IFBA Featherweight Champion Kelsey Jeffries, interviewed by Katherine Dunn, by phone, on Monday, March 12, 2007. (Transcript edited for length)

KD—You’ve fought all over the world, Germany, Poland, Mexico

KJ—I’ve been there, done that. I’ve been in every situation possible and imaginable.

KD—Yet I don’t see any bouts in New Mexico. Will this be your first trip there?

KJ—I’ve been there before but not on boxing related business
My mother’s aunt lives there (in Albuquerque) and I’ve been there visiting her. It’s a beautiful place.

KD—have you been involved in televised cards before?

KJ—Yes Ma’am. My fight in Mexico was televised. My fight in Germany was televised. I had a fight in Arizona that was televised. I had a fight in Indiana that was televised. A fight in Yakima, Washington that was televised.

KD—So this is old hat for you.

KJ—I’d say the newest thing about this for me is that I’m scheduled. I’ve been scheduled before but this is probably a big first in the US, that I’m on TV. I’ve been on Telemundo schedules, but I’ve always been kind of swing bouts also. But this is probably the first “Kelsey’s gonna be on TV, tune in and watch Kelsey.” This is that kind of a thing for me.

KD—Does it add any further pressure for you in your preparations?

KJ—Every fight is very important to me. Regardless of TV, regardless of belt, regardless six rounds, ten rounds, four rounds. I look at it as a fight. I don’t look at anything else.

KD—How are you preparing for this particular opponent.

KJ—I don’t really know much about her except that she’s big. This is really not the weight class I should be in. I’m really a super bantamweight. But I own this title as a featherweight so I have to defend it. Going forward I want to not be in the featherweight division. I want to be a super bantamweight because that’s my natural weight.

KD—So that would be 120, 122.

KJ—Exactly. So I know she’s gonna be a big girl. I know she’s undefeated and very tough. So I prepare for her like I do the rest. I expect her to be everything I can imagine that would be something I wouldn’t want to be in the ring with. The worst possible--she’s a good boxer, a good puncher. She’s everything I don’t want to see. So I’ll prepare for the best.

Kd- Will Buddy McGirt be in your corner for this bout?

KJ—Yes, Maam. He’ll be there. I’m really looking forward to that.

KD—How long have you been training with McGirt?

KJ—Gosh, it’s probably been almost four years now, I’ve been with Buddy.

KD—How did that happen?

KJ—Mr. Anderson. (Jeffries’ business adviser) He sent Buddy a tape of me and said he wants you to train this fighter. He didn’t say girl, he said fighter. So Buddy watched the tape and he said, that’s a girl! And Bruce said yeah, that’s a girl but can she fight? And Buddy said yeah that girl can fight. So Bruce said I want you to train her and Buddy said all right, bring her down here. The rest is history.

Buddy has this thing. If you come to his gym and you don’t do what he says, to the T, if you give him any complaints you’re out the door. No questions, no matter who you are. Man, woman, champion, amateur, whatever. You’re out the door. So I do everything he says and more. And the more gets in me in trouble. I want to keep going and he doesn’t want me to keep going. He wants me to stop. I keep going, that’s not good. That’s almost as bad as not doing enough. So you’ve really got to listen to him and do what he says.

KD—In terms of over training.

KJ—Exactly. He’s a master. Everything he touches turns to gold. I’m honored and humbled to be even in his presence as a fighter and definitely as a woman.

KD—So what’s different about working with Mr. McGirt as opposed to working with other trainers?

KJ—Buddy knows you. Buddy knows me without me telling him anything. And I can understand him without him saying too much. It’s like an amazing connection that he has with fighters. He trains me over the phone some times. He calls me every day. We talk about what we’re going to do. That’s how he knows when I’m tired, he knows when I need to take a day off, when I need to pick it up. Not many fighters can do what their trainer says to a T over the telephone. But I’m the exception. I know what he wants and I do it exactly.

I’m very motivated. I’m a hungry fighter. It’s always like my first fight. I can’t get rid of the hunger. It’s like a sickness. It’s never enough. Never. All the time it’s like I’m just starting out. I’m like a non-stop machine every day. And I never get burned out. Buddy always says ‘Kelsey you’re going to get burned out.’ But I don’t. Every day I train. After every fight, boom, I’m back in the gym the next day. I’m running or something.

KD—What do you see down the road in terms of your long term goals with boxing?

KJ—I really want to help women. I don’t know if I’m going to be there long enough for Kelsey to make the money or to get the props that the guys get. I don’t know if that’s going to happen for me. But I at least want to make it easier for the ladies coming up behind me. I want to make it so people will respect women’s boxing, so they’ll respect our skill and our style and how we fight. I want to make a new chapter in women’s boxing.

KD—You mean by your performances in the ring?

KJ—Yes, Ma’am. In fights like this fight I got coming up here. I’m fighting a big, very tough, undefeated hungry fighter. I’m not fighting somebody that’s gonna sit down. I’m fighting a girl who wants to steal my belt. And that’s the kind of fights that need to be shown on TV.

KD—This is an exciting card, it’s a popular TV show, to have those three bouts. It looks like a guarantee of quality fights featuring women.

KJ—I agree. I’m honored to be a part of it.

KD—you went through the fire academy.

KJ—It was in San Jose, California. What that does…Basically it’s like getting an education. It’s like getting a degree. So that helps me ..when I go to test for different departments, that’s a big plus for me. Right now I work in Hollister. I’m part of their department. I’m not a full time fire fighter, I’m an on-call, paid-call fire fighter. So when they need my assistance they call me and they pay me for what I’m there for. Which actually works really good for me right now because it leaves me free to box and I really enjoy it. I’ve been on many calls, fire calls, car accidents, medical. Everything that a fire fighter does I’ve been on. I really enjoy it. Fighting fire is the best.

KD—is that what you plan to do after you retire from the ring?

KJ—Yes, definitely. I had training last week and my knees are all scuffed up. We were doing searching for dummies to rescue. My knees are all banged up, I’ve got a big huge breathing apparatus plus all the equipment. It’s hard work.

KD—Do you think it calls on the same qualities in you that boxing demands?

KJ—Yeah, it does. Matter of fact, Last week we had to search and we had the breathing apparatus and the mask on and you can’t see anything and it’s hot and you start to get claustrophobic. Then you start to think I’m gonna die, I’ve got to get this stuff off. That’s the kind of thing like when you’re in the ring and you’re hurting and you’re fighting this girl and you start thinking I’m tired and I can’t hang. That’s the kind of stuff that pulls you out way deep. You gotta get tough. You gotta survive. It’s very similar.

KD—So when do you leave for Albuquerque?

KJ—Sunday.

KD—And problems with altitude?

KJ—No. No problems. Matter of fact my father lives in Wyoming at about 6,000 feet and I go up there a lot and I’ll run. It’s not much difference. You just gotta take maybe a day to get used to it. I don’t anticipate any problems up there.

KD—Well, good luck to you and thank you.

 

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