Ana Julaton’s bold move

Former women’s world boxing champion Ana “Hurricane” Julaton wants to go down in history as the greatest Filipino fighter, male or female, of all time. Not the greatest Filipino boxer, mind you, but greatest fighter. And she has a bold plan to stake her claim to that title. In an exclusive interview with The STAR, Julaton’s manager Angelo Reyes revealed that the 36-year-old three-time former WBO world champion is planning an explosive farewell to boxing before making a full-time shift to mixed martial arts. But it all starts with being in the spotlight of the biggest fight of 2017: Pacquiao-Mayweather 2.

“We’re trying to get Ana on the undercard of the next Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight,” says Reyes, who is also one of the most well-known mixed martial arts trainers in the US. “We want Ana to fight for a world title, and we’re training for that. If she wins, then we’ll have something to offer the UFC: a reigning women’s world champion, to fight for a UFC title.”

Julaton’s career has taken a circuitous route to the top of the world. Originally a martial arts instructor in San Francisco, she discovered boxing, and made her professional boxing debut in 2007 on the undercard of the second fight between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera, and worked her way to the WBO women’s world bantamweight title seven years ago. She has since won the super bantamweight belt three times. Never one to be satisfied with her already remarkable achievements, she tried competing professionally in both mixed martial arts and boxing in 2014, with mixed results. She signed up with a big mixed martial arts organization in Asia, but felt she was not really treated well. She rarely fought, and felt that the match-making was not given that much thought. Nevertheless, the experience gave her a new respect for both sports, helping her channel her focus back to boxing for the meantime.

“Most people think that, when you’re standing and striking, all jabs are the same,” Julaton explained. “They’re not, there are subtle differences. There are ways you can hit in mixed martial arts that you don’t in boxing.”

Since Ronda Rousey convinced the UFC’s Dana White that there was a place for women in mixed martial arts, many women have risen to prominence in the sport, including Rousey herself, who has parlayed her fame in fighting into a career in high-profile Hollywood movies such as the “The Fast and the Furious” series, and books on her life. Though the market is smaller, it is growing, and women fighters have been getting their share of the pie. In boxing, however, that has not been the case. Women have been relatively neglected, and are paid a small fraction of what make fighters receive. This disparity in pay is another matter that the trailblazing Julaton has been fighting for years.

“When Ana succeeds, it helps women boxers and fighters everywhere,” Reyes explains. “That’s very important to her. She’s vocal about how women athletes should be treated. She’s opened doors and broken down barriers for them throughout her career.”

Julaton, who was on ESPN to analyze the women’s fight on the undercard of the Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev light heavyweight world title fight over the weekend, concurs strongly that there is a divide between the perception and treatment of women fighters and male fighters.

“There are expectations of us that aren’t placed on male athletes,” says Julaton, who is now also based in Las Vegas building her brand name. “I’ve answered so many stereotypical questions over the years. I have to take care of my make-up and how I look, which male fighters don’t. And we’re still supposed to worry about our nutrition, the groceries and laundry, things men aren’t supposed to deal with.”

At an age where most athletes are contemplating retirement regardless of their gender, Julaton is just on the cusp of her greatest move: to go out on top of boxing, and use her premium as a world champion to fight for a world title in the UFC. She knows if will be hard, but she’s used to adversity, as a female athlete and as a minority.

“I always tell women athletes, especially aspiring Filipina athletes, be proud of yourself, be proud of your culture, be proud of your nose,” Julaton declares. “These are reminders of who you are, where you come from, your heritage. You always carry that with you. Society tries to impose certain standards of beauty.”

All this experience has given Ana Julaton the strength and courage to pursue goals that nobody else has thought of. Many people would consider this grand plan crazy or at least unlikely. That makes it all the more worth the effort.

“Boxing and mixed martial arts are both brutal sports,” Reyes adds. “If Ana can pull this off, she will do what no other Filipino athlete has done, become a world champion in two different sports. That will make her the greatest Filipino fighter of all time.”