Former national champion debuts Friday night on Boxing Insider
July 26 – Boxing Insider Promotion – Tropicana Atlantic City – Live DAZN
In the growing world of women’s boxing, Stacia (Stay) Suttles is someone who has exactly what it takes to stand out. She admits that she started her professional career quite late, when she was 29, but there is no doubting her ability when she took her career in a different direction.
Suttles didn’t even box until 2015, but she was able to pick up the sport very quickly. In fact, it was only about a year before she showed some signs of elite potential. Not only did she win the New York Golden Gloves title in 2016, she won the U.S. title that same year and finished second in the national Golden Gloves. She was also an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team.
At some point, Suttles took a three-year break from boxing, during which she pursued other interests and took on a role as an entrepreneur. She founded something called the “Suttles Boxing Academy,” and says she has completed her brief, ready to recruit interested people at any time.
She is a dedicated teacher, and has also worked as a martial arts instructor for day campers. Her students adore her. She also had the opportunity to sign with the world-famous Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in 2017. This is clearly someone who is thinking about a life that will eventually no longer involve boxing.
But there was still unfinished business. Suttles eventually returned to boxing, but perhaps struggled as an amateur for too long. She last fought in the non-wage ranks in April, at the World Boxing Cup (International Invitational), and lost in a bizarre fashion to France’s Emilie Sonic, winning 3-2 on the judges’ cards in two of the three rounds.
On Friday night, she will step into the professional ranks against Kalinda Faria, a Brazilian with a 1-1 record. Suttles, who is 5-9 1/2, will have a four-inch height advantage over the 38-year-old Faria. And we will witness the first chapter of a story that could leave its mark on women’s boxing history.
Tickets for the July 26 Boxing Insider Promotions show are priced at $60, $100, $150 and $200 and are available at the door the day of the show.
