(MAY 23) Diane Lee Fischer-Cristiano,
President, Dee Lee Promotions, conducted a press conference, on
Wednesday, at the Don Coqui restaurant in downtown White Plains
NY, detailing the seven bout boxing card scheduled for Friday
May 24 at the nearby Westchester County Center. The ten round
main event matches undefeated Ronica Jeffrey and veteran Olivia
Gerula for the IWBF super featherweight title.
Gerula (13-13-2), who has been
campaigning as a professional for sixteen years, views the bout
as a possible turning point in a career during which she has
been in with some of the top fighters in the sport: Jelena
Mrdjenovich, twice, Frida Wallberg, twice and Kathy Collins. The
Jeffrey bout represents a reunion of sorts for Gerula and Dee
Lee Promotions, which promoted the Gerula/Collins bout in April
1999 in Atlantic City. "Ronica is a great boxer and I'm happy to
have the opportunity to fight her. I'm likewise happy to be
reunited with Diane, who is a great supporter of our sport. If I
can win this one, I'd like to try for Kina Malpartida's WBA
title."
For Jeffrey (12-0-0) in addition
to the chance to extend her winning streak against a quality
opponent, Friday's bout signals a return to her geographic
roots. Following her professional debut in April 08 in the Bronx
and a subsequent bout in Monticello, NY, the Brooklyn fighter
has campaigned, primarily, in Delaware, defeating, in recent
bouts, regarded featherweights, Jackie Trivilino, Lindsay
Garbatt and Natasha Spence. "It's always great to fight close to
home and I look forward to fighting Olivia who has been in with
some of the best in the division."
The Friday night card marks a
professional boxing return to the Westchester County Center
after an absence of several years. The eighty-three year old
building's boxing legacy traces back to the glory days of New
York boxing and neighborhood fight clubs such as Sunnyside
Garden, St. Nick's Arena and Eastern Parkway Arena.