. John’s record is 43 wins (18 by KO), 8 losses, and 2 draws. She has been stopped twice, by TKO; the contest with Rolanda Andrews and by a head butt and resulting cut in her second bout with Jessica Rakoczy.
Capitalizing on her boxing career, St. John is successful businesswoman with a social conscience. She has appeared numerous times on television shows, in magazines, provides color commentary at boxing events, promotes health products, and created a series of exercise videos with her production company. She is one of a small handful of female boxers able to earn a living in the sport.
St. John’s experiences in her career have made her a proponent of a national boxing commission to standardize rules, regulate promotion, and protect the health and safety of its participants.
St. John created the non-profit foundation "El Saber Es Poder" to aid Latino schools in the U.S. St. John, accompanied by her mother Maria Rosales, visit schools to stress the importance of family, education, self-empowerment, and voting.
St. John has promised to write a "tell all" book of her career and women’s professional boxing following her retirement.
