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MAYWOOD, CALI-They fought just a week ago but a lot can change in seven
days. Mia St. John and Janae Archuleta met for the second time in a
week with the same result, but the tempo increased before more than 1,200 at
the Maywood Activity Center.
"She was different this time," said Archuleta.. "She was a lot more
aggressive."
St. John attacked cautiously at first as she stuck the jab repeatedly before
Archuleta could get off a punch. It was the basic theme for all four rounds
with St. John beating Archuleta to the punch. But in the second round, left
hooks and right hands powered through Archuleta's guard.
"She was real strong in this fight," Archuleta (4-9-1) said of St. John. "I
felt I hit her with some good right hands, but she was a lot more aggressive
in this fight."
Perhaps because she was fighting locally for the first time in almost four
years, St. John seemed to bite down harder on her mouthpiece and put
together some powerful combinations. Several times it looked as if Archuleta
was about to fold. But she didn't.
"She's a really tough girl that's why I like to fight her," said St. John
who has fought Archuleta several times. "She won't quit. I hit her hard a
couple of times and she just stood there. It got me mad."
St. John was angry because she felt a knockout was within reach but
Archuleta fought back with some solid right hands. But each time they
exchanged, St. John's punches reached first.
In the third round, St. John could not miss with a left hand whether it was
a jab or a short left hook. In the fourth it was right hands that repeatedly
found the mark.
"She always comes to fight. She won't lay down for anybody," said St. John
who fights again on Nov. 6 in Louisiana then on Dec. 3 in Tucson, Arizona.
"I was cautious at first because I don't want to get cut before my title
belt."
Scheduled to face Puerto Rico's Belinda Laracuente for the WIBA lightweight
world title, the brunette bombshell was almost too eager to end the fight
early.
"I had more aggression in this fight," St. John (37-4-2) said, adding that
each fight brings her closer to winning a world title.
Robert Garcia, St. John's trainer and a former junior lightweight world
champion, said his student has improved remarkably in the last two years.
"If you saw her against Christy Martin you could see how much she improved.
She's a good student and a good listener," said Garcia. "She gets better and
better."
St. John said she plans to beat Laracuente, who gave Martin a tough scrap
five years ago in losing by decision.
"I'm going to beat her," said St. John. "Then after I win the title I'm
going to fight Lucia Rijker. People say I just want to win the title and
fight nobodies. Lucia is not a nobody."
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