17 January 2009

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning

Devon and Val are back at the WEBA Towers after their trips to the grudge fights in Pattaya and to the first WEBA card of the New Year.  .

Val:  Wow Devon, it's been a red hot start to the New Year!  Those five fights in Pattaya were something else, and then we had another exciting WEBA card! 

Devon: There's some hurting ladies around the WEBA gyms now wondering how hot the action's gonna get now!  

Val: The last three title fights didn't have any big upsets though.  

Devon: No, although defending world middleweight champ Sharon "Smashmouth" Brown had a close battle with Russian Olga "The Hammer" Ivanova until the eleventh round. That fight finally turned Sharon's way when she opened up a big can of whoop-ass on the Russian power lifter and bodybuilder. Olga's nearly 10 pounds heavier and quite a bit slower than Sharon, and the Russian  had been ready to plant her feet and throw bombs early in the fight. I thought Sharon might have been in trouble after she hurt her right hand in the third round, but she broke through Olga's defense in the eleventh. Three big left hands in a row late in that round produced three knockdowns in a row and the last one left the burly Russian face down on the canvas.

Val: Ivanova's been a dark horse among the middleweight group for a while. She doesn't fight on every card but she's had impressive KO wins over some well ranked fighters like Jenny Johnson, Maria Lozada and Ariel Coleman. On the other hand she managed only a split decision over Hannah Riley and she lost by a KO to Karen Kelly. Olga's dangerous but Sharon's one good hand was all she needed to put the Russian away in the eleventh this time.  

Devon: Sharon hit her full fighting stride as she went past the million dollar mark in her training.  She's only just figured out how to handle Mikee the Mauler Mulroney, who's her biggest competition for the world title, but she's KO'd Mikee twice in a row and she's off to a solid start in her reign as the world champ.  

Val:  Mikee the Mauler also put some distance between herself and the rest of the middleweight pack with a convincing win over Maria Lozada in the showdown fight of the WEBA title tourney.  What did you make of Balio Frez's big girl this time, hon?

Devon:  Maria did well at the start of the fight. She worked her jab nicely in the first round and had Mikee in trouble against the ropes for a while in the second. The defining moment of the round may have been when Mikee threw an elbow to Maria's face and broke the Bolivian's nose!  That was a dirty trick worthy of Wu's!

Val: Your friend Balio Frez was literally screaming at the referee for that elbow shot!  Maria still threw everything she had at Mikee for a while, but  Mikee continued her brazen intimidation tactics by taking a late swing at Maria after the bell!.  If Mikee had kept that junkyard dog stuff up we might have seen our second DQ in a title fight in two weeks! The Boston brawler looked like she might be taking a leaf out of Diedre Dornan's book. 

Devon: Maria musta been mad at getting her nose broken but she kept her composure through the third round and kept boxing with Mikee, Then the fourth round turned into a toe to toe brawl and that was where Mikee showed she had too much firepower for Maria. Mikee had The Huntress in trouble against the corner ropes, and shook her up with a vicious punch to the throat. That left Maria almost helpless as Mikee set up shop and threw bombs at her until she went down for the third time. Maria was counted out on her knees and Balio Frez had her face in her hands, unable to watch what was happening. .  

Val: That was a very rough fight by Mikee, who pulled out all the stops to hammer the boxoff winner to be sure she kept the #2 belt in the division.  It was kinda the same story at the end of the featherweight tourney, too, huh?

Devon: Yeah,Strongarm's House of Pain again have their two top girls wearing title belts as "Carolina Cutie" Jordan Strongarm hammered out a KO over rising Canadian contender Cathy ":Slick" Simmons, who recently vacated the junior title, Cathy had emerged as the top challenger for this WEBA belt and she lived up to her nickname in the early going, using her speed and skills to bamboozle the veteran Jordan for the first six rounds. At the halfway point of the fight, there was a desperate look in the Carolina corner as Jordan was being outboxed by the slick Canadian .Jordan had landed some good shots but they didn't have a lasting effect on Cathy who looked confident although she was bleeding a little from her mouth. But Jordan zeroed in on Cathy's split lip like a laser in the seventh and Cathy went to her corner bleeding profusely from her mouth after eating a steady diet of leather. Jordan got her combinations going and hammered Cathy mercilessly in the eighth, almost putting the fight away with a three-knockdown round. Now it was the Canadian corner that looked desperate as Cathy bled so heavily from her mouth that the doctor wanted to stop the fight. Simmons pleaded to be allowed to go on and was still ahead on the scorecards, but she was in bad shape as Jordan continued to sharpshoot though her defense in the ninth. Jordan decked Cathy again in the tenth and turned up the heat even more in the eleventh. Cathy was still pleading with the officials to be allowed to go on but Jordan threw the kitchen sink at her in the final round to be sure she got the KO. 

Val: This was a tough loss for Cathy Simmons, who had looked great in the first half of the fight but I gotta hand it to Strongarm, she took the challenger to school in the worst way at the end.  So both boxoff winners, middleweight and featherweight, got their heads handed to them by former world champs in the tournament finals.   

Devon: There don't seem to be many quick rides to the top in WEBA, Val, as the top veterans have ;earned how to win the long hard fights!  But we have fresh young talent coming in, so who looked hot among the newbies and juniors on the undercard this time?

Val: The surprise of the night for me was the way Australian newbie Mia "Lights Out" Campbell stood up to the much more experienced "Swedish Killer" Carolina Kusmagk in their six rounder.  The newbie came into this fight with just a 2-1-1 record but she soon showed she was ready to go toe to toe with the 32-37-10 slugger from Viking BK in Stockholm. Both landed solidly in the first round but it was Mia who landed the best punch of the round when she dropped Carolina with a brutal shot to her stomach. Carolina was back on her feet after a three count, and she rang Mia's bell with a smashing right to her nose, but it was clear that the Swedish boxer's experience edge wasn't going to be the top factor in this fight!  Mia upped the pressure even more in the second round when she dropped Carolina twice and the round ended with the Swedish fighter taking still more punishment against the ropes. Both went to their corners fired up, but Mia kept the heat on Carolina in the third, scoring two more knockdowns.  The Swedes could hardly believe what they were seeing as Carolina wobbled back to her corner while the Australian and her team looked very confident.  

Devon: That may be where Mia's inexperience started to catch up to her, though!  

Val:  Mia may have gotten over-confident before Carolina caught her with a huge left to her mouth early in the fourth! Carolina kept going after her and the round ended with Mia taking a second count sitting on the canvas. In the fifth Mia survived a short count and then backpedaled but Kusmagk was still able to work her over against the ropes for a while.  The momentum had shifted although Mia was still smiling at her second before the final round. Carolina may have seen that smile because she threw her whole book at Mia in the sixth, knocking the Australian down three times. Mia survived and made it to the final bell somehow so this was a tough one to score! Mia had dominated the first half but Carolina came close to knocking her out, The judges all gave Mia a one-point margin, making an upset decision for Campbell though I wonder what would have happened if this had gone eight rounds instead of six,

Devon: Mia had a big height and weight advantage, Val - she's incredibly tall at 6'1" and she outweighed Carolina by 9 pounds - but this was still a big win for the newbie against someone with as many fights as Carolina.   Any other surprises among the newer fighters?

Val: There was a good six rounder between Anika Hu from Joe Salazar's Third Street Gym in San Francisco and Lisa Jackson from BJ Fulton's Wildcat gym in Ashland, Kentucky. These two bantams are both struggling to get started in WEBA, and both came into the fight with losing records, but it was still a good fight. Lisa started aggressively and went after Anika against the ropes, putting her down twice in the first round, but Anika bounced back up quickly both times and kept trading with the Wildcat. Anika turned the tables on Lisa in the second and roughed her up against the ropes, opening a cut under Lisa's left eye. The next few rounds were slower paced but Anika cut loose again after she got Lisa hurt in the sixth. Anika threw a barrage of one-two combinations and uppercuts at the Kentucky boxer as the fight was winding down and Lisa dropped to her knees for a five count with about a minute to go. After that Anika let loose with another barrage that finished the fight with Lisa down on her knees on the canvas.  This was Anika's first KO and perhaps a statement that we shouldn't overlook her in the bantamweight race! 

Devon: Anika Hu had lost four straight after winning her debut against Manju Devi, but this fight evened her score with Lisa Jackson. It also proved she has some comeback power if a fight doesn't start well.  On the other side of the coin, Lisa's been letting fights get away form her and this may be a big setback as her only win so far had come in an earlier match with Anika . Any other highlights for you, Val?

Val: There was a great scrap between rising welterweight contender Amber Taltos from Puerto Rico and the reigning WEBA lightweight champ Keiko Suzuki from Japan. Amber's on the small side for a welterweight and has often fought lightweights before, but Keiko's held both the WEBA and world lightweight titles. Amber's only held the junior belt so I figured Keiko might have the upper hand despite being a little smaller. Keiko pushed the action hard at the start of the second round after they'd spent the first feeling each other out, and Amber got into big trouble when Keiko cornered her and let rip with both fists. Amber took two counts on the canvas ... the first just a quickie from a good combo but the second knockdown nearly ended the fight! Amber got nailed hard by a right uppercut and the pretty Puerto Rican needed help from the ring ropes to struggle back to her feet in time to beat the count. Amber was then saved by the bell and went to her corner looking dazed.  Keiko looked confident and kept the pressure on in the third but couldn't manage another knockdown and Amber battled her way back into the fight in the fourth and fifth. The action really tipped Amber's way in the sixth when she dropped Keiko for eight with a body shot, and Keiko went to her corner with a gash under her left eye. The doc went to Keiko's corner between the rounds but Keiko showed why she's a champion in her own division by coming back to even it up again in the seventh. The final round had the crowd on its feet as Keiko continued to punish Amber early but then Amber roared back with a tremendous body attack. Keiko went down for a short count, then got caught hard by a right hook to her jaw and she was counted out on one knee on the canvas. 

Devon:  This was a very good win for Amber who'll be back in action in the WEBA welterweight tournament next. Any predictions there? .

Val: It's wide open with Corrigan going against Kusmagk and Taltos against Mora!  Corrigan and Mora have both had a lot of big fights but may now be losing their edge, and Corrigan's never beaten Kusmagk ... she's 0-1-1 against her ... and Mora's never fought Taltos. Kusmagk's loss to Mia Campbell in that six-rounder was a surprise, but she KO'd Corrigan brutally at Wu's, Out of the four it's Taltos  who's on the best winning run so it's wide open, hon, wide open!  

Devon: That's the best way.  See ya again at the fights. 
,       

"We got our butts kicked",
says Heather

Heather Corrigan and Jane McGowan meet the press at Hellcat Gym outside Miami as the boxers give their first interview since losing to Diedre Dornan and Carmen Santos at Wu's.  

Reporter: What went wrong for you in Thailand, Heather?

Heather (grim): We got our butts kicked is what went wrong.      

Reporter: Was it a mistake to fight Diedre Dornan at Wu's? 

Heather:Obviously!  I had that bitch down but she got up then punched me in the trunks.  That freaking hurts, even for girls, fellas, I was hurting like hell, I couldn't move right, and I got my freaking head knocked off.  I tried to grab her and tie her up but she rabbit punched me and I don't know what the freak happened after that, I woke up on the canvas and it was all over. Yes, it was a big mistake to go where they'd let the bitch fight like that and it was another mistake to think Jane could take Santos. The whole freaking trip to Thailand was a mistake!  We should have stayed home for the holidays and trained. I'm sorry I got Jane into that frigging freak show at Wu's. . 

Reporter:  How do you feel about your first experience at Wu's, Jane?

Jane:  I'm bummed how it turned out but Carmen Santos had already KO'd me once. Heather did everything she could to prepare me for Pattaya but Santos still fought better than me. Now I know how much more I have to do before I can beat her  I've still got her in my sights, fellas, and we'll do it again some time, but not soon.  

Reporter:  Did Heather's loss to Dornan shake your confidence in her as your trainer?

Jane: No, because Dornan's tactics were disgusting. I hated to see Heather lose that way but I felt worse that I'd let Heather down in my own fight.  We both have to suck this up and carry on training.  Heather's shown me that a great fighter can take a bad loss and still come back, and that's what I've got to do

Reporter: Does the loss to Dornan make you think about retiring, Heather?

Heather (annoyed): No, it makes me mad!  So does this question!  Why do you people keep asking me this?

Devon Ling:  Because you keep getting your butt kicked!  You don't know when it's time to quit!

Heather: Get that  tramp out of here!  Didn't I say no more interviews with her?

Two burly guys in University of Miami T-shirts grab Devon by her arms and escort her out of the gym.

Reporter:  The WEBA's announced a tournament where you will have to fight Carolina Kusmagk.  She broke your jaw and knocked you out last time you fought her.  How do you feel about facing her again?

Heather: I feel like beating the shit out of her, fellas. I saw the video on YouTube where she put her boot on my trunks after she knocked me out at Wu's!  That Swedish tart disrespected me and I'm going to hurt her, I am going to beat her so bad she'll beg me for mercy. Okay fellas now it's time for Jane and me to do our three mile road run. You're welcome to join us if you can keep up!  

Heather and Jane change out of their boxing gear into matching running shorts and shoes, and get ready to head off on the next stage of their training. 

The cute blonde dances around Wu's ring pumping her red boxing gloves in the air as Stephanie Page lies face down on the blood-spattered canvas. Billy-Jo blows kisses to her fans as Stephanie's trainer kneels beside the bruised and battered loser. Stephanie'e eyes are puffy narrow slits and her wet black hair straggles over her swollen blood-streaked face.  Bloody spittle dribbles from her mouth, wetting her sport bra and the bare tops of her breasts. The white trim on her red satin boxing trunks has turned pink with all the blood and her trunks cling damply to her shaking legs as she lies twitching on the canvas. The blonde giggles and grins as Mister Wu hands her a check. 

Wu kisses Billy-Jo's cheek and raises her right glove high, lifting up her right breast to more cheers from the crowd that has watched their Queen bludgeon Stephanie Page to a second brutal defeat. 

Devon Ling climbs through the ropes as Billy-Jo poses for the photographers...

Devon: BJ, you are so bad!  You beat poor Stephanie to a pulp again!  Why did you hurt her so much before you finished her off? 

BJ: I enjoyed hitting her because she makes me such a nice present of her chin so I get to punch her face really, really hard. This time I did not hurt my hand and she bled so much we both got totally wet and messy.  I think that's sexy, don't you! 

Devon: No, I don't think that's sexy at all!  You fought like an alley cat, holding her while you were hitting her and punching her crotch!  She was out on her feet while you were still beating her up!  Did you have to punish her quite so hard?  

BJ:  I got mad at her after she punched my tit protector out of my top and knocked my mouthpiece out!  I was fighting almost nekkid for a while (laughs) Then the little brat kept grabbing me. She said she did MMA once so I thought we'd end up rolling round on the canvas together.  That might have been fun for a while but she's been getting too popular so I wanted to show her who's the Queen and who's my little slave who must kiss my boxing booties if I tell her to!  

Billy-Jo points to Stephanie who is still on her hands and knees on the canvas as Marisol Kari tries to revive her..  Billy-Jo dances and pumps her gloves in the air again. The crowd cheers her wildly..

BJ  See, they really love me!  They know I'm the baddest girl at Wu's! 

Devon: They love to see your tits bounce up and down while you do that, that's all!  And before you crown yourself Queen you must remember Crystal Ortiz and Mindy Li. Life isn't all beating up little hotties like Stephanie!   Carmen Santos knocked Jane McGowan into next week and Mindy Li knocked you on your ass for saying that before!  Can you beat those girls like you beat little Stephanie?   

BJ (pouts): I'd love to fight Carmen again, she's smoking hot and she's invited me to her beach parties!   I give the fans what they want, that's why they all come to watch me!  They know I am the baddest and hottest babe in the ring! 

Devon:  Well babe, don't forget Ortiz and Li knocked you out!  And what's up with your BFF Lisa Jackson? She's becoming the bantamweights punching bag! .

BJ (grinning): Lisa's a tiger when she's in the shower or in bed with me but so far she's been a pussycat with the gloves on. We have to work on her boxing instead of having so much fun together in my gym,. Want to come back to the showers with me now?

Devon: I want to watch the other fights!  And you should be thinking about losing to Ortiz!  You cannot be a Queen of the ring by fighting little girls and neglecting your gym work!

BJ (gloves on hips, pouting):  You are no fun!  I don't want to talk to you any more! 

"I shall make all of Brasil proud of me"
says Carmen

Box Latino visits Carmen Santos in São Paulo where the gorgeous Brasilian boxeadora prepares for her next fight. Carmen spars at her gym with a man who hits her beautiful body hard while she responds with many vicious punches. The gym is noisy with their grunting and hurting until Carmen gasps out that she has had enough and is ready to stop. Leoparda removes her black leather gloves and approaches our reporter with a perfumed towel around her sweating body.

BL:  Leoparda, your training is rigorous and demanding today. You are working harder to prepare for your next fights?

Carmen:  My fighting has been more difficult!  I was upset to lose to the Russian Petrova and the American McGowan almost beated me in Thailand before I knocked her out. .

BL You did recover and fight well against the new American but you have not defeated two rivals who gave you losses before, the American Katelyn Kennedy and the Chinese Mindy Li. 

Carmen: Kennedy took off a long vacation so it has not been possible to fight her again. I plan to welcome her back by taking away her title. While this champion is away she will find her challenger has not been at play but the claws of the Leoparda have been much sharpened in this gym!  Li will again be a difficult opponent for me so I must prepare myself even more thoroughly to fight her.  

BL: In what areas of your training do you seek the most improvements?

Carmen: My trainer Ralph Riveros says I must now improve my mental focus as I am already well prepared physically. He says I must be as ready for the big fight in my head as I have been in my body. I will be more aggressive and more ready to go for the nocaut blows. 

BL: We all look forward to seeing your progress and another title as an example of beauty and courage in the ring for all Brasilian girls!

Carmen: I shall make all of Brasil proud of me again when I win!

Will Irish Hopeful Riley
Be A Champion Again?
by Katie O'Hara

(Katie O'Hara is a sports reporter for the Irish Times.)

DUBLIN, IRELAND -  It is still the question for me - why does a good-natured, pretty girl like Dublin's Hannah Riley want to be a boxer? When I first saw the tall strawberry blonde with the grey green eyes and the beautiful smile, she was wearing a strapless green evening dress and looked like she was about to step into a Celtic Woman show not into a boxing ring. Why would a girl with her looks risk cuts, bruises and broken bones in brutal competition for money?  Eighteen months later I still have the question on my mind as I visit with Hannah's trainer Billy O'Rourke to review the Irish hopeful's prospects.

"How's Hannah doing as a professional boxer, Billy?".

Billy runs his hands through his curly red hair. They are big-knuckled hands that dealt out punishment for too many years, hands that no girl would want to end up with, just like no girl would want Billy's many-times-broken nose.  He is a picture of what no girl as lovely as Hannah Riley should want to become.   

"Hannah's taken some hard knocks, no doubt about that. She flew out of the gate like a prize filly, a thoroughbred off to the race. With all the knockouts she started with I was after thinking - Billy Boy she will be the greatest champion sure as the day follows night!  I had me dreams of a great long parade to boxing greatness with the band playing and the crowds cheering her all the way."

"Then she met Sharon Brown, and Hannah was the one who was knocked out!"

"That match was made in a tournament that came too soon. Hannah was too green and Sharon was after becoming the world champion. Hannah lost but she stood up to Sharon for a while so I was pleased with what she showed in the fight. It's been Hannah's junior fights that have told the tale."

"She won the junior title soon after the fight with Brown!"

"That was when I first twigged that the light at the end of the tunnel might be a train!  Hannah had knocked Ariel Coleman out before that fight, but the Yank fought better in the rematch. Hannah took a standing eight in the last round and won the junior title only by the skin of her teeth. That split decision made me fret about how to train her better."

"Then came Karen Kelly."

"I took one look at Kelly and said to meself - that one could tear Hannah apart!  Kelly's built to fight she has the shoulders and the legs, the muscles and the chin. Soon as she steps in the ring, you know she's trouble."

"But Hannah knocked her out in their first fight."

"You could have knocked me out with a feather too, especially after Kelly dropped Hannah twice in the first round! .The thing of it was, Kelly always swings for the KO but she leaves the openings. Hannah got lucky and found one the first time, but the next it was just a close decision and ever since then Kelly's shown Hannah the door, knocked her out three straight.  Hannah needs to pull her socks up for the party's over now and the Kelly girl's leading that big parade."

I go to where Hannah's slamming a worn heavy bag, hair tied back in a pony tail, her shoulders gleaming and her green trunks and white sport bra dark with  perspiration. 

"Wow, Hannah, you're working up a sweat on that thing."

Hannah looks at me.  Those piercing grey green eyes are like cold steel, and her smile is gone.

"Billy says I have a choice to sweat now or bleed later."

"You've been knocked out by Karen Kelly, Maria Lozada and Jenny Johnson. Do they all have some advantage over you?"

"They are all different.  Karen is tough, Jenny is big, Maria fights with such heart. They all fight back well after I hit them hard."

"Do you have to hit them harder?"

"I don't think I can!  Billy wants me to hit them more often and to move more so I become harder to hit. When I started to fight, my opponents went down easier but they are all improving as fast as me.  Karen Kelly has made such progress, I must try to match her by my own." 

"There are also newer fighters to challenge you, too. Mia Campbell and Trish Rollins. Have you seen their fights?"

"I keep my eye on them all!  Mia Campbell is a big girl like Jenny Johnson, who's difficult with her size, but Trish Rollins may be even more of a problem. She is undefeated and she also knocked out Mia Campbell, and she may be like Karen Kelly only bigger. She is a policewoman from England too."

"Does that matter to you?"

"I was brought up to be wary of the police and the English but Trish has challenged me and I will fight her next."

I finally put my big question.

"Any second thoughts yet about your life as a prizefighter?"

"It is harder than I expected but it is what I want.  I enjoy being in the ring."

"What is the worst part?"

"Waiting to fight again after I have been hurt. You have doubts about yourself and you are impatient to get back into the action. Waiting to fight is worse than fighting."

"Will you be a champion again?"

"I hope so.  But first I must beat Trish Rollins"

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