Ali’i Warrior Falls to Nava Via Unanimous Decision in Saturday’s
Bout in Cancun
After Kelsey Jeffries faced Mexican fighter Jackie Nava in the WBC Female Super Bantamweight title fight, boxing legend Roberto Duran put his arm around Jeffries and told her what she already knew:
“You won the fight. But you’re in Mexico and you’re not going to win.”
Thanks to a small, but memorable mistake Saturday night in Cancun at the WBC Night of Champions, Jeffries lost her first match since July 2003. Nava retained the WBC title by a 98-91, 96-94, 96-93 unanimous decision.
In the first three rounds, Jeffries dictated the fight. She aggressively went after Nava, putting the 25-year-old on the defensive. The third round ended with the “Ali’i Warrior of the South Bay” forcing Nava into a corner and landing two clean rights on the 25-year-old.
But a split-second exposure in the fourth round caused the turning point. Jeffries (33-9) slipped off-balance and Nava made her move, connecting a right hook with the left side of Jeffries’ head.
Jeffries collapsed to one knee and was up before the referee could start counting. The stunned but unharmed fighter tried to get the ref to call a slip instead of a knockdown, but it was too late.
“That was a changing moment in the fight,” Jeffries said. “She hit me at the perfect time.”
With her focus rattled, Jeffries lost control of the next round and a half.
“The thing is, it was just traumatizing,” said Bruce Anderson, Jeffries’ manager. “It got her out of her focus.”
Jeffries regrouped and charged back in the later rounds, cutting Nava (13-1-1) and giving her two black eyes. But Nava stayed tough.
“The girl had a chin of stone,” Jeffries said.
In the end, it was Jeffries’ fall that would ultimately stay with the judges.
“(Nava) was tough, tough girl,” Anderson said. “When (Nava) won a round, she won big. Those were dramatic rounds and they’re indelible.”
Before the match, Jeffries had said she would have to “knock (Nava) out just to get a draw,” seeing as Nava was the home favorite. Cancun’s Plaza de Toros, the venue for the fight, reflected that.
“Oh, God, it was so loud,” Jeffries said of the venue which, she added, heated to a sweltering 90-100 degrees in the over-crowded conditions. “They were definitely cheering for Jackie. At moments, some chanted my name and that was impressive coming from a Mexican crowd. It was pretty cool they were cheering for the while girl from California.”
Although the showing didn’t benefit Jeffries record or earn her a title, Anderson said the fight, which was witnessed by many important boxing figures (like Duran), left spectators with a good impression of women’s boxing.
“It was a great fight. There were people there, fighters who said that the girls could show the men how to fight,” Anderson said. “(Kelsey) got respect.”
Ana Patejdl covers sports for South Valley Newspapers. She can be reached at
ap******@gi************.com
.
