Brenda Burnside

By 2000, Burnside was already contemplating retirement from boxing. Nevertheless, an opportunity to face the well known, two time world champion Para Draine came by, and Burnside accepted it. On February 17, at Worley, she lost to Draine by an eight-round split decision.

1999 was a very busy year for Burnside, and a year in which she met mostly world class competition. On January 23, she beat former world champion Imelda Arias by a second-round knockout. On March 13, she made her Madison Square Garden debut, dropping an eight-round split decision to Bridgett Riley. On June 16, she lost to future world champion Margaret Sidoroff for the WIBF's intercontinental Super Flyweight title, by a ten-round unanimous decision, in New Orleans, Louisiana. On August 14, she lost to Kathy Williams, but she got a break on her next fight, beating Rosie Johnson by a four-round unanimous decision on November 18. She finished 1999 by dropping another four-round decision, to Kelsey Jeffries, on December 14.

Her first win came on March 12, 1998, when she outpointed Jayla Ortiz over four rounds in Santa Fe. On her next fight, she beat Dolores Lira.

She began her professional boxing career on August 8, 1997, at the relatively old age (for a boxer) of 32, losing a four-round decision to Gloria Ramirez, in Houston, Texas. Burnside lost her first four fights, but her opposition included Valerie Troike (twice) and future world champion Sandra Yard.

Brenda Burnside (born March 20, 1963 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a former women's boxing "journeywoman". Despite being given such title by boxing fans and critics (a journeyman or woman in boxing is someone who takes fights, usually on short period, and loses to other fighters), she was well known in the boxing world for the quality of opposition she faced; and she contended for a world title once. She fought in the Super Flyweight division.