Tricia Turton carrying on legacy of area's boxing pioneers

Tricia Turton refuses to sever the umbilical cords connecting her with Dallas Malloy and Margaret MacGregor.

Though heralded as two of women's boxing's earliest pioneers with ties to Western Washington, they also represent the forgettable days of the fledgling sport when it relied on gimmicky promotions such as mixed-gender bouts for exposure to a skeptical fan base.

"I always appreciate any women who paved the way for me," said Turton, who will fight for a world title Saturday in Auburn Hills, Mich. "I'm thankful for anybody like that. You talk about any of the athletes from tennis to soccer, all of them. I'm always appreciative to all of the trail blazers because I think I've been pretty lucky.

"I've come in after Title IX and I've benefited from all of those opportunities and all of these women who stuck their neck out. Hopefully, I'm doing the same thing for younger girls where they can just come in and you walk through the gym and you're a boxer. It doesn't matter what your identity is other than that. That's what it is here. We're just boxers. Nothing else."

Here is the George Credit Boxing Gym, a tiny, dark room tucked behind a martial-arts studio along Rainier Avenue in Renton. Credit, an ex-boxer turned trainer, use to have the run of the entire building before being forced to downsize.

All that remain are two worn-out heavy bags that hang from the ceiling, a makeshift ring nestled along the back wall, a few posters and assorted equipment.

"You start from nothing, and you build yourself up," Credit said.

He was talking about his Spartan-like gym, but the analogy works just as well when applied to Turton, one of a handful of fighters he trains along with co-manager Sam DiTusa.

Or maybe Credit was gazing at the bigger picture and speaking metaphorically about women's boxing, a niche sport that still fights for respectability 13 years after Malloy sued USA Boxing for recognition and seven years after MacGregor stepped inside the Mercer Arena ring with a man, Loi Chow, and won.

"I got the toughest training regimen that there is for boxing," Credit said. "Usually when people come in and say, 'I want to box,' they last about two or three days. If they make it through a month of my training here, then I think I got a good fighter.

"After about a month of good, hard training, I knew Trish was going to be good. She and I go 17, 18 and 20 rounds of sparring. I don't teach her to fight like a girl, I teach her to fight. That's the only way this [sport] is going to survive."

Four days before the biggest bout of her life, Turton bears little resemblance to her predecessors as she's giving and receiving a flurry of haymakers in three rounds of sparring against stablemate Dakota Stone.

"You see different categories in women's boxing," Turton said. "There's people that are good athletes, but they use their assets that they've been given, their family name or their looks or whatever.

"Then there's this huge grassroots group that's coming up that are tremendous boxers because they've had amateur experience. They are starting to take over the pro ranks."

Turton doesn't have a household name to market, nor does she have a "Million Dollar Baby" story to sell to Hollywood, and by her admission, her tomboy looks won't land her on the cover of Vogue anytime soon.

She's a fighter, or more apt, she's a 35-year-old boxer who turned to the sport in May 2005 at an age when most fighters consider retiring.

Turton is naïve enough to believe she's capable of greatness. She's passionate enough to quit a supervisor position at United Parcel Service and adopt a training regimen that transformed her 185-pound flabby frame into a svelte, 154-pound package. The former rugby player had a 16-2 record as an amateur and has won her first eight fights as a pro, with three knockouts.

And she's daring enough to step inside the ring at The Palace in Auburn Hills against undefeated Mary Jo Sanders (20-0, 6 KO's) in a 10-round bout for the vacant Women's International Boxing Association light-middleweight title.

"Mary Jo right now is easily considered one of the three best women fighters in the world pound for pound," DiTusa said. "If Trish beats her, then she'd move right up there with the best in the world."

Oddsmakers favor Sanders, who has more experience and the support of a hometown crowd, while Turton has never fought away from the West Coast and has not had a bout last past eight rounds.

"Trish is ready," said Credit, who seemingly rushed her to fight heavily favored Lisa Holewyne after just four pro bouts. Turton won a majority decision and a unanimous decision in the rematch.

A win doesn't necessarily promise untold riches for Turton. She'll receive about $10,000, and if she returns to her Skyway home as a champion, then it will be more difficult for Credit and DiTusa to find her quality fights.

Some suggest Turton should build her career slowly, but she believes Saturday's fight is good for her and good for boxing.

"Women's boxing is right at the edge of crossing over," Turton said. "The more competitive fights are going to help it a little bit. Previously we had big names that were fighting people that didn't have any experience, and they were killing them — the Laila Ali fights where she just kills people and there's no challenge.

"If we're going to make this grow, then you have to take on the big fights and not be afraid of putting the best fighters against each other."

Turton was talking about women's boxing, but the analogy works just as well when applied to her career.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com