Vonda Ward
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Vonda Ward (born March 16, 1973 in Macedonia, Ohio) is a female boxer who was also a very well known NCAA basketball player. Ward is nicknamed "The All American Girl", as many people who meet her in person have expressed that she looks a little like Jane Fonda.
Ward grew in a sports oriented family, as her father, Larry Ward, is a famous harness racer. As a little girl, Ward showed a lot of interest in basketball.
Ward made the girl's basketball team at her Trinity High School, in Garfield Heights. She made the "Parade All American" teams twice while a team member, impressing many different NCAA division 1 schools. She was heavily followed by NCAA scouts across the United States.
In 1991, Ward went to university, choosing a basketball scholarship with the University of Tennessee. While as a member of Pat Summitt's "Lady Vols", Ward earned two NCAA national basketball championships, and became a notorious basketball player. Her college career ended in 1995, and many thought that she would be chosen by a WNBA team during that league's inaugural 1996 season. When this did not happen, Ward went on to play in Germany, and she later on played in the American Basketball League's Colorado Xplosion.
Having a relatively short professional basketball career, Ward decided to turn her attention to women's boxing instead. When she became a professional boxer, nevertheless, she surprised many of her fans that still considered her to be skillful enough to play basketball at the WNBA level.
Ward's boxing debut occurred on January 15, 2000, when she knocked out Faye Steffen in round one at LaPorte, Indiana. Her first four fights all ended in first round knockout wins for the relatively tall (6'6) basketball player turned Heavyweight fighter.
On April 27, 2000, she met Genevia Buckwalter in New York. Buckwalter, who had a negative win-loss record, at least matched Ward in experience, with six fights made prior to her meeting with Ward. She became the first fighter to make it out of the first round against Ward, but Ward still came victorious, by a second round knockout.
Ward's next five rivals did not make it over the second round, with two first round knockouts and three second round wins. At this point of her career, she had a streak of twelve knockout wins in a row.
On February 2, 2001, she met prospect Kisha Snow as part of the stare fairgrounds celebrations in Columbus, Ohio. Snow came into the fight undefeated after six bouts, and she and Ward engaged in a four round war, but Ward made Snow her thirteenth straight knockout victim. Then came Carley Pesente, on June 16, at Kansas City, Missouri. Pesente lasted two rounds with Ward.
After one more win, Ward challenged for the IBA's world's Heavyweight title, on August 16, 2002. Ward became a world champion, but saw her knockout win streak gone, when she outpointed Monica McGowan in ten rounds, at Canton, Ohio.
Ward defended her title successfully with an eighth round knockout over the well known Kathy Rivers, on December 6 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland. On March 1, 2003, she and Martha Salazar made their Las Vegas debut, with Ward taking a four round split decision win in a non-title bout.
After one more win, Ward unified her IBA world Heavyweight title with the WIBF's one, by defeating Salazar in a rematch, held on July 11, in Canton. Ward won by a ten round decision.
A highly anticipated match took place when Ward defended her title on May 8, 2004, in a nationally televised bout with Ann Wolfe, in Biloxi, Mississippi. At one minute and eight seconds of the first round, Ward was the recipient of a right hand to the chin, which left her motionless on the floor for a few minutes. This first round knockout defeat represented not only losing her title, but also her record as being an undefeated fighter. Ward had a neck concussion because she hit the canvas with her neck when she fell. Having been put on a neck protecting collar and given oxygen with a mask, Ward required hospitalization after this bout, and many that saw it on television called for her retirement.
After recovering from that defeat, however, Ward felt it still wasn't time to retire from boxing, so, on December 12 she returned to the boxing ring, knocking out the vastly experienced Marsha Valley in four rounds, at Cleveland.
Ward's boxing record stands at 19 wins and 1 loss, with sixteen wins by knockout.
