EL MONTE, CALIF.-Kaliesha West and Elena “Baby Doll” Reid gave boxing fans a taste of world-class boxing, female style at Florentine Gardens in El Monte, California on Friday.

West, the number seven-rated bantamweight eagerly jumped in the ring against WIBA flyweight world champion Reid (18-3-5) to see what a world champion can do in the ring. The three round-exhibition was much too short for the fans who were pleased to catch the encounter.

Kaliesha "Wild Wild" West

Reid used a jab to probe West’s defense and moved slightly left or right. A few well-placed body shots opened up room for the Las Vegas fighter’s right hooks. West kept her gloves high and shots punches at Reid’s body too. Not many punches were thrown but all had mean intentions in the first round.

“She confused me. I expected her to come out differently,” said West (5-0), who lives in Moreno Valley, California. “I expected her to come out like a bull.”

Reid’s style has changed during the last few years. She uses feints effectively and moves out of danger. In the past the Las Vegas fighter would get pinned on the ropes as she did against Mariana Juarez three years ago in a fight that ended in a draw.

Now she uses her legs to move one side or the other instead of trying to block all of the punches.

West has a stinging left hook that can change the complexion of any fight. Against Reid the 18-year-old West needed two rounds to figure out Reid’s style.

“I heard she fought a different way. It took me a while to figure what she was doing,” said West. “I was a little nervous in the first round because she’s a world champion.”

Reid calmly landed when the openings came and backed off when West fired those blinding combinations. But they didn’t arrive until the third and last round of the contest. West opened up the final round with four rapid laser-like right hands that landed. Reid calmly moved out of range and fired her own combinations.

The world champion was pleased with the results.

“It was great to fight someone who doesn’t run away from me,” said Reid, who captured the world title against Mary Ortega last August. “She (West) is going to be a world champion some day. And she is going to be around for a long time.”