Jan 11
3
ROCK CHICKS EXTREME SPOTLIGHT: The warm and friendly Jennifer Santiago has the demeanor of a kindly doctor, certainly not of a fighter, who at the tender age of 12 was nicknamed “Killer” and was known for a right hook that knocked boys out cold in New York City’s amateur youth boxing circuit. With a charming and most mischievous smile she reminisces, “You know at that age you were automatically disqualified for a knockout. The boys were really scared of me.” This petite 5-foot-2 powerhouse is undefeated in Chuck Norris’s World Combat League, where she has chalked up 18 bantamweight wins against women, including a remarkable 19-second knockout. Her laurels also include earning first place in the prestigious 2003 and 2004 Golden Gloves Championship. Stars such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Hector “Macho” Camacho captured Golden Gloves titles in this oldest and largest amateur boxing tournament, which was founded in 1927 but didn’t accept women for competition until 1995. “In 2003 I faced Stella Nijhof, the 30-year-old defending Golden Gloves champion, when I was very young,” Santiago recalls with a big smile. “I remember being very confident. I took it easy, and I didn’t make a big deal out of it before I went into the ring.” She remembers zeroing in on how lefty Nijhof’s jab lagged. Her strategy was to counteract the slow jab, stay focused and concentrate on just winning and not getting hurt. She just won. Courtesy of Judith Stiles, ‘Golden Gloves Champ is a Knockout Trainer’, www.thevillager.com
