12 May 2008
WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val
Henning
'My time will come', says Carmen Santos
'One more time', says Heather
Devon Ling is working out on the heavy bag in her training gym as Val Henning enters.
Val: Hey Devon! You're banging that ol' bag pretty good!
Devon: I'll be ready next time if any of the WEBA boxers want to get rough with me in their interviews. First it was Carro Kusmagk, then Heather Corrigan! If I'm gonna have these big welterweights coming at me, I'm goinns be ready!
Val: Well, ya look good on it, hon. Spending more time in the gym's a lot better for ya than spending all that time in airplanes flying to interviews! But the regular WEBA cards are going on, so what did you think about the title fights this week?
Devon removes her gloves and takes a swig from a water bottle.
Devon: It
was
a rough night for Canada's Jenny Johnson. The big girl's had no success
at all yet against Mikee the Mauler Mulroney, the Boston
middleweight, but she decided to
take another shot at Mikee for the world title anyway. Jenny's got good
size, good skills and lots of heart, but this fight came to a
familiar ending, a fifth-round TKO win by the Mauler after Jenny took
another beating .
Val: Still, it had looked like a possible surprise by Jenny in the first few rounds, though! She outboxed Mikee in the early going. and she landed some sweet jabs and combinations.
Devon: Trouble was, Jenny's slick style got her a bit too confident in those early round while it made Mikee mad! And one fighter you don't want to get all pumped up is Mikee Mulroney, 'cos she'll come right at you and tear you up. By the end of the third, Mikee had a bloody nose and hadn't been able to get inside and mix it up with Jenny as the Canadian had worked the ring well and used her hand speed to control the action. But Mikee started to land leather to Jenny's head in the fourth, and Jenny went to her corner with nasty-looking cuts above and below her right eye. These were a tempting target for the Boston brawler from that point on, and the fifth was a horror story for the tall Canadian, as Mikee blasted shot after shot to the reeling Canadian's face. Jenny went to the canvas once and took a standing eight count, but by the end of the round it was obvious that she could not continue. She had taken tremendous punishment around her eyes and was covered in her own blood, the cut over her right eye was one of the worst I've ever seen. Jenny was game to fight on despite all this damage, but the ring doctor would have none of it, and the match was stopped with Jenny on her corner stool, looking totally frustrated at yet another defeat by the champ from Boston.
Val:
Mikee's dangerous and can do a lot of damage to her
opponents. Jenny's gotta figure out how to keep control of fights
after she gets a good start, she often looks like a champ early on
in her fights then it goes downhill for her later! How about the
world welterweight title fight?
Devon: One
thing you can be sure of when Lumbee Princess Cyan Locklear and
Rose "The Assassin" Mora get in
the ring together is that sparks are gonna fly. These two tough
veterans
are evenly matched in just about every way, height, weight, experience,
and they've traded KO's throughout their careers. I don't
think
any of their fights has ever gone the the distance! They both
kinda kept
away from each other for a while, but Cyan stepped up to challenge
Rose for this world welterweight title last March, and KO'd the
Assassin in the 13th. This was a rematch of that title clash, and
wouldn't you know ... Rose turned the tables right around on the
Lumbee Princess and scoring a
ferocious 13th round KO to reverse their last result!
Val: It was heckuva fight, Devon! Cyan looked like the champion in the early going, but then Rose pulled off a tremendous comeback in the later rounds after Cyan got a badly bloody mouth.
Devon: Yeah they mixed it up for a while, and they were both looking ragged by the end of the eighth ... but then Rose started to find the range to Cyan's head, and began to punish the champion against the ropes. The doc was called to Cyan's corner after the ninth, but the champ was not about to quit a world title fight sitting on her stool! Rose kept finding the range and put Cyan down several more times, and by the end of the twelfth Cyan was a mess, covered in blood from her mouth, and taking a steady beating against the ropes. Rose was determined to put the fight way even though she was well ahead on the scorecards, and the thirteenth was a cruel round for the Princess, whose only defense seemed to be to try to tie Rose up in clinches. The KO finally came late in the round, and the Italian's glove was raised in victory this time.
Val: That was a tough loss for Cyan, she was obviously finding it hard to go on with all the blood in her mouth, but her pride and heart kept her in the fight. I have the feeling that when Cyan's recovered she'll be eager to get in the ring with Rose again, especially with the world belt on the line! But moving on, Sharon Brown versus Karen Kelly was another explosive mixture, too, huh?
Devon: The
WEBA middleweight champ and the junior middleweight champ went at it
hard, and these are both
girls with lots of KO potential ... so you know it's not gonna send
anyone to sleep! Smashmouth Brown's one of the most improved
fighters in WEBA recently. She's hit her stride, and just about
everyone in sight,
in the middleweight division, while Karen's brought a ton of KO
excitement from the get-go. But this wasn;t a good night for
top Canadians against top US fighters, Val, as the USMC boxing
instructor got
an early jump on the scrappy Canadian and then went on to devastate her
in the
fifth for a convincing KO win. I don't think Karen Kelly won
any round in this fight, and she seemed to be in trouble right from the
get-go in the first round.
Val: Sharon Brown's staking out her claim to be the #2 middleweight these days, and I think we might see another showdown between her and Mikee the Mauler before long.
Devon: While Karen Kelly's bringing plenty of excitement, she always comes to fight, but sometimes she gets in to a slugfest over her head and gets herself KO'd. This matchup just wasn't her night this time, but if she persists and trains hard she brings a lot to her fights and will continue to be a contender.
Val: Raquel
Rivera's been another fast riser, and she consolidated her spot in WEBA
with a big win, too.
Devon: Yeah,
Scotland's tough girl Fiona Black started her WEBA career with an
impressive nine-fight lossless streak that included two draws and a
split decision with Raquel, who was in the same group that
started with her in 2004. But Raquel handed Fiona a loss to
take the junior featherweight title in a Christmas fight in 2006, and
the hard-hitting Arizonan hasn't looked back since. The dentist''s daughter with the
signature pink outfit has been on a tear, with only world champ Jordan
Strongarm able to beat her at featherweight recently. Fiona
Black showed some grit in this fight, which got off to a slowish start
but then heated up as it went on. Raquel began to get the upper
hand in the sixth and took the fight to Fiona for several rounds,
punishing the Scot for several standing eights. Fiona could have
folded her tent at this point, but to her credit she didn't and
surprised Raquel with several rounds of effective boxing. The champ got
the bit between her teeth in the twelfth however and made sure there
was no doubt about the winner in the judges' eyes by hammering Fiona
against the ropes in the twelfth. ,
Val: Yes it was a clear decision for the Arizona girl, but Fiona Black showed she belonged in this ring and she shouldn't be too disappointed after the loss. She's had some good wins and she is still a strong contender in this division. A little more gym time could make a big difference for her. She got a great start in WEBA and has lots of talent, it's her tenacity and training that's being tested now! Speaking of great starts, how about Carmen Santos? She went for the junior lightweight title again ...
Devon: This
rematch was much anticipated, pitting Mr. Wu's Kowloon Killer,
Mindy Li against the Brazilian who's fast
becoming the talk of the WEBA, Both boxers have recently won
fights with top contenders for the main WEBA titles, but the
relative newbie Carmen Santos was trying to take the junior title
away from Mindy in this battle. .
Val: The lightweights are a very competitive weight group, the WEBA title's changing hands faster than you can turn around, but these two may both be looking ahead to taking on Baby Doll Ramirez for the world belt eventually. This fight saw the junior title at stake with Mindy Li coming to the end of her eligibility for the belt and Carmen apparently looking to take it from her in the ring before that happens! .
Devon: They'd already had one fight where Carmen Santos had kept it close with the much more experienced fighter for ten rounds, losing by a split decision, and this time the Brazilian beauty stayed even closer. I thought she had a good chance to win it going into the final round as it had been an evenly fought fight most of the way but Carmen had broken Mindy's nose with an uppercut in the eighth and the junior champ appeared to be struggling after that. But Wu's girl is tough and she put on a great show in the tenth despite the injury, knocking Carmen to the canvas several times in a stunning round that said "it ain't your time, yet, girl, you gotta wait!"
Val: Carmen came close to being knocked out for the first time in her career, as Mindy got the upper hand and took it to her hard for the whole final round, and the young Brasilian seemed overwhelmed. In the end the fight went to the scorecards, where Mindy's big finish had given her the edge for one of judges, but the other two still scored it a draw. So it ended up as a majority draw that left Carmen Santos wondering what she might have to do to actually defeat Wu's girl next time and take away her title belt
Devon: Carmen needs to go the full distance in a title fight boxing the way she did in her best rounds this time, Val! It ain't over until it's over in boxing, and especially not against a tough opponent like Mindy Li! We've seen plenty of fights where someone gets out in front but then a tenacious opponent with a lot of grit and stamina comes back to change things right around later. Carmen's got a ton of talent, that's clear, but it's the ones who can finish off what they start who end up wearing the belts! How about a highlight from the undercard?
Val: I'll
go with Margene "Broen Sugah" Arcenaux coming out
of near-retirement to take an
eight-rounder from Swedish star Frida Svensson, The fortunes went back
and forth all through the fight, with Frida getting the better
of the returning veteran at first, and looking confident after
she knocked Margene down for a short count near the end of the sixth,
The doc went over to Margene's corner to check her over between
the rounds, but "Brown Sugah" was anything but done! She
hurt Frida repeatedly in the seventh, then put her down for a
short count early in the eighth. Margene kept the pressure on, earned a
standing eight count on the Swedish fighter later in the round,
and
ended up taking just enough of an edge onto the scorecards to come
away the
decision. As Frida's been a two-time WEBA lightweight champion,
it looks like we need to keep Brown Sugah in our sights in the mix for
that title!
Devon: These lightweights have the most crowded field in the whole WEBA right now! BJ Fulton was just crowned the champ after her win over Frida, but Keiko Suzuki, Tammy Quinton, Greta Bergstrom, Mindy Li, Tulia Minez, Margene Arcenaux, Rikku Hui, Di Rame and Frida are all in contention already, and now we have Carmen Santos getting ready to knock on the same door soon as well. Some weight divisions just don't have a lot of genuine title possibilities, but this one is overflowing with them!
Val: It's great to have so many fighters able to make real close matches, and someone's gotta emerge from that pack and go after Baby Doll Ramirez for the world belt soon!
Devon: Who knows, I might even give it a try myself ...
Val: Oh no, hon, don't go there. You'd need a bunch of tuneup fights before you'd be ready for Baby Doll. She's set the bar a lot higher since ya left the WEBA, ya know!
Box Latino is in the ring with Carmen Santos as her glove is raised by the referee after her second junior title fight with the Chinese Mindy Li. Carmen is bleeding from her nose and a cut over her left eye, but the Chinese has a broken nose and her face is bruised and bloody. It should be a great triumph for the beautiful Brasilian boxeadora, but the referee also raises the glove of the Chinese as well!! The fight is a draw, so the title stays with the defending champion!!
BL: Do you have a message for your fans, Carmen?
Carmen: I am pleased with my progress, my opponent is a good boxer who made a big stand in the last round to keep her title. I know I am the equal champion but she will keep the belt. I can accept that as I fought a good fight and my time will come. I will look forward to fighting her again!!
BL Until the last round you had the Brasilian fans cheering you on to the title and you seemed confident of your success. Then it was as if the lightning struck and the Chinese knocked you down onto the canvas as the German had also done. Are there lessons for you to be learning about fighting to the end? . Are you satisfied with how you fought?
Carmen: Even the blondie German had a chin from the rock, and this Chinese is not easily dismissed! My trainer says I need to build the KO power, that boxing is good but I need to have the killer instinct! I am building my skills and technique to bring the prize home to Brasil!, and now I need to come with the finishing touch. I am still happy with my fights but I will be happier still when it is only my glove that is raised for the title!!
BL: Will you soon fight the American who you beated you at Wu's and is now WEBA champion?,
Carmen: I will enjoy fighting
that blondie again but it is Mindy Li who means the most for me, I
will take her title and then we will have the beach party!
Former world and WEBA champion Hellcat Heather Corrigan sits at a table inf front of the reporters, and smiles as they take their photographs. Then it is time for questions.
Reporter: Heather, you challenged Lucille Perkins for the WEBA title again, but you have lost five fights in a row to her. What makes you think you can beat her?
Heather: I damn nearly beat her last time!! She's an escape artist, but I am going to get my revenge. .
Reporter: You mean you want to keep trying until you get lucky?
Heather (angrily): I know she's good, but she's not as good as she thinks she is. I can beat her. I want her one more time. Every fight, I've hurt her, I've come close!
A girl's voice: What's the point? She'll just come back and beat you again, then you'll be back where you are now, on the way down and out!
Heather stares at Devon Ling, whose hands are on the hips of a slinky silk dress that shows a lot of her leg and the tops of her boobs.
Heather: Looks like they had another fire sale at the cathouse, fellas! See what just walked in off the street!
Devon: Ha ha, but the joke's on you, Heather. You and Hillary Clinton make a pair, you're over the hill and someone younger's punching your ticket out of the game. You should be fighting Kusmagk, not Perkins. She's challenged you, too!
Heather: Kusmagk's a second-rate club fighter, she's got nothing I want. No talent, no titles. Just because you fight tomato cans, doesn't mean I do. She's got a big mouth that writes checks her fists can't cash.
Devon: I beat her ass at Wu's, Think you can do that. or are you getting too tired?
Heather: I can take Kusmagk! She's big, but I'll cut her down to size! .
Devon laughs loudly, hands on her hips. Mike Corrigan holds Heather back as she starts to take a lunge at the WEBA reporter. Devon steps back and laughs again.
Heather: I'll wipe that laugh off your face, Ling. You mark my words!