RISING SUN – (MAR 27) – On Saturday, March 25th,  at the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort, a sellout crowd watched an upset and, perhaps, a rematch in the making, when defending IBA Women’s Welterweight Boxing Champion Sumya Anani was stopped by Terri Blair, when the referee chose to stop the contest with only 23 seconds left in the tenth and final round of the fight, leaving a somewhat surprised and unhurt Anani asking why.

On paper, this fight looked like an ‘easy’ match for Anani to win, but anyone who knows Terri Blair also knows that she is not to be taken for granted or lightly. Not that Anani took Blair for granted, and, for Anani, this fight was anything but easy, as Terri Blair gave Anani everything she could handle; and, then, some.

The fight itself was a good fight and good for women’s boxing – a battle of attrition, as to who would run out of gas first, and it looked like Anani ran out, when Blair knocked her down with a right hand that shocked everyone that saw it. Anani got up quickly, but when the referee gave Anani a standing eight count, he apparently saw the look in Anani’s eyes that warranted him to stop the contest.

It wouldn’t have mattered much as to the outcome, if the fight would have continued, because, for those that were seriously watching this fight, like this writer, Anani was down by a point going into round 10 and desperately needed to win the round BIG, by either knocking Blair down or knocking her out, or else, just winning the round would have resulted in a draw.

To put it simply, Sumya Anani did not lose the fight; rather, Terri Blair won it.

As the victorious Blair said after the fight, “I really wanted it”.

Well, for all those that saw this fight, Terri Blair really earned it.

In respect for Anani, after the fight, she asked me this question: “Tell me the truth. What did you think?”

Well, in response to her question, I paused and put my left arm around her, and said, “Sweetheart, I had you down a point, going into the tenth. You had to win a 10-8 round, by either knocking her down or out; or else, just winning the round was only going to get you a draw.” Needless to say, the opposite happened, with Blair knocking Anani down, thus resulting in Blair winning it all, including the belt.

 For Anani and Blair, if there is a rematch between these two woman boxers, with both bringing their ‘A-game’ into the ring, there will definitely be another sellout and there won’t be any disappointments.

ADDITIONAL INFO ON THE SCORE CARDS:  According to www.braggingrightscorner.com the official score cards had the following:  Quote - "What on paper seemed to be a sure shot for Sumya Anani, 25-2-1 10 KOs, became a major upset when Terri Blair, 6-10-2, 3 KOs, stopped the talented Anani 1:37 into the 10th round. Blair, 30, a southpaw from Louisville, Kentucky dropped Anani in the tenth round, leading to an eventual stoppage. Of note is the fact that Anani was ahead by one point in two of the judges' cards coming into the last scheduled round of the championship fight."