(NOV 26) Multi-world champion
Chevelle Hallback has a thirty-five fight record and has fought
boxing veterans such as Bonnie Canino, Lucia Rijker and Layla
McCarter. Among those thirty-five names are Melissa Hernandez (11-1)
and Holly Holm (25-1), who will meet December 4th, in a defense of
Holm's WIBA welterweight title.
Chevelle fought Hernandez to a
draw in February 2008, in a rough toe-to-toe battle, and lost a
unanimous decision to Holm in May 2007. What does Hallback think
of the pending "Bad Blood" bout between Holm and Hernandez? Is
Melissa Hernandez too small for Holly Holm? Will their styles
make for an exciting match? What did Hallback observe in her
bouts with both women that could define who emerges the winner?
Hallback is honest and to the point about her fight with Holly.
"The fight with Holly was a tough one for the mere fact, I was
trying to fight at very high altitude after coming off an almost
two year layoff”, she said, and continued. "I really did not
think that would be a major factor coming into the fight, but
after the first round, I realized that it was a huge problem and
it was very difficult (to impossible) for me to adjust. But not
making any excuses", she said, "Holly had a great fight plan and
fought a good fight. She had great ring general ship and was
able to keep me at bay. Even though she never hurt me during the
fight, I can say I still felt her punches and there was some
power behind her punches," she admitted. "I was very lethargic
and slow in that fight and really didn't throw that many punches
and Holly took great advantage of that and made me look like an
overrated fighter that night. It was a good fight for her but if
I would have waited and prepared a little better for the
altitude, it would have been a great fight for the both of us."
Fighting Melissa Hernandez presented a very different challenge
for Hallback. "My fight with Melissa was tougher then my fight
with Holly because I was in the ring with a good friend," she
said. "I know you’re supposed to leave friendship out the ring
and pick it back up once the fight is over, but that was easier
said then done...and as you notice, I said WAS. Anyway, I held
back a lot when I fought Melissa and I only did enough, what I
thought I needed to do, to win the fight." Still Hallback gives
her friend credit for her determination and her ability to face
her toe-to-toe. "Melissa did a great job of adjusting to the
point where she was able to avoid a lot of my punches and was
able to land quite of few of her own during the later rounds. I
was very proud of Melissa that night because she came up in
weight to fight a much stronger fighter, adjusted when she
needed too, and fought with a lot of heart. Even though I held
back some on my punches, I still hit Melissa with some clean
hard shots and she was able to weather the storm."
Both fighters possess strengths and even have some chinks in
their armor; Hallback is acquainted with those points as well.
"Holly's strong points," she said, "is that she seems to stick
to her game plan no matter; she is very technical, she sticks to
basic boxing, and to top it all off, she is very well
conditioned. The only weak point that I see is that even though
she moves a lot in the ring, she only seems to move in one
direction. That could be a problem if she ever runs into a
fighter the can capitalize on that. What she recognizes in
Melissa is "she is a very talented fighter with a lot of heart
and determination. She also has great movement going both
directions. She is willing to get in there with anyone, at any
size, and willing to mix it up. Her weakness is that sometimes
she gets a little wide when throwing her punches and that could
be a problem if she is fighting against a fighter that punches
straight down the pipe. She does not sit down on her punches
and, a lot of times, that minimizes her power. If she is going
to continue to fight the bigger girls, she is going to need some
power to keep them off of her."
After thinking about both fighters and the bout, Hallback
regards it as a good match due to both Holly and Melissa’s
competitive spirit. "I think this is going to be a good fight
just because you have a fighter that is determined to keep the
status of the best female fighter pound for pound against a
fighter that says she is the best female fighter pound for
pound." Her prediction on who emerges the winner? "I do not have
a prediction," Halback said. "Both are friends of mine and I
want them both to do a great job and show that female boxing is
here to stay."
"Bad Blood" is a joint promotion by Fresquez Productions Inc.,
and Isleta Casino and Resort. Tickets are available through
Fresquez Productions Inc., 8218 Louisiana Blvd. NE, Albuquerque,
NM 87113, 505-884-7484 and via the internet at
isleta-casino.com). For more information and updates view
fresquezproductions.com and
hollyholm.com.
[Chevelle Hallback, Holly Holm, and Myriam Lamare are WBAN's
Independent belt holders. Hallback and Holm both made history in
the sport when they fought for the first ever Independent World
title bouts in June of 2008. Lamare made history by being the
first to ever fight for a WBAN Independent belt in Europe in
2009. ]