Bonnie Canino spent so many years in the
ring, she lost count of how many black eyes she had. But she definitely
remembers the first.
"I was four, and I got my first one fighting against my brother," she
recalled.
Canino, nicknamed "The Cobra", is one of seven inaugural inductees in
the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame on Thursday, July 10 as
part of the festivities at the women’s national Golden Gloves
championships in Fort Lauderdale.
She made her name first and primarily as a kickboxer, in large part
because there were so few opportunities for women in the regular boxing
ring. She was drawn to the sport via the magic of Muhammad Ali as she
watched "The Greatest" in the early 1970s.
As a kickboxer, she fought a who's who of the sport including Lisa Howarth, Bridgett Riley, and most notably, Kathy Long and fellow
inductee Lucia Rijker. In all, she compiled a 27-4 kickboxing record.
She may be the only fighter who matched up against both Rijker and
Christy Martin, although for fight fans, neither unfortunately came in a
boxing ring.
She fought Rijker for the ISKA kickboxing title, losing a decision, and
had a self-proclaimed four-round "gym fight" with Martin (tapes of
which, for those who are interested, can be found on You Tube) in 1991.
It was around that time, she also had two exhibition kickboxing matches
against a man, Jesse Chaves, because there were so few opportunities for
women in the sport still.
"Kickboxing was what was happening then, I had six world title fights in
one year," Canino recalled.
As a kickboxer, she snagged two world championships, and as a boxer, she
won belts from the IFBA and WIBF.
Canino's professional boxing resume covered 15 bouts (11-4), highlighted
by two bouts with Chevelle Hallback, a fight against Beverly Szymanski,
and match up against Deidre Gogarty on March 2, 1997, a year after
Gogarty's landmark fight against Christy Martin.
She is no stranger to halls of fame, being inducted into the Martial Art
Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Broward County, Florida, Hall of Fame in
2008. She is also an author, having published "The Body" which is an
illustrated guide to boxing fundamentals.
Canino has not only fought in the ring as a kickboxer and boxer, but she
is a top advocate for the sport outside the ring. She has had numerous
amateur tournament in Florida, and has been a trainer for the sport with
amateurs and pros.
Canino is owner of a karate and boxing gym in Dania Beach, Florida, and
has trained two world title holders since retiring from the sport. She
is a two time USA team coach for the World Games, and six times since
2006 has been the promoter for the Women's National Golden Gloves
championships. In karate, she holds an eighth degree black belt.
Being part of the inaugural IWBHF class is one more milestone in a
career full of them.
"I'm a very humble person, I've always worked hard and kept moving
forward, she added. "I don't make a lot of noise about myself. So
I am greatly honored."
