(JULY 5) According to the German
press, Ina Menzer insisted on fighting Jeannine Garside for her
voluntary title defence of the WIBF, WBC & WBO titles. The reason
for this, was the Boxrec ranking, which had Garside ranked above the
26-0-0 triple world champion. Menzer was annoyed that a fighter with
3 losses on her 13 fight record was rated above her, and she
insisted that she wanted to put the record straight. Last night
proved, that the record was straight all along.
(Apparently Menzer was not the
only one puzzled by the boxrec rating. The German TV commentator
insinuated before the fight, that Garside's beautiful blond hair
and nice bikini photos could have influenced the person
responsible for the rating. My guess is, that his night snack
was a good helping of humble pie)
Menzer has very little experience fighting southpaws, and
although her technical skills are probably superior to
Garside's, she wasn't able to put it to any use against the very
determined and aggressive southpaw.
Menzer let the fight happen on
Garside's premises and was heavily punished for it. At no time
did Menzer seem to be in control. Particularly in the sixth
round, that was disastrous for the defending champion, when she
was caught by several hard lefts, and had to turn and run to
avoid further punishment.
Garside was comfortable ahead
before the final round, but that did not deter her from
continuing her aggressive style. She sent Menzer to the floor,
but she did not get any credit for it.as the referee ruled it a
slip. Judging by the TV pictures it did look like the effect of
a punch. Fortunately it did not have any influence on the
outcome of the fight. The 3 judges scored it 98-92, 96-94 &
96-94 all for Garside.
Menzer was very gracious about
her defeat, and congratulated Garside on the deserved win. She
appologized to the fans, for her poor performance, and explained
that she never found a concept against the unusual style of
Garside.
Jeannine Garside returned the
compliments both to her opponent and to Universum Promotions.
She said that Menzer was the best boxer she has fought, and that
she had been treated with a lot of respect and taken well care
of in Germany. All in all, Germany was a wonderful experience
for her.
Ina Menzer häs lost her 3 world titles, but she is still a very
good a skillful boxer. Hopefully she will not be discouraged by
the loss, but fight her way back to the top and prove her
championship potential.
