(MAR 8) George Herbert Mallory, a famous English mountaineer, was once asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. He replied "Because it is there." Sumya Anani has "been there" in the sport of Women's boxing for almost ten years and in the recent past the top fighters in the sport have not shown anything near the resolve that Mallory exhibited when it came to climbing into the ring with Anani. In the past three years, the fighter many consider the best in the sport has fought a total of 27 rounds, less than a full ten round fight per year.
 

That changes, somewhat, later this month when Anani defends her IBA welterweight title against Terri Blair, on March 25, at the Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun, IN.

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Blair, currently sporting 6-10-2 record, following a February loss over eight rounds to Jessica Rakoczy, is not the marquee opponent that Anani has spent the last several years looking for. However, Sumya is more than willing to give credit where she feels credit is due: "She (Blair) has fought plenty of highly ranked, protected (Anani emphasizes the word "protected") girls, in their hometowns, and has gone the distance with them. She isn't called the ' Road Warrior ' for nothing. Her record is deceptive. She's got more guts and heart than paper champions, like Holm and Sanders."

That would be Holly Holm and Mary Jo Sanders. Anani continues, "They (Holm and Sanders) are both protected, hometown fighters, they have both ducked me on numerous occasions. We (women boxers) are supposed to be bobbing and weaving IN THE RING (Anani emphasis), not ducking and dodging OUT OF IT. It takes two to make a competitive fight."

Will the Blair fight on March 25 be a competitive fight? "On paper" any time a 25-1-1 fight climbs in the ring with a fighter with a losing record, the answer seems obvious. The Rolling Stones (staying with the earlier English analogy) once sang "You can't always get what you want, and if you try sometime you get what you need."

Sumya Anani hasn't gotten what she's wanted over the past three years; bouts with the leading fighters in the her weight class: Lucia Rijker, Jessica Rakoczy, Myriam Lamare, Mary Jo Sanders, and Holly Holm. Anani says she's tried and she's now got what she needs, an opponent willing to climb into the ring with her. "Terri was willing and is always game to fight. I've been turned down repeatedly by the 'champs', and I need to fight."

Not only does Sumya Anani need to fight, the sport of Women's boxing needs her to fight. With Anani in the ring, the quality of the sport rises significantly. She may be, as many have suggested, the best female boxer in the ring today. That she'll be back in the ring on March 25 is a plus for the sport and hopefully she'll be considerably more active in the future than she has been over the past three years. The fights are out there, so are the fighters. Certainly Anani is "there" and has been for some time. As for the other top fighters, they only need to heed the words of George Herbert Mallory and start climbing. Bernie McCoy