Although she revamped her nickname to match her road miles,
local champion Kelsey ‘The Road Warrior’ Jeffries is hoping to put
on a boxing display for her hometown fans on Friday at the San Jose
Civic Auditorium.
Although she revamped her nickname to match her road miles, local champion Kelsey ‘The Road Warrior’ Jeffries is hoping to put on a boxing display for her hometown fans on Friday at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
The garlic pugilist will put her title on the line against well-rounded opponent Jo Jo Wyman – who knocked down Jeffries before losing a decision in their previous encounter.
Jeffries’ long-time trainer Rick Mello is promoting the locally-based pro-am card – along with a partner – under Upfront & Undisputed Sports Entertainment. Tickets – which range from $25 up to $80 – for the seven-card event can be purchased on ticketmaster.com or at the door the day of the event starting at noon. There will be four professional bouts and three amateur bouts.
“If the fight in San Jose goes well, we’ll probably bring a fight down to Gilroy by the end of the year before the rain starts,” said Mello, who’s been looking into an outdoor fight for Jeffries at the Christmas Hill Park ampitheatre. “This is basically a pro-am. This gives the amateurs coming out a venue to fight on. It’s hard for some amateurs coming out. They are always used as opponents of other guys.”
Along with Jeffries (20-7, 1 KO) being the featured 10-round bout of the night for the first time in her career, superwelterweights James Buggs of South San Francisco and Jesse ‘Shotgun’ Martinez of San Jose will square off in another anticipated rematch.
San Jose-born heavyweight Cecil McKenzie will square off against San Diego’s Shawn Townson in a four-round bout.
In a battle of two winless welterweights, either Danny Laborin (0-9) or Israel Sandoval (0-7) will walk away with their first victory.
The featured five-round amateur bout for the 154-pound state championship will pit Enrique Gutierrez of Napa against Santiago Rodriguez of Exeter.
In a pair of four-round fights, Napa’s Jerry Herrera will take on Visalia’s Emberto Gonzalez. The other bout will be between two novices yet to be named.
The San Jose Civic Auditorium is located at 147 West San Carlos Street in San Jose across from the Hilton Hotel, where there will be an after-party following the event.
The door opens at 6 p.m. with the first fight kicking off at 7 p.m.
“You’re going to see a great night of fighting. We have fighters at the same skill levels,” Mello said. “I want to clean up boxing.”
The seven-card event was originally tagged Night of the Belles because it was going to have mostly women fights – but Jeffries and Wyman are now the only females signed up.
Jeffries – who trains at the Gilroy Community Youth Center Gymnasium on Sixth Street and resides in Hollister – endured a flash knockdown from Wyman in the opening round of their last fight before surging back to win by unanimous decision.
“This is going to be a barnburner,” Mello said. “Kelsey is ready for her. She’s primed. She wants to fight. This is definitely the last time these two are going to fight.”
