Biography
Jessica grew up in Hamilton Canada near Toronto. Jessica’s mother died when
Jessica was 16, leaving her to fend for herself in life, her father “wasn’t in
the picture.” Jessica feels her experiences growing up made her a stronger
person overall. As a High School Athlete she competed in Hockey, Basketball,
Baseball, Football, Soccer, Track and Swimming. She was twice voted her School’s
Athlete of the Year. She says that her High School friends and opponents aren’t
surprised that she took up Boxing, as she was “always aggressive”
She began Boxing at age 20 and competed for two years as an Amateur at the Local
and Provincial level in Canada. Jessica found that Boxing filled a void in her
life and left her filling fulfilled !
At the 1998 Ontario Championships in St. Catherines, Jessica won her first two
fights with a second-round knockout, she then went on to take the Provincial
Bantamweight Title with a unanimous decision over a more experienced opponent.
Rakoczy was considered for the Canadian National Boxing Team, but a multi-car
accident that injured her neck, shoulder, back and knee prevented her from
competing. A planned second run at making the Canadian National Team ended when
she broke her wrist on a Sparring partner’s head.
Jessica then decided to come to America and make her pro debut. On October 21,
2000 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, she had a first round knockout against Pamela
Sepulvado.
On December 3, 2000 Jessica then fought Josephine Bracamontes in Miami, Florida.
This bout was stopped when Bracamontes was unable to defend against a series of
rights to her head.
On January 21, 2001 at Sunset Station in San Antonio, Texas, Jessica won a
four-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten local fighter Mary Wells.
The last two rounds were shown on Fox Sports, who appear to have taken special
not of Jessica as a prospect. Women’s Boxing Page correspondent Kevin Cockle
wrote that in this fight “Rakoczy looks like a decent, rudimentary prospect with
good, if deliberate movement, and accurate hands. She should be given credit for
executing a fight plan and actually causing Wells to lose; she read Wells
accurately, and utilized appropriate measures to beat her. Rakoczy used no
combination punching to speak of, no body punching, but Jessica’s jab could be
special…she steps in and spears it with tremendous commitment and with her lanky
locomotion and long reach, it seems the logical punch to build on. She has a
straight right as well… as long as she’s able to control pace and score up the
middle, she’ll be effective.”
Rakoczy started training out of Las Vegas. Jessica has continued her winning
streak and is now 19-1. Her one loss was against Jennifer Alcorn and was a
wildly discrepant split decision. Jessica would love a rematch, but Jennifer has
retired from the sport.
Jessica lives her life as a true athlete, she trains hard every day, watches her
diet and mentally prepares herself each and every time she steps into the ring.
Jessica has had to overcome several obstacles in her life. Not only outside the
ring, but inside as well. During one of her latest fights Jessica felt a pop in
her right ankle. She continued to fight and won the match. After the match she
sought medical advice in Canada and was told she had to have surgery on her
ankle and would never be able to fight again. Jessica returned to the US and
went to a specialist and had the surgery. Jessica has had three fights since the
surgery and has won every one of them. This injury was not a setback, but an
opportunity for her to become a better fighter and learn more skills.
This is a sport that Jessica loves and she appreciates everyone’s support and
encouragement.
Jessica feels you should always go for your dreams…