The 34-year-old Filipina made a successful transition from boxing to MMA in May at ONE FC: Rise of Heroes, where she stopped Aya Saeid Saber via third-round technical knockout. However, Julaton failed to repeat the magic of her triumphant MMA debut as she lost to Ann Osman by split decision at ONE FC: Reign of Champions in August. Julaton recently went back on the winning track by outpointing Walaa Abbas by way of unanimous decision on the undercard of ONE FC: Warrior’s Way last December 5.
Although she has a flourishing career in MMA, Julaton pointed out that she is not turning her back on the sport that catapulted her to the pinnacle of success “Boxing remains my top priority. I’m still Ana Julaton, the boxer. My boxing journey is not that near to conclusion despite a successful run in MMA. I still want to fight for a boxing world title someday,” she told Rappler in an interview after ONE FC: Warrior’s Way.
Julaton (13-4-1, 2 knockouts) made a place for herself in boxing history when she became the first Pinay pugilist to capture a world title by winning the vacant International Boxing Association women’s junior featherweight belt against Kelsey Jeffries in September 2009.
The 5-foot-5 “Hurricane” doubled the feat by claiming the inaugural World Boxing Organization female super bantamweight strap in June 2010 when she closely outpointed Maria Elena Villalobos. She went on to successfully defend the 122-pound trinket three times before dropping it to Yesica Patricia Marcos in a lopsided contest in March 2012. Since her disappointing setback to Marcos, Julaton won three of her four outings, defeating the likes of Yolanda Segura, Abigail Ramos and Hernandez. Due to her ardent desire to vie for a world title, Julaton and her manager Allan Tremblay of Orion Sports Management admitted that they are in talks with Top Rank Promotions chief Bob Arum for a bout in Macau, China this coming March.
“I’m excited that Top Rank will be promoting my boxing fights next year. We’re just finalizing the date, so I can start my training camp immediately,” she stated.
There is a possibility that Julaton will serve as the co-featured attraction for Chinese superstar Zou Shiming, who is highly touted to face International Boxing Federation flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng on the March fight card.
No opponent has been named for Julaton’s boxing comeback as of the moment, but she disclosed that Top Rank is looking to pair her with fighters from Japan or Thailand.
According to Julaton, Arum finds no issue over her decision to continue her MMA stint as the 83-year-old promoter willingly allowed her to compete in both disciplines.
“Bob is supportive in what I do as a boxer and an MMA fighter. Actually, he knows that I’m with ONE FC for MMA. He is cool with that,” Julaton said of Arum, who is known to be a critic of MMA.(Philboxing, Rappler.com)