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In a four-round bout, Wendy Rodriguez of Los Angeles defeated Sue Godwin of La Mesa (California) by unanimous decision
in a fight that electrified the audience and featured clean, hard punches, quick movement, sustained tempo and great
will to win on the part of both women.
After establishing her attack in the second, Rodriguez dominated the last two rounds, connecting with increasing
regularity with good jabs and straight hard rights, and bloodying Godwin's nose in the fourth and final round.
The fast-paced outside exchanges were counterpointed by a few remarkable stands of tenacious in-fighting which
impressively demonstrated the grit and determination of these two women athletes, the high level at which they
pursue the sport and the purity of their style.
In the second round as Rodriguez was beginning to find the mark consistently on the outside, Godwin trapped
Rodriguez in the corner, seeking to wear her down and punish her from the inside. For long moments, Godwin
sought to outmuscle her opponent, straining for the moment to break through with a hard shot, nearly missing
with a sudden uppercut. Rodriguez was able to slip out of the corner and immediately turned the tables,
cornering Godwin and trying to wear her down on the inside just as Godwin had done moments ago.
While long moments passed in the corner when no punches were thrown, the referee wisely chose not to break the
fighters up. And they responded with great efforts to punch their way out of the deadlock - classic women's
boxing in which the women come to fight, and come to fight hard and clean, enforcing their own high code of
honor almost without need of the referee.
Confirming earlier reports, the judges' scorecards read 40-36, 39-37, 39-37 in favor of Rodriguez, who made it
two for two on the night for trainer Victor Hernandez, who also trains Marsha Valley and has been very successful
honing the skills of several women boxers including the dynamic JoJo Wyman.
Estimated attendance: 800
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Page last updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 |
