I am Sarah “The Thrilla’ From Manila” Goodson and it’s time for you
to know who I am. All the way in Cebu City, Philippines back in 1973
the good Lord blessed Milton and Massing Rama with a beautiful baby
girl that ended up being me. After several tumultuous years in my
politically volatile home country of the Philippines I decided in
1994 to go to America and make a better life for myself. So my
journey to America landed me in Arkansas where I find myself still
living here after twelve years. While I was struggling to carve out
my own niche in life, I found someone to toil in the same task
alongside me, that man is my husband Stacy Goodson. I became Sarah
Goodson in September of 1999. Stacy and I share two little boys
together; but Stacy also shared his love and passion for boxing with
me. Stacy is a former fighter himself and is currently a promoter
and manger that just happens to manage a world champion. Being
around Stacy I became involved in the sport of boxing and stepped
into ring as a professional with little regard to training and
preparation. I suffered through some rough times in the sport but I
was always willing to fight because of the great money that female
boxers make (that was sarcasm). For the entirety of my career I
trained myself and not that I did horrible, but it would take
someone else to help me get to the level I wanted to be, champion.
I only really trained for aesthetic purposes and to keep my body in
shape after having two kids, let’s be real it takes a lot of work
for a girl to look as good as I do. The workouts and constant time
in the gym to just keep me going, parlayed into several victories. I
had no problem taking fights on short notice because I needed the
money (revert back to the comment on how female boxers make great
money) and I was always physically ready to fight. In April of this
year I took another fight on only two days notice, against a
relatively novice fighter named Sandra Ortiz. I was extremely
confident for this girl didn’t have the experience that I possessed
and I took her lightly. It was a hard fought fight and I felt I did
enough to garner a victory, but the hometown judges beat me worse
than Ortiz did and I received a majority decision loss. I felt that
the loss was bullsh…. oops ladies don’t curse, I felt it was unfair,
but I knew that I would need a little outside interference to help
me get past fights like that one and to be able to conquer all that
are put in front of me.
I sucked up my pride and while ranting to my husband that I wanted
to fight this girl again to redeem myself, I also asked him to train
me. Stacy was hesitant at first because I tend to have a mouth and I
am a little stubborn and I sometimes refuse to listen to him, but
really, what woman always listens to everything their husband tells
them? I finally caved and agreed to cooperate with him as long as I
could have the chance to beat Ortiz again. Yes I said again because
I feel I beat her the first time. So with me in the gym working away
and listening to everything my coach had to say, Stacy was busy
trying to set the rematch up with Ortiz. After several negotiation
periods, the fight was picked up by promoter Edward Mendy of Lion
Heart Promotions. This fight wouldn’t be held in her backyard of
Missouri like last time, and it wasn’t going to be back home near me
in Arkansas, so off to California I went, reminiscent of the Beverly
Hillbillies, but with a lot less money. This time though it wasn’t
just my pride on the line, there was a world title, the WIBF
Minimumweight title to be exact. I needed to train ever harder, but
with working fulltime in the Rheem Manufacturing facilities to make
ends meet; it’s hard to be able to dedicate enough hours to train
like a champion. Just to sweeten the pot for me emotionally, this
fight was a bit of redemption for my last title fight back in 2002
didn’t go as well as I would liked and Vaia Zaganas dropped a loss
on me and I wasn’t able to ever return the favor.
First let me tell you how people make fun of Arkansas for
being a backwards redneck state, well California might be a trendy
state, but their volume of idiots in the boxing commission dwarfs
Arkansas’ and makes our officials look like rogue scholars. When we
arrived at the airport we were there a matter of minutes before the
state athletic commissioner Dean Loughice called and declared he
wouldn’t sanction the fight for ten rounds and thus removing the
chances of it being a title fight. This is the result of some
appointed officials who make boxing decisions with no prior boxing
experience or knowledge. Stacy had to call the WIBF and talked it
over, and after much deliberation the WIBF decided to reward both of
us girls for our hard work and training and sanctioned it as a title
fight even with the reduced rounds. After that little fiasco, the
true ineptitude of the commission shone through. Ortiz and I weighed
in and both made weight, but some official stepped in and said he
couldn’t accept my weight and that I would have to get blood work
and weigh in tomorrow. This was his decree and all the while he knew
that I would have to stay dehydrated the entire time to get labs and
to make weight the following day. These types of actions put
fighters at risk for we won’t have enough time to re-hydrate
ourselves and come into the fight in optimal condition. I had made
arrangements for babysitters, I had taken time off of work and
wasn’t making much money, and I was all the way in California with
these buffoons destroying my career. I had told myself that if I
lost this fight, that that would be it and I would retire; I didn’t
want to retire on these terms. Well I overcame the commission’s
incompetence and made weight and was ready for a war.
Being a female fighter, you become used to the fact that notoriety
eludes you and the undercard is will you will always have a home.
Well after the commission in their infinite wisdom forgot to get a
doctor ringside, everything was delayed and ESPN had to show old
fights to fill the time. Well when a doctor finally arrived ESPN
didn’t have much time allotted for a big fight, and suddenly Sandra
and I found ourselves the main event on ESPN. The stars were
aligning and everything was starting to workout in my favor, at
least until I saw the determination on Ortiz’ face. I was shocked,
but not deterred as we came into battle I quickly removed that look
of defiance off her face with my fist. We both fought in close and
threw bombs at each other. The telling point of the fight for me was
for the first time I was throwing a jab and it was working. I
followed the jab up with some overhand rights and that was the
difference in the fight. Ortiz leaned on me and I punched her in the
head, that’s about how the entire fight went. When I was standing
there at the end of the fight and the scores read out 78-74, 77-75,
and 79-73 all in favor of me, it was then I knew that I had redeemed
myself and all those hours of tedious work finally paid off inside
the ring (because I already looked good outside of it).
I have overcome my meager beginnings in Cebu City, I have worked
hard in factories, my two boys have kept me out of the gym, I
overcome my personal limitations as a fighter, and I refused to
submit to the idiocracy known as the California State Athletic
Commission. I went through all this to achieve my dream of becoming
a world champion. Now I have a new dream; to fight back home in the
Philippines and show to all my countrymen what the first ever full
blooded Pilipino female world boxing champion looks like. And to
give hope to all those who feel downtrodden and suppressed that with
hard work and perseverance they can create a better life for
themselves as well. I appreciate all of my fan support and I welcome
you to follow my career and see me defend my title back home and
bring respect and glory to women’s boxing.