(SEPT 22) A vocal crowd estimated at more than 3,000 crammed into the "Boxing Under the Stars" event Friday at Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to watch WIBA super-featherweight champion Jeannine "G9" Garside of Windsor, Ontario (now 8-0-1, 3 KOs) take on fellow undefeated rival Brooke "No Mercy" Dierdorff (now 4-1-1, 3 KOs) of Elgin, Illinois, in a much-anticipated women’s showdown.

Garside came out aggressively, sending Dierdorff down for a flash knockdown at the end of the first round with an extended flurry along the ropes.

Showing her toughness, Dierdorff, recovered well and the next five rounds were a festival of power punching that had the crowd roaring at every turn of momentum. Back and forth the two women went, first one taking the initiative and then the other.
 

Ultimately, Garside's heavier hands were the difference. She dropped Dierdorff again in the third and twice more in the sixth before finally earning the TKO from referee Frank Garza at 1:10.

Afterward, an elated Garside expressed her desire to unify the division, while Dierdorff claimed she “wasn’t herself in there,” and hoped for a rematch.

A special thanks to Sports writer Andre Courtemanche and photographer Scott Statson for this exclusive!