A Ring of their Own All-Women’s Card in Laughlin, Nevada by David A. Avila

(MAR 27. 2005 ) LAUGHLIN, NEVADA-Bloodied, battered and disappointed, Elena Reid suffered her first loss in several years.  Before more than 1,000 people at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino, Reid was stopped by technical knockout by New York’s Alicia Ashley in a bantamweight bout scheduled for eight. Referee Jay Nady stopped the fight because of a cut over Reid’s right eye at 1:04 in the seventh.  Though Reid was the favorite coming into the fight, Ashley was the bigger, faster and more experienced fighter and showed it. [All photos by Mary Ann Owen]

Copyrighted photos by Mary Ann Owen

Using her longer reach and deftly moving side to side, Ashley popped Reid with jabs and landed some stiff left hands. It was a left hand that caused a cut over Reid’s eye in the sixth round.

“I hurt her in the third round,” said Ashley (11-5-1), who usually fights at a heavier weight and has fought champions such as Chevelle Hallback. “After that, she didn’t want to come in any more.”

Reid tried to work inside but found herself walking into left hands. And when she backed out, Ashley would catch her again with left hands.

“I wanted to show people I could box,” said Ashley. “But after I hurt her I didn’t have to move.”

The first two rounds Ashley moved quickly around the ring, changing direction whenever Reid closed in. Both fought out of a left-handed stance.

“I don’t think because we’re both left-handed that it caused a problem,” said Ashley. “It’s just like two orthodox fighters fighting each other.”

Ashley was correct. It was more her handspeed and reach that befuddled Reid who could not figure out how to effectively attack the rapidly moving Ashley.

Reid suffered her first loss since losing to Layla McCarter several years ago. “I’m a little disappointed,” said Reid (16-2-5). “I have to go back to the gym and improve.” Ashley felt her amateur experience proved the decisive factor in winning the fight.

“I’m a boxer. I never go into a fight thinking I’m going to stop someone,” said Ashley. “I’m a boxer. I know people don’t like to see boxers, but that’s what I am.”

In a featherweight bout, Fontana’s Heather Percival was the underdog against Michigan’s Jennifer Salinas (5-1) who is tutored by famed trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. But she proved to be more skilled and won by unanimous decision.  “I landed the straighter shots,” said Percival (6-1). “I guess I have the better trainer.”

Percival, who is trained by Larry Ramirez, moved side to side giving angles to the hard rushing Salinas. The judges scored the fight 40-36 for Percival.

“This was a great win because she was supposed to be the better fighter,” said Percival. “She was aggressive but it’s not always the aggressive fighter that wins. It’s the fighter who connects the most.”

From the first round, Percival found holes in Salinas defense. And when Salinas closed in too fast, she was met with wicked right hands.

In the second round Salinas began to land more punches to the body, but so did Percival. During the following rounds Percival seemed to have more energy and began landing three-punch combinations. Occasionally, Salinas would land a solid right hand, but it wasn’t enough.

In a junior middleweight bout, Texan Akondaye Fountain (5-0) won by technical knockout over Shelly Burton (6-2) of Montana.

Burton pressed the fight but kept getting caught with left and right counters. It was a fight decided by Fountain’s ability to slip and counter.

In the seventh round, Burton rushed Fountain with a fussilade of punches that caught her off-guard. But when she tired, referee Robert Byrd stopped it. The crowd booed.

A match between super middleweights ended in a six-round draw between Asa Sandell (2-0-1) of Sweden and Yolanda Swindell (3-2-1) of Texas.