Behind the Scenes: Laila Ali vs. Valerie Mahfood Fight – by Sue TL Fox

I had decided that it was time to meet Laila Ali.  She was one of the boxers that I had never covered ringside, and felt that this would be a good fight to meet her.  I had heard very good things about Ali and the improvements that she has made in the sport…I also knew that Valerie “The Wolfe” Mahfood would be one of her toughest fights and that it was surely going to be an action-packed title fight to cover.

I arrived in Las   Vegas, about four hours before the weigh-in was to begin.   When I checked into my hotel room at the Stratosphere Hotel, I was overwhelmed by the billboards of Ali and Mahfood—I could not help but think about my own boxing career and the lack of advertisement and support from the public when I boxed in the late 70’s.

THE WEIGH-IN

When I arrived at the weigh-in, the first woman boxer that I met up with  was light-welterweight world champion Sumya “The Island Girl” Anani.  She was with her trainer, Barry Becker and her son. I was impressed with the fact that the three of them had flown to Las Vegas from Kansas   City to be at the fights.  Anani makes it no secret that she strongly supports the sport, and supports other women boxers.   Another boxer at the weigh-in was none other than IFBA Super-Middleweight World Champion  Ann “Brown Sugar” Wolfe, who told me that she was looking forward to an opportunity to fight Ali. (Mpeg of this short interview is available for WBAN Records Members, by requesting it by email)

I was truly amazed that out of all of the women boxers in Las Vegas, that the only two that attended the weigh-in were from other parts of the United States. (Now…if there was one in the audience, they did not make their presence known to me at the time).

It was literally a mad house at the weigh-in—no place to sit to take photos— told to move here, told to move there, and it was just a confusing chain of events.  It was so confusing that I held off  introducing myself to Ali.

I did observe through the midst of confusion, that Ali and Mahfood were real troopers throughout the weigh-in.  Ali appeared to be down to earth—patiently standing in the crowded room, signing autograph after autograph. Ali is tremendously popular and has a huge fan base in Las Vegas.

Mahfood was also relaxed and friendly, signing gloves and photos, and talking with boxing fans.  Ali came in at 167 lbs., and Mahfood  came in at 161.5.

Another observation—-The respect that someone from the outside earns for boxers when you see that both have to be under tremendous pressure, and yet BOTH keep a “poker face” at all times. Truly amazing….and it is no wonder that these two women (Ali – Mahfood) are some of the top and most elite women boxers in the sport today.

There was a small room to the back of the lounge where Ali and Mahfood had gone to get the gloves approved for the fight, and go over the boxing rules with the commission. I went to where Ali and Mahfood were at, and stayed in the background, taking photos and video mpegs.

AT THE FIGHT

I met up with Lori Steinhorst who was operating on about two hours rest—after driving 24 hours to make the fight.  Steinhorst really needs to get an award for her dedication to doing what ever it took to get to the fight. Steinhorst drove from Seattle, Washington to Las Vegas, after the Airlines she was to fly with closed their doors,  one day before she was to fly out!

I met up with Sumya Anani, Elena “Baby Doll” Reid, and Ann Wolfe.  I didn’t talk with Reid, but took a couple of photos of her.

The event was held in the Outdoor Sports Arena.  It was very close to raining, and actually when the first bout of the night had started, it was actually lightly sprinkling.  Needless to say, covering a fight outdoors in the month of November was not the most pleasant experience–but to see Ali and Mahfood duke it out—it was worth it.

UNDERCARD WOMEN’S FIGHT

The second fight of the night was between two new women boxers, who were fighting on the undercard. Both from Las Vegas, Crystal Hoy, 122.5,  fought pro debuter Lisa Pedersen, 123, in a lively four-rounder.

THE MAIN EVENT – ALI AND MAHFOOD

The first to enter the ring was Valerie Mahfood.  The crowd “booed” as she bounced around in the ring.  Then the rap music began, and rappers had a specialty rap tune, using “She Bee-Stingin” in the rap lines. It was a catchy and showy entrance – with boxing fans screaming, “Ali, Ali, Ali.”

In the first round, it was definitely Mahfood’s best round. She seemed to be the quicker of the two….BUT, from after the first round, the fight was all Ali’s.

Ali used a stiff, long snapping jab, and continuously shot it right between Mahfood’s gloves, nailing her in the nose.  Ali threw more combinations, and she came into the ring with a game plan.  Mahfood stayed on the outside, allowing Ali to utilize her reach and height throughout the fight.

The fight was stopped 1:14 seconds of the eighth round, as Ali was throwing some good and consistent shots at Mahfood.

I was told after the fight that Mahfood’s nose had been broken. Mahfood told me after the fight that her nose was NOT broken.

In the Post Press Conference,  Ali said that she was a little bit disappointed with her performance, but that she thought that the fight with Mahfood was  “a pretty easy” fight.  Ali said that she did what she said she would do, and that she wants all of the titles.  Ali went on to say,  “Whoever has a belt I want it. If you don’t have a belt, I don’t want you.”

My comment to Ali’s comment: “Spoken like a true champ!”