For a student at Gavilan College, it’s certainly not the best
way to study for a test, that’s for sure.
For a student at Gavilan College, it’s certainly not the best way to study for a test, that’s for sure.
A full-time fighter, Kelsey “The Road Warrior” Jeffries took two finals last week for courses she’s taking at the junior college in Gilroy, and one more on Monday before flying across the world. Instead of being able to focus solely on her tests, Jeffries has also been preparing for one of the biggest fights in her career.
The featherweight champ (39-9-1, 3 KO’s) will fight for the 50th time Sunday in Eumsung, South Korea against Jun Yun Jung (3-1-1, 0 KO’s). Her IFBA title belt will be on the line, and while she will certainly not be lacking in experience compared to the practically fresh-faced Jung, Jeffries will be lacking on details of her opponent.
“I can’t get any film on her, which is not surprising,” said Bruce Anderson, Jeffries’ manager. “They tell you they don’t have any. But she’s not bringing anything that Kelsey hasn’t seen.
“Kelsey will go to war when she wants to go to war. Not when someone else does.”
The fight will be Jeffries’ first since Nov. 3, when she defeated Elizabeth “The Pearl” Villarreal in ten rounds by a 98-92 unanimous decision at the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, Ore., earning the Global Boxing Union World Title in the process. It was her seventh career title belt.
But fighting outside the country, in enemy territory, with an opponent in which she has little more than a win-loss record on, will certainly raise the difficulty level for Jeffries to retain her IFBA title as well as walk away with the big 4-0 – her 40th career victory.
But, hey, they don’t call her The Road Warrior for nothing.
“It’s tough to win when you’re out of the country. They’re not going to bring you over there for their girl to lose,” Jeffries said. “I’m going to have to do more to win this fight just to win this fight.”
That means Jeffries will need a knockout.
“But I like the adversity,” she said. “I’m going to change their mind … She could be unreal. She could be horrible. I don’t know. But I’m going to prepare for unreal.”
Not knowing much of anything about her opponent, Jeffries is anticipating the toughest fight of her career. She feels that, on paper, she is the favorite to win, considering her glowing record and seven titles to her name.
But among her nine career losses, four of them have been outside the comforts of the United States. And with the fight in Eumsung, which is two hours south of Seoul, Jeffries says that, politically, she feels like the underdog.
“It’s her promoter, her referees, her country, everything. It’s all hers,” she said. “Every judge is from South Korea. They might as well be blindfolded. The scores are made before I even get into the ring. But I’m going to change that.”
Jeffries said she was forced to defend her title in South Korea, otherwise the IFBA might have stripped her of the belt. But she noted that this boxers association has been good to her, so she’ll “go over there and do this for them.”
Anderson said they “sweetened the pot” as well for this fight.
“From looking at the photos, this girl is sturdy and strong,” Anderson said of Jung. “But Kelsey’s movement will drive her crazy … They’ve never seen anything like Kelsey in Korea.”
The featherweight Jeffries is expecting to weigh-in at her current weight of 126 pounds. She flew to Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday with her fight scheduled to return on Christmas.
“This is a horrible way to study for a test,” Jeffries said of her preparation for the fight. “But it’s gonna be a pop quiz, and I’m gonna ace it.”
