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5'7" lightweight Jelena Mrdjenovich was born in Hay River in
Canada's Northwest Territories on June 24, 1982 and now boxes out of the Panther
Gym in Edmonton, Alberta.
Mrdjenovich played basketball for the University of Alberta and tore her
ACL. While convalescing she watched boxing on TV and her father, a long-time
boxing fan, suggested that she might find it a good sport. She headed to the gym
once she had healed up, and never looked back.
She had
15 amateur bouts (including exhibitions). On January 20, 2002 in the 60-kg final of the 2002 Canadian National
Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario, Jelena lost by a 50-31
tally to the formidable Debbie Richards of London, Ontario to take the
silver medal. (Richards was the 1998 Canadian national
champion, defeating future pro star Jaime Clampitt, and was voted "best boxer" in this 2002
tournament. She went on to win the 2003 and 2004 Canadian national championships.)
Since turning pro, Mrdjenovich has been trained by family friend Milan Lubovac.
“He originally started coaching me because of my dad," says Mrdjenovich.
"I left my old gym, and started training with him and we get along really
well. He has coached just about everybody. His big fighter was Tony Badea. I
think I have full trust and confidence in Milan, who is my coach, my promoter,
my matchmaker. We’re taking steps, we’re going about it the right way. I know a
lot of people would like to see me jump in against someone who is 20-0, 16-0.
Right now I am fighting people with my ring experience, which I should be.”
On January 24, 2003 at Shaw Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberta,
a nearly full house of 1100 saw Jelena (134 lbs) win her pro debut over
Cathy Boyes (135 lbs) of Kamloops, British Columbia by TKO at 1:19 in the fourth
round of a scheduled four-rounder. Mrdjenovich overpowered Boyes, who had yet to
notch a win in five pro bouts. Mrdjenovich moved
Boyes around the ring with ease, landing telling combinations and digging
left hooks. The bout was stopped after Boyes was wobbled by a hard right to
the head. "Jelena showed her strength and pushed her around," said
Mrdjenovich's trainer Milan Lubovac.
"She showed she was professional enough to beat her up and made it look easy."
"It felt good to end it the way I did", said Mrdjenovich. Boyes, who fell to
0-5 had previously served as a stepping stone for the pro boxing careers of several
other Canadian fighters, including Olivia Gerula in 1998 and Jaime Clampitt in
2000, but she hadn't fought professionally since losing to Clampitt in September
2000.
On September 12, 2003 at Crowne Plaza-Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton, Jelena (130
lbs) advanced to 2-0-0 (2 KO) with an easy first-round KO of
pro debuter Robin Bealieu (130 lbs) of Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
 On
December 5, 2003 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (130 lbs) improved to 3-0-0 (2 KO) with a four-round majority (38-38,39-37,39-37) decision over
Olga Heron (129 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario. Mrdjenovich had the size and strength advantage
over Heron but Olga kept pressing forward to
make it an exciting fight. Mrdjenovich was frequently warned for dirty tactics
and had a point deducted for pushing Heron's head down. Heron fell to 3-2-0 (1 KO)
after two tough back-to-back losses.
On January 16, 2004 at Fort Garry Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,
Jelena (135 lbs) improved her pro record
to 4-0-0 (3 KO) with a TKO over unranked
Shannon Gunville (131 lbs) of Bismarck, North Dakota who fell to
1-1-0 (0 KO) when she failed to answer the bell for the third round.
 On May 14 2004 at Crowne Plaza in Edmonton,
700 fans saw Jelena (135½ lbs) knock out Ragan Pudwill (135 lbs) of Mandan, North Dakota
in the first round. Mrdjenovich scored three knockdowns on the way to the KO.
She had no trouble working her jab against the shorter Pudwill,
and used this to frustrate the American and set up other punches. About one minute
into the round she backed Pudwill into the ropes and landed a hard left hook to body
followed by a left-hook to the head that dropped Pudwill. Pudwill got up to only be dropped
again by a one-two combination to her body. She got off the canvas but was dropped
a third time by a left hook to the body.
Pudwill had previously gone four rounds with Mia St. John and and been stopped in the fourth round by
Jaime Clampitt.
“She did better than
ever,” said Mrdjenovich’s coach Milan Lubovac. “She was physically ready, but I didn’t want her to stop her that fast, I
wanted more rounds.” Mrdjenovich was pleased with her win, saying "This win shows me that I am doing
the right things. The jab and the body punching worked well.” The win raised Mrdjenovich’s record to 5-0 with 4
KO’s, and dropped Pudwill to 3-10.
On June 25, 2004 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs) won a
clear six-round unanimous (60-54,60-54,59-55) decision in a rematch with Olga Heron
(128 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario.
This fight was not a crowd-pleaser
as Heron’s defensive style and Mrdjenovich’s eagerness to score a KO
led to more holding and wrestling than clean hitting. Mrdjenovich scored points in the first two rounds with a steady
barrage of jabs and left hook combo to the body and head, but her preferred
tactic until the near the end of the fight appeared to be a lead left
hook followed by a forearm to the side of Heron's head and pushing her opponent's head down.
Although she was
warned numerous times, no points were deducted. Mrdjenovich was less effective
than usual with her jab, despite having a clear reach advantage and
was not pleased with her performance.
“I didn’t do anything we worked on in training,” she said. “I fought her fight. I got frustrated,
her coming under the jab. I should have stepped out and let her come to me. She
executed everything really well and I think I got frustrated.” Heron fell
to 5-8-2 with this loss.
 On September 24, 2004 at the Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jelena (130 lbs) started slow, got behind, then knocked out local favorite Olivia Gerula Pereira (128 lbs)
at 1:13 in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder. Pereira fell straight back
onto the canvas from a left hook, hit her head on the canvas, and needed several minutes
to recover. Mrdjenovich improved to 7-0-0 (5 KO) with the win, dropping Pereira
to 5-8-2 with her first loss by KO.
"I'm certainly happy with the way this one ended," said Mrdjenovich.
"It took me three rounds to get going, but I cracked at the end of the third
and if I'd have had two more seconds, I could have ended it right there.
In the fourth, I knew she was hurt. I hit her with a clean hit right and then
followed the second with a left hook and that
was it."
According to Jelena's trainer Milan Lubovac: "Jelena doesn't like anything negative around her. I believe she started slow because she was fighting in a different town
against a girl who'd never been stopped before and in her hometown. I got a little upset with her and told her she had to
start punching. I told her that if (Pereira) was going to let her hit her that she had to put her away. She got punching and
that was it."
On October 15, 2005 at the Radisson Hotel at the airport in Calgary, Alberta, Jelena
(132 lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-54) decision over an aggressive Tracy Carlton
(133 lbs) of Compton, California. Mrdjenovich battered the tough, 5'10" Californian
throughout the fight, dishing out punishing combinations behind a stiff jab.
Each round followed the same script, with Carlton coming out throwing
punches and Mrdjenovich using her defense to slip or deflect most of the
incoming blows. Mrdjenovich would then press forward behind her jab and land
almost at will later in the round.
As the fight progressed Mrdjenovich’s superior conditioning also became a big
advantage. Carlton fell to 0-6-1 with the loss.
"The key for me fighting better has been to relax more," said Mrdjenovich.
"By fighting six instead of four rounds, I don't
have to rush. I can relax and just let my hands go instead of tensing up and hoping to score the big knockout.
"Even when I'm relaxed, I still have my power. In Winnipeg, the first two rounds I tried too hard and tensed up. In the
third and fourth, I felt like I wasn't even punching her but the power was there."
On November 12, 2004 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena won a six-round unanimous
(58-55,57-56,57-56) decision over Lisa Lewis of Fresno, California. Lewis
aggressively pressured Jelena throughout the bout while Mrdjenovich tried to
outbox her. The turning point came in the fourth when Mrdjenovich decked Lewis
with a big overhand right. Lewis got up quickly and continued to pressure
Mrdjenovich, but the knockdown provided an edge for Jelena on the final scorecards. Lewis fell to 7-10.
“She kept coming forward, she wouldn’t stop coming,” said Mrdjenovich.
“She made me work. She was tough." Milan Lubovac said that the bout
was a good leaning tool for his fighter. “Lewis has fought a couple of
world champions, and went the distance with them and has never been dropped in
her life, so it is a good experience.”
On February 12, 2005, at the Ramada Inn City Centre in Edmonton, former IFBA
Featherweight and GBU Junior Welterweight champion Layla
McCarter (133 lbs) of Las Vegas handed Jelena (132½ lbs) her first loss with
a one-sided (59-55,59-55,59-56) six round unanimous decision. McCarter dominated
this bout from the opening bell and right through the six-round bout.
"My trainer told me to come out, fake the jab and throw a right. I did and it
landed perfectly," said McCarter, "that set the pace and I think I earned
a bit of respect from Jelena." McCarter proceeded to dominate the bout
with her combinations. Mrdjenovich landed her best shot of the night in the
final round, but it was too little too late. McCarter improved to 18-11-4 (2 KOs).
Mrdjenovich had a different take on the loss:
"I thought it was a draw. She never hurt me and I know I hurt her. Had it
gone two more rounds, I know it would have been a different story. What I
learned most is that I have to punch to win - I have to let my hands go. I
can't win a fight waiting to counter-punch and looking for the KO.''
On March 16, 2005 at Ranchman's Bar in Calgary, Jelena
(132 lbs) fought a rematch with Tracy Carlton (130 lbs) of Compton, California, this time
winning a scheduled six-rounder by a TKO at 1:14 in the second round. Mrdjenovich
went to the canvas in the first round but she says "While Tracy and I
were in a clinch, she was laying on my back with all of her weight and I
fell down." Carlton faded in the second
and referee Len Koivisto stopped the bout when Carlton failed to fight back
after Jelena pinned her on the ropes with combinations. Carlton fell to 0-8-1.
Accordng to Jelena, "The reason why I
fought Tracy Carlton again, was because that is who the promoters insisted
on bringing down to fight (I guess that she is moving to Calgary and is now
going to be trained out of there) . So really I had no choice in who the
opponent was, the only choice that I had was whether or not I wanted to
fight."
 On April 23, 2005 at Shaw Convention Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena had little difficulty dispensing with
Shakurah Witherspoon of Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, winning by a TKO at 1:50 in the first round of a scheduled
six-rounder. Jelena staggered Witherspoon with a left to the body and
then banged away with lefts and rights. Near the end, Mrdjenovich backed off
a slumped-over Witherspoon before wailing away again until referee Len
Koivisto stopped the one-sided barrage. "I realized that I have a lot
of juice," said Mrdjenovich, "I can go six rounds
two minutes, ten rounds two minutes - as many as I can dish out. I'm not
going back. I want to leave it all out there for everybody to see." Witherspoon fell to 11-40-1.
 On June 18, 2005 at Shaw Convention Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena (134 lbs) obtained a measure of revenge over
Layla McCarter (129½ lbs) of Las Vegas, with an
eight-round unanimous (78-75,79-74, 79-73) decision. McCarter
tried to use her speed and movement to control Mrdjenovich in the early
rounds but Mrdjenovich used her jab more effectively than in their first
encounter and also landed left hooks to the body and head. McCarter caught
Mrdjenovich with a hard left to start the third, but Mrdjenovich also landed
some good flurries. McCarter came on in the fourth but Mrdjenovich took over
the fight after McCarter suffered a broken radial bone in her forearm in the
fifth, and dominated the later rounds as McCarter gamely fought on
essentially one-handed from a southpaw stance. McCarter landed several hard
rights in the eighth but could not recover from Mrdjenovich's control of the
middle of the fight. On several occasions the ring doctor asked McCarter if
she wanted to continue, but the Las Vegas fighter toughed it out and
survived the last three rounds. The bout was the main event of
Canada's first all-female pro boxing card in the "A Ring of Their Own"
series.
"I'm a lot bigger than her. I feel I did what I had to do and I had a lot of
fun doing it. I wanted to come out hard and I took a little too much
time feeling her out. I didn't execute quite like I wanted to, but this is
still one of my better performances", said Mrdjenovich. "I didn't
approach things like I should have when she was hurt, and I didn't finish
her off, but I showed what I could do. I wanted to box and not just brawl.
She had to resort to a lot of holding and head-butting."
Team McCarter told WBAN "We came back from
the hospital and Layla broke her forearm in two pieces, she will need
surgery as soon we get back to Las Vegas, she probably be out for three
months." McCarter fell to 18-12-4 (2 KOs) with the loss.
"The only thing I have to do with her is try to get her over her stage
fright," said trainer Lubovac. "She has to listen to me
more and not to what people tell her and not to what she tells herself. I know what she had to do to lift her up to better fights. Now we have to
back track a bit before we move her up in
class again. She has to believe in herself and that she is one of the
biggest punchers and one of the best in the business. And to win, she has to
punch."
On August 27, 2005 at Chestermere Lake,
Alberta, Jelena won a fourth-round TKO over Leanne Villareal of Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Mrdjenovich improved to 13-1 (8 KOs) with this win while
Villareal fell to 1-4-1 (1 KO).
Jelena tags Alcanter with a left
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 18, 2005 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, 2200 enthusiastic fans saw Jelena (128¾ lbs) win the WBC and WIBF
Junior Lightweight titles with a sixth-round KO of Franchesca Alcanter (5'4",
129 lbs) of Kansas City. Mrdjenovich entered the ring to thunderous applause and
came out boxing in the opening rounds, using her jab, ring movement, left hooks
and body shots to control Alcanter in the first two sessions. At the end of the
third Mrdjenovich rocked Alcanter with a big left hook followed by an overhand
right. Alcanter mounted a comeback in the fourth, landing three hard shots
at close quarters but Mrdjenovich regained control with another hard left hook
before the end of the session. In the fifth, Alcanter tried to brawl and kept
Mrdjenovich against the ropes and in a corner.
Francesca Alcanter on the canvas in the sixth
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
At the beginning of the sixth Mrdjenovich, who had been told to
"get to work" by her corner, knocked Alcanter's mouthguard out with an
overhand right. She later used a second overhand right to move Alcanter into the
path of a left hook that dropped her flat on her back on the canvas. Alcanter
tried to beat the count and made it to her knees at six but the fight was waved
off at the 0:44 mark by referee Len Kovisto. The 32-year-old Alcanter fell to
15-7-2 (8 KOs) with this loss while Mrdjenovich improved to 14-1 (9 KOs).
For more of Mary Ann Owen's photos of this
fight card, see MPEG/Photo Gallery #306
on the WBAN Records Member Site.
"It's only been about three years and I couldn't have dreamt it
better for myself," said Jelena. "You have to believe your coach when he
tells you you're going to be a world champ in three years, and here it is."
On March 24, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, Jelena easily overcame Donna Biggers
of South Carolina in a defense of her WBC Junior Lightweight title. Biggers
retired after the second round of an unequal contest in which the American
absorbed heavy punishment in the first two rounds and then retired.
Mrdjenovich found her range early and
pummelled Biggers with a barrage of left hooks and straight rights. The assault
led to the ferocious right at the end of the first that almost knocked Biggers
through the ropes. "As soon as I hit her hard a couple of times, I knew she
was in trouble,"
said
Mrdjenovich. "I hurt her and I jumped right on her." Biggers stayed on
her feet in the second despite taking more punishment, but ended the round
bleeding from the nose and had her left eye nearly closed, according to a
ringside report by Scott Zerr of the Edmonton Sun. Biggers, who was unranked by WBAN, fell to
17-3-1 (15 KO's).
On May 20, 2006 in Yellowknife, Canada, Jelena (130 lbs)
KO’d Franchesca Alcanter (130 lbs) of Kansas City in the fifth round in a
rematch of their November bout. Mrdjenovich retained her IWBF
Junior Lightweight title
with this win in her former home town.
On June 23, 2006
at the Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Jelena (133 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(97-93, 97-93,99-92) decision over Mia St. John
(134 lbs) of Los Angeles. to win the WIBF Lightweight title. St. John fell to 43-7-2 (18 KOs).
On September
1, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
Jelena (133 lbs) won by a six-round unanimous
(59-55x3) decision over Olga Heron (130 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario in a second
rematch. Heron fell to 4-7-0 (1 KO) while Mrdjenovich improved to 18-1
(11 KOs).
Jelena battles Ann-Marie Saccurato in November 2006
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 4, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton,
Alberta, Jelena (133 lbs) lost by a split (96-94,96-94,94-96)
ten-round unanimous decision to Ann-Marie
Saccurato (135 lbs) of New York City for the vacant WBC Lightweight
title. Ann-Marie Saccurato improved
her record to 12-1-2 (5 KOs)
with the win.
On February 10, 2007 at the Delta South Hotel, in Edmonton,
Canada, a sold out crowd saw Jelena (130½ lbs) win an eight-round unanimous
(77-75,78-74,79-73) decision over Belinda Laracuente
(127 lbs) of the Bronx, New York. Mrdjenovich told the local news media
that it was hard to fight Laracuente because she kept her hands so low, and
backs up a lot. She also said that Laracuente was tough and talented. Laracuente
said after the fight that Mrdjenovich was “a great champion.” Jelena
advanced to 19-2 (11 KOs) while
Laracuente fell to
22-17-3 (9 KOs), her losses being to the cream of
the competition in women's boxing.
On April 13, 2007 at Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(99-91,98-92,98-92) decision over Emiko Raika (129 lbs) of Japan for the WBC
Junior Lightweight Title. Raika had few answers
for Mrdjenovich's right hand and was in trouble in the fourth
and fifth rounds, but rallied in the sixth. "She came straight forward
all night, but when she bent over at the waist to try to get inside, she was
wide open for my uppercut", said Mrdjenovich. Raika fell to
16-3-1 (6 KO's) while Mrdjenovich improved to 20-2-0
(11 KOs).
On September 28, 2007 at Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena (133½ lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (99-91) decision
over Kelli Cofer (131 lbs) of Willard, Ohio for the
WIBF Lightweight title. Mrdjenovich was too strong
for the southpaw Cofer, who she outfought at close quarters. Cofer was
bloodied in the fourth round and had to to convince her corner to allow her
to continue in the fight. Mrdjenovich improved to 21-2-0 (11 KOs)
while dropping Cofer to 13-6-4 (4 KOs).
On December 7, 2007 at the Shaw Conference Centre,
in Edmonton, Jelena was held to a ten-round draw (96-94,94-96,95-95)
by Dominga Olivo of Monticello, New York. Jelena retained her
WBC Junior Lightweight title belt but was quoted in a post fight interview
in the Edmonton Journal as saying “I really don't understand these
judges. I outboxed her, out-countered her, I had better defence, better
offence. When I heard those scores I was shocked. It's almost like the
judges expect me to come out strong and when I change my style a bit I get
penalized for it." However, as
detailed on WBAN by writer Bernie McCoy, the real issue may have been a
less than convincing outing by Mrdjenovich against a surprisingly difficult
opponent with a potent overhand right than any mis-call by the judges. Olivo,
who previously had a strong career as an amateur and was coming off an
eight-round majority decision loss to Layla McCarter last June, moved her
record to 5-2-1 (0 KOs).
On March 28, 2008 at the
Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Layla McCarter
(132.6 lbs) of Las Vegas won a 10-round split decision over Jelena (134.8
lbs). McCarter was defending her WBA Lightweight title. Final judges scores
were 96-94, 96-94, and 94-96.
Mrdjenovich was cut on the lip, then the nose and then a large gash on the
right side of her face. While McCarter appeared to be in control --
especially in the early rounds -- she could feel the momentum shifting.
"I thought I dominated the first five rounds." she said, "but then I
let the tide turn. The second half of the fight was so close. It was hard to
call. I was nervous." Once again, Team Mrdjenovich complained
about the home town officiating. Mrdjenovich's trainer Milan Lubovac blamed
the loss on "lousy refereeing. You can't get a good decision in this
city." Asked about the decision, Mrdjenovich said "I'm disappointed.
But I'm not surprised in Edmonton." (Before the fight, WBAN had ranked
McCarter #3 at lightweight, and Mrdjenovich #4.)
On September 12, 2008
at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (133 lbs) won
an eight-round unanimous (77-75,77-75,77-75) decision over Lakeysha Williams
(129 lbs) of Philadelphia, PA, who fell to 9-14-3 (1 KO) while Mrdjenovich moved to 22-2-1 (11 KOs).
According to a
report by Chris O'Leary, "Mrdjenovich came out of her
corner with some zip to her punch in her first match since hurting her knee
while fighting Layla McCarter on March 28. Mrdjenovich showered Williams
with combos to the head and face early in the bout to set a dominant tone.
Not one to back down, Williams absorbed a lot of punishment and stuck around
long enough to dish some back to Mrdjenovich. Tensions overflowed in the
later rounds, with the two going toe-to-toe from the fifth round through to
the eighth and final round."
On November 7, 2008 at the
Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs) successfully defended
her WBC super featherweight title against Lyndsey Scragg (129½ lbs) of
Wednesbury, U.K. by a 10-round unanimous (96-93,98-90,96-93) decision.
According to a
report by Murray Greig in the Edmonton Sun, "Maximizing
her five-inch height advantage by doubling hooks off a piston-like jab,
Mrdjenovich floored Scragg in the first and seventh rounds, but both times
the feisty Brit rebounded and reloaded to give as good as she got. 'Except
for the knockdowns, I thought we won," Erroll Johnson, Scragg's
trainer/manager said afterward. "Lyndsey was scoring heavily to the body on
the inside, but obviously the judges weren't seeing that." Mrdjenovich
disagreed, saying "She was tough, but I didn't think it was close at all. We
knew she'd gamble by trying to go to the body, but that left her head wide
open. Once I was able to set up the hook off the jab, I rocked her every
time I doubled up. She was definitely one of my tougher opponents, I give
her full marks for coming all the way from Britain and fighting as hard as
she did. I think we gave the crowd a great show." Mrdjenovich
advanced to 23-3-1 (11 KO's) with the win while Scragg dropped to 7-1-0 (3
KO's) with her first pro loss.
When she isn't boxing, Jelena manages the Nova Inn hotel and restaurant in
Edmonton. "Boxing is challenging to me, mentally
and physically, and I enjoy the hard work," she says. "Having to be hit
over and over again, having to deal with it and push through, it's kind of like
chess," she says. "You have to show one thing and do another and plan
your moves carefully."
Other Jelena Mrdjenovich links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
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