(DEC 1) Alesia Graf's last appearance in
the ring was on 15th September in Rostock against Zulina Munoz of
Mexico. Friday night in Karlsruhe, GBU champion Graf faced another
Mexican, Esmeralda Moreno (8-2-0), in a 10 round title fight. Graf
vs. Munoz was fast and action packed, and those who hoped for the
same top quality entertainment in Karlsruhe were certainly not
disappointed.
Esmeralda Moreno's disadvantage in height and reach was compensated
by speed, a good and repertoire of punches and the courage to take
Graf's punches to get in close.
The first round went clearly to the
Mexican, who caught Graf with a couple of very powerful right hands,
and had her backed up in the corner twice and used the opportunity
to work her over with some very good combinations to the body and
head.
When Graf sat down after the first
round, she had that "Oh no, not one of those days" expression on her
face. The second round began pretty much as the first ended, with
Moreno cornering Graf and punishing her with some very good body
punches. Graf looked slightly better in this round, but Moreno
stayed focused and kept marching forwards, which ought to have won
her the round.
In the following rounds, Graf was able to get through with more
punches, although Moreno made an immediate payback in most of the
time. Graf's corner kept telling to keep her distance, and when
began following the advice, she was able to score with her counter
punching, and did not get caught on the ropes as often as she did in
the early rounds. In the later rounds Moreno lost some of her
precision, and began missing more punches, but she still kept coming
forward until the final bell.
The fans gave both boxers loud and well
deserved applause for an action packed and well fought bout, but the
announcement of the scores, 97-93, 97-94 & 98-92 was received with
widespread booing by the Karlsruher crowd. Many had no doubt seen
the gutsy Mexican as the winner of this fight.
#
# #
#
For Online IWBHF Tickets for
Next Event!
Check Our Next Annual International
Women's Boxing Hall of Fame Event that we have to celebrate hour IWBHF
Inductees and Special Award Recipients!
Next Event, Go Here!
Our Online
WBAN/IWBHF Online Store
Proceeds from the Online Store is to
continue our mission to support the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S BOXING HALL OF
FAME. The Official collection includes IWBHF and WBAN Merchandise and
Memorabilia from the WBAN Boxing Collection. We will continue to list
items from the collection and merchandise.
