5'3" 118-lb southpaw Ada
"Ace" Velez (b. Sept 15 1970) is from Puerto Rico and boxes out of
Hollywood, Florida. She was originally trained by former IFBA and WIBF
world featherweight champion Bonnie Canino and Bert Rodriguez but is now
trained at Warriors Gym in Hollywood by Isiah Clark and Benny Collins.
She posted an 8-0 record as an amateur and won the 119-lb gold medal at
the 1999 USA Boxing Women's Nationals with a 13-2 defeat of California's
Jamie Baron. Ada made her pro debut on August 21, 1999 at the
National Guard Armory in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a second-round
KO of Jocelyn Fontanella of Vero Beach, who fell to 0-2.
On June 30, 2000 at Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, she won a
four-round unanimous decision over Ohio veteran Sue Chase (a former
kickboxer and Christy Martin opponent whose overall pro boxing record
fell to a staggering 1-22-1 with this loss!)
On October 8, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois, she scored a second-round TKO
over local favorite Jimi Chartrand of Joliet, Illinois, who slipped to
1-1-1.
On October 18, 2000 at the Angelo Dundee Training Center in Davie,
Florida, Ada (121¾ lbs) TKO'd Pamela Opdyke (123½ lbs) of New Orleans,
Louisiana at 1:45 of the fourth round in a scheduled six-round bout.
Opdyke fell to 0-6.
On November 15, 2000 at the Angelo Dundee Center in Davie, Florida, she
weighed in at 119 lbs and TKO'd Lisa Foster (119½ lbs) of Maryland at
1:48 in the second round of a scheduled four-round bout. According to
the report I received from Ryan Wissow, "Velez dazzled Foster, then
administered a beating on (her) in the second round ... Foster turned
away and said "no mas". Foster's record fell to 2-3-1.
Velez vs. TenbergVelez won her first pro title on December 15, 2000 at
the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Velez weighed
in at 120 lbs and won the WIBF North American junior featherweight title
by a unanimous (80-72,80-72,80-71) eight-round decision over Linda
Tenberg (122¼ lbs) of Austin, Texas. Velez opened a deep gash over
Tenberg's left eye in the second round and pummeled her for the rest of
the bout. "I knew she was very strong," said Velez, "I knew she wasn't
going to be knocked out. It was a tough fight. Hopefully, this is the
beginning of many, many belts." Tenberg fell to 4-3 with the loss.
On January 19, 2001 at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant,
Michigan, Ada weighed in at 117 lbs and won the IBA Bantamweight title
with a unanimous (97-93,99-91,100-90) 10-round decision over the IBA's
Junior Bantamweight champion, Kathy Williams (5'5", 117¾ lbs) of Thunder
Bay, Canada. Velez used her speed to get inside against Williams, beat
her to the punch, and get away without taking much in return. Williams
came closest to solving Velez's southpaw style in the second and third
rounds using her own hand speed, but she wasn't able to keep this up.
Velez controlled the later going and wore her more experienced foe down
with her right. Williams, who had taken the fight at six days' notice,
was gracious in her praise for Velez after the bout, stating that Ada
had surprised her with her skills. Williams, herself a former national
amateur champion, fell to 12-3 (4 KO's) as a pro boxer with the loss.
Ada Velez was named WBAN's Fighter of the Month in February 2001.
