(FEB 18) One of the truly good things
about sports, particularly the sport of boxing, is that an athlete
is provided the opportunity to change what happened yesterday,
tomorrow. Not change in the sense of erase, but change in the sense
of remake. That's because boxing is not just one bout or one round
or even one furious exchange of punches in the middle of a ring. No,
boxing is a number of bouts, a number of rounds and, given the
nature of the sport, a number of furious exchanges of punches in the
middle of a number of rings. In the final analysis, those bouts,
those rounds, those punches are, retrospectively, labeled a career.
And in every boxing career, there are a number of Yesterdays and
Tomorrows.
Yesterday for Jessica Rakoczy was September 27, 2007, in the middle
of the ring at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, CA, in
the tenth round of a bout against Ann Marie Saccurato for the WBC
lightweight title. Shortly after a furious exchange of punches, just
prior to the final bell, Saccurato had the title and Rakoczy was on
the path towards thinking about Tomorrow. "I got caught with a big
punch in the seventh round and from that point on, I had trouble
seeing," Jessica Rakoczy told me, by phone, last week, from her Las
Vegas home, prior to going out for a training run, her second
workout of the day. "It was my hardest loss. I hate to lose, but
this was the hardest. But, I'm past it, I can't wait to get back in
the ring, hopefully on February 29, if arrangements can be made for
an opponent. I was set to return on December 6, but that fell
through after the opponent dropped out. I really hope the 29th
happens."
Rakoczy is beginning her eighth year as a professional boxer. She's
had thirty fights (winning 27), an average of slightly more than
four per year. She's generally regarded as a California fighter,
although last year she fought in Mississippi and, during different
times in her career, has had bouts in Indiana, Florida and Texas.
Rakoczy elaborates, "I'll go anywhere for a bout but I'm very
comfortable in California. I get good crowds at my bouts but the
primary reason I like fighting there is that I've got the best
promoter in the sport, Christian Printup. I know there are other
good promoters, but Christian, to me, is the best. Everything he
does, every move he makes, in putting together the bouts, is done
with an eye towards what's best for the sport and the fighters. And,
in this business, that's a big plus."
It's not difficult, even on a cross country phone line, to pick up
on how anxious Jessica Rakoczy is to get back into the ring. "Boxing
is what I do," she states flatly, "it's the only thing I do. I'm
always training, always working out, it's my life for the time
being. Later on, there'll be something else, maybe connected with
the sport, maybe something along the lines of acting, who knows, but
right now it's boxing and I'm ready to get in the ring, I've been
ready for a while. I hope, after February 29, to come back again,
quickly, maybe in April, but that's, entirely, up to my management
and promoter. I don't spend a lot of time, in front of a computer,
poring over the latest rankings and what other fighters are doing.
Tell me who, when and where and I'll be ready to climb into the
ring."
Rakoczy came to national attention with two action packed, hard
fought wins over Mikee Stafford in 2001. Stafford, at the time, a
promising newcomer, like Rakoczy, never seemed to be the same
fighter after those two bouts and retired 18 months later. Rakoczy
went on to wins over Lisa Lewis, Layla McCarter, Belinda Laracuente
(twice), Jane Couch, Terri Blair (twice) and Kelli Cofer. Asked
about future opposition, Rakoczy repeats her mantra, "It's entirely
up to my management and promoter. I'll fight whoever they think is
the right opponent." Rakoczy does, however, hope that somewhere on
that list of future bouts is a return with Ann Marie Saccurato,
"Hopefully, it can happen this year. Ann Marie is a great fighter
and I'd definitely like the opportunity to fight her again." That
bout, adjudged by many, including the annual WBAN awards, to be near
the top of the short list of top fights of 2007, would be a highly
anticipated main event on any boxing card, in any year.
Tomorrow might commence for Jessica Rakoczy at the end of this
month, if an opponent can be found for the 29th. Tomorrow, for
Rakoczy, however, won't be complete and Yesterday won't have a
chance at change until she is looking across the ring at the fighter
who made Yesterday so "hard." Jessica Rakoczy is a fighter who stays
active and does so with competitive and compelling bouts. That puts
her in a special category, in the sport of Women's boxing, coupled
with several other quality fighters including Ann Marie Saccurato.
If those two boxers, Rakoczy and Saccurato, do, indeed, get together
for a rematch of their memorable September bout, it will be indeed
be a Tomorrow for Jessica Rakoczy and a tomorrow worth marking on
the calendar for the fans of Women's boxing.
Bernie McCoy
