28 March 2009

WEBA Roundup with Devon Ling and Val Henning

Valerie and Devon are in Devon's office at the WEBA Towers to go over last week's WEBA fights.  Devon looks pretty in a green, white and yellow floral sun dress.

Val:  You look like a spring flower, Devon, that's a lovely dress. So different from your boxing gear!  You don't look like you are still thinking about fighting again!

Devon:  I always feel good this time of the year and it's nice to look like a girl when I'm not anywhere near Diedre Dornan or Carolina Kusmagk!

Val: .That's going to be good for your health, hon.  How about the WEBA fights this week, seven titles were up for grabs, so there's a lot to talk about this time although only the WEBA Featherweight title that changed hands. 

Devon: Let's start with that, which was really two different fights in one. Canadian challenger Cathy "Slick" Simmons controlled the first half but veteran champion Jordan Strongarm, the Carolina Cutie, came on  strong later and almost put the challenger away as the fight wound down. Cathy outworked Jordan early and looked dominant in the second round after a right to the jaw put Jordan down for a short count. Cathy used her reach and size advantage to move Jordan round the ring but she was also effective at close quarters and dropped Jordan with a vicious hook to the ribs in the fourth.  Cathy looked confident but Jordan mixed it up with her in the fifth and Cathy had trouble with the champion's rougher tactics. The sixth was another good round for Cathy so I thought she was headed to a clear win but Jordan brought the crowd to their feet when she decked Cathy with a right uppercut midway through the seventh round. Cathy got up after a six count but was soon on the canvas again from a vicious double left hook to her body.  Cathy got up and battled on but she went down a third time during that round and wobbled to her corner looking dazed at the bell. Cathy rallied in the eighth but it was Jordan who controlled the rest of the fight, finding all kinds of ways through Cathy's defense as the challenger tired. Cathy went down three more times in the twelfth and I thought she was lucky to make it to the final bell. It went to the scorecards where one judge called it a draw but two gave it to Cathy by a single point.  There was no question who'd dominated the end of the fight, though, so I expect the Strongarm gym will want a rematch to try to get this title back!   

Val: This was the third close fight in a row between these boxers and it's clearly a tossup between them. This third try may have been a little lucky for Cathy as she was being hammered badly by Jordan at the end of the fight but had built up enough of a lead to still get a decision. How about the world title fights? .

Devon: None of those went the distance!  US Marine Corps boxer Sharon "Smashmouth" Brown and Bolivia's Maria "The Huntress" Lozada waged total war for the world middleweight title, trading bombs from the opening bell. This fight was a straight up toe to toe brawl and by the end of the fourth round it was challenger Maria who seemed to be getting the better of it with monster shots to Sharon's head. Maria even got cocky and began to taunt the world champion, who gave her a bloody lip by the end of the round. Maria kept the pressure on and seemed headed for a huge upset when she broke Sharon's nose with a big left cross. Sharon was in bad shape as she went back to her corner with a cut under her left eye and blood running from her broken nose and her mouth. This was a chance for Maria to steal a world title but Sharon fought ferociously in the seventh and put Maria down for a five count despite the blood that was pouring from her own nose. The eighth round was one of the wildest I can remember as both fighters unloaded on each other with everything they could muster.  Sharon took a series of shots to her bloody nose that led to a standing eight count on the champion early in the round but she came back to drop Maria to her knees twice with brutal body shots. With the Bolivian hurt and hardly able to move, Sharon went for it and finished her off with a devastating barrage against the ropes.  This was a major KO win for Sharon despite getting a busted nose but Maria put up a helluva fight this time, Val!

Val: Balio Frez has to be pleased with Maria's performance in this slugfest, which could have gone either way almost to the end. Sharon took a beating and will need time to recover before she defends again but she showed an amazing ability to absorb punishment and keep fighting!  It was another all-out war for the world welterweight title, too!

Devon: That fight renewed a rivalry from 2007 when Lumbee Princess Cyan Locklear and Hellcat Heather Corrigan fought for this title four times with both scoring KO's in hard-fought battles. This time Cyan was defending the world title  while Heather held the WEBA title. These two are both willing to mix it up at close quarters so their fights are usually exciting slugfests. Both took damage early but Heather got hammered around her eyes and Cyan looked confident early in the fourth when she knocked Heather down for a short count. Heather got mad and unleashed a barrage of leather with Cyan against the ropes, forcing a standing eight on the Princess before the round ended. Heather decked Cyan with a huge right to the head early in the fifth but she couldn't keep the pressure on after that and Cyan was able to slow the pace down. Cyan was bleeding heavily from her mouth but Heather's right eye was closing and she was also badly cut under her left.  Corrigan went all out with a body attack in the ninth and nearly ended it when she put Cyan down in a corner for a seven count, but Cyan survived that onslaught and was able to recuperate in the tenth. Heather put Cyan on the canvas again early in the eleventh but the Princess got up quickly and continued to fight hard. The Hellcat went down late in the round and the doctor was called to her corner to examine the damage around her eyes. They let the WEBA champ continue but Cyan dominated the rest of the fight. The fourteenth was brutal as Heather was fighting almost blind and was knocked down several times before the referee stopped it with Cyan punishing her against the ropes..

Val: The Corrigans weren't happy with the TKO, but it would have taken a miracle for Heather to have recovered from the punishment she took in the fourteenth when she couldn't see properly to defend herself. Heather had a great run to win the WEBA tournament but Cyan was clearly going for the KO to show her who's the boss of this group!  How about the lightweights? . 

Val: Carla "Baby Doll" Ramirez defended her world title against Russia's Kira Karpova for the third time, this time winning by a TKO. There aren't many fighters who are eager to face Carla now she's dominated this weight division for so long, but the Russians are always ready to step up and take a fight. "Baby Doll" didn't have it easy this time as Kira started the fight well, sniping with her jab and setting up hard rights to the head that Carla didn't figure out at first.  Kira was particularly effective in the fourth as she rocked the champion with head shots and sent Carla back to her corner looking dazed. "Baby Doll" came out much more aggressively in the fifth and worked Kira over against the ropes at the end of the round. The whole balance of the fight changed in the sixth when Carla opened a bad cut over Kira's left eye, and "Baby Doll" ramped up the pressure every round after that. She almost knocked Kira out near the end of the seventh and forced a series of standing eight counts on the increasingly outmatched Russian.  Some of Carla's firepower was reduced when she hurt her left hand landing a hook to Kira's ribs in the tenth, and Kira rallied in the eleventh, but Carla controlled the action in the twelfth and continued to bloody Kira's face with rights to the head.  Kira made it to her corner after taking a beating in that round but the referee had seen enough and the fight was stopped with Kira in her corner. .

Val: This fight was a tough one for Carla early on as she sleepwalked through the early rounds, but she was back to her usual form later and I'm impressed that she was pulled out a TKO win with just one good hand in the end!  The WEBA lightweight title fight was a different story, huh?

Devon: It went almost the full distance before ending in a KO but Rikku Hui continued her recent mastery of Mindy Li. The Strongarm girl got another fast start and put in a dominant performance in the late rounds after Mindy Li got mad enough to make a fight of it in the middle rounds. The Carolina contingent has never told  us much about Rikku's early background from China but she's apparently learned a fighting style that's especially effective against Hong Kong's Mindy Li.   Rikku pushed the action well in the early rounds and kept Mindy on her back foot with fast, precise punches.  Mindy rallied from the fourth round to the seventh but Rikku's confidence was sky high and she took control of the late rounds after closing Mindy's right eye and bloodying her mouth.  Mindy tried hard to salvage the fight with a big effort to start the twelfth, but Rikku weathered the storm then nailed Mindy with a right to the jaw that almost put the challenger away.  Mindy got back to her feet looking wobbly and Rikku made no mistake with a series of follow up rights to the head that ended the contest with Mindy being counted out on her knees and Mister Wu shaking his head at the destruction of his lightweight hope by the surprising Rikki Hui. 

Val: Rikku's struggled through hard times in the WEBA early in her career, but she's definitely solved Mindy Li now as this win made it three in a row over Mindy and was probably Rikku's most convincing win of their series.  How about the featherweights?

Val: The world featherweight title bout saw Chile's Monica "KO" Rodriguez try to take the belt away from Arizona's Raquel "Rocky" Rivera, who was coming off a recent loss to WEBA bantamweight Sunny Wong. Monica and Raquel have had several long close fights before this so I expected another good battle. Monica started fast and had Raquel in trouble against the ropes in the first round but the champion got fired up for the second and she almost ended the fight with a three knockdown round that had Monica reeling back to her corner looking stunned. Raquel kept heat on Monica in the third but the Chilean did good work with her combinations to even the score and send Raquel back to her corner shaken up. The fourth round was closer but Monica stunned Raquel again in the fifth and dropped her to her knees with a body shot. Raquel kept it closer in the sixth then opened up with Monica's back against the ropes in the sixth, forcing a standing eight, then a nine-count knockdown with a spectacular roundhouse right to the head. Monica survived the round but Raquel looked confident after this and kept ramping up the pressure on the Chilean until she overwhelmed her in the tenth. Monica was bloodied and almost out on her feet when another roundhouse right put her down for the count. 

Val: It was an impressive KO win for Raquel after a shaky start, so Monica may need to think about getting the WEBA belt back before she faces Raquel again. The other title fight was the junior middleweight tournament final, a rematch between Hannah "Hot Stuff" Riley of Ireland and Trish "Trasher" Rollins of England. What did you make of that scrap, Devon?   

Devon: I figured it to be a good fight because they had battled to a draw over six rounds the last time. Trish also came into it undefeated so it would either be her first pro title or her first pro loss! They got busy at close quarters right away and Hannah got the upper hand to set Trish back on her heels with both a standing eight and a knockdown in the first round. Hannah looked confident as she continued to land the better shots in the second round but Trish sorted herself out and scored heavily to the Irish star's head in the third.  A huge left-right combination to the head brought a standing eight count on Hannah midway though the round. Trish was bleeding from her mouth but she had Hannah in trouble against the ropes in the fourth. The fight seesawed back and forth again as Hannah dropped Trish for a short count in the fifth and kept the punches coming in the sixth. Hannah dominated the seventh with knee buckling shots against the ropes but Trish recovered between rounds and worked Hannah over against the ropes in the eighth. Hannah controlled the ninth but Trish made a big push in the final round, scored another standing eight and put Hannah on the canvas with a belly shot near the end of the fight. Hannah took a full nine count and ate several huge shots to the head after getting up, but she managed to stay on her feet somehow to send it to the scorecards.  All three judges had scored it as a narrow win for Hannah, who looked stunned and relieved to get the decision and win the tournament. Trish lost for the first time in her career but she had taken the Irish champ to the brink in this fight and the Birmingham brawler looks set to be a major middleweight contender! 

Val:  This was a really exciting fight with only a very slight edge to the much more experienced Hannah Riley who's had 35 fights to Trish's 10. Trish Rollins was in her first ten-rounder but she put on a great show in the last round to try to get the upset and the title , These two could be duking it out for a long time if they both keep training well.

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

Val: There was a tough clash in the featherweights where Scotland's "Killie Killer" Fiona Black took on junior champ Stephanie "Diamond" Page in a scheduled eight-rounder that was full of fireworks from both boxers from the opening bell. Fiona jumped on Stephanie from the start and hammered her onto the ropes, where the junior champ ate some serious leather before getting mad and starting to throw back with bad intentions. They both slowed the pace down in the second but Fiona stepped it up and landed hard to Stephanie's face in the third. opening a cut over Stephanie's right eye. Fiona dominated the fourth and put Stephanie down twice and the doctor went to the Arizona fighter's corner to check her over between the rounds. The fifth was more even but a series of body shots sent Stephanie back to her corner looking hurt, Stephanie opened a cut over Fiona's eye in the sixth but Fiona still kept the pressure on her for several more rounds, then opened up with both fists as the fight wound down, eventually scoring a knockout with not much time left. This was a tough loss for Stephanie against a boxer who she'll need to match up better against when she eventually moves out of the juniors. 

Devon: ,Fiona's a former junior champ who's got KO power for sure but she's had problems with the top featherweight talent like Raquel and Monica.  This fight showed Fiona's dangerous even though she doesn't have a title and also that Stephanie still has some learning to do!  Any other fights stand out for you, Val?

Val:  Team Corrigan's new #2 girl "Jolting" Jane McGowan tested herself against a more experienced lightweight in Crystal "Rock Hard" Ortiz from Puerto Rico, who got Jane badly rattled in the early going by working through her defense with good combinations. Crystal stepped it up in the third and got Jane badly flustered so the Florida fighter started to clinch and fight rough, drawing a couple of warnings from the referee. Crystal appeared to be enjoying herself and looked confident at the start of the fourth, then dropped Jane with a great left to the jaw. Jane took a four count then went to Crystal's body with a ferocious attack that quickly turned the tables and then dropped Crystal with a good uppercut. Crystal got up after a four count but was quickly flattened by a left to the jaw that nearly ended it.  Crystal made it back to her corner but Jane never looked back after that round and she controlled the rest of the action for a unanimous decision at the end of eight rounds.

Devon:  Jane had to overcome a shaky start but she came back very strong after Crystal had put her on the canvas.  Jane seems to have some of her mentor Heather Corrigan's toughness, that's for sure.  Crystal had a great start in that fight but she needed to close the deal when she had the chance and not let Jane battle her way back into it.  Any more highlights?

Val:  Things got rough and it was more like a lowlight when Venezuelan featherweight newbie Ana "La Nina" Sanchez went up against lightweight Lilka "The Polish Hammer" Nowak. Lilka had a nine-pound weight edge over Ana but the Venezuelan's tall for a featherweight and she tried to fight Lilka from a distance with movement, jabs and combinations. Lilka prefers to worked in close with hooks, uppercuts and even some dirty work at close quarters. Ana's tactics worked for the first two rounds until Lilka caught her against the ropes in the third and worked on her with body shots. Lilka wore Ana down in the fourth by mixing in some dirty tricks with solid leather, and the Venezuelan went to her corner hurt. Ana again found a home for her combinations early in the fifth but Lilka rallied and trapped her on the ropes, bloodying her nose and mouth and dropping her for a seven count near the end of the round. Lilka came out for the sixth looking to finish Ana off and hammered her to her knees for an eight count against the ropes. Lilka got frustrated as Ana wobbled gamely back to her feet and tried to throw more combinations, then taunted Ana by sticking her chin out and daring her to hit it!  It got ugly when Lilka hit Ana with a forearm and a thumb to the eye after which they went toe to toe. Lilka seemed to be getting the better of it until she drew a point deduction for an illegal punch then stepped on Ana's foot while hitting her in the face.  The referee had seen enough of Lilka's rough-housing at that point and disqualified her on the spot, giving the fight to Ana Sanchez. 

Devon: Lilka was taking charge in the final round and she just needed to control herself better!  Marisol Kari was annoyed that the fight was called and they've challenged Ana to a rematch at Wu's, where Lilka's brawling style may give her even more of an advantage over Ana Sanchez's outside fighting. We'll have to see how that turns out as Sanchez showed she can take a punch and she also won by a KO in her debut! 

Val:  The competition's looking good in the WEBA at all levels these days, so there's plenty of good action ahead!   
       

"I nearly knocked her out",
says Heather

The reporters crowd into the press room where Jane McGowan and Hellcat Heather Corrigan are sitting behind a table with Heather's father Mike. Heather's face is hidden by a University of Miami baseball cap and huge dark glasses to cover the bruises from her loss to Cyan Locklear. Jane sports a swollen lip after her win over Crystal Ortiz.

Reporter: How do you feel about your world title fight, Heather?

Heather:  Disappointed.  Cyan fights a lot like me so I expected a tough fight where I might get hurt but I wish the referee had let us settle it. The TKO they called on me was bullshit!

Reporter: You were taking a beating, Heather.  Do you really think you could still have won that fight?. 

Heather: I was hurt but I wasn't ready for the fight to be stopped. Boxing is not a walk in the park, I know I am going to get hit and get hurt when I put the gloves on, fellas. I also know I could have gone another round and had a chance to win the world title but they took that away from me. The fans wanted more and I was still on my feet so they should have given me the chance. 

Reporter: Do you want a rematch?    

Heather: Yes!  I know I can beat her!  I nearly knocked her out. She was hurt too. 

Reporter: Any comments on the stoppage, Mike? 

Mike: It was a close fight, fellas; They were both giving it and getting it but it was going downhill for Heather at the end. I never want to see Heather get hit that hard. Cyan was getting through her defense too much and Heather was exhausted. Another night, another fight, it might be different. Heather fought her heart out like the champ she is but Cyan deserved the win. I' want to see Heather get the world title back, but this wasn't the night for it to happen and we have to accept that.  .

Reporter: How about your fight with Crystal Ortiz, Jane?   

Jane: It took me a while to figure her out and I knew I was digging myself a hole when she knocked me down in the fourth. I knew I better get going after that!  After I knocked her down a couple of times I knew I would win the fight. She gave me a good workout and she showed class. She was a good opponent..

Reporter: What's next? 

Jane:  I am going to fight the Swedish girl Svensson.  She's been the WEBA champion so she will be tough but she's lost to some girls I have beaten. I think I can handle her and it will be good experience for me.  . 

Reporter: You said you are watching Carmen Santos's fights to see how you match up with her . She lost her last fight, so do you have any comments on that and do you think you'd have done better?

Jane: The girl who beat her was a Mexican who's been a welterweight champion and looks very tough. That isn't a  fight I'd want to take yet!

Reporter:  Diedre Dornan has called you out at Wu's, Heather.  Are you willing to fight her there again?

Heather:  She's a scumbag and I am not eager to go all the way to Thailand to get punched in the crotch by her again.  I don't want another gutter fight with that bitch, so if she wants another rematch she can challenge me for my WEBA title. 

Back Issues