Melissa Del Valle

Melissa Del Valle (born June 2, 1969 in New York) is an American multiple champion in the sport of women's boxing, both at the amateur and professional levels.[1]

Melissa Del Valle
Statistics
Real name	Melissa Del Valle
Nickname(s)	Honey Girl
Weight(s)	Light welterweight
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Nationality	American
Born	(1969-06-02) June 2, 1969 New York, United States
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	37
Wins	29
Wins by KO	11
Losses	6
Draws	1

A member of a sports-minded family of Puerto Rican immigrants, Del Valle took up boxing in the early 1990s, while her older brother Lou Del Valle was making a name for himself as a light-heavyweight boxer.[2]

Then fighting under her married name of Melissa Salamone, Del Valle won the New York state Golden Gloves title at 132 pounds in both 1996 and 1997. In the latter year, she added the national amateur lightweight title, sweeping all five scorecards in the finals on July 19, 1997.

Del Valle then announced she was joining the professional ranks, debuting on September 5, 1997 with a first-round knockout of Marsha Evans. She followed that up with several more impressive victories, and one year and one week later, she earned her first title shot. On September 12, 1998, Del Valle won a 10-round unanimous decision over Melinda Robinson to claim the vacant WIBF super featherweight title.

She fought and won six non-title bouts over the next 11 months, then defended her title against fellow unbeaten Lena Akesson on August 14, 1999 in Miami Beach, Florida. Despite suffering a cut over one eye and an early knockdown, Del Valle rallied late to win a close, but unanimous decision.

Personal problems then kept her out of the ring for nearly a year before she challenged Laura Serrano on August 5, 2000 in Connecticut for the IBA version of the super featherweight title. After 10 rounds, the fight was ruled a draw, but most spectators believed Serrano had won. Del Valle, in an act of candor that won her a great deal of respect, also admitted she thought Serrano beat her.

The controversial Serrano fight didn't slow down Del Valle, however, and she won seven straight fights to earn yet another title shot, on June 21, 2002 against Ada Vélez for the WIBA super bantamweight title. This was the featured event on an all-women's card featuring several of the sport's top boxers. Del Valle rose to the occasion, taking Velez' title by winning seven of the 10 rounds on two cards and nine of 10 on the other.

Over a three-month period in 2003, Del Valle challenged four of the top fighters in women's boxing, suffering her first three losses in the process. On July 10, she fell to 27-1-1 by losing a close decision over six rounds to Kelsey Jeffries. On August 9, she faced junior lightweight world champion Isra Girgrah, taking the fight on short notice. Girgrah was given the decision, but most observers thought Del Valle won, and Girgrah promised her a rematch in the future.

Three weeks later, Del Valle moved back down to the super featherweight ranks once again and challenged Chevelle Hallback for her IBA title in Savannah, Georgia. Hallback defeated her over 10 rounds, handing Del Valle her third straight loss. But she got back on the winning track on October 11, when she handed undefeated Kelli Cofer her first loss in a six-round fight in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The win over Cofer improved her career record to 28 wins, three losses and one draw, with 11 knockouts.

Del Valle is also noteworthy as the answer to a handful of boxing trivia questions. She and her brother are the only brother and sister to both win world boxing titles; Lou Del Valle was WBA light-heavyweight champion from 1997–98. She was also the first women's boxer to fight on the same card as her (then) husband, Craig Salamone. The two appeared together on a card in Atlanta, Georgia on November 21, 1997.

She is known by the nickname Honey Girl, in deference to her brother, who calls himself Honey Boy because of a reputation for being able to slip punches from opponents.

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary

37 fights	29 wins	6 losses
By knockout	11	0
By decision	18	6
Draws	1
No contests	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
38	Loss		Belinda Laracuente	UD		2007-06-15	Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Global Boxing Union Female World super lightweight title
37	NC		Chevelle Hallback			2005-10-07	A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, USA
36	Loss		Mary Jo Sanders	UD		2005-03-16	Andiamo Italian, Warren, Michigan, USA
35	Win		Trisha Hill	UD		2004-05-30	DC Tunnel, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
34	Loss		Jenifer Alcorn	SD		2003-12-11	Palace Indian Gaming Center, Lemoore, California, USA	vacant Women's International Boxing Association World lightweight title
33	Win		Kelli Cofer	MD		2003-10-11	Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
32	Loss		Chevelle Hallback	UD		2003-08-30	Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia, USA	International Boxing Association female super featherweight title
31	Loss		Isra Girgrah	UD		2003-08-09	Convention Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
30	Loss		Kelsey Jeffries	UD		2003-07-10	HP Pavilion, San Jose, California, USA
29	Win		Brenda Drexel	UD		2003-01-31	Harriet Himmel Theatre, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
28	Win		Ada Velez	UD		2002-06-21	Convention Center, Waco, Texas, USA	Women's International Boxing Association World super bantamweight title
27	Win		Carla Witherspoon	TKO		2001-09-29	Martinsville, Virginia, USA
26	Win		Sophia Johnson	UD		2001-07-26	Charleston, South Carolina, USA
25	Win		Kelley Jones	TKO		2001-05-24	The Plex, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
24	Win		Jovette Jackson	UD		2001-05-12
23	Win		Sophia Johnson	TKO		2001-04-28	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
22	Win		Carla Witherspoon	TKO		2001-04-12	Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
21	Win		Layla McCarter	UD		2001-01-17	Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, New York, USA
20	Draw		Laura Serrano	PTS		2000-08-12	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA	Women's International Boxing Association World super featherweight title
19	Win		Lena Åkesson	UD		1999-08-14	Loews Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida, USA	Women's International Boxing Federation World super featherweight title
18	Win		Olivia Gerula	UD		1999-06-12	Shriner's Auditorium, Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA
17	Win		Cora Webber	UD		1999-02-20	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
16	Win		Carla Witherspoon	UD		1999-01-22	Milander Auditorium, Hialeah, Florida, USA
15	Win		Tawayna Broxton	TKO		1998-12-18	Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
14	Win		Carla Witherspoon	UD		1998-11-13	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
13	Win		Melinda Robinson	UD		1998-09-12	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
12	Win		Tawayna Broxton	TKO		1998-08-11	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
11	Win		Lakeya Williams	TKO		1998-06-27	North River Gym, Miami, Florida, USA
10	Win		Jacklyn Rogers	TKO		1998-05-02	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
9	Win		Monica Taylor			1998-04-18	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
8	Win		Denette Montgomery	KO		1998-04-04	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA
7	Win		Gwen Smith			1998-01-31	Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida, USA
6	Win		Tequile Haskins	TKO		1997-12-20	Club Grand Slam, Miami, Florida, USA
5	Win		Taquella Hoskin	TKO		1997-12-04	The Moon, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
4	Win		Rolanda Andrews			1997-11-21	Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, New York, USA
3	Win		Tawayna Broxton	UD		1997-10-02
2	Win		Tawayna Broxton	UD		1997-09-20	Round 1 Gym, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
1	Win		Marsha Evans	TKO		1997-09-05	Davidson Theatre, Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA

References

1. "Del Valle's journey ends in Florida Boxing Hall of Fame". Retrieved 19 July 2017.
2. Katz, Michael (30 April 1998). "Ring is Their Family Circle". New York Daily News. Retrieved 28 January 2010.

External links

• Boxing record for Melissa Del Valle from BoxRec