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On February 11, 2000 in Kenner, Louisiana,
in one of the most eagerly awaited battles in women's
boxing at that time, challenger
Margaret Sidoroff
(108 lbs) of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
won a hard-fought ten-round unanimous (98-92, 98-92, 97-93) decision
over IFBA Flyweight champion
Jolene Blackshear
(111 lbs) of Rohnert Park, California.
Blackshear had been out of the ring for 17 months but
she showed no ring rust as she won the
first two rounds with her hard-charging aggressive
style and tagged Sidoroff repeatedly. Margaret improved the timing
of her counter lefts in the
third, and the fight turned around in the middle rounds. Sidoroff
showed great head movement and superb reflexes to slip Blackshear's
punches while landing her own busy and effective combinations.
As Blackshear fell behind on points, she escalated the
pressure and the final round was a war with both fighters taking
and dishing out significant punishment. Sidoroff rose to the
challenge and was backing Blackshear up as they went toe to toe
to end an exciting, skilled and heart-filled bout.
Winning the IFBA Flyweight title vs. Jolene Blackshear
© Copyrighted photo by Sue TL Fox
Margaret stopped by my Women's Boxing Forum to tell us all about the
fight when she got home ... here's an excerpt from
what she posted, and a mini-interview she did with me a couple of
days later ...
Dee,
I've been writing in to you with fight reports since my third
pro bout, and even though I know you got to see this one (on TV) I didn't
want to spoil the tradition...
There are so many people I'd like to thank for their support
and their involvement in my fight with Jolene Blackshear! First
and foremost I'd like to thank Jolene herself. She is awesome! I
admire Jolene's work ethic and pre-fight focus. She was the
lightest opponent I've ever faced as a pro, however she was still
the strongest! I knew I was in for an incredible test when I was
on the wrong end of a butt-kicking for those first couple rounds!
My apologies to those who warned me not to test the waters (I'm a
little hard-headed that way)!
Anyway, I had a chance to sit down and chat briefly with
Jolene after the fight, and I was totally impressed with her
positive attitude and kindness towards me. Jolene is one of the
biggest credits to our sport and I was honoured and thrilled to
meet and befriend her. She will always be World Champion to me.
Thanks also to Josh, Bev, Tom, Brenda, Dan, Donna, Keith,
Ryan, Andre, Walt, Rich, Jamie, Bill, Alicia, Andrew, Tyrone, Mr.
Peltz, Mike, Rick, Doug, ESPN2, Greg, Miller, Chad, Pops, Jane,
Gilbert, Ann, and all of the other people (I could write
thank-you's for days, and I still haven't checked my e-mail
messages!!!) that helped me, supported me, and cheered Jolene and
me on. It was a wonderful experience.
Love,
'Mean' Margaret
I also talked to Margaret off-line:
Dee:
There's a couple of things I am just dying to ask you ...
What happened between the second and third rounds? You
changed up something and started to catch her coming in. Were
you making a conscious adjustment to the way you were timing
her, or did you see something you could do that you just weren't
able to in the first two rounds?
Margaret:
The truth is I've always been a cold start, Dee. Just like Joe Frazier
used to lose the first few rounds of his fights, I generally do the same
in mine. Eva, Brenda, and Leona started out our respective fights by
putting a beating on me, and I quite expected the same from the
quick-starting Jolene. We've been trying to figure out a way to warm up
before my bouts, but it seems like I have to get cracked a few times
before I realize I'm in a fight and wake up!
© Copyrighted photo by Sue TL Fox
Dee: You seemed to be timing your left better as she
came in but I didn't know what had made that happen.
Margaret:
Yeah, I knew I had to box her to win, but I had to earn some respect first
and that was the plan.
Dee:
You showed fantastic movement in that fight to slip
Jolene's punches when she was coming right at you down
the middle, but it looked like you had to throw a lot of looping
punches because of the way you were moving to slip hers.
Was that the plan you went in with or did you have to make
it up as you were going along?
Margaret: Well, like I said we went into the bout knowing we were going to get blown
out the first few rounds, so I wasn't at all surprised or worried. I knew
that I would have the opportunity to box once I earned some respect and
warmed up a bit. I watched the tape and hated to see myself winging
early, but that's how I warm up I guess! I didn't want to return to the
brawl that started early, but turned up my output whenever Jolene came on
a little stronger. I just kept telling myself "Stay ahead, and stay
smart!"
© Copyrighted photo by Sue TL Fox
Dee:
After what happened to Kathy Williams in Germany
against Daisy Lang, you might have knock Regina Halmich all round
the ring to win the WIBF title in Germany. You were tagging Jolene
hard near the end of your fight but she was able to keep herself out
of big trouble when she had to. Do you think you could keep them honest
if you fought Regina in Karlsruhe?
Margaret:
Obviously they're not going to be honest, and it's really a sad thing for
the sport. From what we've heard Kathy fought great over there, and I'm
really disappointed to hear that somebody other than Daisy and Kathy may
have decided the outcome. But Kathy's a great boxer and she'll be back!
If Daisy really wants to be recognized as a champion she should offer
Kathy a rematch outside of Germany (but don't hold your breath, Kathy).
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