(APR 26) This fight is clearly the
reason that the Hammond Civic Center was so full of hungry-eyed
fans. “Merciless” Mary McGee (Gary, IN) took on Kristy “Rose”
Follmar (Indianapolis, IN) for the vacant WBC International Female
Light Welterweight Championship. The thunderous applause in the
Hammond Civic Center let me know that these fans had waited long
enough for this fight to take place.
In a very close back-and-forth
opening round, both fighters showed their tenacity and hunger
for a victory, as McGee’s speed matched well with Follmar’s
effective aggression. I was about to write that Follmar had
clearly out hustled her opponent in the second round. . . .when
McGee opened up an all-out assault in the closing seconds of the
round that sent Follmar reeling a bit. I tell you one thing. I
would NOT enjoy being a judge responsible for a clear decision
on some of these rounds. Both fighters are imposing their wills
on the other, both fighters are finding openings, and both
fighters have piles of loud fans cheering them on.
In short, this is a GREAT match.
Mary starts rounds off strong with her accurate jab, but Kristy
sends the hooks to the body and head to make it difficult,
again, to declare a clear winner of the round. McGee took the
fifth round with her powerful straight punching. McGee pulls
away with the sixth and seventh rounds, while Follmar shows,
perhaps, a bit of ring rust. Follmar’s combination punching
gives her the eighth round, but overall, she’s fading in her
output numbers. Follmar takes the ninth with her combos,
actually staggering McGee momentarily, setting up for the climax
tenth and final round. WHAT A ROUND!
Unadulterated female aggression
from pillar to post, of which if I had to pick a winner, I’d say
McGee pulled ahead by the slimmest of margins with her uppercuts
and crosses. 97-93 McGee, 95-95, 97-93 McGee, who improves her
record to 17-0. . . . “Merciless” Mary
McGee wins a majority decision in a highly completive fight;
possibly the best fight of ANY gender we’ll see this year in the
state of Indiana.
***Special thanks to Octavius James of One in a Million, Inc.
for issuing Bolo Punch the credentials to cover this event. This
is an exclusive ringside report from Hammond Civic Center,
Hammond, Indiana, written in its entirety by Chris Guzman, who
has hosted The Bolo Punch Boxing Hour since 2002.
