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PROVIDENCE— As a former
World title challenger, Missy Fiorentino knows that second chances
aren’t easily earned. Last night in her hometown, the hard-punching
Fiorentino made the most of her second opportunity achieving the moniker
of World Champion in an animated 10-round decision over Esther Schouten
for the vacant IWBF Featherweight crown at the Providence Convention
Center.
Despite being bloodied by a head butt in the 9th round, Fiorentino
(13-1, 7 KO’s) managed to secure a win as the judges scorecards returned
tallies of 97-94, 99-91, 96-93.
Schouten, 28, a native of Hoorn, Netherlands and the current WIBF World
Super Bantamweight Champion was fighting in the United States for the
first time as a professional. Schouten fell to 18-3-1 (9 KO’s) with the
loss.
Fiorentino was coming off a six-round victory by decision over Belinda
Lacacuente last July at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Her last defeat
was at the hands of Emiko Raika in a WIBF Featherweight title match in
September of 2004, at Kyoto Japan.
“This means everything, “ said an elated Fiorentino who plies her trade
as a State Marshall. “This is what I’ve been working for since I started
boxing.. I’ve been a pro for four years and it feels great to finally
have it happen. Having the crowd behind me made me want to fight even
harder.”
Fiorentino proved to be the aggressor throughout the fight, but it was
Schouten who got the first opening in the fight-knocking down the Rhode
Island native midway through the third round. Schouten was hoping the
opportunity would further her chances the rest of the way. “I know I
have power so I know I can knock people down,” said Schouten. “Of course
I knew that that round was mine and I wanted to keep it that way. But
she kept coming in and I wasn’t able to move a lot.”
Fiorentino utilized her jab effectively through the first three rounds
to get on the scoreboard. In the fifth, the pair closed out the final 15
ticks of the round with a flurry of blows. “I thought it was more of a
slip,” Fiorentino of the third- round trip to the canvas. “But I knew
that they were going to score it as a knockdown so from then on I knew I
had to take every round, because now I’m behind two points.”
Fiorentino went to the body in the middle rounds and seemed to chip away
at Schouten’s reserves in the process. ““I knew I was wearing her down
with the body shots because her punches were getting weaker and she was
trying to move around more,” said the newly-minted champion. “She’s a
great fighter-a tough fight.”
Schouten knew from the outset that her opponent would be a tough draw.
“I didn’t have a game plan. I knew that she was aggressive and would
work hard. She worked harder than I did. That’s the reason I lost,” said
Schouten. “When I could move more, it seemed to be my fight.”
Fiorentino took control of rounds six through eight before encountering
the head butt that gave her an added sense of urgency.
“It’s not the first time I’ve fought with a cut. I saw the blood pouring
out and I thought they were going to stop it and I just wanted to finish
the fight,” she said. |
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