| |
(JUNE 7) Kelsey “Sweet Power” Jeffries, better known as “Kel-C”, describes
herself as “very lucky” to have hooked up with highly sought-after trainer
and former two-time world champion, Buddy McGirt. While fate may have played
a part in the beginning of that relationship, luck certainly had nothing to
do with it. Given her background both personally and professionally,
Jeffries has earned the right to be trained by one of the best, because she
is one of the best. How she got there is a testimony to her natural skill
and determination to rise to the top of the female boxing world, and she
continues to strive for perfection.
Jeffries has always been a natural athlete, but at first it was not clear
that boxing would be the direction in which she was taken. Born in
California, but raised in Hawaii, things didn’t always come easily to
Jeffries.
“I’ve always been an athlete,” Jeffries relates as she tells the story of
how she initially became involved in the sweet science. “I had brothers and
I always wanted to be like them. I played soccer my whole life. Growing up I
went through a lot of tough stuff, and I internalized everything. I always
wanted to work really hard at being good, at being an athlete, whatever it
was. Being a professional soccer player was my goal, but that wasn’t
happening. Boxing just kind of came into my life, and that was something
that I could work at where I didn’t money, I didn’t need people to be there
all the time. I could go to the gym and just work on my stuff. It was kind
of a way out for me to deal with growing up.”
At 12 years old, Jeffries found a familiar name when looking over her family
tree. It was then that she discovered that she was a descendant of the great
former heavyweight champion, Jim Jeffries. Though she downplays that
relation on the basis that she wants to excel on her own merit, Jeffries
admits that this discovery “might have inspired me a little, or planted the
seed for boxing.” That, and watching tapes of Vinny Pazienza, who she
describes as one of her favorite fighters. “I used to watch his tapes and
copy everything he did. I mimicked everything he did in a fight, she says of
the man called Paz.
Boxing also helped her gain respect among her peers in school. The
stereotypes existing in Hawaii dictated that Samoans and native Hawaiians
were the “tough people,” and white people like Jeffries were “weak,” as
Jeffries puts it. Jeffries would soon shatter that perception with regard to
herself when she began boxing at age fifteen, and came to be known as a “tita,”
which she says is Samoan/Hawaiian slang for “tough girl.” She might have
been different, but it was a good kind of different.
As an amateur, Jeffries compiled a record of 9-2 in an abbreviated career,
peaking with the San Francisco Nationals. Citing a couple of reasons, she
soon decided that the professional game was where she belonged.
“I didn’t have a trainer for a long time, and I finally got one and started
doing well toward the end of my amateur career,” Jeffries says. “I thought I
did well at the N`ationals, but the judges didn’t see it that way. I turned
pro because it was hard to get fights, and I didn’t like the amateur style,
the pitter-patter points thing.”
Turning pro on July 2, 1999, the 5 foot, 5 inch featherweight stopped Sandra
Mapone in round one in Tucson, Arizona. That fight would mark the beginning
of a seven fight winning streak for Jeffries, who began her career at 23
years old. Then came her only loss by stoppage, which may have been more a
result of the conditions that Jeffries had to endure outside the ring,
rather than those inside it. Her opponent was Laura Serrano, a southpaw who
outweighed Jeffries by ten pounds.
“She caught me with a good left hand,” Jeffries remembers. “I was on Vicodin
before this fight, because I was having my wisdom teeth removed. I was
undefeated and doing well, having just started out at 7-0. My manager called
and said we had a fight coming up in Las Vegas in a week. I said ‘I can’t
take this fight, I have my wisdom teeth coming out, and I’m already on
Vicodin.’ They said, ‘no we’ve already signed the contract you have to
fight.’ She was way bigger than me, but I just thought that the bigger she
is, the harder she’d fall, trying to be confident. I got off the Vicodin for
the fight, of course. But I was still on kind of a high in the fight, like I
was stoned.”
Even though she was knocked down twice in the bout, Jeffries felt that she
was doing well and that there was no reason for referee Joe Cortez to stop
the fight. At the time of the stoppage, Jeffries says that she and Serrano
were trading punches along the ropes, and Cortez steps in. “I understand
what Bernard Hopkins was saying before the Robert Allen fight (about
Cortez),” says Jeffries.
Jeffries did not allow the loss to discourage her, and in fact bounced back
with a decision win in her very next fight against Cynthia Prouder. That win
garnered her recognition as the WIBF America’s Featherweight Champion in
August 2000. Making the victory all the more sweet was the fact that it was
on the televised portion of a Roberto Duran Vs Patrick Goosen undercard.
In her next fight, Jeffries dropped a decision to Alicia Ashley, but came
back with another win over Prouder. After another win over Imelda Arias,
Jeffries would embark on a journey that would see her earn another nickname,
“Road Warrior.”
Traveling to Germany to challenge Michele Aboro for the WIBF Junior
Featherweight Title, Jeffries knew what she was up against. She would be
fighting in her opponent’s backyard, and Germany is famous for its hometown
decisions for fighters like Sven Ottke. She performed very well, but lost
the ten round decision.
“I felt that I won the fight,” says Jeffries. “In fact the WIBF president
saw the fight and gave me every round. Of course that didn’t give me the
title, but it was a good fight and a good experience.”
That experience would pay dividends in her very next fight, an easy four
round decision win over former champion and highly respected Yvonne Trevino.
Trevino had engaged in televised fights on several occasions, and probably
never saw what was coming against Jeffries. Again fighting in her opponent’s
hometown, Jeffries left no doubt as to the outcome in this fight.
“That was incredible,” Jeffries remembers. “I thought ‘Kelsey you’re crazy
for taking this fight.’ It was in her hometown, she was a southpaw and a
former world champion.
I thought for sure that I would get robbed. I wound up knocking her down
twice and winning the fight. I think I got pissed because she didn’t respect
me too much.”
On the heels of that win, Jeffries went back overseas, this time to Poland.
Fighting Iwona Guzowska for the IWBF Featherweight Title, Jeffries says that
at the time she was taking fights at too heavy a weight, but that she was
doing it to learn and to fight. Jeffries fought well, but again came up on
the short end of a hometown decision. That began a run of four straight
losses by decision, but it is hard to keep a good woman down, especially one
with the determination and work ethic that Jeffries has. In fact, Jeffries
actually has to be told on occasion to train lighter.
Describing the origin of her drive, Jeffries says “My dad was a very good
football player and my mom was a gymnast. I played with my brothers all the
time, and I just had good athletic genes. My hard work and determination is
because of all the hard things I went through as an adolescent. I turned
that into a tool for bettering myself. Anger is so powerful, and I put my
anger and frustration toward training and making Kelsey better.”
More devoted than ever, Jeffries went on an impressive nine fight winning
streak, picking up the WIBA Intercontinental Super Featherweight
Championship with a win over Michele Nielsen in Nielsen’s hometown of Waco,
Texas. Also included in that winning streak, a win over Layla McCarter, a
fight that was special to Jeffries for several reasons.
“That was a great night because it was my birthday, Julio Cesar Chavez and
Oscar
De La Hoya were at ringside, and I performed very well,” says Jeffries. And,
oh yeah, the fight was for the IBFA Featherweight Championship of the World.
On March 20, 2003, Jeffries won a decision over Rolanda Andrews, a fighter
who had knocked out Mia St. John. Jeffries then lost a majority decision to
Jo Jo Wyman, a fighter who she had beaten in three previous meetings. Asked
why she and Wyman fought against one another so frequently, Jeffries cites
both a rivalry and lack of available opponents.
“We are two people who will take fights anytime and anywhere,” says
Jeffries. “We have proven that. Nobody will fight us, but we’ll fight each
other. I have beaten her three out of four times. In the third fight, I got
cut, so when we fought the last time I thought I would box her, do something
different because we were always having wars. I thought I boxed beautifully,
but Northern California judges don’t like movers, they like fighters. I also
had a fight three weeks later, and I was not taking a chance on getting
cut.”
Since that fight, Jeffries has gone undefeated in five fights, and is only
getting better. Now that she is with Buddy McGirt, she is certain to
continue to improve. As previously alluded to, she says luck brought them
together.
“A guy named Jerry saw me on TV and told Buddy ‘you’ve gotta see this girl
fight!,” Jeffries says. “At the same time my manager, Bruce Anderson, who
knows Buddy, sends Buddy a tape of me. Buddy says, “wow this girl can
fight.” Bruce asked him if he could help me out and he said he would love to
help me out.” I don’t have money or a name for Buddy. I have nothing for
Buddy that his other fighters have for him. I have nothing, but me, so that
is a pretty big compliment for him to train me knowing that he is really not
going to get much out of it.”
Had it not been for Jeffries’ never-say-die attitude, not to mention her
willingness to improve and take on tough opponents, that door might never
have opened to her. She has simply made her own breaks. Outside the ring,
she worked hard to become an EMT, and retains hope of becoming a firefighter
in Hollister, California. She also has found great strength and support from
her mother, who Jeffries says attends each of her fights and has encouraged
her from day one. Her mother even braids her hair before each fight. “She’s
great,” Jeffries says.
Jeffries has become a favorite at a place called The Tank in San Jose,
California, headlining a few cards there. “The fans are great, they are so
supportive of me. It took me awhile to build up their trust in me. I worked
hard, and took fights with tough girls. I fought a lot of good fighters at
the Tank in San Jose, and I guess I earned their respect.”
Jeffries is not satisfied with the current level of exposure that women’s
boxing receives, but understands why it does not receive more. She also has
ideas about how to increase appreciation for the female side of the sport.
“I’m kind of with guys in that I understand that this is a man’s sport and
it always has been a man’s sport,” Jeffries reasons. “A lot of the girls I
see fight, I don’t want them being seen because they don’t portray the image
that they should. I won’t go into examples, but I think what can be done to
make it better is to get good women fighters and put them on an undercard
with a great male fighter. Like Christy Martin with the Tyson fights. I
think it’s good to have good female fights underneath the men. I think we
compliment the men.”
Jeffries has had the opportunity to meet one of those good women fighters in
Laila Ali, who recently spent time at Buddy McGirt’s training facility.
Jeffries speaks highly of Ali and her impact on the sport, saying “She is
great for women’s boxing, and puts women’s boxing on the map. Regardless of
her name, she is a good example for us. She wants to be the best at her
craft.”
Though she may never reach Ali’s level in terms of name recognition,
Jeffries has made her own way and is deserving of accolades for all that she
has accomplished in and out of the ring. With two fights coming up in a six
day span, she continues to enrich her reputation as a fighter who loves to
fight. What else can one expect from a “tita?”
Writer’s note: I would like to thank Cristina Angeli and Bruce Anderson for
their assistance in arranging the interview with Kelsey.
#
# #
#
For Online IWBHF Tickets for
Next Event!
Check Our Next Annual International
Women's Boxing Hall of Fame Event that we have to celebrate hour IWBHF
Inductees and Special Award Recipients!
Next Event, Go Here!
Our Online
WBAN/IWBHF Online Store
Proceeds from the Online Store is to
continue our mission to support the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S BOXING HALL OF
FAME. The Official collection includes IWBHF and WBAN Merchandise and
Memorabilia from the WBAN Boxing Collection. We will continue to list
items from the collection and merchandise. |
|
