(AUG 7)  When Kaliesha West, now 11-1-0 (2 KOs), of Moreno Valley, California, and Rolanda Andrews, 8-8-1 (3 KOs), of Atlanta, Georgia, and native of Washington D.C., met last Saturday night at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California, on the undercard of Bradley vs. Campbell, both of them had great expectations. The prospect of being on the undercard of a hugely advertised event was exciting and validating for West and Andrews. Each of them were facing an opponent worthy of their talents and both had trained hard for this meeting.

Scheduled for only six rounds, these women understood that they would have to get busy early and lay claim to as many rounds as possible to obtain the victory. With West being the taller orthodox fighter, Andrews, a seasoned veteran southpaw, went right to work on a plan to come in strong and counter punch the right handed West. It appeared that Andrews was successful and West was a bit offset in trying to reach the slick southpaw.

West was quick to adjust and with a bit of speed and tenacity was able to catch up to Andrews. While it appeared that West had taken the brunt of the damage with a battered and swollen face, and many fight fans in the crowd felt certain it would be declared a draw, In the end, Kaliesha West's hand was raised and she was awarded the win by unanimous decision. However, both women fought hard and fought well.

This fight is an excellent example of what can happen when two women represent this sport with a skill and talent equal to each other, who come in prepared. well trained and put their heart and skills into action. This crowd was not disappointed in this bout and many fight fans commented on how much they enjoyed the women's bout. For a lot of the people attending this event this was the first time they had actually seen a women's professional boxing event. It appears the West vs. Andrews fight put a few new fans in the women's boxing corner, and left them wanting more!

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WBAN Comments: Luis Sandoval of boxingscene.com reported the following on this bout. "Kaliesha entered the ring with a warriors mask and tried to live up to it by going straight at Andrews. Both decided to exchange in the middle of the ring but it was Andrews who was winning the exchanges. West tried her best to pour it on but the southpaw from DC continued to land straight lefts and right hooks. After a 6th and final round that saw both women throw everything but the kitchen sink at each other, it was West who walked off with a surprising unanimous decision that received boos from the crowd."

WBAN would like to see a rematch of this bout in an area that is on neutral grounds. Andrews came in as the out-of-towner in this bout with West. Andrews returned to the sport in 2008, after not fighting since 2004. In her successful return in 2008, Andrews came into this fight with West with a fresh start of 2-0, since originally boxing prior to 2004. WBAN would like to view the video of this fight. If the bout is uploaded on YouTube, please notify WBAN and we will link it to the fight. Otherwise, if there is anyone who has the complete six-rounds of the fight, we would like to get view this bout.