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Junior welterweight prospect Jennah Creason is 2-0 and sees herself potentially competing for world titles in both boxing and MMA.
Creason finds herself in a 50-50 fight with Samantha Ginithan in a four-round bout on Wednesday, February 19 at Chicken Ranch Casino Resort in Jamestown, California.
Creason, of Visalia, California, has a career far removed from the average 18-year-old from the Central Valley.
“I have three national titles for boxing. I was on Team USA’s 2023 high-performance team and won gold in Germany,” Creason told BoxingScene. “I was a CIF state champion, going 44-0 with 39 pins. Oh, and I was inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame at 16.”
The goal for Creason is a career to capture the attention of two often dueling fan bases – boxing and MMA. Creason started off as a boxer but has a separate career in mixed martial arts, and her goal is to stand out in both.
“Being still very early, I want to get more eyes on me,” Creason said. “I want to look high-level at my age. I want to do that not just for myself, but for women in boxing too. The sport is growing and I want to be one of the faces of both boxing and MMA.”
MMA legend Ronda Rousey served as an inspiration for Creason. Holly Holm, who dethroned Rousey, was a titleholder in both MMA and boxing. Claressa Shields, Katie Taylor, Mikaela Mayer and Amanda Serrano have all become staples of main event boxing over the past decade, and Creason aspires to be in the next wave.
In her pro debut, she was overeager, too excited and struggled against Kelsey Wickstrum in an untelevised fight on a Golden Boy Promotions undercard that saw her winning a split decision.
“For my first fight, I was just so excited. I didn’t really stick to the game plan,” Creason said. “We still got the win, but I was caught up in the moment. Going into my second fight, I was way more comfortable. I knew what I was supposed to do and it was easier to stay focused on the goal.”
Creason’s second contest saw her handle a much more experienced opponent in Roshetta Vatuvei. The jump in her performance from her first to second fight was telling, as Creason outclassed the veteran. Now she faces Ginithan, a 34-year-old from New Mexico who is 1-0 (1 KO).
And then Creason will let her team decide when the time is right to further explore options in MMA. She will keep training in boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. It isn’t a matter of if, but when Creason transitions, though most of her attention currently is on boxing.
“Right now, we’re more focused on boxing because that’s where we’re being competitive, but I’m still keeping up with my MMA, my grappling and my wrestling,” Creason said. “I’m even hosting a seminar a week after the fight.”
