Born in Jamaica, Ashley moved to the United States at a young age.[citation needed] She is the younger sister of chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley and former world kickboxing champion Devon Ashley.[2][3]
Career
Ashley began her professional boxing career on January 29, 1999, defeating Lisa Howarth by a six-round split decision in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On her second professional boxing fight, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, she suffered her first defeat when she was outpointed over six rounds by Doris Hackl on June 20 of that year.
After her first three fights, she took a seven-month hiatus from boxing, but on February 11, 2000, she returned, losing by an eight-round decision to Mexico's Laura Serrano, also in Tunica. After splitting her two next fights, she met "Downtown Leona Brown": on June 29, she beat Brown on points over eight rounds in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Next, she fought Kelsey Jeffries, who, until that bout, had lost only one of her nine fights. On September 3, Ashley beat Jeffries by a six-round unanimous decision in Nevada.
Ashley had only one fight in 2001, a decision victory, and then, on January 13, 2002, she made her Las Vegas debut, drawing (tying) in six rounds with Layla McCarter.
Her next fight fought on February 23 of that year, was also her first world title try, when she and Jeffries were rematched with the vacant IWBF world Featherweight title on the line. Ashley became a world champion by defeating Jeffries, this time by a ten-round split decision, at New Jersey.
Ashley then went down in weight, returning to the Super Bantamweight division. On November 15, she defeated Marcela Acuña by a ten-round split decision in Córdoba, Argentina, to win the WIBF's vacant world Super Bantamweight title. But this decision win was controversial (the fight was scored 96-94 by two judges for Ashley and 97-95 by the third for Acuña), and the WIBF ordered an immediate rematch between the two women fighters. On June 14, 2003, she and Acuña met again, this time at Buenos Aires. Ashley retained the title the second time around with a ten-round unanimous decision.
On November 15, she lost her title to Esther Schouten by a ten-round split decision in Austria.
Her next was against Shondell Alfred, on March 27, 2004, in Guyana. She defeated Alfred by an eight-round decision.
After a hiatus that lasted almost one year, Ashley returned to boxing on March 3, 2005. when she knocked out Elena Reid in seven rounds at Laughlin, she also fought in the World Combat League.
She lost the fight against Argentina's Marcela Eliana Acuna for the WBC female world super bantamweight title by a majority decision at the Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires on August 20, 2009.[4]
After winning two fights in New York City, Ashley won the vacant WBC female super bantamweight title via a unanimous decision at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx on July 23, 2011.[5] On 1 October 2016 at Dort Federal Event Center in Flint Michigan, she lost her title to Fatuma Zarika by split decision.[6]
