Alicia Sparks: A Fighter Without a Chance

In January of 1999, Indiana’s Alicia Sparks, first drew attention when she was quoted in the Miami Herald, in the article The Seamy Side of Women’s Boxing. Sparks told Ken Rodriguez of the Miami Herald that she took her first fight on a few days’ notice. She had never put on a pair of gloves until she stepped into the ring against Diana Lewis in May of 1998 in Indiana. ”It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be,” said Sparks, “I got sick, started throwing up in the ring.

I got a bloody nose. Some of my teeth were knocked out. My head was pounding. But other than that, I was fine.” “Fine?” Rodriguez wrote, “Sparks suffered a second round TKO.”

Rodriguez also mentioned the fact that Sparks was one of the fortunate ones that had crossed the paths of Sumya Anani, who had previously fought Katie Dallam the “all-of-four-weeks” trained boxer, who had had a car accident a day before her ill-fated match up with the Island Girl. As most probably recall, Dallam fell into a coma shortly after the fight when she went to her dressing room, and barely survived her ordeal—ending her boxing career, and changing her life forever…..

Well, Sparks will be mentioned again—–but this time it will be on WBAN. And, why? Because Sparks is one of many women boxers that are fighting today that are offered up as “fresh meat” to other fighters that ARE well-trained, and ARE encouraged to win.

So where did Sparks begin her glorious boxing career of one win, seven loss record at the ripe old age of 24 years old?

Sparks was not picked out of a boxing gym, or kickboxing Center… She just happened to meet a character by the name of Reggie Strickland after Strickland had gotten her friend, Susie Saylors a fight.

Reggie had gotten Saylors a boxing match (her pro debut) with Dianna Lewis. After Sparks saw that fight with Saylors and Lewis, she expressed an interest to Saylors about getting a boxing match. Sparks ended up getting a call from Strickland where he offed her a fight. Sparks with absolutely no training, no trainer… was offered a fight to box Lewis.

Lewis was a new fighter herself with only two bouts on her record 1-0-1. But, regardless of Lewis’ record, Saylors nor Sparks who had never seen the inside of a boxing gym, had absolutely no business in the ring with th3e likes of a boxer like Lewis. Saylors fought Lewis in March of 1998, and was stopped in the third round. Sparks fought Lewis on May 19, 1998, and was stopped in the second round. Saylors has never had another fight…

I asked Sparks how did Saylors get the matchup with Lewis…Sparks said that “Saylors” was simply chosen by Strickland when he approached her after he noticed that she looked like someone that would be able to fight.

Sparks said that the only reason why she boxed in the first place was that she wanted to do it because she thought it would be fun. Sparks said that she viewed herself as “tough”, and that she had had street fights and felt that she could handle herself in the ring.

Sparks also did not anticipate that she would gain a love for the sport, even though in her pro debut against Lewis, she was clearly overmatched. Sparks never realized that she was truly a “Fighter without a chance.”