(FEB 10) Keisher "Fire"
McLeod-Wells returned to familiar surroundings, B B KIng Blues
Club in Times Square, after nearly11 months without a bout and
gained a close, hard fought unanimous decision over a very
tough, very game Melissa McMorrow in a six round flyweight bout,
on Lou DiBella's nine bout card, Wednesday night, before an
early arriving, overflow crowd.
McMorrow, tipping the scales at 108, gave away four inches to
the lean, long-limbed Brooklyn fighter, who answered the bell at
107. McMorrow was the aggressor from the first minute of the
bout, employing a walk-in, straight ahead style that contrasted
markedly with McLeod-Wells' stick and move tactics and gained
McMorrow an edge in the first two rounds as McLeod-Wells had
some difficulty locating her left jab, allowing the shorter
fighter to work effectively inside.
In the third round McLeod-Wells began to find the range with her
long left and her side/side movement permitted more time in the
middle of the ring, an effective tactic against the ever
aggressive McMorrow. Rounds four and five, both closely
contested, saw McLeod-Wells maintain a very slight edge in each
stanza, with her fluid movement and long range jabs and left
hooks. McMorrow, continually in a low crouch, minimizing the
target for the taller boxer, continued launching bell/bell left
and right hooks at her opponent.
The final round, while similar in style to the previous five,
proved critical to the decision, when referee, Arthur Mercante,
one of the best arbiters in the sport, awarded a knockdown to
McLeod-Wells when McMorrow, coming out of a clinch, seemed to
touch the canvas with her knee, after an inclose exchange of
punches. McMorrow closed the bout with furious attacks,
attempting to overcome the knockdown.
The final scorecards reflected the razor thin closeness of the
bout and the influence that the sixth round knockdown had on the
decision. Two of the judges' cards read 57-56 for McLeod-Wells,
while the third had a 58-55 tally for the winner. It was a tough
loss for McMorrow and she probably deserves a return bout.
McLeod-Wells improved her record to 4-1-0 (1 KO). while the California
fighter dropped to 4-2-3.
The bout was postponed from it's original date, last July, and
it is to the credit of DiBella Entertainment that the promoter
kept the match-up in mind and made it happen seven months later.
Styles do make fights and in Keisher McLeod-Wells and Melissa
McMorrow the sport of Women's boxing benefited from two talented
fighters with contrasting styles and almost identical high
levels of skill.
Bernie McCoy
