SAN JOSE
–– The tale of the tape was a non-factor in Thursday’s Fight
Night At The Tank semi-featured bout between hometown girl Kelsey
‘The Road Warrior’ Jeffries and Ohio-native Kelli Cofer.
Cofer was taller
– giving her the reach advantage – and Cofer was bigger – giving
her more meat to the punch.
SAN JOSE –– The tale of the tape was a non-factor in Thursday’s Fight Night At The Tank semi-featured bout between hometown girl Kelsey ‘The Road Warrior’ Jeffries and Ohio-native Kelli Cofer.
Cofer was taller – giving her the reach advantage – and Cofer was bigger – giving her more meat to the punch.
But Jeffries was faster and smarter, and fighting in the arena where she has never been beat in four previous bouts.
That did not change last night as the garlic-trained IBFA World Champion successfully defended her title for a third time – winning by a unanimous decision over Cofer. Jeffries was given a 98-92 edge on two judges’ scorecards and a 97-93 edge on the other.
“I caught her with some good hooks and I could tell she wanted to go down, but she kept holding and I couldn’t get my distance on her,” said Jeffries, who upped her pro record to 23-8 with one knockout. “I was trying to be smart because I knew she would try to throw something at me.”
At the start of each round, Cofer would lunge at Jeffries – trying to surprise her early with a wild combination. But like the seasoned fighter she is, Jeffries would block the attack and counter when her hands were free.
“We’ve known a couple of gals that fought her and they all said the same thing. She was real lean and awkward and moves a little bit different,” trainer Rick Noble said. “We knew she wasn’t a regular orthodox fighter where you can almost predict the move. It was hard with her.”
After feeling out Cofer for a majority of the opening round and into the second, Jeffries began slipping some uppercuts underneath Cofer’s guard. At the end of the second, Jeffries snuck a left hook in, absorbed a retaliatory blow from Cofer, and then planted her with another.
“We were wanting Kelsey to go to the body and try to slow her down, make the ring a little bit smaller and a little bit smaller,” Noble said. “We felt that she started doing that in the mid rounds. She was getting a little bit closer and a little bit closer. But the gal would crowd her a little bit.”
Cofer never ran – like most of Jeffries’ opponents try to do to avoid her power punches. But any time Jeffries would get in tight, there was a lot of holding and leaning going on by Cofer.
“She was awkward. She would hold me. I would get my distance right, but she would crowd me too much,” Jeffries said. “I had to keep moving when she came in. She just kept holding.”
Cofer’s best round came in the third when she connected on a right cross and then a quick combination to the head. Jeffries never looked phased, but Cofer finished the round off strong.
In the fourth round, Jeffries landed her first solid shot to the head with a big sweeping left. Cofer did not pull out – trying to counter punch only to have Jeffries come with another stiff left.
“We knew it was going to be awkward. We weren’t sure we would score as much as we did because she’s so tall and lean and moves back,” Noble said. “She was scoring the head shots. We thought there would be more to the body, but actually she landed more good head shots.”
After Jeffries began to land even more shots to Cofer’s nose and chin in the fifth round, the garlic slinger connected with a flurry of punches to the head – switching from her left to right hand. Cofer looked hurt for the first time and leaned over forward a little in exhaustion. Before the bell in the sixth, Jeffries landed with a slew of right-left combinations.
“I felt good. I started getting busy on my shots. I started thinking about coming up,” said Jeffries, who went to the body and worked her way up to the head. “I don’t think she likes to get hit.”
Following a couple of even exchanges in the seventh round, Jeffries came out in the eighth to the crowd chanting her name. Jeffries responded with several combinations and then a big uppercut, while Cofer was tiring and missing her punches.
“It happened in the eighth round. That’s when I said, ‘Kelsey, don’t crowd yourself. Give yourself some room,'” Noble said. “So the gal came in and she started stepping back and punching. She got more room that way.”
With Cofer all punched out, Jeffries’ stamina took over as she connected the better shots through the final two rounds.
“She didn’t run,” Jeffries said. “She started moving and hitting me real good. I started walking into stuff and then I started getting a little smart, stepping around, and going to her body.”
Jeffries – who trains at the Gilroy Community Youth Center Gym on Sixth Street and resides in Hollister – received some helpful tips from title-contender-turned-trainer James ‘Buddy’ McGirt, who worked with her in Florida for a week but was not at ringside.
“That helped a lot. It helped my strength,” Jeffries said. “A little increment of a change, but I could tell I’m sitting down more, I’m getting a lot more power with my punches, and my confidence is a little bit better.”
Noble was happy his fighter got a chance to work with Jeffries and gave her similar advice about her approach and style.
“He did a really good job with her. She needed to go some place that was strictly a boot camp where she needed to work. Now she has that base,” Noble said. “Buddy and I are thinking along the same terms on what she needs to work on. Hopefully, Buddy will continue to help her out and I’ll continue what he’s trying to do.”
Jeffries had a little bruise above her left eye after the fight. The busy fighter will fight again on Dec. 12 in Yacama, Washington to keep on her fight-per-month schedule.
“She has to make a living,” Noble said. “She’s going for it.”
