VERONA, New York — Saturday was a learning experience for Shera Mae Patricio. 

Though the 11-time national champion from Hawaii has seen just about every style in the amateurs, Patricio hasn’t had to take many backward steps in her year-plus as a professional. That changed when she met Maribel Ramirez, a former WBA 115lbs titlist who is as durable as they come. 

On this night, the 23-year-old Patricio had to use her boxing skills, popping the jab and using it to set up the overhand rights and left hooks to the body that earned her the unanimous decision win. Afterwards, manager Bob Kane joked to her about their role reversal: “Now you know how you make other people feel like."

Patricio, now 8-0 (3 KOs), admits it wasn’t easy to resist the temptation to draw a line in the sand and meet her Mexican opponent at center-ring to trade punches.

“A little bit because inside of me, I just want to bang,” said Patricio. “Just being the smarter boxer I knew I had to outbox her and just stick to the game plan, make the fight easier for me, set things up. I don't got to go to war every time, I can just make it simple and just outbox her, confuse her so I can come out clean.”

Patricio did, in fact, come out clean, which keeps her in line to fight again relatively soon.

The unbeaten prospect will be part of an April 25 card in Honolulu, Hawaii, as she takes on an opponent to be named. It’ll be Patricio’s first time fighting in the town of her birth in a decade, giving her an opportunity to put on a show for her hometown fans. 

Hawaii, despite being the most successful American state for amateur boxing at national tournaments, hasn’t had a professional card take place there since 2019.

“I'm excited to do that in my hometown,” said Patricio. “I never fought in my hometown since I was like 12, so it's gonna be an honor, especially bringing back pro fighting in the islands, in front of my whole homeland.”

The win over Ramirez earned Patricio the NABF belt at 115lbs, which confers with it a WBC world ranking at that division. She is already ranked no. 4 by the WBA at 118lbs, where Cherneka Johnson, 19-2 (8 KOs), is the undisputed champion. 

Kane tells BoxingScene that the plan is to work towards a fight with the 31-year-old Johnson, a native of New Zealand now based in Australia, towards the end of the year, while keeping Patricio busy and gaining experience.

After Hawaii, Kane says Patricio has another fight lined up for July 25 at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, where she currently trains under Kane and her father Lyndon Patricio Snr., in what will be her first ten-rounder.

“It has to play up, probably by the end of the year, as long as Cherneka is good and she's healthy and she gets through her next couple fights,” said Kane, who owns Kaoz Boxing in Philadelphia. “Of course, that's the fight that we would want to do. And I’m happy to see these other two fights play out as far as what's happening in that division right now, because she gets to gain a couple more eight-round fights before stepping into her first 10 round fight.”.

“I think there's really no rush either. Even with the beginning of next year, I would be alright with it.”

For now, Patricio is happy with what she’s accomplishing each day.

As one of the few Filipina-American or female Hawaiian boxers of note, she feels she is blazing a path for other young women, including her national champion younger sisters, to follow.

“It's just all glory to God, because it takes a big role and big responsibility to hold down the fort and to pave the path, especially going in blind where there are no females doing this,” said Patricio. “I can just see all these younger generations coming up, falling behind me. I see a lot of young, beautiful, amazing, talented women out there doing their thing just like me, and I'm just excited to see how everybody goes and follows down my path as well.”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.