LAS VEGAS, NV (January 21, 2020)
Jaime Clampitt-Hayes will be among seven modern era boxers who
will be honored at the seventh annual induction ceremony of the
International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame (IWBHF) on August 29th
at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Others
include Kelsey Jeffries, Melinda Cooper, Mary
Ortega, Sharon Anyos, Isra Girgrah-Wynn and
Valerie Mahfood. Also being honored, at what is annually
considered the singular event in the sport of Women’s boxing, is
pioneer boxer, Graciela Casillas, along with acclaimed
boxing photographer, Mary Ann Owen and Shelly Williams.
Pre-sale early bird tickets
are available at
www.iwbhf.com. Special group rate for the Orleans
Hotel & Casino using code: AIW0C08.
Jim Bouton was a major league
pitcher and author of the best seller “Ball Four.” He also,
once, succinctly, defined the passionate connection the best
athletes have with their given sport: “you spend a good part of
your life gripping a baseball, and, in the end, it turns out
that, all the time, it was just the other way around.” That
sense of gripping passion with the sport of boxing came early to
Jaime Clampitt-Hayes. “It was a ‘love/hate’ relationship that
started building in my teens (in her native Canada) and has
remained as a major part of my life,” Clampitt-Hayes told me in
a phone call from her home in Rhode Island last week.
That “love-hate” relationship
traversed over twenty nine professional bouts, one hundred sixty
nine rounds and the anointing of Clampitt-Hayes as a four time
world title holder. The career spanned nearly fourteen years.
And it is that fact that singularly epitomizes Clampitt-Hayes’
passion for her sport. On August 6, 2010, ten years into a pro
career, Clampitt-Hayes’ journey through the “ups and downs” so
prevalent in the sport of boxing, reached a long sought
pinnacle, a world title bout with Holly Holm, then the reigning
“face” of the sport. In the opening round of the bout in
Albuquerque, Holm’s hometown, after an exchange of punches,
“Clampitt stumbled and fell. Suddenly exhibiting signs of
intense pain, Clampitt rolled over on her back and stayed
there.” (Albuquerque Journal 8/8/10). It was diagnosed as a
“severe stinger“ effecting the spinal nerves, an injury that
“paralyzed the one side of my face for two weeks,” Jaime
recounted. And one that would most likely signal the end of the
career of even the most dedicated fighter. But that inexorable
“grip” of which Jim Bouton spoke, that grip that existed in
every fiber of this fighter, raged within Clampitt-Hayes for
three years, three months and sixteen days. It finally
culminated on August 22, 2013, when Clampitt-Hayes took three
steps up into a boxing ring in Lincoln, RI and put, what she
considered to be, the proper final stamp on a soon-to-be Hall of
Fame boxing career with a six round decision over Domingo
Olivia.
The phrase “you can’t make this
up” suggests itself, but, in examining Clampitt-Hayes’ career, a
better way to view this boxer’s career is through the lens
of who came out of the other corner. First and foremost, a list
of Clampitt-Hayes’ opponents is notable after her first few
bouts as a pro. In her fourth pro bout, Clampitt-Hayes
dropped a close majority decision to tough Elizabeth Mueller,
who had been in with Sumya Anani and Jane Couch. That effort
caught the eye of one Jimmy Burchfield Sr., founder and CEO of
CES Boxing in Providence, then and still, “Mr. go-to” in New
England boxing. Under his tutelage and management, Clampitt-Hayes’
career progressed apace, facing some of the top boxers in the
sport including Couch (twice), Missy Fiorentino (2019 IWBHF
inductee), Belinda Laracuente, Mia St. John and Jill Emery, all
of which led, deservedly, to the Albuquerque fight card in
August, 2010.
Jaime’s 22-5-1 record is, in and
of itself, reason enough for the IWBHF induction, but It is the
manner in which Jaime Clampitt-Hayes conducted herself, in and
out of the ring, letting her loudest voice be her actions
between the ropes, while at all times, exuding a
professionalism, in and out of the ring, that surrounds those
athletes who not only “do boxing” but do it exactly right. And
the best of those athletes are often justifiably honored for
what they bring to their sport. That is certainly the case with
Jaime Clampitt-Hayes and her induction into the International
Women ‘s Boxing Hall of Fame.
She continues to be involved in boxing, having opened “On the
Ropes Boxing and Fitness” in Warwick, RI, proof positive that,
by continuing to give back to the sport she graced for years,
Clampitt-Hayes remains positively passionate about what began
with a “love-hate” start. And on August 29th, in Las Vegas, that
sport will give back to Jaime Clampitt-Hayes one of it’s highest
honors. Seems fair.
# # # #
# # #
Ticket Information:
The discounted tickets are $75.00.
[After we close the early-bird discount tickets, the regular
pricing of the tickets are $85.00, and $95 for the VIP Tickets
that includes the ticket holder receiving an official IWBHF
poster and Official IWBHF Program booklet.]
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sue Fox/Founder-Chairwoman/President
International Women's
Boxing Hall of Fame
Website: www.iwbhf.com
Website: www.wban.com
Email: wban100@aol.com
Email: iwbhf@aol.com
Wanda Countess/Vice-President
International Women's
Boxing Hall of Fame
Email: skyy@fightlady.org
Eddie Montalvo, Executive Director
International Women's
Boxing Hall of Fame
e.montalvo62@gmail.com
