Jeffries wins IFBA world title from McCarter.
GILROY – Kelsey Jeffries came, she saw, she kicked some world champion behind.
In her fourth attempt at winning a world title, Jeffries dominated champ Layla McCarter – earning a unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92, 97-93) – in Thursday’s Fight Night at The Garden in Bakersfield.
“It was a rout. A freight train left Gilroy and Layla McCarter got into a wreck in Bakersfield,” said trainer Rick Mello of Jeffries’ 10-round decision. “Kelsey started strong and finished strong. I couldn’t ask for better execution of boxing.”
But Jeffries – a three-year pro fighter – knows in boxing when the fight goes the distance, anything can happen. So even though she controlled the fight, the boxer called ‘Sweet Power’ wasn’t celebrating until the judges scoresheets were read off.
“You’re always worried. I had three world title fights like that. Everyone thought I won, but you never know,” said Jeffries, who adds the IFBA World Featherweight title to her California State title as well as two other belts. “It felt good. I’m numb. I look at the belt. It’s huge. It’s beautiful. I can’t wait to take a picture with it.”
Jeffries (17-7-1) nearly scored a seventh-round knockout of McCarter as she connected with a vicious left hook that buckled the former champ’s knees.
“She took some shots. I don’t know how the girl stayed up,” said Mello of McCarter. “Kelsey almost knocked her out in the seventh round, but it was towards the end of the round.”
Round after round, McCarter kept her distance from the powerful Jeffries – who cut off the ring to trap McCarter and work the body. Jeffries was fueled by a statement McCarter made prior to the fight that she was going to knock her out.
“The day of fight in the paper she said I was a decent fighter and she was going to knock me out. That pissed me off,” said Jeffries, who was surprised McCarter ran away the whole fight instead of duking it out. “She would jab and run. I thought she’d give me a little fight. I knew she would move a lot, but I didn’t think that much. She was holding me on the inside. I had to cut her off and nail her with body shots and overhand rights.”
In the eighth round with the fight well in hand, Jeffries taunted McCarter – asking her “aren’t you going to knock me out.” And in the ninth round, Jeffries looked to boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez in the audience before unloading a flurry of body shots on McCarter.
“In the ninth round, I kept lookiing at him (Chavez) and started unloading body shots because he’s the king of body shots,” the 26-year-old world champ said. “She was running from round 1 to round 10… It was a cat-and-mouse game.”
Jeffries – who trains out of the Sixth Street Gym in Gilroy – was worried about a slight left shoulder strain, but it did not seem to bother her during the 10-round championship bout.
“I was worried about that, but I just blocked it out. It’s sore today,” said Jeffries, who is already anxious to defend her world title. “I’m ready to go. If they need me Nov. 21 in San Jose, I might take it.”
Jeffries’ world title performance made front-page headlines in the Bakersfield Californian – even though it wasn’t the main event on the card.
“I wanted to knock her out. I caught her with some good body shots,” Jeffries said. “She’s a tough fighter.”
