Female Amateur Star to Make Pro Debut Tonight at the “Battle in the Ballroom”

Rhonda Luna is not your typical English teacher. The 24-year-old (who adds the role of softball coach at Bishop Amat High School to her resume) is also an accomplished amateur boxer, and once the first bell rings at tonight’s “Battle in the Ballroom” show at the Irvine Marriott, she will be a card carrying professional boxer.

And if the nerves are there for Luna, they’re not showing.

“I feel pretty relaxed,” she said. “I know I put in the work for the last month or so, so I feel pretty prepared. Of course I’m a little apprehensive that it’s my first time coming out, but I do feel like I’m ready for whatever comes at me.”

Luna faces Rosa Ponce, who is also making her pro debut, in a four rounder. The Rowland Heights native’s goals are clear in the pro ranks.

“To be successful, but also to be recognized as a good boxer,” she said. “There are different women boxers out there who get a lot of attention, where some still don’t think that girls can box. I think the best thing I could hear is that someone says I fight like a guy.”

Unlike most novice female fighters, Luna can fight, having won two National Blue and Gold titles en route to a 10-2 record. And after a controversial decision loss in the first round of the National Championships, Luna and her trainer knew that it was time to take their game to the next level.

“I knew when I started boxing that the professional level was where I wanted to be,” said Luna, who counts Oscar De La Hoya and Lucia Rijker among her favorite fighters. “But I knew I had to put in the time and gain some experience at the amateur level. I did that for as long as my trainer and I felt I needed to. Once he felt I was ready to move up, that’s exactly where I wanted to be.”

For the lifelong athlete, who knows the value of preparation, both mental and physical, an apprenticeship in the amateur ranks was not only favorable, but also necessary.

“I think it’s very important,” said Luna of her amateur background. “You have to get grounded in the sport before you just jump into it, especially to jump right into the professional level. I couldn’t imagine myself doing that had I not had the amateur experience. Just the idea of feeling comfortable in the ring, understanding the art of the sport - which is not the idea that a lot of people think, where it’s just stepping in the ring and throwing a lot of punches. The amateur experience gave me so much more of the feeling of being comfortable in the ring, knowing what to look for, and things of the sort. Sparring is one thing, hitting the bag and doing the mitts is another thing. But when you get in an actual fight, it’s a completely different story. I couldn’t imagine not having that amateur experience.”

She certainly sounds like a fighter, so it makes it even more compelling that Luna’s story includes a degree from UC Santa Barbara, and a day job as an English teacher – shattering any stereotypes the general public may have about fighters.

“On the days where going to the gym is going to be the most exhausting thing on my schedule that day, and sometimes when I get a little nervous, I start to wonder, ‘What am I doing? Why am I here?’” she admits. “I’ve said that so many times. I’m a college graduate, I’m a high school teacher, I have a great job and I’ve accomplished a lot, but there’s some type of competitive spirit in me that won’t go away. And until it does, I’m going to continue to pursue different opportunities until it disappears.”

And Luna doesn’t walk around the shadows when it comes to her new athletic journey; she wears her gloves proudly, and her family, students and colleagues have responded in kind.

“The entire campus is extremely supportive,” she said. “The kids are excited about it. For them, of course, it’s neat that their English teacher is a boxer. And my colleagues are completely supportive of what I do. I’ll have 15 of my co-workers there tomorrow night.”

Along with her family, who worry, but are confident in their budding pugilist.

“They find comfort in the fact that they know me and they know my abilities, and they know I can hold my own,” she said.

So what will the fans at the Irvine Marriott see tonight?

“They’re going to see everything from me,” said Luna. “They’re going to see me box; they’re going to see me brawl if I have to. I have strength and I have smarts. Putting that together, hopefully they’re going to see one of the next rising stars in women’s boxing.”

In the “Battle in the Ballroom” main event, two Mexican warriors, Jamie Orrantia of Sinaloa (10-4, 2 KOs), and Jorge Garcia of Acapulco (10-13, 7 KOs), reprise their war of last year, when they clash in an eight round featherweight bout.

The first battle between the two was a fight to remember, with the two going toe to toe for all six rounds of their Bakersfield bout, Orrantia eking out a split decision.

In the co-feature, lightweights Jorge Espinoza (6-4, 4 KOs) and Elias Mingucha (3-2-1) square off in a six rounder.

A six round featherweight bout will see LA’s hard-hitting Jose Gonzalez (3-2, 2 KOs) in the ring with Rogelio Ramirez (1-1), and opening the show will be a four round heavyweight contest between Germany’s unbeaten Herman Binek (6-0, 5 KOs) and LA’s Lee Lark (1-4-1, 1 KO).