Melissa Del Valle

Who is Melissa Del Valle?

Melissa Del Valle is an American multiple champion in the sport of women's boxing, both at the amateur and professional levels.

A member of a sports-minded family of Puerto Rican immigrants, Del Valle took up boxing in the early 1990s, while her older brother Lou Del Valle was making a name for himself as a light-heavyweight boxer.

Then fighting under her married name of Melissa Salamone, Del Valle won the New York state Golden Gloves title at 132 pounds in both 1996 and 1997. In the latter year, she added the national amateur lightweight title, sweeping all five scorecards in the finals on July 19, 1997.

Del Valle then announced she was joining the professional ranks, debuting on September 5, 1997 with a first-round knockout of Marsha Evans. She followed that up with several more impressive victories, and one year and one week later, she earned her first title shot. On September 12, 1998, Del Valle won a 10-round unanimous decision over Melinda Robinson to claim the vacant WIBF super featherweight title.

She fought and won six non-title bouts over the next 11 months, then defended her title against fellow unbeaten Lena Akesson on August 14, 1999 in Miami Beach, Florida.