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5'5" featherweight Jeri Sitzes of Springfield, Missouri was born on March
21, 1979 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. She has been an active pro boxer and kickboxer, with a 9-0
kickboxing record and the UKF world lightweight title.
She made her pro boxing debut on May 9, 2002 at the Two Hearts Banquet Center in
St Louis Missouri, weighing in at 128 lbs and losing a four-round unanimous
decision to unbeaten Renee Richardt Douglas (121 lbs) of Fenton, Missouri who
improved to 8-0-1.
On
September 25, 2002 at the Ameristar Casino and Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, a crowd estimated at 1,800 saw Jeri (130 lbs) win by a
TKO at 1:33 in the first round over Vyvenne Head (133 lbs) of Kansas City who
fell
to 1-1-1 (0 KO).
On
January 29, 2003 at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino, Kansas City, Missouri, Jeri
(128 lbs) won a four-round unanimous decision over Angela Nealon (133 lbs) of Lee's Summit.,
who fell to 2-2 with the loss.
On
April 2, 2003 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri,
Mary Elizabeth Ortega (123 lbs) won a six-round split decision over
Jeri (126 lbs).
Ortega improved her record to 22-1-1 (5 KO).
On May 24, 2003 at the Convention Center in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada,
Jeri won a four-round split decision over former Canadian amateur champion Danielle Bouchard of Montreal,
Quebec.
On June 25, 2003 in Tokyo, Japan,
Emiko Raika of Japan won an eight-round majority
decision over Sitzes.
On
July 18, 2003 at the Rollins Center at Dover Downs in Dover, Delaware, USA, LaKeysha Williams (5'4", 123½ lbs) of Philadelphia
and Jeri (121½ lbs) of fought to an eight-round draw (77-75,75-77,76-76). This bout became the card's main event when a male
fighter came in 12 lbs overweight for the scheduled main event, which then had to be fought as an
exhibition. Williams scored readily with body shots and a good jab but Sitzes, who
has kickboxing experience, came on strong as Williams tired in the last two
rounds. Sitzes delivered several hard rights to the head of Williams (6-5-2, 1 KO) in
the late going, and began to use her uppercut to good effect as Williams came forward
with her head down. Sitzes' overall ring experience showed with some
nice moves in the corners where she turned the tables on
Williams several times after apparently being caught.
Williams's record moved to 6-5-2 (1 KO).
Sitzes began this fight with a black eye suffered in a kickboxing bout
while in Japan!
On
January 23, 2004 at KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Jeri (117 lbs)
avenged her earlier split decision loss by TKO'ing Mary Elizabeth
Ortega (5'1", 117 lbs) of Kansas City at 1:44 in the fifth round. Sitzes improved her pro boxing record to 3-2-1 (1 KO)
while dropping Ortega to 25-2-1 (5 KO). Mark Graves at KC Boxing News
reported that "Just like the first fight, there was
action every minute of the fight. Both fighters have all the punches and the
skill to use them. Not only do they have the punches, they have the heart and
determination to fight through any punches landed against them. Every round was
close until Jeri caught Mary with an uppercut as Mary was stepping in. It was a
great punch that obviously stunned Mary. Not that it stopped her or anything.
Mary continued to throw punches; however, Jeri was able to block many of them
and then counter with more upper-cuts. After repeated clean shots, Mary's
corner threw in the towel giving Jeri the TKO victory. Both Jeri and Mary were
surprised by the stoppage. The crowd too was shocked. It was a great fight.
While still in the ring, Mary showed nice sportsmanship by congratulating Jeri
on her victory."
Melinda Cooper takes a solid right from Jerri Sitzes
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On February 27, 2004 at Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA,
Melinda Cooper (118 lbs) of Las Vegas progressed to 10-0-0 (6 KO)
with a six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,58-54) decision over Jeri (117½ lbs).
Cooper came out using her jab effectively and snapping Sitzes' head back repeatedly
in the opening rounds as well creating a window for using
rights to Sitzes' body to slow her down. Cooper's speed and aggressiveness made Sitzes want to keep her distance
and try to work on the outside, but
Cooper pursued hard to keep the action at closer range and outhit Sitzes by a
28-4 margin, throwing punches in bunches.
Forced by Cooper's tactics
to stand and trade, Sitzes began to mix it up well in the third, landing
more effectively and shaking Cooper with several hard rights. Cooper stepped up
her work rate in the fourth as they traded more effectively
toe-to-toe in a round in which Sitzes bloodied Cooper's nose with straight rights and Cooper was
first warned for holding behind the head while hitting, then had a point deducted
for this offense. However, Sitzes faded under relentless attack by hard head-body combinations
in the fifth and Cooper dominated the final round, moving Sitzes effectively and landing
almost at will. The bout was seen live on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights".
[Full WBAN fight report and
photos]
On May 26, 2004 at the
Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Lisa Brown
(122 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada won a
six-round unanimous (59-54,59-54,60-53) decision
over Jeri (122 lbs). Lisa controlled the first round by beating Jeri to
the punch and
knocked Jeri down near the end of the stanza. Sitzes felt it was a
slip but the ref gave her an eight count anyway. Lisa
controlled the start and end of an action-packed second round but they
raded hard when Jeri pinned her in the
corner midway through it. Round three was evenly fought with less action,
but Lisa returned to beating Jerri to the punch in the fourth.
Lisa controlled most of the fifth but Jeri finished
it with a good flurry, while the sixth was
close. Lisa brown improved to 8-0-2 with this win.
Jeri battles Kelsey Jeffries in September 2004
© Copyrighted photo taken by Jesus Sanchez
On
September 23, 2004 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California,
Kelsey Jeffries (121½ lbs) of Gilroy, California won by a 10-round majority
(96-94,97-93, 95-95) decision over Jeri (122 lbs) in a bout for
the vacant IBA world Super Bantamweight title. Sitzes came out working
her jab effectively and kept Jeffries off-balance ad out of her rhythm. Sitzes
scored with a good right uppercut and frequently beat Jeffries to the punch. In round two
Jeffries was able to close with Sitzes and landed a big right to her temple
followed by a solid two-fisred combination as she started to find her
own timing.
Rounds three and four were close as both landed well, with Jeffries busier.
Jeffries began to give Sitzes a boxing lesson in the middle rounds, slipping
Sitzes' punches while scoring frequently with effective combinations to the
body. Sitzes rallied in the eighth, as she began to beat Jeffries with
quick, short, straight punches. However, Sitzes tired in the ninth and
Jeffries again took the initiative, connecting with a hard left to the body
and a right to the head. The final round was close with both landing well.
Jeffries improved her record to 29-8 (2 KO) while Sitzes fell to 5-6-1 (3
KO).
Jesus Sanchez, who covered the San Jose fight for WBAN, said, "This was definitely
the fight of the night! Both fighters took a lot of punishment but their
great conditioning was a factor in this fight going 10 rounds. I was very
impressed with both fighters but let me tell you ... Jerri is the best 5-5
fighter I have ever seen! I believe Kelsey did enough to win a decision but
a rematch would be great to see!" (For more photos of this fight, see
WBAN Photo Gallery #206
on the WBAN Records Member Site).
On January 26, 2005 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Jeri
(123 lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-52,60-53,60-52) decision over Lisa Pederson (122½ lbs)
of Las Vegas, Nevada, who fell to 2-3-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.
Sitzes dropped Pederson in the
second round, but throughout the fight, it was very competitive and
entertaining. Dave McKee of RngsideReport.com
wrote "Sitzes
simply controlled the fight in every way. Her ring generalship was
impeccable. She displayed a wide variety of punches from behind a defense
that confounded Pederson all night. Late in the fight Sitzes switched to a
southpaw stance, and, apparently bored, she began switching her stance back
and forth every few punches. Pederson showed tremendous resolve in rising
from the canvas twice (once in the fourth and once in the sixth) and coming
forward to press the attack. Pederson is taller than Sitzes and her reach is
greater, but she could not translate physical advantage into effective
aggression."
On March 23, 2005 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Jeri
(125 lbs) won by a TKO at 1:09 in the second round over 30-yr old debut
fighter Tammie McDonald (123 lbs) of Raytown, Missouri.
On May 30, 2005 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, California,
Jeri (125 lbs) won a six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,58-56) decision over
Sosadea Razo (130 lbs) of Los Angeles, who fell to 2-6-0. Razo used
her lateral movement well in the first round and was able to close with
Sitzes early in the fight but Jeri improved the timing of her counters and
began to land hard right to Razo's head as the fight progressed. They
traded hard rights in the fifth but Sitzes finished strongly and punished
Razo against the ropes in the final round.
On January 27, 2006 at the
Palladium in Hollywood, California,
Jeri (124 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,98-92) decision
over IFBA Junior Featherweight champion Jackie Chavez
(124½ lbs) of Los Lunas, New Mexico for the NABF World Featherweight title.
According to the report from WBAN correspondent David Avila, "The
main event ... saw Jeri Sitzes give away the first round to Jackie Chavez
then stepped on the gas while over-powering her willing opponent. Sitzes
plowed through Chavez with a blistering but controlled attack ... and won
nine of 10 rounds with counter-rights and stinging left hooks against the
tough New Mexican".
“It feels awesome,” said Sitzes of her
win over Chavez. “I was going for the knockout you all.” Jeri
improved to 9-6-1 (4 KOs) with the win while Jackie Chavez fell to
9-2-0 (3 KOs) with her second straight ro loss.
On April 5, 2006 at the
Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Jeri stopped Crystal Bolles of
Springfield, Missouri at 1:59 of the first round, improving her record to
10-6-1 (5 KOs) while Bolles fell to 2-12-0 (0 KOs), losing her
seventh straight.
On May 4, 2006 at the Hilton
Convention Center in Burbank, California Jeri won an eight-round unanimous
decision over tough Lina Ramirez of Guasave, Mexico. Sitzes knocked Ramirez
down in the second round but the game Ramirez got off the canvas and came
back very aggressively even though she was hurt. Sitzes continued to use her
jab to set up her combinations while Ramirez was trying to get close to
Sitzes to throw body punches and smother Sitzes' punches. Ramirez fell to
4-8-1 (1 KOs), three of her losses coming to
highly-rated Melinda Cooper and two to rising
Mexican star Jazmin Rivas.
On August 25, 2006 at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Missouri,
Jeri (124½ lbs) won by a TKO over Leanne Villareal (120 lbs) of
Albuquerque, New Mexico at 1:54 in the third round of a scheduled
six-rounder. Villareal fell to 1-11-1 (1 KO) with her eighth consecutive
loss.
On April 7, 2007 at the Shrine Mosque in
Springfield, Missouri, Jeri (128½ lbs) won a six-round unanimous
(60-54 x 3) decision over 41-year-old veteran Lisa Lewis (5'5", 132½
lbs) of Fresno, California, who fell to 7-14 (3 KO's) with the loss.
Sitzes improved to
13-6-1 (6 KOs).
On August 10, 2007 on ESPN2 “Friday Night
Fights” at the Expo Center in Springfield, Missouri, Jeri (126 lbs) won a
six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,58-56) decision over
Ada Velez (127 lbs) of Hollywood, Florida. This was a comeback
fight for the 36-year-old Velez after a three-and-a-half year layoff from
competition. Sitzes improved to 13-6-1 (5 KOs) while Velez fell to
14-3-2 (6 KOs).
On February 7, 2008 at the Pechanga Resort and
Casino in Temecula, California, Jeri took on IFBA Junior Featherweight
champion Lisa Brown from Toronto, Canada in a
ten-round co-main event on an all-female card. Lisa Brown literally
took her lumps in this fight, ending it visibly battered but still the
winner on the scorecards by a unanimous (97-92,98-91,98-93)
points decision.
According to WBAN correspondent Bill Ortega, "For
most of the fight Sitzes seemed to regularly find a home for her right hand
counter that throttled Brown repeatedly. Left hooks left an imprint under
Brown’s left eye in the form of a large bump. In the ninth round Brown
scored a knockdown that seemed more a slip. Sitzes remained in her attacking
mode and might have even won that round. The final round saw Sitzes land a
stunning one-two combination that buckled Brown’s legs and forced the
Canadian to hold on tight. It didn’t look good for Brown but she made it to
the final bell." The decision in favor of the Canadian champion
was unpopular with the fans, many of whom booed the result. Lisa Brown
advanced to 14-3-3 (4 KOs) while Sitzes fell to 14-7-1 (6 KOs).
On June 12, 2008 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut,
Ela Nunez (124¾
lbs) of Rochester, NY won a six-round unanimous (58-55,58-55,58-55)
decision over Jeri Sitzes (126 lbs) in a barn-burner of a battle in which
Nunez was knocked to the canvas once but kept on the attack in a
crowd-pleaser with a controversial outcome. Nunez improved to 7-3 (2
KO's) while Sitzes fell to 14-8-1 (6 KOs).
According to Sitzes' management,
she is looking to fight Ina Menzer of Germany for the WIBF world
championship since "they had already signed contracts and got plane flights
and for some reason Menzer backed out of the fight." Jeri's kickboxing background shows in a tendency to fight from
an the upright stance needed stay balanced while launching a kick, but which
can work against her as a boxer.
However, she uses a highly effective body attack and has a quick and dangerous
right hand. “She’s a tough customer,” said Kelsey Jeffries.
"Everybody
in boxing is tough, but she’s a fighter. Every definition of a fighter … that’s her. I see a lot of
myself in her, she’s got the heart to come
fight people in their hometown. “She does that a lot, and that’s not always easy.”
As well as her competitive kickboxing and boxing, Jeri Sitzes teaches
seminars in women's self-defense. "Everyone should learn something like self-defense,"
she says. "At times when you least expect it, it could be a matter of life
and death. Women have a lot of power, they just don't know how to emphasize it a
lot of times."
Jeri's trainer is Ike Stafford who can be reached at 417-883-7327 or
Ikefightgame@aol.com and Jeri herself
can be reached at
jerisitzes@yahoo.com.
Other Jeri Sitzes links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
Page last updated:
Sunday, 05 November 2017 |
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