For the painter, see Bridget Riley

Bridget Riley

Bridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...

.

Bridgett Riley (born May 13, 1973) is a female boxer

Women's boxing

Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1902. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing...

 and motion picture stuntwoman from Oakville, Missouri

Oakville, Missouri

Oakville is a census-designated place in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 36,143 at the 2010 census. Oakville is south of the city of St. Louis and borders the Mississippi and Meramec rivers; the area is part of "South County" .-Geography:Oakville is located at...

. While working as a stewardess for an airline she decided to learn martial arts. The interest in the sport came from her brother Patrick's strong interest in mixed martial arts. She trained with her brother and a number of other high-profile martial artists early in her career. Notably, she was trained by former three time world kickboxing champion, Jim Boucher (Belleville, IL). She was a member of a competition team with other competitors such as: Patrick Riley (mixed martial arts champion), Donny Reinhardt (world champion), Russ Hogue

Russ Hogue

Russ Hogue is an American kickboxer from Belleville, Illinois. He started training in martial arts under three time world kickboxing champion Jim Boucher in Belleville, Illinois...

 (US Kickboxing Champion).

She held the IFBA's world Bantamweight

Bantamweight

Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

 championship for a short period of time. Her nickname is "Baby Doll" and she was managed by Don King for several years.

A lifelong fan of combat sports, Riley began to pave her way into relative women's boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 stardom during the early 1990s, when she fought as a kick boxer, winning various titles and becoming famous around kick boxing circles. Riley headlined many kick boxing shows in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, and her fights were frequently televised

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 on regional sports networks, such as ASPN.

When Riley announced that she was to begin a career in professional boxing, many of her fans received the news with open arms. Riley debuted as a professional boxer on April 8, 1994, when she beat future world champion Yvonne Trevino

Yvonne Trevino

Yvonne Trevino , is a former women's kickboxing and boxing champion from Peoria, Arizona.-Background:Yvonne Trevino very popular among boxing and kickboxing fans during the 1990s, especially in the Southwestern United States and in her Native home state of Arizona. Her popularity led her to have a...

 by a four round decision in Laughlin, Nevada

Laughlin, Nevada

Laughlin is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, and a port located on the Colorado River. Laughlin is south of Las Vegas, located in the far southern tip of Nevada. It is best known for its gaming, entertainment, and water recreation. As of the 2010 census, the...

.

Riley then took off two years from boxing, but she kept busy by fighting kick boxing fights. In 1996, the year which many consider the beginning of the "golden era" of women's boxing, Riley made her comeback to boxing.

On June 16, she beat Del Pettis in Long Beach

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

. Riley suffered her first career loss on May 17, 1997 against Theresa Arnold

Theresa Arnold

Theresa Arnold is a female boxer who beat a number of name fighters during her career. A native of Boise, Idaho, she still lives in her hometown.Arnold was important in women's boxing popularity rise in Idaho...

, due to a cut sustained over her left eye in the sixth round.

Riley won her next two fights, and, on February 15, 1998, she and Trevino were rematched for Trevino's IFBA world Bantamweight championship, in Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....

. Riley became a world champion by defeating Trevino by a ten round unanimous decision.

On June 26 of that year, she made what would be her only defense of the title, knocking out Aicha Lahsen in nine rounds at Las Vegas. Riley was knocked down by Lahsen in the first round and barely beat the count and made it through the end of the round. She recovered in later rounds and finished the fight with the knock out of Lahsen. This fight was chosen as women's boxing fight of the year for 1998.

She then won three more fights in a row, for a total of eight consecutive wins. However, none of these fights were for a world title. Among the women she defeated during that span were Brenda Burnside

Brenda Burnside

Brenda Burnside is a former women's boxing "journeywoman". Despite being given such title by boxing fans and critics , she was well known in the boxing world for the quality of opposition she faced; and she contended for a...

, by an eight round split decision at the Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 in New York, New York, and Del Pettis, knocked out in the first round of their rematch, which also happened to be Riley's first bout of the 2000s.

On December 7, 2001, her winning streak was stopped when her bout with Yolanda Gonzalez, also held in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, was declared a technical draw

Technical decision

A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt.In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fighting close to each other...

 (tie), because of a headbutt that caused an injury on Riley's head.

Riley then beat Linda Edwards and Karen Richardson

Karen Richardson

Karen Richardsons 25-year career in the software business includes positions as a key player in several well-known and highly successful companies.In November 2011, Richardson joined the board of directors of BT Group plc...

, both by first round knockouts, before facing Para Draine

Para Draine

Para Draine is an American female boxer who has been a world champion two times. She is a former 112 pounds and current 115 pound champion. Draine stands 5 feet eight inches tall, making her relatively tall for a boxer of her weight.Draine's nicknames are "Hurricane" and "The Spokane Spike"...

, on November 14, 2002, in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. Draine outpointed Riley over six rounds.

On January 18, 2003, Riley defeated Angie Bordelon by a six round decision in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

. On June 4 of that year, she knocked out Nicole Gallegos in three rounds, in what has been, to date, her last professional boxing fight.

Riley has a record of 15 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 7 wins by knockout.

Film career

During several of her layoffs Riley has had several acting roles. She appeared in the mid 90's television series WMAC Masters

WMAC Masters

WMAC Masters is an American live-action television show produced by Norman Grossfeld featuring choreographed martial arts fights. It was created and licensed by 4Kids Entertainment....

 (broadcast on Fox). She appeared in the early 1990s martial arts inspired Triple Impact. She appeared as a boxer in Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...

.

In addition to her own acting, she has performed as the stunt double for other actresses. She began her stunt work career as the double for the Yellow Ranger in early Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...

episodes and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 American superhero action fantasy based on the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Fox Kids. It featured the characters and actors from the series itself, and used the zords from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger...

. She doubled for Halle Berry

Halle Berry

Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...

 in Catwoman

Catwoman (film)

Catwoman is a 2004 American superhero film and quasi-spinoff of the Batman film series directed by Pitof and released by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures on July 23, 2004....

, Malin Akerman

Malin Akerman

Malin Maria Åkerman is a Swedish–Canadian actress and model. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden and moved to Canada at the age of two. As a child, she appeared in several television commercials before going on to win a modelling contract at age sixteen...

 in Watchmen

Watchmen (film)

Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...

, Summer Glau

Summer Glau

Summer Lyn Glau is an American actress, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.-Early life:...

 in Serenity

Serenity (film)

Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...

, and others.

External links

• Bridgett Riley at Women's Boxing Archive Network (WBAN)