5 March 2008
WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val
Henning
'I screwed up', says Mike Corrigan
'I wanted to leave it all in the ring',
says Maria
'Be prepared to be defeated', says Monica
'Monica is next', says Stephanie
Devon Ling and Val Henning meet in Devon's luxurious office at the WEBA Towers.
Val: Hey Devon, what did you think about the title fights?
Devon: There were just two this time. One was no surprise, as Carla "Baby Doll" Ramirez kept the world lightweight title by knocking out WEBA veteran Tammy "The Franchise" Quinton.
Val: Carla's finding it hard to get opponents now, and Tammy was the only one willing to step up to take a shot at her!
Devon:
Yeah, Tammy's a former world and WEBA champ, with over 170
fights in 10 years in the league. She'd lost both of those titles to
Keiko Suzuki in 2006, but then Keiko lost them to Baby Doll. SInce then
Tammy's had six goes at taking the world title away from the terrible
Texan, and The Franchise has been left KO'd on the canvas every single
time! She's made a good fight of it a few times and come
close to
going the distance and gone down with guns blazing, but the bottom
line's always been the same - Baby Doll flat out has
Tammy's number now!.
Val: This one ended in the seventh, with Tammy going down three times, and it was one of Baby Doll''s most convincing wins over the girl from Las Vegas. This time it ended with a vicious flurry that left Tammy stunned and helpless on the canvas. She'd bloodied Baby Doll's nose and mouth in the third round but Baby Doll had outworked and outhit her big time in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Devon: It was another very convincing win for Carla Ramirez, and it showed me how much we need a hot contender at lightweight to take her on now. The WEBA lightweight belt has changed hands a lot recently, as they try to sort out who's number two in this group, and who might eventually have the best shot at taking away Carla's title. The last lightweight to beat her was Keiko Suzuki, way back at the end of 2005, but since then Keiko's lost to Frida Svensson, Greta Bergstrom and Di Rame. So I'd figure one of the two Swedish lightweights, Greta or Frida, might be the next to take a good shot at Carla. Of those two, Frida's got the WEBA title and more potential for training, but she's had her own problems with Mindy Li. Tulia Minez, Karin Bauer and maybe even Carmen Santos, who got a split decision over her in the last lightweight tournament!
Val: And for what it's worth, Carmen Santos just knocked Frida out in the grudge ring at Wu's in a hard fought seventeen round battle! So once you leave Carla Ramirez out of the picture, the whole lightweight race is amazingly wide open, with once-hot veterans trying to keep pace with eager newbies. How about the junior featherweight title fight, Devon?
Devon: It
was a big night for Chilean
bad girl Mónica "KO"
Rodriguez who'd made her presence felt in the WEBA featherweight
tournament, scoring
several upsets before she lost to Raquel Rivera in the final. One of
those upsets was a
points win over "Killie Killer" Fiona Black from Scotland, so this
rematch between them for the junior title figured to be good. The
Chilean
may even have come in as the favorite this time after her tournament
performance. It was a dilly of a
fight right from the start as Fiona began aggressively and
moved Mónica onto the
ropes, but the Chilean fought back hard. The second and third rounds
went Fiona's way as the Scottish star outboxed Mónica
in the second and hammered her hard in the third, knocking her down
three times. That round almost put the fight and the title away, and.
Mónica
needed a good chin to survive it. Fiona was fired up
and she
tried to close Mónica
out early in the fourth, but Mónica's chin was up to the task
as
she went toe to toe with her and then was
able to turn the fight her way
by the end of the round. That proved to be the turning point in the
fight as
Mónica stepped it up in the fifth to get a standing eight on the
Killer, then went all out in the seventh and
eighth. Mónica
stunned Fiona
repeatedly with head-body combinations, and the champion was reeling
against the ropes in the eighth before she went crashing to the canvas
where she
was counted out.
Val: Mónica passed a milestone by winning her first pro title, and she may also have sent Rocky Rivera and Jordan Strongarm a wake-up message while doing it. The Chilean's started to find her groove since a disappointing points loss to Cathy Simmons last May, and may finally be living up to her "KO" nickname.
Devon: How about some highlights on the undercard, Val?
Val: It
wasn't a great fight but Mikee "The Mauler" Mulroney put a heckuva
beating on Hellcat Heather Corrigan,
who was brutally roughed up and KO'd for the second straight time.
This wasn't even close after a first round where the Hellcat
was
able to box with Mikee for a while despitethe Mauler outweighing her by
12 pounds
. Mikee threw her whole book at Heather in the
second, and it's a big book! Heather got a real rough dose of
her
own body punching
medicine and went to the canvas twice for short counts. But Mikee did
damage upstairs as well as she bloodied Heather's mouth and closed her
left eye. The Hellcat
had to plead with the doctor to let her continue into the third
round which was a slugfest where they traded power shots at first but
then Mikee let rip with a barrage of power shots
that stunned the smaller girl and broke her jaw.
Devon: The end of that round was brutal enough, but it got worse as Mikee blasted shots through Heather's defense in the fourth and fifth. The fight ended with a series of bombs to the Hellcat's head that sent her mouthpiece flying and crumpled her onto the canvas face down at Mikee's feet. That's two ferocious knockouts in a row for the Florida girl who used to be the league's top fighter, Val.
Val: It's also the second time she went against Mikee Mulroney and got herself KO'd. Maybe she should stay clear of the big bad middleweights now!
Devon: Anything else grab you as a highlight, Val?
Val: There
was some slam-bang action in the middleweight tournament as Balio's
middleweight Maria
"The Huntress" Lozada went up against the tough Canadian Karen
"Kickass" Kelly who's always on a "KO or be KO'd" mission. They traded
rounds back and forth through the fight with Maria scoring the bigger
shots
with Karen reeling against the ropes. Karen's toughness
showed as
she battled on and went toe to toe with Maria despite a
swollen right eye and a broken nose, but Maria put the heat on
the Canadian at the end of the seventh and again in the
eighth, battering her against the ropes and eventually
knocking
her out with a
vicious uppercut. .
Devon: Maria's started to show some of the finishing power she may need in the next leg of this tourney, where she'll go against the other Canadian middleweight, "Brandon Bomber" Jenny Johnson. Jenny won the early rounds against Russia's Yulia Kireeva and this time the big Canadian managed to hang onto a lead in the late rounds, despite being badly cut over her left eye. This fight came out close on the scorecards in the end as Kireeva improved her game and made a harder fight out of it in the late going, but this time Jenny stayed on her feet and boxed the Russian to a standoff in the seventh and eighth. So it'll be Jenny verss Maria to see who goes on into the semifinals.
Val: We also had a close fight between two promising newbies, lightweight Carmen "Leoparda" Santos of Brazil and featherweight "Fury" Xiao-wei Zhang of China.
Devon:
Santos
had the height and weight advantage but Zhang came out
trying to counter that with speed and aggression. Carmen
threw in
some dirty tactics and went to the smaller fighter's body but Xiao-wei
showed speed and
ring movement to force the beautiful Brazilian up against the ropes.
When
it came to the crunch in toe to toe action they took their turns
punishing each
other in the early rounds but Carmen got the upper hand in the fifth.
She put Xiao-wei down for an eight count on the canvas with a head-body
combination, then pounded her to a standing eight against the ropes
later in the round. Carmen pushed the action hard in the sixth
and dropped Xiao-wei for eight more on the canvas with a body shot late
in the round. "Leoparda" had the upper hand but the Chinese boxer
showed her toughness by shaking that
round off and trading evenly with Carmen the rest of the way. When it
finally went
to the scorecards it was a close but unanimous decision
for the Brazilian.
Val: It was a tough loss for Zhang, who worked hard to offset Santos's size advantage, but the Brazilian moved her record to an impressive 12-2. Carmen's winning close fights and showing she's got enough pop in her punches to get her opponents backing up and then put them down.
Devon: This win by Santos might add some edge to a possible showdown for the junior lightweight title, as that's held by Xiao-wei Zhang's team-mate Mindy Li. Carmen just edged out one of Wu's girls, and he doesn't like them to lose, Val! .
Val: We've got several newbies who look very competitive already, so there could be exciting times ahead in WEBA!
Mike Corrigan stands outside the Hellcat's dressing room, looking glum. Inside, the medics are attending to Heather after her KO loss to Mikee Mulroney.
Reporter: What happened, Mike? Is Heather ok?
Mike: I screwed up, fellas. Heather wanted to fight Rose Mora again but the Italians didn't answer. Mikee Mulroney made an open challenge so we agreed to fight her again. Heather's always ready to fight but it was a big mistake. We'd forgotten Mikee's much bigger and stronger than her and she got whupped.
Reporter: How bad was she hurt?
Mike: Her jaw's broken and her left eye's a mess, and her nose and mouth are busted up. I can't believe I let this happen. Mikee was all over her!
Reporter: People have been calling for Heather to end her career, and she's lost badly to the lightweight champ Ramirez, the middleweight champ Mulroney and also lost her world title to Mora by a KO. How much longer can Heather go on like this?
Mike: You talked to her when she was training, fellas. She took a beating tonight but she's a Corrigan with a fighter's spirit. It'll be her call, not mine, and not yours, when she's through. Right now she's hurt and she's down, but she's not out.
Pound, pound, whack, whack, hears a bewildered Devon Ling. Now what the blazes would be going on in the change rooms following Maria Lozada's middleweight tourney fight?
Frez herself ain't pulled the gloves on ... in an elephant's age.
Devon (puzzled): Hello Frez ...
Maria (sweating): Hang about Devon. Balio will be back shortly. I'm just getting rid of my last bit of aggression. It's still built up.
Devon: What the ... You've just finished your Tourney fight. Time for a rest, girl.
Balio (fizzy drink in hand returning): Hello, Miss Devon. Miss Maria asked if she could. And I said okay. If you still have it inside, get it out I say.
Devon: For freak's sake Frez. Have you been at altitude for too long or something. Let Maria enjoy a rest. She's got a way to go yet.
Balio: It wasn't my choice, Miss Devon. It was just my okay. Miss Maria did the asking, out of courtesy I think.
Maria (wiping the sweat off, at last): Well Devon (puffing plenty) I wanted to leave it all in the ring. But had a bit left to go. Karen gave me a huge workout, but we've been training to the max for over a month now. No point not bottoming it out. And I need to know where that is.
Balio: Yes, Miss Devon. We are still learning to test the bottom of the barrel.
Devon: You'll end up in a barrel one day Frez. If you keep punishing your fighters post fight. Kelly let you right in that first round. And yes Maria took full advantage. But you can slow it down now. The fight's over for this week.
Maria (walking it off now): Yes, maybe so. I'll sleep tonight that's for certain. Karen has you in pain with every punch.
Balio: The resting will be welcome now, Miss Maria. But I like to see you keenly up for your fights again. It's been a while since you enjoyed it this much.
Maria: That's true Balio. Enjoyment has gotta be a big part of your game.
Devon (smiling): I enjoyed putting the big hurt on my opponents. That was better than a feed most days.
Balio: Yes, Miss Devon. Like gran'mama says "the alligator waiting for prey in fond eagerness often finds the meal dutiful."
Maria (not bothering) and Devon (mystified): Huh, dinner, wha ... Balio !!!
Frez (roaring): Come on you two, let's go. It's my treat tonight.
Mónica's black glove is raised in victory, dyed with Fiona Black's blood and sweat - who's down at the Chilean fighter's feet! The former gangsta gal takes her first belt as the new junior featherweight champion, and she climbs to the pads to thank the crowd..
Mónica: Gracias a mi gente! People you rock! (crowd roars)
Devon: Mónica ... Mónica ...
Mónica makes her victory lap around the ring while Devon and the photographers follow her. Eventually she realizes the people are behind her and she speaks to everybody but Devon.
Devon: Mónica..finally I can speak with you! Congratulations for your first title! How do you feel about it?
Mónica: Awesome babe, awesome (she works the crowd again and again) It's good to be popular with the press now, specially with people that always remarks bad things over the good ones..
Devon: Well you win a rough fight with one of toughest boxers in the league, hon, so did you have any doubt about victory.. specially when Fiona almost KO'd you in the third?
Mónica: And you wonder about I don't talked to you before...Well the Scot gal gived me quite a fight, something that I always enjoy as my fans as well, and yes she has heavy hands. But the Chilean girl is tougher and her hands are heavier ... and quite determined to win too.
Devon: You get the junior title finally, but you can't hold it too much time as you are close to reach the 50 fights limit soon. What's next for you?
Mónica: Besides to knock a journalist out? (Devon glares) Yes, maybe it was a bit late to claim this title, and everyone in league knows how long and hard I tried for this belt, but I'm quite confident that with my hard training and skills Mónica Rodríguez will be boxer enough to keep the title and to challenge da pinky Rivera whore soon. Now I want to defend my belt in a good fight, but it seems that there is not too many fine boxers able to take a fight on me.
Devon: What about Cathy Simmons? She knocked you in a fight for this title, and she lost it to Fiona.
Mónica: Obviously she's in the top of my list of whores to destroy, and I hope that she will be woman enough to take my challenge, but I doubt. Whoever finally climbs with Rodríguez in the ring must challenge her for this belt and, you have to believe in this, be prepared to be defeated.
Devon: That means that you are not interested to fight in Pattaya now?
Mónica: No in anytime soon, as the oldie Jen O'Casey finally was too coward, weak and old to even say something about my challenge. My priority now is this belt and to train harder than ever to dominate my division, so every featherweight in league have to worry about me ... well more than ever. ByE!
DL: Devon Ling here with Stephanie Page, who is coming off her KO win over Anna Kulikova. So Stephanie, how's the mouth?
SP: Good enough to do this interview, but Kulikova hits hard.
DL: How did it feel to get this win after almost losing the match?
SP: I'm telling you, Kulikova gets tougher every time you face her. I still think I got screwed in the draw we had before the grudge match. I dominated Kulikova that whole fight and it was nowhere near a draw.
DL: So what about the grudge match? What happened in that second round?
SP: She had gotten a better start in the fight, and got me with few good ones, but I came back and managed to get the win by continuing to hurt her and managed to close her left eye. That gave me the advantage, and I put her away early
DL: You haven't lost since November, who's next?
SP: How about I go for the Junior title next? I owe Ms. Rodriguez a rematch after the Wu's fight. I'm gonna show her that the last fight wasn't luck and even without cheap tricks (and hers), I'm still the better boxer. And if you're reading this, Mónica ... you're going down!
DL: Woah ... good luck on that. Mónica's also been on a roll lately.
SP: I'm confident in my abilities. That Chilean bitch is Going down!