20 December 2008

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning

Devon and Val meet at the WEBA Towers, where Devon has a glittery Christmas tree and festive window lights in her office.

Val:  This place looks pretty for the holidays, hon.

Devon: I thought I'd cheer myself up a little as all the financial news is so gloomy!  I may have to go back to boxing to make a little more dough!

Val: Well, there are always good fights in the making, but the WEBA girls are getting so good these days I don't think you should get back in the ring with most of them, hon, you could get hurt.  How about those title bouts last week?  Six title fights, three new champions!  What was the top highlight for you?

Devon: Several were really close but the one that had me on the edge of my seat the most was the junior featherweight tournament final between Arizona's Stephanie "Diamond" Page and China's Xiao-wei "Fury" Zhang. Stephanie's a little whirlwind who never backs down while Xiao-wei's the latest in a string of tough contenders managed by Mr. Wu. This was a hard-fought battle from the first bell to the end, and both took their lumps and went to the canvas before the fight went to the judges. The early action was fast abd furious with both ready to go toe-to-toe. Stephanie knocked Xiao-wei down for an eight count against the ropes in the third, but Wu's latest girl came back and dished out a big dose of payback in the fourth, scoring a standing eight and a late knockdown for a seven count just before the bell ended the round. Marisol Kari told Stephanie to go for broke in the fifth and that strategy worked as the Arizonan bloodied up Xiao-wei's mouth and hammered her against the ropes to turn the tide back her way. The pace eased off in the sixth but Xiao-wei came out swinging in the seventh, only to have Stephanie explode and drive her into a corner, where she was dropped her to her knees by a vicious body shot.  Xiao-wei showed her toughness by getting up quickly and taking it to Stephanie again late in the round, to the delight of the fans who were loving the hard two-way action. They traded shots again throughout the eighth, then eased up in the ninth but both let it all hang out in the final round with the result up for grabs.  I thought Xiao-wei Zhang got the better of the action in that final round as she hurt Stephanie and punished her against the ropes, but the judges scored it one draw and two narrowly for Stephanie so the Diamond Girl regained the junior title. .

Val: This was a good close fight between two who don't mind mixing it up at close quarters and even bending the rules at times. This is a good rivalry with both boxers showing they can handle themselves when the going gets rough!  How about the big girls, though, Devon? Brown and Mulroney totally went to war again, huh?

Devon:  It wasn't long ago that Sean O'Hara's Boston brawler Mikee the Mauler Mulroney looked unstoppable but boxing marine Sharon "Smashmouth" Brown's recent rise in the middleweight division has been impressive. This world title rematch showed that the USMC boxer's got what it takes to hang onto this crown. These two can hit and hurt and the action went back and forth as both unloaded major firepower on each other.  Sharon forced a standing eight count on Mikee in the third but Mikee roared back to deck Sharon three times in the fourth, knocking the blonde's mouthpiece out and bloodying her mouth badly. Sharon was  shaken up as she went back to her corner after that round and Mikee kept major heat on her in the fifth, knocking her down twice more and leaving the champion covered in blood. I thought Mikee had it in the bag to get her title back as the doc was called to Sharon's corner to check her over before the fight was allowed to go on ... but Smashmouth Brown lived up to her name in a great sixth round effort that left Mikee bleeding heavily from her mouth as well. The seventh was a war as Sharon continued to batter Mikee's mouth while Mikee tried to hang on and wrestle with the boxing Marine. The eighth decided it as Sharon got the upper hand early and was totally relentless, battering a dazed and bloody Mulroney around the ring. Mikee went to the canvas four times, and the last time it was for keeps as Sharon showed the WEBA she's for real as the world champion!

Val: Sharon's now shown she can take big shots and come back to put a top opponent away, and that's a must-do for the middleweights where the WEBA fighters have so much firepower.  These back-to-back losses by Mulroney mean she'll be the one who faces the winner of the middleweight tournament boxoff for the WEBA title while Sharon Brown the one in the driver's seat in this division now!  A couple of those title fights were a little more one-sided than these two, though.

Devon: Yeah, sometimes a boxer gets an early jump on her opponent and a fight that looked close on paper when they were coming into the ring turns into a rout once the leather starts to fly. WEBA lightweight champ Tulia Minez ended up on the short end of one of those routs as Japan's Keiko "Kamikaze" Suzuki arrived like a tsunami in the early rounds and the Kamikaze Girl blew the Desert Tulip away to to win back the title. Keiko dropped Tulia for short counts against the ropes in the first round and looked confident as Balio Frez's boxer went to her corner looking dazed. Tulia boxed her way out of trouble in the second round and even made Keiko lose her mouthpiece with a hard body shot, but the rally was short-lived as Keiko hammered Tulia against the ropes again in the third. Keiko kept the pressure on Tulia in the fourth and put her on the canvas again in the fifth. continuing to force the pace as hard as she could. Keiko seemed winded by her own effort but Tulia couldn't find answers for the Japanese girl's unrelenting barrage and the Bolivian looked increasingly desperate as the rounds went by. Tulia went down twice from body shots in the seventh and by the end of the tenth Balio's boxer was bleeding heavily from her mouth and both of her eyes were badly swollen.  The ring doctor said Tulia could go on for a while but Keiko continued to hammer her against the ropes in the eleventh. Tulia's face had taken a beating and her eyes were now swollen shut, leaving the ref no choice but to call the fight as a TKO for the new champion, Keiko Suzuki.

Val: That was how Keiko stopped Carla Ramirez for the world title, she may lack a full KO punch, but the damage accumulates as she throws a lot of punches to her opponent's head!  This was a dominant win by Keiko Suzuki who might have been world champion a lot longer if she hadn;t joined the WEBA just after Baby Doll Ramirez!  

Devon: Speaking of Carla Ramirez, the world champ from Texas defended her title against Carolina's Rikku Hui again this week. This was no cakewalk for the Texan in the early rounds as Rikku came out throwing for it all from the first bell. Rikku flat out otworked the champion in the first four rounds, but Baby Doll stepped up her game in the fifth and dropped Rikku for a five count with a right to her jaw. Carla kept pressure on Rikku for the rest of that round and got a standing eight count later in the session. Rikku went to her corner looking wobbly and had to be checked over by the doctor between the rounds. The fight went on and the sixth round was a lot closer with both boxers landing bell-ringers on the other,, but Carla started to take charge again in the seventh as another right to the jaw put Rikku down for  four, a furious barrage against the ropes sent her mouthpiece flying and then dropped her for nine. Rikku ended the round seperately hanging on to Carla after going down a third time.  Rikku avoided disaster for several more rounds after that but she was in trouble again in the tenth and went to the canvas twice. The eleventh saw Carla drop the hammer on Rikku with three knockdowns and that was  enough to convince the game challenger to stay down on one knee the third time, finally conceding the bout to the champion.

Val: Rikku often starts these title fights like a fireball, but eventually Carla shows why she's the boss of this division.  Rikku's game to keep trying against Carla but I figure she';s got to bring something new to the table to change the script on this world title matchup.  How about the other junior titles this week?

Devon: The junior welterweight title changed hands again as Chile's Tereza "Dinamita" Delgado stopped the reigning champion Irena "Lefty" Hrbkova, making it four wins in four fights for the Chilean over the Czech-born Canadian. This was also the second time that Tereza's stopped Irena to win the junior title belt.  But it wasn't a cakewalk for the Chilean bad girl as Irena opened cuts over both of Tereza's eyes and she used her boxing skills to stay out of trouble after she spotted Tereza an early lead in the first three rounds. Tereza had the edge in the action and held a clear points lead going into the final round, but the Chilean wasn't in the mood to let it go to the scorecards. Those WEBA judges sometimes see a fight differently than most of us so the KO's the way to keep them out of the picture and make sure of a win when you have the upper hand. Tereza cauight Irena with a great combination to her head early in the final round, staggered the Canadian for a standing eight count, then piled major pressure on a reeling Irena until she knocked  down for the full count with a roundhouse left.

Val: Time was running down on the fight clock when Tereza finally got this KO, but Irena couldn't quite survive the onslaught in that final round. Dinamita may need more of that firepower to defend this junior title against her nemesis Sandra "Baby" Perez, who lost no time challenging her for a rematch!  How about the junior bantamweight title fight, hon?

Devon: It was closer than we might have figured from the two boxers' records as undefeated British Bombshell Penny Holt took on Indian challenger Manju "The Tigress" Devi from Bangalore. Manju came into this fight with just a 4-9 record and her only wins so far had come against Aiko Miyakawa and Nicole Geiger, who've also been struggling to find their feet in the WEBA. The Indian boxer was also giving up a full five inches in height advantage to the flashy Brit, so Penny Holt was a clear favorite on paper. The early rounds went much as we might have expected, with Penny outscoring Manju using her reach advantage but the Indian was able to land some good shots when she did close the range and she opened a significant cut over the Brit's right eye. Manju made it much more interesting in the sixth round when she caught Penny with a with a looping right that decked the Bombshell for a short count. Manju brought the fans to their feet as she went after the much taller Penny with both fists after this knockdown.  Penny was able to stay on her feet but she took a standing eight count later in the round and went to her corner looking shaken up by the sudden flurry from her smaller challenger. The rest of the fight was an exercise in containment for the junior champion as Penny focused on boxing her opponent while her cutman worked on closing the cut over her right eye.  Penny's defensive approach may have cost her the final round as Manju tried to press the action again, but the Bombshell escaped with a split decision in her favor.

Val: Devi showed lots of heart to keep this fight close in the end, and her trainer Alok Chowdhry may take heart that his young charge performed well and may not be as far behind the leaders in this division as her paper record suggests.

Devon: We know how important training is to WEBA boxers, so both Penny and Manju may have lessons to learn from this close fight, What did you see as highlights from the undercard?

Val: One highlight for me was a knock-down drag-out battle between Hellcat Heather Corrigan and Amber "Midnight" Taltos!  The Florida veteran and the Puerto Rican redhead beat the bejeezers out of each other for eight rounds!  Heather got the early jump on Amber and looked confident after controlling the action and hurting Amber against the ropes in the third round. But Amber nailed Heather with a right to the head to start the fourth then put huge pressure on the Hellcat to force a standing eight. There was blood streaming from Heather's nose at the end of the round and Amber was back in the fight despite her own badly split lip. Amber dropped Heather with another devastating right early in the fifth and continued to batter Heather's nose, putting the Hellcat down twice more before the bell. The doctor went to Heather's corner between rounds, but she was able to continue. Heather used her body attack to even things up in the sixth until Amber dealt her a dose of her own medicine and dropped her for a short count with a hook to her ribs. The doctor was again called to Corrigan's corner to assess the damage to her nose, but the fight went on. The seventh saw a reversal in fortunes as Heather hurt Amber early and put her on the canvas twice both for nine counts that almost ended it. It went to the final round with both boxers battered and nearly exhausted, but Amber got the upper hand and nearly put Heather away several times. When the final bell sounded there was a standing ovation for them both and the judges couldn't agree on a winner, one calling it narrowly for Amber but two scoring it dead even for a majority draw.

Devon: This was an all-out slugfest and that no-decision just cries out for a rematch!  I'd like to see them go twelve or fifteen for a title belt next time, Val!  I think Heather was fading and Taltos may have had more gas in her tank at the end. Amber's not had so many tough fights like this and her body may be in better shape to stand up to this sort of punishment!   Any more highlights for you, Val?

Val: Sure. This week decided the finalists in the two boxoff tournaments for the WEBA middleweight and featherweight titles, and we saw some top notch action in both.  On the featherweight front Canada's Cathy "Slick" Simmons brought in more speed and movement than Scotland's "Killie Killer" Fiona Black could handle. The tall Canadian redhead cruised to a clear points win despite a late flurry by the Scot that sat the bigger girl on the canvas a couple of times in the final round.  Cathy will now face Chilean Monica Rodriguez in the next leg of the tournament as Manuel Soto's bad girl from Santiago came back from a rocky start and also overcame an injured right hand to beat Tina "Tiger" Boppa by a close points decision. Tina had Monica back on her heels in the early rounds with her usual fast start but the Boppa girl wasn't able to keep the pressure up long enough. The heavy-hitting Monica turned the tide of the fight with knockdowns in the third and the fifth rounds to gain the edge and leave with the decision.

Devon: Simmons versus Rodriguez will be an interesting eliminator as Monica's been the world champ already and she knows how to get to the top, but Simmons is on an eleven-fight winning streak that includes two wins over Rodriguez.  Monica broke a five-fight winless streak with her win over Tina, so she'll have something to prove when she faces Cathy and I'm looking forward to that showdown.  How about the middleweights, Val?

Val: We saw plenty of big time firepower in their tournament, as usual. Canada's Jenny Johnson took on Irish KO specialist Hannah Riley in an exceptionally hard-fought battle that went back and forth all the way. Jenny used her size and speed to control the early rounds, but she's often built up an early lead only to see it slip away later, while Hannah's shown she's got the punching power to put her opponents away. Jenny's been vulnerable to being KO'd in the later rounds so she could not afford to let up again when this fight went went long. Hannah almost pulled out the win with a knockdown and a standing eight in the sixth and then opened a can of whupass with Jenny against the ropes in the seventh.  I wouldn;t have been surprised to see Hannah knock Jenny out in the eighth but instead it was Jenny who got the upper hand early when she dropped Hannah with a body shot. Hannah rallied later, but it was too little too late as Jenny got a close but unanimous decision.  The other boxoff featured Balio Frez's middleweight Maria "The Huntress" Lozada against current junior champ Karen "Kickass" Kelly, another tough Canadian.  Both were bloodied up but this time the more experienced Maria.got the upper hand and kept finding her way through Karen's defense with hooks and uppercuts  Karen landed some heavy leather in the fifth but Maria caught her against the ropes early in the sixth, battered her nose, then dropped her to the canvas several times on the way to KO. Karen took an awful pounding to her nose in the final round and ended it one knee, conceding that this was Maria's night!

Devon: This was a good win for Maria, who''ll have her hands full with the other Canadian in the eliminator, but they've traded KO's recently, That should be one that's up for grabs for sure. 

Val: The WEBA tournaments often produce hard fights as the best get to meet the best, there's no dodging or ducking a dangerous opponent. The next leg of both of these tournaments looks like we'll see top contenders going at it.  Nobody better overdo it at Christmas as these fights will happen right after the holiday!

Devon: Another reason for me to stay out of the ring awhile ... wouldn't want to miss any good food and drink!

Val:  That's called being clear about your priorities, hon!  Merry Christmas!      .
,       

"I enjoying working with Jane",
says Heather

Heather Corrigan and Jane McGowan meet the press together after their fights with Amber Taltos and Lilka Nowak. Heather's got a fat lip and a badly bruised nose after her draw with Amber but Jane s hardly marked after her win over Lilka. 

Reporter: What happened in your fight with Amber, Heather?

Heather: Amber showed she's tough, fellas  I had her in trouble early in that fight but she started to get to me in the fourth and she busted up my nose pretty bad. I almost got knocked out a couple of times  She hits hard!  I tried to knock her out in the seventh but I couldn't and then she damn nearly knocked me out in the eighth.  I was happy to get out of that with a draw. 

Reporter: How do you feel about getting into a tough fight like that with no title on the line? 

Heather: I love to fight, fellas, title or not, it's what I live for. Amber knows what she's doing and she's a good fighter, fellas!  I love this stuff, it's why I keep fighting/  

Reporter: Is Amber under-rated, Heather?

Heather: I don't under-rate anyone who'll fight me, fellas. Amber's not just another pretty face, she comes to fight and I respect that. You can rate people, I just respect the ones who give me good fights. 

Reporter: Will you fight her again?

Heather (grins): Sure, if she wants a rematch, I'd love to fight her again! 

Reporter:  How about your fight with Lilka Nowak, Jane? 

Jane: I won, but it wasn't easy. Lilka got me good in the second round. She hurt me with a body shot then she knocked me down with a right that came out of nowhere.

Reporter: You looked dazed after that.

Jane: I was!  I was glad to make it to the bell and get back to my corner.

Reporter: But you came back and won the fight!

Jane: I've seen Heather get rocked and then come back. OK, I've seen Heather do this, now I've got to do it.  And I did.

Reporter: Heather is still your inspiration despite her title losses, Jane?

Jane:  You bet she is. After I won my fight with Lilka I was in Heather's corner for her fight with Amber!  It took guts for Heather to fight on with her nose so busted up.  My fight was easy compared to hers!

Heather: Yes, but you won yours!  It's results that count!  Never forget that!

Reporter: What's next for you both?

Heather: I can't fight again until my nose mends so Jane and I will work out at my gym together to get her ready for her next fights. She wiull have to fight tougher opponents soon, we'd like a rematch with Carmen Santos, and Frida Svensson has already challenged her. I don't want Jane to fight them until she's done more training.  We also want her to be ready when Katelyn Kennedy comes back from her vacation!  Jane will need to fight a tough schedule and she's got to prepare for that.

Reporter:  Are you pleased with Jane's progress?   

Heather:  She's doing great! She got ko'd by Santos but she fought well before she got KO'd. I enjoy working with Jane and I'm sure we can make her a champion by building on what she's shown us so far 

Reporter: How about you, Jane?  Are you happy with your start in the pro league?

Jane:  I enjoy all the fights and it's great to work with Heather!  She's the best!  I want us both to win titles on the same card one day!
.

"She knows where she went wrong",
says Balio

Devon Ling lets some blue language loose from her lips. The weather is cold, but that ain't the reason. Minez lost her Title to a fired up Keiko Suzuki. A Frez camp loss, so NO interview Devon surmised. But the gods weren't with her as Maria Lozada pulled out a victory and the WEBA agenda on Devon's desk says .... Off To Bolivia ... Again !

Devon (airport fatigued): Geez, Frez ... thank goodness you've arrived. The car trip to your home base will be finally appreciated this time.

Balio (smiling): The car's broken, Miss Devon. But the llama are fully equipped and ready to go. Should only take two hours to get ...

Devon (purple): Frez, you better be joking !!!!

Balio (roaring): Yes, Miss Devon, we are only joking. The cab will be here immediately.

Devon: Well, I hadn't planned an interview visit, with Tulia losing her Belt and all. You're rarely available for a post fight interview in these circumstances.

Balio: The reasons are not so clear as you would imagine, Miss Devon. Miss Tulia, is gravely upset for sure. Why not? But Miss Keiko came fully prepared for war. And got down to her business from the first bell. And showed a skill and desire that netted her the Lightweight Title, deservedly.

Devon: Yep. Just as I saw it too. Suzuki took your girl apart from the first bell. And was relentless in her quest. Where to from here with Tulia?

Balio: Miss Tulia is very practical. She knows where she went wrong, and what went wrong, and maybe how to rectify it. These plans will all take time. But she will pursue those goals at her rapid pace.

Devon: Well, it wasn't a total wash-out, Frez. Maria stepped up to the plate. And dished out some curry to a determined Karen Kelly.

Balio: That is true, Miss Devon. Miss Karen came prepared for war also. And that was how the fight went. They were both marking and cutting up plenty by the third. And likely then it would not go the distance, either way. But the fourth saw Miss Maria open up on Miss Karen. And had both her eyes in bother.

Devon: Yep. The end was nigh then. But Kelly ain't no pushover and gave plenty to Maria in the fifth. Both their faces were a real mess then. Sort of like how I used to treat my opposition.

Balio (smiling): Fond memories for you, for sure, Miss Devon. But Miss Maria finally took the upper hand in the sixth. With some booming crosses. A perfect straight right ended it then with a ten count.

Devon: Yes, I always loved counting to ten myself Frez. My favorite number.

Balio: You are very talented, Miss Devon. How can you count past four when you have your boxing gloves on?

Devon: You lunatic, Frez. I do it in my head!

Balio (roaring): Like gran'mama says, Miss Devon, "you can count on your fingers and you can count on your friends, but ..."

Devon (thinks to herself, maybe the Frez fighters might both lose next card): Freaking hell, Frez, let's go out and eat.

"She is my equal",
says Stephanie

Devon Ling here with new junior featherweight champion Stephanie Page,who recently won it for a second time narrowly defeating Xiao-wei Zhang. 

DL: Welcome, Stephanie.

SP: Thanks, Devon, for having me.

DL: So after a few setbacks ...losing the junior title to Cathy Simmons, then losing to Marina Galieva, and then Xiao-wei Zhang back in October ... you have won four straight and are once again junior champion. How did you manage to recover and continue to focus on getting the title?

SP: Well, while it was difficult to go through the three losses and I was a bit thrown off by them. I've managed to come back by continuing to be dedicated and Marisol pushed me even harder than she ever did. And by doing that I was ready to come back and get revenge in two out of those three losses.

DL: Yes, now before we get to Simmons I must ask you about the championship fight against Zhang. You are now 2-2-1 against Zhang. You have both KO'd each other and are pretty much the only two at the top of the juniors. As this rivalry intensifies, how is fighting Zhang different from other fighters?

SP: To be honest, Zhang is the toughest fighter I've ever faced. I hit her with my best, she doesn't go down easy. I take her best and she takes mine. She is my equal and she's gonna be one tough rival to beat every time.

DL: You have lost to Cathy Simmons twice, both by KO. Whenever the WEBA featherweight tournament is over with, will you challenge Cathy Simmons again?

SP: Cathy is also going to be tough to beat every time I face her. That height advantage she has hurts me everytime. I just have to work harder like I have been and find a way to work around the height disadvantage. She's gonna come down the road.

DL: Are there any fighters you may fight in the near future?

SP: I haven't fought Fiona Black yet, and she lost to Monica Rodriguez, so it will be great to fight Fiona Black, or Billy-Jo Fulton.

DL: Once again, thanks for your time, Stephanie.

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