Female Fight News for week of July 31, Katie Taylor and More
By David A. Avila
One of the lightest weeks of the boxing calendar saw female prizefighting take center stage last weekend and again this coming weekend.
Katie Taylor, the pride of Ireland, made her American debut with a one-sided thrashing of Texan Jasmine Clarkson that was stopped at the end of the third round. The lightweight fight took place on the undercard of Mikey Garcia versus Adrien Broner at Barclays Center in Brooklyn last Saturday.
Clarkson, a southpaw, proved to be as sturdy and strong as her record indicated but was unable to match the incoming fire from Taylor. It was a one-sided affair that saw the former two-time Olympian blaze through with little danger. Clarkson never went down but was unable to fire back.
The showing by Taylor did little to raise interest in the U.S. for a number of reasons including: it was not televised in the States. Another was the competition. Clarkson showed grit but Taylor had more than 100 amateur fights including an Olympic gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics. No need to pamper the Irish superstar.
Taylor is 31 years old so there’s also no time to feed her easy victims.
A number of American warriors stand at the ready and would be delighted to face Taylor should her promoter give the go ahead. There’s also an American Olympian named Mikaela Mayer who just recently signed with Top Rank and makes her pro debut this Saturday in Los Angeles.
Mayer and Taylor meeting in a year or two would be a solid match and there are many others. So far television has avoided the west coast female fighters and even the Midwest. Last weekend Chicago hosted a female lightweight named Jessica McCaskill who won by stoppage of Natalie Brown.
McCaskill is 32 years old so it’s a perfect matchup in terms of age.
Further west in California there is Crystal Morales who despite a record of nine wins, 10 losses and a draw is much better than her record indicates. She’s a former IFBA lightweight world champion and is not afraid to exchange. The Oxnard native fights in the always entertaining “Mexican style” and would be perfect against Irish Taylor. Both are 31 years old.
If Taylor proves good enough then there are the elite fighters such as Layla McCarter who fights at super lightweight but can easily make the lightweight limit of 135 pounds. There is also Brooklyn’s own Amanda Serrano winner of five world titles in five weight divisions. That could be a super fight too. Another in Brooklyn is Melissa St. Vil who fights at 130 if that weight better suits Taylor.
Perhaps Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn already has those fighters on his list? Hopefully so. Otherwise it’s a terrible waste of time.
Another Olympian
Speaking of Olympians, this Friday in Detroit, fans can see two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (3-0) fight for the world title against WBA super middleweight champion Nikki Adler (16-0) of Germany. They will also be fighting for the vacant IBF title too.
The title match takes place in Detroit, Michigan at the MGM Detroit. The world title match will be televised on Showtime. The champion Adler, 30, fights out of Germany and is making the third defense of the WBC title since winning it in November 2013 against Zane Brige. The challenger Shields, 22, in short time has won the NABF middleweight title and WBC Silver super middleweight title.
Shields is in a hurry and wants the world title yesterday. More on this fight later this week.
Mexican streak
WBA minimum weight world titlist Anabel Ortiz retained the world title by unanimous decision over Nancy Franco (17-11-2) on Saturday July 29. It was the ninth time Ortiz has defended the title in the 105-pound division. Now 31, Ortiz has lost only three times in her brilliant career and those losses came to three future Hall of Fame fighters in Naoko Fujioka, Yesica Bopp and Ibeth Zamora.
Ortiz fights out of Mexico City which is a haven for many of the best female fighters in that country. She’s a fearless competitor and has gone overseas to Japan to fight three times. It says a lot when any prizefighter fights outside of their own country.
Risk takers
In Australia two female fighters with little fear of fighting abroad clashed against each other this past Saturday in Newstead, Queensland where Ghana’s Helen Joseph stopped hometown fighter Shannon O’Connell in a fierce firefight on Saturday July 29. The two super bantamweights each have shown in their respective careers to be willing to fight anyone at any time. Sadly, somebody has to lose. But the two female warriors are part of the solution to keep the sport thriving. Fighters must fight the best competition possible. Forget about being undefeated for the sake of television. It’s only the great matchups that attract television. Not undefeated fighters.
Female Fight News
Argentina
On Friday, Aug. 4, bantamweights Carolina Duer (19-3-1) and Maria Roman (9-4-1) fight for the vacant IBF title. The 10-round match takes place in San Isidro, Buenos Aires. Duer, 38, is a former WBO bantamweight titlist. Also, Iara Altamirano 1-0) meets Jennifer Mendoza (0-0) in a four round super bantamweight fight.
On Saturday Aug. 5, featherweights Ana Guichapani (4-0) and Elizabeth Britos (1-0-1) meet in a six round clash in Quilmes, Buenos Aires.
Australia
Helen Joseph (14-3-1) stopped hometown fighter Shannon O’Connell (15-6-1) in the second round on Saturday July 29. The super bantamweight bout took place in Newstead, Queensland. The winner Joseph, 28, fights out of Ghana and twice fought for the featherweight title. This was her ninth knockout which is a high percentage for female boxers. O’Connell, 34, had recently battled the great Argentine champion Marcela Acuna for 10 rounds in a loss. She has proven fearless in fighting great opposition in other countries. Also, Deanha Hobbs (3-0) defeated Kylie Hutt (2-1-2) technical knockout in the second round of a super lightweight clash.
Colombia
On Saturday Aug. 5, super bantamweights Liliana Palmera (27-11-3) and Alys Sanchez (14-3-1) meet in 10 round bout for the WBA title in Barranquilla. The champion Palmera, 35, is making the first defense of the title. Sanchez, 30, fights out of Venezuela and is looking to avenge her loss to Palmera in 2015 by split decision. Also, super lightweights Lely Florez (16-7-1) and Angie Barca (2-11) meet in a 10 round clash. Florez defeated Barca a year ago. Plus, featherweights Yolis Franco (20-9-3) and Glenis Cardona (3-12-3) meet in a 10 round match.
Germany
On Saturday Aug. 5, minimum weights Oezlem Sahin (22-1-1) and Sandy Coget (8-6-1) meet in a 10 round clash in Essen, Germany. Both will be fighting for the vacant UBO and WBF titles. Also, super lightweights Susan Kolukisa (0-0) and Maiken Sieberger (0-0) meet in a four round contest.
Mexico
Anabel Ortiz (25-3) retained the WBA world title by unanimous decision over Nancy Franco (17-11-2) on Saturday July 29. The 10 round minimum weight fight took place in Tlalpan, Mexico City. Ortiz, 31, has defended the world title nine consecutive times. She formerly held the WBC minimum weight title but lost it to Japan’s great Naoko Fujioka in 2011.
Yareli Larios (12-0) defeated Guadalupe Lincer (2-4) by unanimous decision on Friday July 28. The featherweight match took place in Guadalajara, Mexico. Also, Alejandra Gonzalez (2-1) beat Cinthia Cardona (0-5) by decision after a four round bantamweight fight.
On Friday Aug. 4, light flyweights Sandra Robles (17-2) and Jessica Rangel (1-5-1) meet in a eight round clash in Tijuana, Mexico.
Spain
Davinia Perez (5-0) was the winner by decision after eight rounds versus Maribel De Sousa (1-10) on Friday July 28. The bantamweight fight took place in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Also, Yolanda Ramos (3-0) beat Eloisa Rodriguez (0-2) by decision after six flyweight rounds. Plus, Catalina Diaz (2-0) beat Virginia Dominguez (0-1) by decision in a flyweight fight.
United Kingdom
Stacey Copeland (2-0) defeated Ester Konecna (1-3-1) by decision after four rounds on Saturday July 29. The middleweight match took place in Manchester, England.
USA
Katie Taylor (6-0) won by knockout in the third round versus Jasmine Clarkson (4-9) on Saturday July 29. The lightweight bout was held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and was Taylor’s American debut. The former two-time Irish Olympian Taylor, 31, has four fights this year alone. The loser Clarkson, 22, was never knocked down but her corner stopped the fight at the end of the third round. She fights out of Cedar Hill, Texas.
Jessica McCaskill (5-1) won by knockout of Natalie Brown (6-3) in the second round on Saturday July 29. The lightweight clash was held in Chicago, Illinois. The winner McCaskill, 32, fights out of Chicago. The loser Brown, 38, had not fought in almost five years.
Christina Ruiz (8-9-3) defeated Cristina Fuentes (8-9-5) by technical knockout in the third round on Friday July 28 to win the vacant NABF super flyweight title. The match took place in Laredo, Texas.
On Friday Aug. 4, super middleweights Nikki Adler (16-0) defends the WBC world title and fights for the vacant IBF title against Claressa Shields (3-0). The match takes place in Detroit, Michigan. The champion Adler, 30, fights out of Germany and is making the third defense of the WBC title since winning it in November 2013 against Zane Brige. The challenger Shields, 22, is a former two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medal winner and will be fighting near her hometown Flint, Michigan.
On Saturday, Aug. 5, lightweights Mikaela Mayer (0-0) and Widnelly Figueroa (0-1) meet in a four round clash in the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles. This is the American Olympian Mayer’s pro debut. She recently signed a contract with Top Rank. Mayer is 27 years old.
On Saturday Aug. 5, super bantamweights Shurretta Metcalf (2-2) and Ayanna Vasquez (2-0-1) meet in a four round bout in Waco, Texas.
(Photo by JP Yim)
READ MORE: TOP RANK SIGNS US OLYMPIAN MIKAELA MAYER; IS SHANNON O’CONNELL NEXT?
To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.