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In her pro debut Lissette Medel edged
Crystal Morales in a four round featherweight showdown at Stevens
Steakhouse on Friday.
More than 1,500 saw Medel adjust from an amateur style to pro during the
fight with Morales who continually pounded left hooks in the first two
rounds. Then came the turn around.
“I was really nervous because it was my first pro fight,” said Medel, an
amateur champion who began boxing six years ago. “But after the first
two rounds I was ready to go.”
Oxnard’s Morales, with four pro bouts experience and some amateur
background, jumped out ahead as soon as the bell rang to start the
fight. Methodically walking down Medel, the taller Morales fired some
stiff jabs and found the left hook pretty effective against her opponent
who was moving backward.
The second round saw Medel firing lead right hands against the
aggressive Oxnard fighter. Some stiff jabs by Morales kept her opponent
moving in reverse.
“She was intimidated by me,” said Morales (2-3-1) who was cheered on by
Mia St. John sitting nearby. “I had her moving backward the whole
fight.”
It was during the third round that Medel, who was a couple of inches
shorter than Morales, began firing resounding punches to the body that
echoed under the tent pitched on the restaurant parking lot. During
every exchange the Maywood fighter pinpointed a right or left to the
ribs. Though Morales seemed unaffected, the sound of the blows surely
caught the attention of the three judges.
“I won the fight because I was landing the harder punches,” said Medel
who was mobbed by the hundreds of Maywood fans who drove a couple of
miles north to the City of Commerce. “I was faster too.”
The judges scored the fight 38-38, 40-36, 39-37 for a majority decision
in favor of Medel.
“I felt I did enough to win a draw,” said Morales after the fight. “She
was the one backing up, not me.”
Referee Vince Delgado, who had just complained about the male bout that
preceded Morales-Medel, couldn’t believe the skill level of both female
fighters.
“Those girls really could fight,” Delgado said. “They were much more
skilled than the two guys before them.”
Though Morales lost, she shrugged it off to the boisterous home town
crowd. “It was all politics, I understand that,” she said. “She
had a lot of people rooting for her.”
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