Melissa Del Valle pugile

Melissa Del Valle (born June 2, 1969 in New York) is an American multiple champion in women's boxing.A member of a sports-minded family of Puerto Rican immigrants, Del Valle took up boxing in the early 1990s, while her older brother Lou Del Valle was making a name for himself as a light-heavyweight boxer.Then fighting under her married name of Melissa Salamone, she won the New York state Golden Gloves title at 132 pounds in 1996 and 1997. In the latter year, she added the national amateur lightweight title, sweeping all five scorecards in the finals on July 19, 1997.She then announced she was joining the professional ranks, debuting on September 5, 1997 with a first-round knockout of Marsha Evans. She followed that up with several more impressive victories, and one year and one week later, she earned her first title shot. On September 12, 1998, Del Valle won a 10-round unanimous decision over Melinda Robinson to claim the vacant WIBF super featherweight title.She fought and won six non-title bouts over the next 11 months, then defended her title against fellow unbeaten Lena Akesson on August 14, 1999 in Miami Beach, Florida. Despite suffering a cut over one eye and an early knockdown, She rallied late to win a close but unanimous decision.Personal problems then kept her out of the ring for nearly a year before she challenged Laura Serrano on August 5, 2000 in Connecticut for the IBA version of the super featherweight title. After 10 rounds, the fight was ruled a draw, but most spectators believed Serrano had won. Del Valle, in an act of candor that won her a great deal of respect, also admitted she thought Serrano beat her.