9 November 2008

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning
"Heather gave it all she had", says Jane
"Carmen Santos - Heart of a Lion", says Katelyn

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning

Devon and Val are back at the WEBA Towers after their quick trip to Pattaya to watch the grudge fights, and the two ex-champions are looking over the league's injury list.

Val: It's been a tough couple of weeks for the WEBA boxers!  Just look at the list of who got knocked out or too beaten up to fight on the next card! There's twenty-one boxers laid up!

Devon: It was a rough time all right, especially with the grudge card as well .I always hated having to cool my heels and wait to fight again,and it's got to be even more frustrating forr the newbies and juniors who haven't got their full training yet.

Val: So where shall we start? How about our new junior lightweight champion?  

Devon: I thought Katelyn Kennedy came into the final of the junior tournament as the favorite because she had already beaten her rival Carmen Santos twice, including that spectacular knockout at Wu's. Carmen had attracted way more attention than Katelyn with her press coverage and her surprisingly early rise to the WEBA lightweight title, while Katelyn was quietly training and refining her skills in her gym in Albuquerque. But now Caremn had stumbled a little and we'd gotten a better look at what Katelyn's made of when she knocked Carmen out in Pattaya, then also knocked out Lilka Nowak in the tourney semifinal. So I felt Carmen came into this title fight as the underdog. The title fight started out much like their grudge match, Carmen feisty but Katelyn using her skills and speed to take charge. For the first five rounds, Katelyn handed Carmen a boxing lesson, building a lead on the scorecards and bloodying the Brazilian's mouth. It began to look like Katelyn might cruise to an easy win, but then Carmen started to land better and she opened a huge cut over Katelyn's right eye. The doctor checked Katelyn over in her corner after the sixth round and after that the fight was a total nail biter for both of them as Katelyn had trouble seeing out of her battered right eye and Carmen exploited every opening. Katelyn took a beating against the ropes and a standing eight count in the seventh, then had to plead with the doctor during the break to let her go on. Carmen decked Katelyn twice in the eighth and the officials seemed close to stopping the fight, but the redhead was determined to battle on. Katelyn's boxing skills may have saved her as she slowed the fight down and stayed out of trouble in the ninth, but Santos wasn't having any of that at the start of the tenth. Carmen came out aggressively and put Katelyn down again early so.I thought she might be about to pull off her first win over Katelyn, but Katelyn threw caution to the winds and decided to slug it out with her for the rest of the final round. The strategy worked as Carmen was stunned by a savage head-body barrage and went down several times late in the round. Katelyn went for the KO just like she had done at Wu's but it ended with Carmen battered and bloody but still standing while Katelyn's late rally had earned her a close points decision and the junior title.

Val: Both boxers could hold their heads high after this fight, Devon, it was a real crowd pleaser that brought the fans to their feet in that great final round. These two have one heckuva rivalry going now, even though Kennedy's 3-0 over Santos. ,They've shown they're the best of the junior lightweights and are ready to compete at the next level with more established  fighters,  too. I think we can expect fireworks from both of them for a long time!

Devon: Kennedy's got the upper hand in the rivalry, but maybe not by as much as it seemed at Wu's. Katelyn's also about to take an extended break from fighting that might let Santos and some of the others catch up on her!

Val: How about the other title fights? The Russian welterweight champ looked pretty solid, huh?

Devon: Yeah, solid would be the word for her these days.. Natalya "Bomber" Borozdina had a height and weight advantage over the Lumbee Princess Cyan Locklear, and she gradually used that to establish herself as the superior fighter in what should have been a fifteen rounder for the world welterweight title. Cyan had Natalya in trouble at times in the early rounds and opened a cut over the Russian's right eye, but Natalya erupted in the third to knock Cyan down for a short count. Cyan rallied strongly in the fifth and battered Natalya's face, leaving her bleeding from under her left eye, her nose and her mouth, but the Russian shrugged this off and dropped Cyan twice in the sixth as well as scoring a standing eight. The Lumbee Princess was now bleeding from a cut over her own left eye that drew the attention of the ring doctor between the rounds while the Russian's corner worked on stemming the blood from Natalya's cuts. Natalya decked Cyan again in the seventh and opened the cut over the Princess's eye even wider. The champ eased up on Cyan for a while in the eighth, but then she closed the fight out with a series of impressive knockdowns in the ninth.

Val: Borozdina's emerged as a very rugged hitter now!  The only WEBA fighter who's beaten her in a regular match for years is Italy's Rose Mora, who's a former world champ herself.   Natalya's even given fits to some top WEBA middleweights, and she's definitely the toughest challenge out there for our current WEBA welterweights. I'd like to see Dornan or Mora take a shot at her, as she's already shown she has Corrigan's number. How about the world lightweight fight?

Devon: "Baby Doll" Ramirez had a difficult night by her standards but she still came away with a points decision over veteran Tammy "The Franchise" Quinton in what turned out to be a closer than expected fight. Tammy started well and she was able to keep Carla out of her rhythm in the early rounds. Carla got a bloody nose and then showed a little frustration by taking a swing at Tammy after the bell for the end of the second round!  But she settled down and started to turn the fight around after she stunned Tammy for a standing eight in the fourth. She knocked Tammy to the canvas with a roundouse right in the fifth but it wasn't all plain sailing for the defending champ as she hurt her left hand while ramming Tamm'y head into the corner pads and that injury forced her to box more cautiously with some of her firepower taken away. Carla still packed plenty of wallop in her right hand, though, and she decked Tammy again with that in the ninth. Tammy was now a hurting fighter who seemed content just to try to survive the remaining rounds and to end the fight on her feet.  Carla didn't press the issue very hard because of her injured left paw, and the match  ended in a close, but unanimous, points decision for the champion.  

Val: Carla may have been miffed at the narrowness of the margin.on the scorecards this time but it's tough to fight a long bout with only one good hand and we've seen several WEBA fights put in question by hand injuries. It's something our big punchers have to fear because it can turn the course of a fight unless they have good enough skills to compensate having to fight on with all their power in just one hand! How about the WEBA welterweight fight?

Devon:  This was the kind of blood and guts nail-biter that we've often seen with Hellcat Heather Corrigan in the ring, as the Hellcat tried to take the WEBA belt away from Chicago's Dangerous Diedre Dornan. This was a brawl in which Heather started strong in the first round, but Diedre came back behind some questionable tactics in the second and then handed the Hellcat a savage thrashing in the third and the fourth. Heather was in big trouble through both of those rounds and she went to the canvas several times.  It looked to me like Diedre was going to blow Heather right out of the ring at that point, but  Corrigan's tough and she held Diedre at bay in the fifth, then started to claw her way back into the fight. By the end of the sixth Diedre was bleeding heavily from her mouth, which got both of them fired up!  They literally beat eavh other bloody in the seventh in toe to toe action with the crowd cheering them both on. This was vintage WEBA action but they couldn't keep that furious pace up so the action slowed a little for a few rounds before they both managed to finish strong. Heather nearly ended the fight when she knocked Diedre down twice early in the twelfth, but this time it was Diedre who showed her toughness by coming off the canvas to knock Heather down for a four count later in the same round. Diedre went flat out for the KO after that and the fight ended with Heather taking a brutal beating in a corner. The crowd was on its feet as this slugfest ended and the judges called it a draw, splitting their decisions between the two battered and bloody fighters.

Val:   Nobody likes a draw a whole lot, but that really was the fairest result this time, there wasn't much to choose between them when it was all over. This would make a great rematch, so maybe we haven't seen the end of this Corrigan-Dornan rivalry yet. I wonder if Diedre could take Natalya Borozdina? 

Devon:   That's a fight we ought to see soon, too!  Heather passed up a grudge challenge from Diedre in Pattaya, so maybe she isn't keen to get in the ring with the Chicago slugger again! 

Val:  Just to complete a welterweight title set, the junior welters also had a title fight this week!

Devon: Yeah, Irena "Lefty" Hrbkova of Canada defended her junior title against Spanish challenger Sandra "Baby" Perez. Perez has been a hot ticket in this division and she won some  early fights with Irena, but the Czech-born champ now seems to have figured out a good strategy for the Spaniard.  Irena came back from her summer training to take this junior title away from Sandra right after the break, then she put an exclamation point after that win with a fourth-round KO of Sandra in Pattaya. Sandra's obviously unhappy with this turn-around so I wasn't surprised that she wanted another rematch for the junior title. This time around, Sandra pressured Irena effectively early in the fight but Irena began to work on a cut over Sandra's right eye and gradually turned the tables her way. By the end of the sixth there was a lot of blood running into Sandra's eye and the Spanish girl was starting to have trouble defending against Irena's attacks. Irena decked Sandra for an eight count on the canvas in the seventh, and then kept the pressure on her the rest of the way. It went into the final round with Irena ahead by a nose on the scorecards, but she decided to leave nothing to chance with the WEBA judges and she tore into Sandra after she got her in trouble in the tenth. Irena scored a series of knockdowns before she finally put Sandra away with a roundhouse left to the head with just seconds left in the fight.

Val: Irena hadn't been much of a knockout artist through most of her career until now, I'd figured her as a more tactical type of fighter except for her two wins over Sandra at Wu's. But maybe as Irena gets more training she'll be aiming to finish more of her fights inside the distance. This was certainly a disappointing loss for Perez as these two are big rivals and she had fought well until getting cut over her eye. 

Devon: How about some highlights from the undercard, Val?

Val: One unusual highlight was Irish middleweight Hannah "Hot Stuff" Riley scoring a fifth-round KO over Senegalese welterweight Nona "Jaguar" Bojuma. Nona was a red hot ticket back in 2006 but she hasn't fought very regularly since then and is apparently looking for fights with anyone who'll step into the ring with her. This was an important test for both boxers,as their experience levels are similar and both are looking to establish themselves as contenders at the next level in their weight divisions. Nona was at a significant size disadvantage going into this catchweight bout with a proven KO artist, but rhe Jaduar started the fight well, outworking Hannah and dishing out punishment with the bigger Irish fighter's back against the ropes. Nona appeared to have things well in hand by the end of the third round, as Hannah had taken a short trip to the canvas and looked shaken up going back to her corner. Hannah had to make something different happen and she started o find her range better in the fourth, then worked Nona over against the ropes early in the fifth. Nona dropped to her knees for a six count under tremendous pressure from Hannah, then the Irish girl, uncorked the finishing power she'd shown in her early fights to finish this one off with a KO.  

Devon: That made two KO losses in a row for Bojuma since her return to WEBA action, so maybe she needs to work on her defense more, especially if she's going to take on anyone who'll get in the ring with her!  Nona looked sharp in the early going but she wasn't able to handle Hannah's firepower once the bigger fighter had her in trouble.  Like to pick another highlight, Val?

Val: Yeah we saw  a big KO debut from a new middleweight, Britain's Trish "Trasher" Rollins who got into a hard hitting slugfest with lanky Australian newbie Mia "Lights Out" Campbell.  There wasn't a lot to choose between them for the first four rounds as they both landed well and showed willingness to go toe to toe at times, but Trish began to get the better of the action in the fifth, then got Mia in big trouble against the ropes with a barrage of leather in the early part of the sixth.  Mia went down for a six count and then Trish turned up the heat and worked her over some more against the corner pads.  Mia tried to tie Trish up in clinches to slow the fight down and send this debut match to the scorecards, but Trish found Mia's jaw twice with hard shots that sent the taller Aussie down again. Trish finally put Mia down, for the full count on the third try.   

Devon: These are two of the tallest boxers in WEBA, Val, with Mia coming in at a stunning 6'1" and the more solidly-built Trish at 6'0".  It looks like Canada's Jenny Johnson will have some new competition in the skyscraper department!

Val: And if their debuts are anything to go by, Trish and Mia have both come to fight and will be good challengers for the other WEBA big girls.

"Heather gave it all she had",
says Jane

Jane McGowan stands outside Heather Corrigan's dressing room where the reporters have gathered after Heather's title fight with Diedre Dornan. Inside, a doctor tends to the Hellcat's cuts and bruises while her father consoles her over not winning back the title.  

Reporter:  When can we talk to Heather?

Jane: Later, fellas!  She's exhausted and upset about that dumb decision. She beat that bitch for sure but they called it a draw so Diedre kept the title.  Heather gave it all she had but the judges kept her from being the new champion.  She deserved the decision, fellas, we all know she won the fight and Dornan fought dirty.

Reporter: .Will Heather want a rematch?

Jane:  You'll have to ask her that.  

Reporter: Did you learn anything from watching Heather's fight?

Jane: I learned that Heather's even more awesome than I thought she was!  Diedre busted her up but she kept fighting and she deserved to win! Heather's such a motivator for me, when I see her fight like this she makes me want to get in the ring and kick butt like she does!

Reporter:  Katelyn Kennedy won the title by beating the Brazilian who knocked you out. Are you more worried about your own title prospects after watching that fight?

Jane:  Carmen Santos is good, but Katie Kennedy is better and that tells me the bar is a little higher for me to become the champion.  They are both very good fighters and I will have to beat them both. I never thought the road to the top in this sport would be easy, fellas,  Heather told me how hard it will be and I know I will have to be as good as her and as tough as her to win a title. ,I have the best fighter in the world in my corner so I still feel confident about my future and I am eager to get back in the ring again.  

Reporter: When will that be?

Jane:  I'll be fighting on the next card!  I don't know who yet, but I can't wait to get in there and start punching someone's face instead of the training bag!

"Carmen Santos = Heart of a Lion ",
says Katelyn

This is Katelyn Kennedy. I just wanted to thank all of my fans for supporting me at my recent boxing match with Carmen Santos. I especially want to thank Carmen Santos. Carmen, I know you and I haven’t been too nice to each other since we’ve been in the WEBA. I want you to know that you gave me one hell of a match! You’re one tough chick! I offer you my love and respect. Maybe, in the future, I’ll let you have a rematch for the title. Until then, get well and rest up, girl! When you have some time, call me! We’ll go hang out or something.

As for now, I plan to take a break from boxing. I need a vacation!  I’ll be back in time for the New Year. Thanks again to everyone! Have a great year!

Katelyn Kennedy

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