Post by Dee Williams on Apr 2, 2009 23:57:46 GMT -5
THE MOTHER OF ALL BOXING BOUTS
Duncan's Jeannine Garside will be pumped up for her return to her hometown June 6.
By Mike Damour - Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial
The contracts are signed, the venue is secured and the News Leader Pictorial can now announce Jeannine Garside will return to her hometown of Duncan to fight for a world title.
On June 6, at the Cowichan Arena, Garside — a mother of one — will take on Brooklynite and mom of two Dominga Olivo, 37, in a 10-round bout.
“I am so excited about this, it’s unreal,” said promoter Wally Petrovic, owner of Duncan’s Final Round Martial Arts Centre and the man who’s been working to put the fight together.
“This is a World Boxing Council (WBC) Featherweight title fight and it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The promoter’s not the only one thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming bout.
“I’m ecstatic about it, it’s like a dream come true for me,” Garside told the News Leader Pictorial from her home in Windsor, Ont.
“I’ve been such a road warrior lately and some things have been very hard and difficult and unfair,” she said, referring to her last fight.
That happened Dec. 17 in Sarajevo where Garside defended her WIBA title against Serbian Irma Balijagic-Adler.
According to ringside reports, the 30-year-old Garside mercilessly assaulted Balijagic-Adler and knocked her down twice during the fight, but only the most experienced judge, an Austrian, scored it as a victory for the Canadian.
Garside said she felt she won the scrap, but Balijagic-Adler got the split decision and took Garside’s WIBA Featherweight title.
“It was an outrage,” said Garside, whose record now stands at 7-3-1 with 3 KOs.
Still, Sarajevo was a long way from Garside’s local roots.
In fact, she hasn’t fought in Duncan since her debut as an amateur in 1997 at the Cowichan Community Centre theatre.
“I’ll never forget my first fight at the theatre — my friends came with cardboard signs,” she said.
Now she’s more than ready to thrill her hometown fans once again and said she’s looking forward to feeding off the energy of the local crowd.
“They’re my No. 1 fans,” she said.
“They deserve to see me right in my backyard to bring it home — and that’s what I deserve.’’
David Selwyn manages U.S. fighter Olivo — who sports a 7 and 4 record, with one by way of a knockout — and said his fighter’s looking forward to the title bout.
“Dominga has lots of heart, she doesn’t care who she fights or where she fights, she just fights,” Selwyn said by telephone from his New York, N.Y. home.
“She’s a very well-conditioned athlete and takes boxing very seriously and she fights very hard,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say she’s the most absolutely skilled boxer, but she is a tough, tough, tough female warrior.”
Olivo trains at Gleason’s Gym where fighters like Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran, Gerry Cooney and Mike Tyson all worked out. (Before his first title fight against Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, also trained at Gleason’s.)
Selwyn said Olivo will be training hard for the Duncan fight.
“We have a lot of respect for Jeannine Garside,” he said.
“I’ve seen her fight in person and she’s a real tough fighter.”
As for Garside, she said there is only one possible outcome.
“I will win this fight and it will be fair,” she said.
Duncan's Jeannine Garside will be pumped up for her return to her hometown June 6.
By Mike Damour - Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial
The contracts are signed, the venue is secured and the News Leader Pictorial can now announce Jeannine Garside will return to her hometown of Duncan to fight for a world title.
On June 6, at the Cowichan Arena, Garside — a mother of one — will take on Brooklynite and mom of two Dominga Olivo, 37, in a 10-round bout.
“I am so excited about this, it’s unreal,” said promoter Wally Petrovic, owner of Duncan’s Final Round Martial Arts Centre and the man who’s been working to put the fight together.
“This is a World Boxing Council (WBC) Featherweight title fight and it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The promoter’s not the only one thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming bout.
“I’m ecstatic about it, it’s like a dream come true for me,” Garside told the News Leader Pictorial from her home in Windsor, Ont.
“I’ve been such a road warrior lately and some things have been very hard and difficult and unfair,” she said, referring to her last fight.
That happened Dec. 17 in Sarajevo where Garside defended her WIBA title against Serbian Irma Balijagic-Adler.
According to ringside reports, the 30-year-old Garside mercilessly assaulted Balijagic-Adler and knocked her down twice during the fight, but only the most experienced judge, an Austrian, scored it as a victory for the Canadian.
Garside said she felt she won the scrap, but Balijagic-Adler got the split decision and took Garside’s WIBA Featherweight title.
“It was an outrage,” said Garside, whose record now stands at 7-3-1 with 3 KOs.
Still, Sarajevo was a long way from Garside’s local roots.
In fact, she hasn’t fought in Duncan since her debut as an amateur in 1997 at the Cowichan Community Centre theatre.
“I’ll never forget my first fight at the theatre — my friends came with cardboard signs,” she said.
Now she’s more than ready to thrill her hometown fans once again and said she’s looking forward to feeding off the energy of the local crowd.
“They’re my No. 1 fans,” she said.
“They deserve to see me right in my backyard to bring it home — and that’s what I deserve.’’
David Selwyn manages U.S. fighter Olivo — who sports a 7 and 4 record, with one by way of a knockout — and said his fighter’s looking forward to the title bout.
“Dominga has lots of heart, she doesn’t care who she fights or where she fights, she just fights,” Selwyn said by telephone from his New York, N.Y. home.
“She’s a very well-conditioned athlete and takes boxing very seriously and she fights very hard,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say she’s the most absolutely skilled boxer, but she is a tough, tough, tough female warrior.”
Olivo trains at Gleason’s Gym where fighters like Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran, Gerry Cooney and Mike Tyson all worked out. (Before his first title fight against Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, also trained at Gleason’s.)
Selwyn said Olivo will be training hard for the Duncan fight.
“We have a lot of respect for Jeannine Garside,” he said.
“I’ve seen her fight in person and she’s a real tough fighter.”
As for Garside, she said there is only one possible outcome.
“I will win this fight and it will be fair,” she said.
