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5'8" flyweight
Keisher "Fire" McLeod-Wells was born on June 12 1977 in Brooklyn, New York,
where she lived with her parents, a twin sister Teisher McLeod, and two younger
siblings. She ran
track and field
and played volleyball at Samuel J. Tilden High School. Her height and agility motivated her to dream of being an
actress and a model. After
high
school she enrolled in The National Black Theater in
Harlem and was a student at TV1 and HB Studios. She played a killer’s girlfriend on “Law and Order” and a hostess in “Sex and the City”.
"Fire" was introduced to boxing in 2002 after she had auditioned for a role in the
movie "Terminator
2"
and was told she was too “waify” for the
part. Told that she needed to build
up her muscle definition, she was
given a gym pass
to work with a boxing trainer for a week. She loved the boxing
workout and continued her training at the Kingsway Boxing Gym
despite not getting the movie part. Her early motivation was simply to
keep fit for her
acting career but a coach
told her she had the size to be a great boxer and
could
become a
champion in a year if she tried to compete.
She won her
first amateur
championship
in less than a year, taking a Gold Medal at the 2003 Empire State
Games. She went on to train at the famed Gleason's Gym in
Brooklyn and to compile a 34-6
amateur record that included two Ringside World titles (2005 and 2008),
three Empire State (2003, 2004 and 2005) titles and four New York
Golden Gloves (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008) championships. On April 17
2008 she highlighted her
amateur career by winning her fourth New York Golden Gloves title with
a 4-1 decision over Alexis Asher in the 114-lb division. That win
made her the most successful NY Golden Gloves contestant to
come out of Gleason's.
Keisher McLeod also competed at the national amateur level. She
entered the Boxing USA Nationals in 2003 (losing to Emily
Klinefelter of Iowa by 10-3 in the 110-lb semifinal), the 2004
Nationals (losing to Emily Klinefelter by 22-1 in the final), the
2004
PAL championship (losing to Emily Klinefelter by 18-6 in the final) and
the 2008 Nationals (losing to Sacred Downing by 14-11 in the 52-kg
final). She also fought in the National Golden Gloves,
where she lost to her nemesis Emily Klinefelter in the 2003 semifinal
and to Kathleen O'Connell of New Mexico in the 2004 final.
She married Flaco Wells
on October 14 2007 in
a boxing themed ceremony in a ring at Gleason’s Gym.
Her
amateur boxing career was featured in the Danish movie documentary ''Prelude
To a Fight" by Andreas Monies Bøggild and Mikkel
Clausen which premiered at the Village East Cinema in New York City on October 27
2009. [Video]
She made her pro debut on
February 3, 2009 at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn at 113¾ lbs, winning by a TKO at 0:55 in the first round over
Treasure Saunders (111½ lbs) of Chicago, Illinois. Saunders fell to
0-4-1.
[Video]
On May 28 2009 at Hotel El
Panama in Panama City, Panama. Keisher (110¾ lbs) won a four-round
unanimous (39-37,39-38,40-38) decision over Abigail Villar (110 lbs) of
24 de Diciembre, Panama, who fell to 2-2-2 (1 KO).
On July 21, 2009 at Centro de
Convenciones Atlapa in Panama City, Panama, Keisher (109 lbs)
lost a four-round majority (38-38,37-39,37-39) decision to Laura
Ledezma (110 lbs) of Panama City. Ledezma moved her record to
4-0 (3 KO's) with the win.
On March 31, 2010 at the B.B. King
Blues Club and Grill in New York City, Keisher (113 lbs) won a
four-round unanimous (40-36x3) decision over Laura Gomez (115 lbs) of
Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, who fell to 3-1.
On February 9, 2011 at the B.B.King Blues Club and Grill in New York
City, Keisher (107½ lbs) won a six-round
unanimous
(58-55,57-56, 57-56) decision over Melissa
McMorrow (108 lbs) of San Carlos,
California. McLeod-Wells used her jab to
keep McMorrow at bay while Melissa tried to work under it to
land punches from the inside. As described
on WBAN by Bernie McCoy: "McMorrow
was the aggressor from the first minute of the bout, employing a
walk-in, straight ahead style that contrasted markedly with
McLeod-Wells' stick and move tactics and gained McMorrow an edge in the
first two rounds as McLeod-Wells had some difficulty locating her left
jab, allowing the shorter fighter to work effectively inside. In the
third round McLeod-Wells began to find the range with her long left and
her side/side movement permitted more time in the middle of the ring,
an effective tactic against the ever aggressive McMorrow. Rounds four
and five, both closely contested, saw McLeod-Wells maintain a very
slight edge in each stanza, with her fluid movement and long range jabs
and left hooks. McMorrow, continually in a low crouch, minimizing the
target for the taller boxer, continued launching bell/bell left and
right hooks at her opponent.
The final round, while similar in style to the previous five, proved
critical to the decision, when referee, Arthur Mercante, one of the
best arbiters in the sport, awarded a knockdown to McLeod-Wells when
McMorrow, coming out of a clinch, seemed to touch the canvas with her
knee, after an inclose exchange of punches. McMorrow closed the bout
with furious attacks, attempting to overcome the knockdown." McLeod-Wells advanced her pro record to 4-1-0 (1 KO) with the
win.
On July 30, 2011 at the
Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York, Melissa McMorrow (111 lbs)
won an
eight-round split (78-74,75-77, 78-74) decision in a rematch
with Keisher (109 lbs) defending the New York State
flyweight title. Marc Abrams described
the fight for 15rounds.com:
"McMorrow showed the same determination she showed in her title winning
effort when she defeated Eileen Olszewski a month ago in
Queens.
McMorrow bobbed and weaved her way inside very
effectively through and under jabs and right hands of McLeod-Wells. In
the middle rounds McLeod-Wells landed a few nicely timed uppercuts
while McMorrow tried to get inside and even made McMorrow take a step
backwards for the first time in the fight.
That didn't last long as McMorrow had the fighting
spirit and was undaunted by continuing to get inside and land
combinations to any area that McLeod-Wells left unblocked.
It was a a crowd pleasing and close fight that saw
McMorrow get the verdict by scores of 78-74 on two cards while
McLeod-Wells took a card at 77-75." The loss
dropped McLeod-Wells's record to 4-2 -0 (1
KO) while McMorrow improved hers to 6-2-3 (0 KO's). McLeod-Wells later told
WBAN: "We
are now 1-1 with one another and the final re-match is in negotiation
now."
"Fire" teaches boxing
fundamentals in various gym facilities, instilling confidence in both
women and
men to push themselves to achieve their goals of being physically and
mentally
fit. She uses her boxing as a testament
to show that
anything can be achieved through diligence and hard work. "It's
not how many times I fall down in
life that defines me, it's how many times I get up”
she says.
Keisher McLeod-Wells is represented by Optimum
Sports Agency who believe she has the
talent and desire to become the face of women’s boxing, and look
forward to being part of her journey. [Video
promo]
Page
last updated: Wednesday, December 28, 2011
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