Mrdjenovich UD 10 Raika

[Dee Williams]

By MURRAY GREIG

EDMONTON SUN


Jelena Mrdjenovich likes to go by the book And last night at the Shaw Conference Centre, she wrote a new chapter.

In her most complete performance since winning the World Boxing Council super featherweight title in November 2005, the Edmonton fighter successfully defended that crown by pitching a shutout en route to a unanimous 10-round decision over Emiko Raika of Japan.

"It's always a little easier when you don't have to look for your opponent, and I give Emiko full marks for putting up a great fight," said the 5-foot-6, Mrdjenovich, who enjoyed a five-inch height advantage.

"She came straight forward all night, but when she bent over at the waist to try to get inside, she was wide open for my uppercut.

"The other thing I was really pleased with was my hand speed. we've been working on that a lot in training, putting together more creative combinations. With a fighter like Emiko, who relies on pressure, that's pretty much the best way to keep her off."

Mrdjenovich scored virtually at will with a looping right, and in Rounds 4 and 5 had Raika in serious trouble. She rocked the Japanese fighter with a six-punch salvo late in Round 5 that opened a cut, but Raika gamely shook it off and launched her best offence of the fight Round 6.

"She never hurt me, but I definitely knew she was there," said Mrdjenovich. "Overall, I thought it was one of my better fights, even though I didn't get the knockout. But any time you can keep to your fight plan, it's usually going to turn out good. I wanted to stick and move and land the power shots when there was an opening, and that's what happened."

Pre-fight records and WBAN Rankings:

#2 Jelena Mrdjenovich 19-2-0 (11 KO), score 11568
#7 Emiko Raika 16-2-1 (6 KO), score 3377

[Dee Williams]

by John Korobanik, The Edmonton Journal

www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=15445289-cc0b-4d52-a1c4-c7d1dff3b1ef&k=11750

EDMONTON - Jelena Mrdjenovich knew she had been in a fight Friday night, but she retained her World Boxing Council women's super featherweight championship with a unanimous 10-round decision over Japanese challenger Emiko Raika.

"This is unbelievable," the Edmonton champion said after the victory before a sold-out crowd of 2,700 at the Shaw Conference Centre. "She was one tough opponent." Raika, 16-2-1 going into the fight, spend most of the first four rounds stalking Mrdjenovich from the middle of the ring with no success.

Mrdjenovich, now 20-2-0, scored with several left-right combinations to the head, finally forcing Raika to abandon her strategy. She came out in the fifth firing lefts and rights and turned into a tiger. Mrdjenovich, looking fitter and faster than at any time in her career, had her hands full keeping the Japanese champion at bay, but also prevented her from inflicting any real damage.

"I think I frustrated her in the opening rounds," Mrdjenovich said of her challenger's sudden change in strategy.

"I don't think she expected me to be that fast, especially with my jab. When she finally figured it out, then she started throwing those huge punches." Holder of three women's world titles, Mrdjenovich and Raika threw everything they had at each other in the final two rounds. In the end, Mrdjenovich still had her three world titles while Raika left with a bruised jaw and bleeding from her nose and one ear.

[Rick Scharmberg]

Congratulations to Jelena on what was a very big win!

[Dee Williams]

This fight between Jelena Mrdjenovich and Emiko Raika can be viewed on April 18 by visiting www.prizefightnetwork.com.

For further information contact Amy Green at: [e-mail].

[Dee Williams]

by Colin Dease, FightNews Canada

2007-04-16

Edmonton's Jelena Mrdjenovich (20-2) looked better than ever en route to a 10 round unanimous decision over Japan’s Emiko Raiko (16-3-1) to retain her WBC Featherweight Championship title in the main event of Friday the 13th’s ‘Nowhere to Hide’ card held before a capacity crowd at Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre. While watching Jelena dominate her opponents is nothing new for Edmonton fight fans, the way in which she dominated Raiko just may have been. A few years ago Jelena may have decided to stand in front of Raiko and trade with her, and it was evident that is exactly what Raiko wanted, but it was not to be; Jelena’s camp seemed to have a strategy of hitting without getting hit, and Jelena executed that plan masterfully. From the opening bell until the end of the tenth round Jelena overwhelmed Raiko with blinding speed and slick combinations that appeared to confuse Raiko, and keep her off her game. While Raiko appeared ready and showed great courage over the course of the fight, trying to walk Jelena down, despite being peppered from all angles, she was unable to catch her the entire night. Jelena, however, was not surprised with Raiko’s toughness.

“I knew she was very tough, she fought before with a broken jaw and broken ribs - the fact that she continued to walk forward on me may have frustrated me if I wasn’t so prepared, but I knew how tough she was, and I prepared for it, so it didn’t bother me.”

In addition to her improved hand-speed, Jelena’s footwork appeared more polished; improvements she credits to her veteran trainer Milan Lubovac and her preparation with Melissa Hernandez of New York City who was brought up as a sparring partner for Jelena.

“I worked hard for this fight, had many rounds with Melissa, I worked on my movement in the ring, concentrated on getting off my punches faster, and getting in and out of the pocket, instead of getting hit.”

Asked for her overall assessment of the fight, Jelena said she felt her victory over Raiko was her best performance to date. Appreciative of witnessing a world class performance, fans in Edmonton look forward to what comes next for Jelena.