By Amy Green
155 rounds of boxing since her pro debut in 1999, and Alicia "Slick" Ashley is finally fighting on her own turf. On Wednesday, April 11, Alicia will fight on the ESPN2 undercard of middleweight battle between Raymond Joval and Willie Gibbs, at the Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York.
Her career has taken this Jamaican born, New York resident ‘round the world, fighting in China, North Korea, the Virgin Islands, Argentina, Germany and Canada as well as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Mississippi and Philadelphia. Alicia’s competition en route to her Bronx date is a Who’s Who of women’s boxing- she holds wins over Kelsey Jeffries, Elena "Baby Doll" Reid, veteran Bonnie Canino, and a draw with the tough Layla McCarter. A visit with this poised fighter offers insight on her globetrotting career and what she has to offer her New York fans on April 11.
Since day one, Alicia’s days in the ring have been tough. "From the beginning I fought very hard fights," she said. "6 rounders, and in other people's hometowns. On my third fight, I fought a world champion and won. My fourth, another world champion, lost. It has been an up and down career but every fight tells a story of where I was at that time in my life. They were all tough matches, even the ones that I won easily. Mentally they were hard. Always fighting on the road is hard. Which brings me to New York and the trials of getting a match in my own hometown. As a female boxer, it’s all about who you know, unless you are undefeated and can guarantee a packed house. I am known all over the world as a fierce and formidable fighter but in New York people outside of Gleason's Gym still say "huh?" whenever you bring up my name. Or if they heard my name, they can't place my face. I'm certain that will all change with my April 11th fight," Alicia said with quiet confidence.
Fighting in far away venues had its drawbacks, and Alicia has her share of horror stories and good times from being on the road.
"My favorite fight venue was Germany. Even though my luggage was lost for four days this was one of the few places where I was able to be a tourist before the fight. I was very relaxed when it was time to fight. In fact, I beat the hometown girl, Alesia Graf, who was undefeated at that time, for my current interim title. I didn’t enjoy being in North Korea because not only couldn’t I go anywhere alone, I didn’t enjoy the food at all. I was very tense when it was fight time and it showed. I lost."
Like many of her female counterparts, Alicia’s first experience in ring sports were in kickboxing and martial arts.
"I started kick boxing after competing in quite a few karate tournaments," Alicia recalled. "My first amateur kick boxing match was against a boxer and even though I won, I was completely outclassed in the hands department. This led to me taking up boxing to become a more well rounded fighter and the rest they say, is history. I amassed a 12-0-1 record as an amateur kick boxer, all the while competing as an amateur boxer, 16-2. One year I fought one night kick boxing and the next in the New York Golden Glove finals, both wins. I won three titles as an amateur kick boxer and currently as a pro, I’m part of Chuck Norris’ World Combat League."
Alicia holds two titles as a professional boxer, the IWBF Super Bantamweight World Champion and the WIBF-GBU interim Bantamweight Champion. Her boxing style is graceful and powerful, a result of her years of training as a dancer.
"I started dancing at age 6, " Alicia said. "My father is a choreographer and dance teacher and he put his daughters in dance classes, although I was the only one to continue. I received scholarships to dance college, with Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey. I was an Apollo dancer and also performed with a small dance company until I injured my knee. So, after 15 years of dance and two devastating injuries later, I hung up my tutu."
After hanging up her tutu, Alicia laced up the boxing gloves and mastered her style of fighting, she explained, which earned her the nickname "Slick."
"My nickname is Slick, and I think that describes it all. My dance background plays a major part of my style. I move. I slip. I counter. I’m not there to get hit. I have speed and my movement tells a story. In fact, I feel like I am in a dance and I’m in total control of my partner’s movements, leading her along to every spot in the ring."
"A Ring of Their Own" founder and Rock & Sock Productions promoter Arnie "Tokyo" Rosenthal has witnessed Alicia in action.
"She’s the female Pernell Whitaker," Rosenthal exclaimed. "Slick, fast, unhittable. In addition, she has charisma and is easy to work with." "I believe," Rosenthal continued, "much like Willie Pep did, she could win a round without ever throwing a punch."
Alicia’s movement and style in the ring also remind a fight fan of Floyd Mayweather, who is her favorite fighter. "Because of his versatility," she said. "He’s a boxer, he’s a puncher. His ability to adjust to the fighter in the ring is impressive."
During the course of her career, Alicia has faced many of women’s boxing best fighters, and offers a thoughtful reply when asked who her toughest opponent has been.
"After myself…Laura Serrano- in her prime. She was one of the most complete fighters I had the unfortunate pleasure to meet very early in my career. She could punch, she could move, she was relentless. I lost that match but I learned a lot from that experience."
All the style, strength and skilled are derived from long hours in the gym and Alicia has a dedicated team behind her. She is trained by her brother, Devon Cormack, her manager is Luigi Olcese and some very talented female boxers, Maureen Shea and Suszannah Warner are there to provide her inspiration and encouragement.
As a personal boxing trainer, Alicia works with clients six days a week, logging six or seven hours a day in the gym, and also maintains her own training regimen.
Surrounding herself with a good team and possessing a dedicated work ethic, Alicia has enjoyed success in women’s boxing but acknowledges that there is still work to be done for the sport to continue to grow and become more mainstream.
"I believe the only way to make women’s boxing more mainstream is to air more competitive female matches as Fox Sports "Best Damn Sports Show" did on March 22", Alicia said. "The women were all at the top of their game and the fights were not only interesting but unpredictable. This will always generate interest in the sport as it did for women’s tennis."
Alicia hopes to generate a lot of interest with her performance next Wednesday and is eager to perform at home.
"This will be my first fight in New York and I’m very anxious, both in a positive way and a negative way," she said. "I can’t wait to be the "hometown girl" and finally have the crowd behind me cheering the entire time. But…also, I feel the pressure to make sure that I put on an extremely good show, which I never had to worry about before. I would always go out and fight and not worry about the crowd, but now it’s a different story. I do believe that once I’m in the ring all the nerves and worries will melt away when I see my opponent and do what I’ve prepared for."
As much as women’s boxing needs more good televised matches, Alicia is not certain her fight will be aired April 11, but offered a positive message to the fight fans that will attend the show at the Paradise Theater:
"I am very anxious to show my talents LIVE to my devoted New York fans. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised at the versatility of my style."
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