3 January 2009

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning

Devon and Val meet up at the WEBA Towers on their way to Pattaya, Thailand to cover the grudge fights at Wu's Fighting Tigers Club.

Val:  So, are you all set for our trip to the first fights of 2009, hon?

Devon: I'm looking forward to being somewhere more exotic than San Jose for a few days!  Mr. Wu's got us booked in to one of the best hotels, and he is flying us there in his private jet.  There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his finances, Val!  

Val: Well, who knows what Mr Wu is into on the side when he isn't putting on boxing cards at his club?  But some of the main WEBA fights were pretty brutal last week.  What were the highlights for you?

Devon: It was more like a lowlight as Dangerous Diedre Dornan crashed and burned by getting herself disqualified while she was defending the world welterweight title!  Diedre was getting a boxing lesson from the Lumbee Princess, Cyan Locklear, who'd shaken off a flash knockdown in the second round of their fight to dominate the next four. The Princess looked like she was set to hand Diedre an embarrassing loss as Diedre''s nose was broken and bleeding and the Chicago girl was badly cut over her left eye and under her right. Diedre was getting whipped like we haven't seen happen to her in a while and the Princess was looking confident. Diedre rallied and held her own in the seventh but she started to take a beating again in the eighth and that's when she snapped.  A desperate clinch became a wrestling match and next thing Diedre had head butted Cyan and thumbed her in the eye! That got Diedre a warning and a points deduction because she'd already been fighting dirty, and this got Diedre totally mad.  She found a big burst of energy and knocked the Princess down, but Cyan got up after taking a seven count and started to wrestle with her again. Diedre got totally frustrated as Cyan blasted more shots to her battered eye and her broken nose, which were both streaming blood. Diedre came back with holding and hitting, another head butt, and then finally stood on Cyan's foot while hitting her!  The ref had seen enough of this and disqualified Diedre, who left the ring in a fury with the fans booing her!  Cyan's camp weren't happy with this result either as they thought their fighter was winning convincingly before the DQ that cast a shadow over the Princess getting back the world title. 

Val: It was quite the scene and not the way we are used to seeing world title fights decided, that's for sure. Cyan might have knocked Duiedre out if it weren't got yhje DQ but this was history repeating itself as Diedre had lost this title to Cyan by a DQ once before. Dornan now holds the record for losing world titles by fighting ditty, which she'd previously shared with Claire Freeman and Diane McFee at one each!  

Devon:  Diedre will still get the right to ask for a rematch with Cyan but she's going to Pattaya to fight Hellcatr Heather Corrigan next! 

Val:  That should be a tough battle, and Cyan could be waiting for the winner after it's over!  It was a different story for Cyan's gym-mate Jordan Strongarm, though!

Devon:  Strongarm's House of Pain are no strangers to bringing home world titles with Cyan Locklear always being a threat at welterweight and Carolina Cutie Jordan Strongarm always a top contemder at featherweight.  But Jordan had lost the world title to "Rocky" Raquel Rivera by a TKO last time out and she was looking for revenge in their rermatch.  The first six or seven rounds of this return fight were close, with both of them boxing well, but Raquel began to back Jordan up consistently in the eighth round and she looked totally confident and in charge of the show by the end of the eleventh.  The twelfth was a big round for Raquel who pounded Jordan to a standing eight and then knocked her down for eight more on the canvas just before the bell. Jordan made it back to her corner and survived the thirteenth round somehow but the ring doc was getting concerned about her condition. and had to check her over. Jordan took a beating in the fourteenth and the officials called the fight for Raquel before the start of the fifteenth.  

Val  This was a tough loss for Jordan, but Nick Sanchez's "Rocky" is hard to slow down when she gets the upper hand like she did in this fight. Jordan's the featherweight who's had the most success against Raquel since Rivera hit her stride in the WEBA, but she couldn't handle the Arizonan's pressure offense for the full fifteen.  Raquel's matured into a confident champion who's hard to beat, and she came out of this fight almost unmarked.  Right now Monica Rodriguez and Cathy Simmons may be the only other threats to her hold on this title though Stephanie Page could be looking for an all-Arizona showdown with Raquel some day! How about the WEBA title fight?

Devon: Former world champ Tammy "The Franchise' Quinton from Las Vegas gave Japan's Keiko "Kamikaze" Suzuki a helluva fight for the WEBA lightweight title but Keiko, who'd won the title by battering Tulia Minez to a TKO, unleashed her full powerhouse in the final round to stun a rapidly-fading Tammy and knock her out. The end of this fight was brutal as Keiko smashed Tammy to the canvas three times, leaving her face down with her mouthpiece lying on the canvas next to her!!

Val: Tammy put on a good boxing show in the early rounds but she's had a growing tendency to run out of gas late in her fights and that may have kept her from winning another title belt.  Tammy was ahead on points going into the final round but you could see she was wilting in her corner and struggling to keep pave in the late rounds while Keiko still had enough pep left to come up with a stunning KO finish. Keiko was outboxed earlier in the fight but it didnt matter as she came up with the finisher anyway...

Devon: Tammy's a long-time WEBA fighter who's had 180 fights now!  That's a long career that's taken a big toll her body and she's not as able to go a full distance as she used to. Keiko's fresher with just 84 fights so far, and that difference is something all the WEBA long-timers now have to deal with. Their endurance goes down and that puts an extra premium on them being able to finish their opponents off early, or at least keep them of defense if they can!  Tammy had the boxing ability to hand Keiko a loss if she'd been able to last the whole twelve rounds without fading, but Keiko had a lot more left when it came down to the end game in the final round. 

Val:  A lot of the younger WEBA boxers are very competitive, we saw two of the junior titles change hands again! 

Devon: Yeah, history repeated itself as Spanish star Sandra "Baby" Perez ripped the junior welterweight title away from Tereza "Dinamita" Delgado of Chile for the second time with a punishing finish to a well fought title fight. The Chilean tough girl has established herself as a top contender in this division, but Sandra Perez has outfought Tereza every time they've met  - twice for this junior title and once by a KO at Wu's. "Dinamita" got off to a great start in this fight and she sent Perez to the canvas twice in the opening round, twice more in the third, and again at the start of the fourth, but Sandra fought rough and tough the rest of the way to get the win. The hard-hitting blonde Spaniard had already started to turn the tide of the fight by the eighth when she decked Dinamta twice in the same round. Sandra turned up the heat on Tereza big time in the tenth, and Delgado was lucky to survive all the way to the final bell after going to the canvas three times!  It was a clear decision for "Baby" Perez after that big finish, as she again showed her mastery over the Chilean.

Val:,Sandra's overall record is 20-14, which isn't as impressive as Tereza's at 19-5, but she seems to have Dinamita's number as she's'
handed her three of those five losses. This could be a great rivalry as they both move up our rankings abd start to battle it out for the main titles, hon.  Tereza's beaten other promising fighters like Irena Hrbkova who;ve got their own string of wins over Sandra, but the blonde from Madrid has something in her fight plan that works extra well against Tereza.  It'll come down to their training programs to see who ends up on top of this division eventually!  The junior bantamweight title also changed hands this week ... 

Devon: Yeah, the bantamweight group are still sorting themselves out!  British Bombshell Penny Holt was the reigning  junior champion but every one of her fights with Diana Rancier of Trinidad up to this had been close. They'd fought two draws and also a fairly close decision in Penny's favor before this rematch, so you could predict this would be another close one, battle. They fought on fairly even terms for the first eight rounds of this ten-rounder but the turning point came when Diana caught Penny against the ropes in the ninth and unleashed a great body and head attack that broke the Brit's nose.  Penny showed her toughness by battling on despite this injury but Diana dropped her for a six count with a great one-two combination later in the round. The ring doctor went to Penny's corner to check her over before the fight was allowed to go on into the tenth and final round.  Penny held her own despite her broken nose but the hard-charging ninth round had sealed the win for Borden Taylor's "Pearl" from Port-Au-Prince. 

Val:  This was Penny Holt's first WEBA loss, and it's starting to look like Diana Rancier will be her main rival for a while as they both seem to have an edge over the other bantamweights despite an early loss for Diana to Japanese newbie Aiko Miyakawa.  Manju Devi from India showed she could also be in this bantamweight picture with a close loss to Penny Holt in a title fight, but Diana Rancier's other losses have been to more experienced featherweights rather than other bantamweights . Borden Taylor's tried to toughen Diana up by fighting some bigger opponents and this title rematch definitely showed she's got the pop to set Penny Holt back on her heels at times!  

Devon: I'm sure Penny will want a rematch with Diana soon as all of their fights have been close, but this loss by Penny leaves British middleweight Trish Rollins as the only undefeated newbie in WEBA.  What did you see as highlights of the undercard, Val? 

Val: One highlight was a war in the WEBA middleweight title boxoff between Bolivia's Maria Lozada and Canada's Jenny Johnson. These two have battled each other back and forth trading wins ever since they both joined the WEBA. Jenny had the upper hand in their early fights but Maria has come on stronger as Balio Frez has improved her training. That was the story inside this fight as well, as Jenny got the upper hand early and came close to putting Maria away in the fourth round with a ferocious barrage against the ropes.  Maria went to the canvas three times in that round and looked lucky to survive the third knockdown as she barely beat the count and was saved by the bell.  Maria was badly cut over her left eye and was bleeding from her nose as well but Jenny shouldn't have been as confident as she appeared at that point because she;s lost a lot of fights where she had an early advantage. The big Canadian was also bleeding from her left eyebrow which had begun to swell up, and she still hadn't put Maria away in a round she had dominated. So it was almost deja vu as Maria turned the fight her way early in the fifth with a combo that opened up the cut over Jenny's eye then continued to work on that injury. A brilliant right to the jaw flattened Jenny for a seven count then Maria poured on the pressure for the rest of the round.  Another big right flattened Jenny again for a none count and Maria kept up the onslaught, leaving Jenny stunned and bloody against the ropes as the referee stepped in to halt was becoming a brital beating, giving Maria the win by a TKO.

Devon:  This was another tough loss for Jenny Johnson, who's seen early leads in lots of fights evaporate, often in a KO or TKO loss. If Jenny could only figure out how to put her early leads in the bank she might be able to rule this division with her size and firepower, but it's Maria who gets a shot at Mikee the Mauler Mulroney for the WEBA title this time!   The junior featherweight matchup is all set now as well.

Val: Yes, and there were some similarities as another Canadian, Cathy "Slick" Simmons, controlled the early going in her boxoff fight with Monica Rodriguez from Santiago but then got into big trouble later as Monica started to get to her with head-body combinations. Cathy was in trouble at the end of the sixth round after taking two trips to the canvas and Monica showed her frustration at not ending the fight in that round by taking a late swing at her after the bell. Cathy would need all of her boxing skills to hold off Monica's charge in the seventh, but she caiught the aggressive Chilean with a great jab-cross combination that dropped Monica for a five count. The Chilean was bloodied up and back on her heels after this round but Cathy looked winded from her comeback effort and that let Monica take the fight to her in the eighth. Monica knocked Cathy down for a six count with a brutal head-body combination and opened the cut over Cathy's left eye so wide that the doc was called to the Canadian corner between the roiunds.  Monica continued to punish Cathy in the ninth buit she could not put her away and the crowd was on its feet as they went toe to toe in the tenth.  Both ended the fight battered and bloody at the final bell and I thought it was a tossup as Cathy had won the early rounds but Monica had come on very strong later. It went to the scorecards where Cathy had eked out a narrow but unanimous decision to get a shot at Jordan Strongarm for the WEBA title.

Devon:  Both of the Chileans took their lumps on this card with Tereza Delgado losing to Sandra Perez and Monica Rodriguez coming out up short against Cathy Simmons.  There could be some grudge matches in the making after these results, Val!  

Val: I wouldnlt be surprised at that, but we'll see sone grudges settled at Wu's for sure later this weekend!  

Devon: I can;t wait to see some of these girls get it on in Wu's ring again!  (Devon checks her cell phone)  Apparently Wu's got his plabe ready for us, so let's get to the airport!
,       

Heather and Jane meet the press in Pattaya

Heather Corrigan and Jane McGowan meet the press in Pattaya before their fights at Wu's. Instead of enjoying the famous beaches Heather and Jane have been working out with Thai boxers at a training camp on the edge of town.  

Reporter: You're going to be fighting Diedre Dornan at Wu's, Heather. What made you change your mind about that match?

Heather: I want to teach that dirty bitch a lesson!  She thinks she's so tough, fellas, but I've flattened her twice at Wu's club already and I can hardly wait to do it again. I am also here to support Jane in her grudge match with Carmen Santos. 

Reporter:  Carmen already knocked Jane out once. How do you feel about rematching with her at Wu's? 

Jane: I want to fight Santos at Wu'a because I don't want this to end up as a draw or some other doubtful decision. We'll see who's really the boss between me and Santos this time, fellas!  And Heather wanted to fight Diedre so this was a chance for me to come to Pattaya to fight on a grudge card with her.  We're going to kick butt together to start the New Year, fellas!  

Reporter: Will you both plan to fight at Wu's more often in future, Heather?

Heather (grins): Sure!  I love to fight and I am fed up with people saying I am washed up. I'm going to show you all what I am made of, fellas. and so is Jane!  Now please excuse us, we need to get back to getting ourselves ready for our fights. Happy New Year to you all, fellas.

Reporters:  Happy New Year!

"It was one of the most brutal fights i have witnessed",
says Balio

Oh, this is downright cruel ! It ain't even the New Year yet and I gotta visit Frez. The Boxing Gods have given me another thumb in the eye, thinks a forlorn Devon Ling. Yet the plane lands smoothly at La Paz airport amid the cheers of locals still remembering the former champ and her glory. "Well, maybe life ain't SO bad", reminisces Devon.

Devon (icily): Hello Balio.

Balio (warmly): Hello, Miss Devon. We welcome you to our humble home town, again!

Devon: Yeah, yeah Frez. I'm always pleased to see the cab, by the way.

Balio (roaring): The llamas are grazing, Miss Devon. But they are available for sightseeing in the mountains later. If you wish.

Devon: That'll be the day, Frez. A good gutsy win for Maria in her tourney bout. Well done.

Balio: We were so pleased, Miss Devon. Miss Maria will now take some healing though. Miss Jenny brought all of her amazing power to the ring. And we have suffered because of it.

Devon: Johnson is a powerhouse, Frez. You gotta know that by now. The fight was in a very close balance past the third. With both fighters cut to blazes around their eyes.

Balio: Neither had full vision then, Miss Devon. It was pure courage that had them both banging hard in the fourth.

Devon: Lozada was finished then, Frez. Your girl went down three times in that round. I was impressed she kept getting up.

Balio: Miss Maria has toughened up plenty, Miss Devon. Even I was wondering if she could go back out in the fifth. But she insisted. It is the nature of ALL the girls in that division.

Devon: Well she went back out again, Frez. And took another beating early. But then she landed some amazing hooks and uppercuts. And broke Johnson's jaw.

Balio: Miss Maria kept pounding away on Miss Jenny. And put her down two times. But she couldn't finish the courageous Miss Jenny. And the referee had to finally call it off between these warriors.

Devon: Johnson's stocks went up in everyone's estimation, Frez. She kept giving and giving. And would not surrender.

Balio: It was one of the most brutal fights I have witnessed, Miss Devon.

Devon (eyes glazing over): Well I remember a few of my own fights, Frez. The one where I ...

Balio (roaring): Gran'mama says "the African elephant's memory returns it to ancient foraging pastures".

Devon (purple): ELEPHANT. You've gone too far this time, Frez.

Balio (tears of laughter): Come on, Miss Devon. We have a Pre-New Year's Party all lined up. In your honor. Let's get you dressed in your finest. And hit the town !!

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