(MARCH 27) Last night at the
Harrah's Laughlin Hotel, in Laughlin, Nevada, Bloodied, battered
and disappointed, Elena Reid suffered her first loss in several
years. Before more than 1,000 people at Harrah's Hotel and
Casino, Reid was stopped by technical knockout by New York's
Alicia Ashley in a bantamweight bout scheduled for eight.
Referee Jay Nady stopped the fight because of a cut over Reid's
right eye at 1:04 in the seventh.
Though Reid was the favorite
coming into the fight, Ashley was the bigger, faster and more
experienced fighter and showed it. Using her longer reach and
deftly moving side to side, Ashley popped Reid with jabs and
landed some stiff left hands. It was a left hand that caused a
cut over Reid's eye in the sixth round. "I hurt her in the third
round," said Ashley (11-5-1), who usually fights at a heavier
weight and has fought champions such as Chevelle Hallback.
"After that, she didn't want to come in any more."
Reid tried to work inside but
found herself walking into left hands. And when she backed out,
Ashley would catch her again with left hands. "I wanted to show
people I could box," said Ashley. "But after I hurt her I didn't
have to move."
The first two rounds Ashley
moved quickly around the ring, changing direction whenever Reid
closed in. Both fought out of a left-handed stance. "I don't
think because we're both left-handed that it caused a problem,"
said Ashley. "It's just like two orthodox fighters fighting each
other." Ashley was correct. It was more her hand speed and reach
that befuddled Reid who could not figure out how to effectively
attack the rapidly moving Ashley. Reid suffered her first loss
since losing to Layla McCarter several years ago.
"I'm a little disappointed," said
Reid (16-2-5). "I have to go back to the gym and improve."
Ashley felt her amateur experience proved the decisive factor in
winning the fight. "I'm a boxer. I never go into a fight
thinking I'm going to stop someone," said Ashley. "I'm a boxer.
I know people don't like to see boxers, but that's what I am."
In a featherweight bout,
Fontana's Heather Percival was the underdog against Michigan's
Jennifer Salinas (5-1) who is tutored by famed trainer Floyd
Mayweather Sr. But she proved to be more skilled and won by
unanimous decision. "I landed the straighter shots," said
Percival (6-1). "I guess I have the better trainer." Percival,
who is trained by Larry Ramirez, moved side to side giving
angles to the hard rushing Salinas. The judges scored the fight
40-36 for Percival.
"This was a great win
because she was supposed to be the better fighter," said
Percival. "She was aggressive but it's not always the aggressive
fighter that wins. It's the fighter who connects the most." From
the first round, Percival found holes in Salinas defense. And
when Salinas closed in too fast, she was met with wicked right
hands. In the second round Salinas began to land more punches to
the body, but so did Percival.
During the following rounds
Percival seemed to have more energy and began landing
three-punch combinations. Occasionally, Salinas would land a
solid right hand, but it wasn't enough.
In a junior middleweight
bout, Texan Akondaye Fountain (5-0) won by technical knockout
over Shelly Burton (6-2) of Montana. Burton pressed the fight
but kept getting caught with left and right counters. It was a
fight decided by Fountain's ability to slip and counter. In the
seventh round, Burton rushed Fountain with a fusillade of
punches that caught her off-guard.
But when she tired, referee
Robert Byrd stopped it. The crowd booed. A match between super
middleweights ended in a six-round draw between Asa Sandell
(2-0-1) of Sweden and Yolanda Swindell (3-2-1) of Texas.
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