Female boxing champ Julaton celebrates Filipino Heritage Night with NFL's Raiders

Reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) 122-pound division queen Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton celebrated Filipino Heritage Night with the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Coliseum on Sunday. And the home team did not let down the Filipino-American female super bantamweight champion and most of the 57,300 sellout crowd as the Raiders defeated the visiting Browns of Cleveland, 24-17, in their National Football League (NFL) game. Julaton, who holds a 10-2-1 win-loss-draw record with one victory by knockout, is fresh from her unanimous decision win over Mexican challenger Jessica Villafranca. The event also served as a memorial game for NFL legend and team owner Al Davis, who died last October 8. Many fans who watched the game wore "AL" t-shirts to honor the first NFL owner that broke down the minority barrier. Davis was loved by the Oakland faithful for being a trailblazer in the NFL. The pro football Hall of Famer was the first to appoint the first female CEO, Amy Trask—who remains to be the only female executive in the NFL.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Davis also appointed the first Latino and African American head coaches, Tom Flores and Art Shell, respectively. He broke down the racial barrier when he appointed Eldridge Dickey as the first African American quarterback in the NFL at the height of the American Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Angelo Reyes, Julaton's manager, said Davis was also the first to recognize the importance of the Filipino community to the NFL after holding the inaugural Filipino Heritage game in 2008. "Anna Julaton was the main guest of honor (based on) her Bay Area tied within the community along with Philippine Consul General of Northern California Marciano Paynor," said Reyes. "To this day the Oakland Raiders are the only organization to have their articles written in Tagalog for the Filipino Community," Julaton was busy signing autographs for her fans and even received a Raiders jersey with legendary Raider Jim Otto's double 00 number. — JVP, GMA News