{"id":4498,"date":"2009-07-31T03:07:05","date_gmt":"2009-07-31T03:07:05","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-15T13:25:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:25:31","slug":"ana-julaton-hits-like-a-hurricane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=4498","title":{"rendered":"Ana Julaton hits like a hurricane"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fil-Am female fighting Pride of the Philippines, Bay area\u2019s own Ana \u201cThe Hurricane\u201d Julaton is back. Julaton, who is the most influential Filipina boxer in the history of the sport and arguably the most popular female boxer to ever come out of the Bay Area, is making her return to the ring after an 11 month hiatus for the biggest test of her career.
\nFil-Am female fighting Pride of the Philippines, Bay area\u2019s own Ana \u201cThe Hurricane\u201d Julaton is back. Julaton, who is the most influential Filipina boxer in the history of the sport and arguably the most popular female boxer to ever come out of the Bay Area, is making her return to the ring after an 11 month hiatus for the biggest test of her career. Following in the footsteps of her boxing idol Manny Pacquiao, Ana who is ranked in the Top Ten in the World by the WBC at 122lbs Superbantamweight will be moving up two weight divisions to 130lbs, SuperFeatherweight, in order to challenge the coveted #1 Pound for Pound ranking.<\/p>\n

Originally, Ana Julaton was to challenge Melissa Hernandez for the WIBA Super Featherweight title this weekend. The bout had been scheduled to take place August 1st. The Julaton camp received word that the fight would be moved to September. Undaunted, Julaton and her camp still have Hernandez in their sights as they continue to architect what would be an upset to one of the top female fighters in the game.<\/p>\n

Superfeatherweight Champion Melissa “Hurucan” Hernandez (10 wins 1 loss 2 draw) represents Puerto Rico by way of NY. Melissa “Hurrucan” Hernandez, who is currently the WBC ranked #2 Superfeatherweight, WBA #2 Featherweight, IFBA #2 SuperFeatherweight, is Julaton\u2019s biggest opponent to date both in terms of experience and size. Hernandez is considered by many to be too strong of an opponent for Julaton. In Melissa’s 13 professional fights, she has only lost to WBA Lightweight Champion Laya McCarter (P4P #4). Some boxing experts believe Ana is a huge underdog and should not be taking such a risky fight, but they all said the same things last year before the biggest fight of 2008 Pacquiao vs De La Hoya.<\/p>\n

I was able to speak with Ana from West Wind Gym in Berkeley, California, where she teaches martial arts and trains next to Manny Pacquiao! They even have the same coach, Freddy Roach, who once trained Oscar De La Hoya for his May 5, 2007 superfight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n

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ASIANCE: I read that your grandfather was a big fan of boxing yet you were completely turned off to it. What didn\u2019t you like about it? And how did you get into boxing? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> What I didn\u2019t like about boxing was that I didn\u2019t understand it. I didn\u2019t understand what the sport was about. I didn\u2019t understand the science behind it. I thought it was just two athletes trying to beat the tar out of each other. The people fall on the canvas, get back up, take more punishment. It didn\u2019t make sense to me. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t get involved in boxing until 2004. I was 23. I\u2019m a teacher at West Wind School and our primary focus is to teach self defense. What we wanted to do was incorporate some competition martial arts into practice, such as distancing, timing, things like that, all the stuff we teach in martial arts in a safer manner as opposed to taking someone\u2019s eye out or ripping someone\u2019s throat out. <\/p>\n

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We found that boxing had a very similar parallel to martial arts. You had to have really good technique, good heart and discipline, versus some of the other comparative martial arts. We ended up finding that (other comparative martial arts) a lot of people would get injured. There is a lot of technique involved. Usually the bigger person would win, etc, etc. <\/p>\n

As a teacher, I had to learn some of the basics. The way I approached it was a little different than everyone else\u2019s in a sense where I was thrown into the ring on the first couple of lessons without knowing too much about the basics. I went in with a couple of guys and we were just fighting. It just took off from there. It was just a funny story.<\/p>\n

\n
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\nEvery time I was in the ring, whether it was martial arts or boxing, she (mom) would always say, \u201cHave no mercy\u201d, \u201cGo get \u2018em\u201d.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ana Julaton<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ASIANCE: I\u2019m hearing your opponent is tough, Champion Melissa “Hurucan” Hernandez .Are you ever scared? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> That\u2019s one thing I was able to learn a lot in amateur boxing, is that you can\u2019t have fear in your mind at all. You have to be 100% confident in yourself and your team. Any inch of fear or doubt, if it creeps in, it will eventually filter into your performance. I don\u2019t even think about it. I go in there, focus on my game plan. I\u2019m confident. My team\u2019s confident. That\u2019s enough for me to have this fight. It\u2019s a challenge.
\nIn boxing, there is this saying, \u201cStyles make fights.\u201d You can have a great champion, but if you have that champion happen to fight someone who has a better style, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s game. I think that is one of the biggest beauties of boxing and I think that\u2019s why it draws a lot of fans. You\u2019re not so sure what you are going to get. Manny Pacquiano for instance, he went up in weight classes. He fought Oscar Delahoya. He fought Ricky Hatton, guys who were bigger. At first there was a lot of doubt like, \u201cOh this guy has a weighted bench over you.\u201d and \u201cthis guy is bigger\u201d\u2026.All this and all that. <\/p>\n

But Manny knew he had certain advantages over these guys, which is speed. He came out with these fantastic wins.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: How many hours do you train a day? What is a typical work out day for you? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> It kind of depends on the schedule because I still teach here at West Wind Schools, Martial Arts. It depends on the group classes I have to do, whether I have to teach privately or not.<\/p>\n

On a typical morning I wake up at 6am, I\u2019ll do some roadwork. It will vary from running 2-3-4 miles, to doing some sprints or stairs, something like that. I\u2019ll have my nutrition. Rest. Take a power nap. Then in a couple of hours, I\u2019ll hit the gym. Depending on what day it is, I\u2019ll do some bag work, mitt work, sparring, so forth..On average I train 3-6 hours a day. Sundays I\u2019m off. <\/p>\n

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ASIANCE: Who else do you want to fight? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> I\u2019m not really thinking of any other opponents right now. I\u2019m just focusing on this fight. It\u2019s a big fight and for me to look past it, I\u2019m going to be getting a little ahead of myself. I want to do well. I think a lot of people want to watch and a lot of people will be supporting. In terms of any future opponents, I\u2019ll do whatever my team feels is best for me, but right now, I\u2019m just focusing on this one. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Ana<\/a><\/div>\n
Ana \u201cThe Hurricane\u201d Julaton <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ASIANCE: Do you train with men or step in the ring with men? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> Right now for the fight I\u2019m getting ready for, my whole team is composed of men. My sparring partners, the whole team. When I do the bag work, things like that, it\u2019s all guys.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: What would you be doing if you weren\u2019t a boxer? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> I really don\u2019t know. It\u2019s funny. For me personally, what I do in my spare time, I like fashion. I like messing around with hair and makeup. I\u2019m not sure. Ever since I was 10, I\u2019ve always had a fascination with martial arts and it ended up bringing me to boxing and all these other collective arts now. It\u2019s been with me for the past 20 years. If it wasn\u2019t for this, I don\u2019t know what else I would be doing. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Would you say that you are a girlie girl when you\u2019re not in the ring? You love makeup and fashion. <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> Well I don\u2019t think I strike anyone as a girlie girl (laughs). I won\u2019t always have my makeup and stuff like that. But I do appreciate things like that. You know, your manicures and pedicures. That\u2019s relaxing. I wouldn\u2019t consider myself a girlie girl, but I do like things like that.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you ever practice again Manny? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> NO! haaha! I\u2019d be afraid! Whenever we\u2019re getting ready for a big fight, we\u2019ll do training together. I\u2019ll usually do the mitts first and then we\u2019ll switch. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Did your mom ever discourage you from fighting? Like don\u2019t do that? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> You would think so, but my mom has been a big supporter since the beginning. My mom was born and raised in the Philippines and for her, I think I received my inspiration from my mom. Because every time I was in the ring, whether it was martial arts or boxing, she would always say, \u201cHave no mercy\u201d, \u201cGo get \u2018em\u201d. She always pushed for the win versus some of my other relatives who are always encouraging me to go to school or try a different field. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Your dad is Filipino too right? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> Yes he was born in the Philippines but he came to The States when he was two back in the late \u201850\u2019s early \u201860s. He went through the whole civil rights movement. My dad is very Americanized. Even though my mom and my dad are both Filipino, they\u2019re two very different people. My dad is more American my mom is more Filipino.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you think Women\u2019s Boxing will ever be a part of the Olympics? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> It\u2019s not in the Olympics. It was at one point, as a showcasing sport but as of right now for the past few Olympics, many female fighters have been trying to push the International Olympic Committee to have Women\u2019s Boxing a part of the Olympics. They said they are going to try and push it for the next one.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of powerful female fighters out there who have made a powerful impact on the sport. You have Laila Ali, Lucia Rijker. Going beyond boxing you have other female fighters like Gina Carano that are putting their name out there. They are highlighting the sport. For me, whenever I do any of the media work, it\u2019s not my full attention because I\u2019m focused on the fight, but at the end of the day, I think it helps to get the word out and have people hear about it. A lot of people like to compare it to women\u2019s professional basketball. It\u2019s a different game. I think what will be fun and I\u2019m seeing now, is back then, a typical female boxer tended to have the short hair, this incredible physique. They had a certain look. Versus now, if you look at it, there are many female boxers who have a modelesque type of look, the long hair, the curls. They look very feminine. <\/p>\n

Hopefully the sport will be just as popular as women\u2019s tennis, where we can actually be an entertaining sport for the entire audience. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you see any potential in any of your students? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> I think for anyone who practices martial arts, they\u2019re learning how to use speed to their advantage, know how to control their body and things like that. Martial arts forces work discipline so the work ethic will be there. I think on a general point, for those people who start in martial arts, it will be easy for them to convert to boxing.<\/p>\n

I think in terms of my own personal students, there are a few of them that have the attitude for it. It\u2019s not an easy sport. You have to go through a lot and you have to generally enjoy it. There are a couple students. There are some from all ages. There are a few young ones and then some ladies, who if they want to invest their time in it, can really do well. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Ana<\/a><\/div>\n
Ana \u201cThe Hurricane\u201d Julaton <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ASIANCE: Will you ever coach? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> I thought about it. It seems like fun. I feel like with all the experiences that my team and I were able to come up with the past few years, I feel like I gained a lot of knowledge and it would be fun to share it. And at the same time to give back to the amateurs, even just \u201cfeel well\u201d boxing, to try to use what we were able to build up for the past couple of years and see if we can go back to the root of it and put more emphasis on the amateur female fighters out there. It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve been thoroughly thinking about because I\u2019ve been concentrating on the fight but it definitely strikes an interest.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you have anything you\u2019d want to say to girls who want to follow in your footsteps? <\/h3>\n

Ana:<\/b> If you have a dream, think big. That\u2019s what all my teachers have said. Even if you don\u2019t accomplish it, if you gain half of it, you\u2019ll still be successful. There\u2019s going to be a lot of people who tell you, that you can\u2019t do this, you can\u2019t do that. The only thing that\u2019s really going to stop you is yourself. Always listen to yourself. <\/p>\n

Ana will be fighting September 18th at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, CA.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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