Gilroy fighter wins unanimous decision
CANYONVILLE, Oregon – Kelsey Jeffries always has the utmost respect for her opponents before, during, and after a fight.
But Thursday night in Canyonville, Oregon, it took every ounce of restraint in her body not to retaliate to the constant cursing and dirty tricks thrown at her by New York’s Leona Brown.
“I had to use a lot of self-control in this fight,” said Jeffries, who won every round on all three judges scorecards for her second unanimous decision in a span of six days. “I kept my mouth shut.”
The Gilroy-based pugilist kept her cool for six rounds, sticking to her game plan and simply outboxing her opponent, while Brown tried everything in the book to frazzle Jeffries.
“She called me a b**** everytime I came in close. She had something greasy in her hair and she was trying to stick it in my eyes. She hit me below the belt a couple of times,” Jeffries said. “She tried to head-butt me. She kept holding me. She pulled me down to the canvas with her. She did everything bad that I’ve ever experienced.”
But instead of dropping to her level, Jeffries smiled at her and simply put on a boxing display with a steady jab setting up her patented combinations.
“(Trainer James ‘Buddy’ McGirt) choreographed this win because of the discipline she’s learning now,” said Bruce Anderson, Jeffries manager. “She used to go to war with a girl like that. She’d stand in front of her and go to war, but now she’s thinking. He wants her to think and be smart.”
Jeffries did the smart thing and found Brown’s tactics somewhat comical.
“I knew what she was bringing but this was 20 times more dirty,” Jeffries said. “I just started boxing her and started turning her. She just threw wild stuff at me.”
When the two fighters stepped into the middle of the ring before the start, Brown refused to shake hands with Jeffries. In the final round, Brown refused to touch gloves with Jeffries and even threw a punch at her.
“I was smiling the whole time. It was very comical to me. She looked like a little Mike Tyson. I thought she might bite me,” Jeffries said. “In the fifth round, I thought I almost knocked her down, but then she started holding me and I couldn’t get off again. She held me so bad there was no room to hit.”
Brown did have one point taken away for holding.
“It was terrible,” Jeffries said. “I used a lot of patience in this fight.”
Jeffries remains the IFBA World Champion, the WIBF America’s Champion, the WIBA Intercontinental Champion, and the California State Champion.
“I want more,” said Jeffries, who will fight again July 22 at The Tank in San Jose.
