Melissa "Missy" Fiorentino (born January 19, 1977) is a female boxer from Cranston, Rhode Island

Cranston, Rhode Island

Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Her global 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...

 ID is US-00-076087. Her fighting nickname is: "The Fury"

It could be said that Fiorentino is a rising star in women's boxing

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...

. Her only defeat to date has been in a world championship bout, and she has been active as a professional since 2001.

She made her professional debut on November 16, 2001, knocking out

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 Vanessa Pine in the first round in front of a hometown crowd. Fiorentino next beat Ragan Pudwill by knockout in round two on April 4, 2002.

Fiorentino won her first four fights by knockout. On October 4,
2002, she fought Trisha Hill at the Dunkin Donuts Center, in Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. Hill became the first fighter to last the scheduled distance with Fiorentino, but Fiorentino beat her by a four round unanimous decision.

Next was Brenda Drexel, a relatively experienced fighter of 24 previous fights, who also went on to lose by a four round unanimous decision to Fiorentino, on May 2, 2003. This the bout was held at the Foxwood Casino in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

.

Two knockouts followed, one in three rounds over Liz Drew and the other, a second round victory over previously undefeated Talia Smith.

Next came what, perhaps, has been Fiorentino's most important victory to date: on May 14, 2004, she met the former and future world champion "Downtown Leona Brown

Leona Brown

Leona Brown is a female boxer who is the WIBC world Bantamweight champion. Because of her age, many consider her to be "the George Foreman of women's boxing"...

" in Providence, with Fiorentino earning a six round unanimous decision win.

With that win, Fiorentino got a chance to fight for the world title for the first time: In her first fight abroad, she battled Emiko Raika

Emiko Raika

Emiko Raika is a Japanese female professional boxer. The former WIBA Featherweight Champion on the World, Raika is considered one of the greatest Japanese female boxers of all time....

 for the WIBA world Featherweight title on September 18 in Kyoto, Japan. Fiorentino lost her first world title fight by a ten round unanimous decision.

Fiorentino has a record of twelve wins and one loss, with six wins by knockout.

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