Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton: A San Francisco Treat For The World To Enjoy

Growing up in San Francisco, Calif., watching Bruce Lee movies with her father, it was no surprise that Ana Julaton became a taekwondo champion at age 12 and a martial arts instructor at age 22.

But what is surprising, is that the Filipino-American bombshell has parlayed that martial arts experience into two world championships as a boxer, and has the opportunity for her third championship tonight when she squares off with Lisa "Bad News" Brown for the vacant WBA super bantamweight title.

It's surprising partly because this is only her ninth professional bout, but more so, because she never even liked boxing to begin with. And never would have gotten involved with the sport if it wasn't for her instructional gig at the WestWind Schools in Berkeley, Calif.

"We were very traditional but we were going to incorporate something a little bit more sports-oriented," Julaton explains as she described how the WestWind became a boxing academy. "So we chose boxing. And in order for any of the teachers to teach it, we needed to know some of the basics. So they had a couple of trainers come into the school and teach it to us.

"My very first few lessons was actually jumping into the ring without even knowing anything," she said. "Just sparring with a couple of guys bigger than me, and you know, that's not a traditional way of learning boxing. I guess you could say I was kind of like a guinea pig."

And as truth would have it, that guinea pig became a scientist .

"After throwing some punches against a heavy bag for three weeks and sparring with some guys, I got into the San Francisco Golden Gloves," she said. "And in the first round [of the tournament] I had to fight someone who was considered like the top female boxer in the Bay Area. And that kind of set the tone for my whole entire amateur and professional career. I always had to go against people who were a lot more experienced, a lot better at the game than I was."

It hasn't seemed to matter though. "The Hurricane" won the silver medal in that 2004 amateur tournament just three weeks after being introduced to the sport.

And her rise to the top in the professional ranks has been just as fast. So much so, that the good folks over at ESPN asked her if she would mind being featured on their documentary program, E:60.

"I always find it interesting that Ana got asked by ESPN if they could do a feature on her without any of these big companies like Top Rank or Golden Boy actively trying to promote her," said Angelo Reyes, her manager. "And I like the angle they took. They really wanted to show that Ana's not getting attention because of her looks, she's getting attention because she beat the hell out of these [girls], she's winning world title fights. Being pretty just happens to be the bonus part of it."

Unfortunately though, the bonus part of it is still not enough to turn Americans on...to women's boxing, that is.

"If Ana chose to live in Germany she'd probably be an even bigger star," Reyes said while explaining the bias he believes exists amongst American boxing promoters. "In Germany, Korea, Japan, Argentina, and Mexico, [women] fill out arenas more than men. If you're a promoter, and your goal is to promote, then it shouldn't really matter whether it's a man or a woman, you should promote the fighter.

"The best part is women boxers don't have egos, you know that you're always going to get a good fight and it's always going to be entertaining if it's matched-up correctly. Part of the reason why Ana chooses to always go up for these challenges is because she feels like it's what brings attention to women's boxing,"  Reyes said.

"If you have Ana fight a girl who's got 7 wins and 16 losses, no one is going to care. But if you have Ana fight a girl who's the best Canadian fighter ever (Brown), everybody cares, 90 countries want to watch it."

GMA Network, the largest Filipino television network in the world, has exclusive rights to Julaton's fights and will broadcast tonight's live to an audience in 90 countries throughout the world.

America will not be one of those countries.

It's part of a deeply-woven stigma that Julaton knows well.

"I remember back in the amateurs talking to some people from the athletic commissions, and it's hard for them to see women receive punishment," she said. "Boxing is brutal. Having women involved in a sport like that just messes up the image that society has put on women. Like women should cook and clean up, they should be nurses, they should do less aggressive things.

"I guess because boxing is the oldest fighting sport compared to MMA and kickboxing, a lot of people who are still in it they still have that attitude and it affects our current environment right now. But we're starting to have new blood, new faces, new people that are getting involved and have power. Like Allan Tremblay (Orion Sports) over in Canada who is promoting this fight for me, who is willing to open up that opportunity for female fighters. So overall I think it's going to change," she said.

Hopefully it will, because tonight's fight at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada, is going to be a good one to watch...for the world, that is.

Photo of Ana Julaton courtesy of Jaime Soja