Jeffries excited about chance to showcase her talent
It’s an opportunity Kelsey Jeffries has been awaiting for a long time.
In the tough world of women’s boxing, chances to be showcased are few and far between.
Jeffries, 31, will have that chance Thursday when she takes on Rhonda Luna in a 10-round defense of her International Female Boxers Association featherweight title at the Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque, N.M. The fight will be televised by Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Period, with Jeffries’ fight scheduled to get underway at 8:10pm.
“I’ve been on TV, but I’ve never been scheduled,” said Jeffries, who left for Albuquerque on Sunday. “It’s cool. Everyone is all excited that they can watch me.”
Even more so than her desire to defend her title for an unprecedented fifth time, the “Ali’i Warrior of the South Bay” is excited about the opportunity to advance women’s boxing.
“My whole career I’ve wanted this to happen. I want to help other female boxers,” Jeffries said. “I’ve been a fighter for so long. Hopefully, I have great skills and I can showcase that and help young ladies coming up.
“I want to make a new chapter in women’s boxing in this fight. I want to create something new for women – athletes and boxers.”
In Luna, Jeffries will be facing a 28-year-old with a 11-0-1 record who fits the typical mold of a Jeffries’ opponent – big and strong.
“She’s a big girl, one of those big girls that I always seem to be up against,” Jeffries said. “She reminds me of a small heavyweight. She’s not real fast and her punches are real wide. But she looks real strong and she’s a good counter puncher. She’s a hungry fighter. She wants my belt and so its going to be a tough fight for me.”
If Jeffries is to retain the title, she knows she needs to fight intelligently.
“I’ve just got to be quick and smart,” Jeffries said. “I need my head, it’s all mental. There’s nothing physical except to absorb the pain I’m going to be in. It’s going to take a good smart mind and of course my corner – Buddy McGirt.”
Luna is going into the fight confident and believes she can take control.
“I’ll approach it like any other fight,” Luna told womenboxing.com. “It doesn’t really matter who I’m fighting. I respect everyone but I don’t fear anybody. I don’t go into a fight fighting the way that they’re going to make me fight.”
The Jeffries-Luna bout is one of the two co-features before the main event between IFBA junior middleweight champion Holly Holm and World Boxing Council lightweight champion Ann Saccurato. It’s also the first of three televised fights.
“I’m going to get people on TV tuned in and I’ve got to make ’em stay there,” Jeffries said.
