| |
5'7" lightweight Jelena Mrdjenovich was born in
Hay River in Canada's Northwest Territories on June 24, 1982 and now
boxes out of the Panther Gym in Edmonton, Alberta.
Mrdjenovich played basketball for the University of Alberta and
tore her ACL. While convalescing she watched boxing on TV and
her father, a long-time boxing fan, suggested that she might find it a
good sport. She headed to the gym once she had healed up, and never
looked back.
She had
15
amateur bouts (including exhibitions). On January 20,
2002 in the 60-kg final of the 2002 Canadian National
Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario, Jelena lost by a 50-31
tally to the formidable Debbie Richards of London, Ontario to
take the silver medal. (Richards was the 1998 Canadian national
champion, defeating future pro star Jaime
Clampitt, and was voted "best boxer" in this 2002
tournament. She went on to win the 2003 and 2004 Canadian national
championships.)
Since turning pro, Mrdjenovich has been trained by family friend Milan
Lubovac.
“He originally started coaching me because of my
dad," says Mrdjenovich.
"I left my old gym, and started training with him
and we get along really well. He has coached just about everybody. His
big fighter was Tony Badea. I think I have full trust and confidence in
Milan, who is my coach, my promoter, my matchmaker. We’re taking steps,
we’re going about it the right way. I know a lot of people would like
to see me jump in against someone who is 20-0, 16-0. Right now I am
fighting people with my ring experience, which I should be.”
On January 24, 2003 at Shaw Conference Center
in Edmonton, Alberta, a nearly full house of 1100 saw Jelena (134 lbs)
win her pro debut over
Cathy Boyes (135 lbs) of Kamloops, British Columbia by TKO at 1:19 in
the fourth round of a scheduled four-rounder. Mrdjenovich overpowered
Boyes, who had yet to
notch a win in five pro bouts. Mrdjenovich moved
Boyes around the ring with ease, landing telling combinations and
digging
left hooks. The bout was stopped after Boyes was wobbled by a hard
right to
the head. "Jelena showed her strength and pushed her around,"
said
Mrdjenovich's trainer Milan Lubovac.
"She showed she was professional enough to beat
her up and made it look easy."
"It felt good to end it the way I did",
said Mrdjenovich. Boyes, who fell to
0-5 had previously served as a stepping stone for the pro boxing
careers of several
other Canadian fighters, including Olivia Gerula in 1998 and Jaime
Clampitt in
2000, but she hadn't fought professionally since losing to Clampitt in
September
2000.
On September 12, 2003 at
Crowne Plaza-Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton, Jelena (130 lbs) advanced to
2-0-0 (2 KO) with an easy first-round KO of
pro debuter Robin Bealieu (130 lbs) of Fort Smith, Northwest
Territories.
 On
December 5, 2003 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (130
lbs) improved to 3-0-0 (2 KO) with a four-round majority
(38-38,39-37,39-37) decision over
Olga Heron (129 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario. Mrdjenovich had
the size and strength advantage over Heron but Olga kept pressing
forward to
make it an exciting fight. Mrdjenovich was frequently warned for dirty
tactics
and had a point deducted for pushing Heron's head down. Heron fell to
3-2-0 (1 KO)
after two tough back-to-back losses.
On January 16, 2004 at Fort
Garry Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,
Jelena (135 lbs) improved her pro record
to 4-0-0 (3 KO) with a TKO over unranked
Shannon Gunville (131 lbs) of Bismarck, North Dakota who fell to
1-1-0 (0 KO) when she failed to answer the bell for the third round.
 On
May 14 2004 at Crowne Plaza in Edmonton,
700 fans saw Jelena (135½ lbs) knock out Ragan Pudwill (135 lbs) of
Mandan, North Dakota
in the first round. Mrdjenovich scored three knockdowns on the way to
the KO.
She had no trouble working her jab against the shorter Pudwill,
and used this to frustrate the American and set up other punches. About
one minute
into the round she backed Pudwill into the ropes and landed a hard left
hook to body
followed by a left-hook to the head that dropped Pudwill. Pudwill got
up to only be dropped
again by a one-two combination to her body. She got off the canvas but
was dropped
a third time by a left hook to the body.
Pudwill had previously gone four rounds with Mia
St. John and and been stopped in the fourth round by Jaime Clampitt.
“She did better than
ever,” said Mrdjenovich’s coach Milan Lubovac. “She
was physically ready, but I didn’t want her to stop her that fast, I
wanted more rounds.” Mrdjenovich was pleased with her win,
saying "This win shows me that I am doing
the right things. The jab and the body punching worked well.”
The win raised Mrdjenovich’s record to 5-0 with 4
KO’s, and dropped Pudwill to 3-10.
On June 25, 2004 at Shaw
Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs) won a clear six-round
unanimous (60-54,60-54,59-55) decision in a rematch with Olga Heron
(128 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario.
This fight was not a crowd-pleaser
as Heron’s defensive style and Mrdjenovich’s eagerness to score a KO
led to more holding and wrestling than clean hitting. Mrdjenovich scored points in the first two rounds with a steady
barrage of jabs and left hook combo to the body and head, but her
preferred
tactic until the near the end of the fight
appeared to be a lead left
hook followed by a forearm to the side of Heron's head and pushing her
opponent's head down.
Although she was
warned numerous times, no points were deducted. Mrdjenovich was less
effective than usual with her jab, despite having a clear reach
advantage and
was not pleased with her performance.
“I didn’t do anything we worked on in training,”
she said. “I fought her fight. I got frustrated,
her coming under the jab. I should have stepped out and let her come to
me. She executed everything really well and I think I got
frustrated.” Heron fell to 5-8-2 with this loss.
 On
September 24, 2004 at the Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Jelena (130 lbs) started slow, got behind, then knocked out local
favorite Olivia Gerula Pereira (128 lbs)
at 1:13 in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder. Pereira fell
straight back
onto the canvas from a left hook, hit her head on the canvas, and
needed several minutes
to recover. Mrdjenovich improved to 7-0-0 (5 KO) with the win, dropping
Pereira
to 5-8-2 with her first loss by KO.
"I'm certainly happy
with the way this one ended," said Mrdjenovich.
"It took me three rounds to get going, but I
cracked at the end of the third
and if I'd have had two more seconds, I could have ended it right
there.
In the fourth, I knew she was hurt. I hit her with a clean hit right
and then
followed the second with a left hook and that
was it."
According to Jelena's trainer
Milan Lubovac: "Jelena doesn't like anything negative around
her. I believe she started slow because she was fighting in a different
town
against a girl who'd never been stopped before and in her hometown. I
got a little upset with her and told her she had to
start punching. I told her that if (Pereira) was going to let her hit
her that she had to put her away. She got punching and
that was it."
On October 15, 2005 at the
Radisson Hotel at the airport in Calgary, Alberta, Jelena (132 lbs) won
a six-round unanimous (60-54) decision over an aggressive Tracy Carlton
(133 lbs) of Compton, California. Mrdjenovich battered the tough, 5'10"
Californian
throughout the fight, dishing out punishing combinations behind a stiff
jab. Each round followed the same script, with Carlton coming
out throwing punches and Mrdjenovich using her defense to slip or
deflect most of the incoming blows. Mrdjenovich would then press
forward behind her jab and land almost at will later in the round.
As the fight progressed Mrdjenovich’s superior conditioning also became
a big advantage. Carlton fell to 0-6-1 with the loss.
"The key for me
fighting better has been to relax more," said Mrdjenovich. "By
fighting six instead of four rounds, I don't have to rush. I can relax
and just let my hands go instead of tensing up and hoping to score the
big knockout. "Even when I'm relaxed, I still have my power. In
Winnipeg, the first two rounds I tried too hard and tensed up. In the
third and fourth, I felt like I wasn't even punching her but the power
was there."
On November 12, 2004 at Shaw
Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena won a six-round unanimous
(58-55,57-56,57-56) decision over Lisa Lewis of Fresno, California.
Lewis aggressively pressured Jelena throughout the bout while
Mrdjenovich tried to outbox her. The turning point came in the fourth
when Mrdjenovich decked Lewis with a big overhand right. Lewis got up
quickly and continued to pressure Mrdjenovich, but the knockdown
provided an edge for Jelena on the final scorecards. Lewis
fell to 7-10.
“She kept coming forward, she wouldn’t stop
coming,” said Mrdjenovich.
“She made me work. She was tough." Milan Lubovac
said that the bout was a good leaning tool for his fighter. “Lewis
has fought a couple of world champions, and went the distance with them
and has never been dropped in her life, so it is a good
experience.”
On February 12, 2005, at the
Ramada Inn City Centre in Edmonton, former IFBA Featherweight and GBU
Junior Welterweight champion Layla
McCarter (133 lbs) of Las Vegas handed Jelena (132½ lbs) her
first loss with a one-sided (59-55,59-55,59-56) six round unanimous
decision. McCarter dominated this bout from the opening bell and right
through the six-round bout.
"My trainer told me to come out, fake the jab and
throw a right. I did and it landed perfectly," said McCarter,
"that set the pace and I think I earned a bit of
respect from Jelena." McCarter proceeded to
dominate the bout with her combinations. Mrdjenovich landed her best
shot of the night in the final round, but it was too little too late.
McCarter improved to 18-11-4 (2 KOs).
Mrdjenovich had a different
take on the loss: "I thought it was a draw. She never hurt me
and I know I hurt her. Had it gone two more rounds, I know it would
have been a different story. What I learned most is that I have to
punch to win - I have to let my hands go. I can't win a fight waiting
to counter-punch and looking for the KO.''
On March 16, 2005 at
Ranchman's Bar in Calgary, Jelena (132 lbs) fought a rematch with Tracy
Carlton (130 lbs) of Compton, California, this time winning a scheduled
six-rounder by a TKO at 1:14 in the second round. Mrdjenovich went to
the canvas in the first round but she says "While Tracy and I
were in a clinch, she was laying on my back with all of her weight and
I fell down." Carlton faded in the second and
referee Len Koivisto stopped the bout when Carlton failed to fight back
after Jelena pinned her on the ropes with combinations. Carlton fell to
0-8-1.
Accordng to Jelena, "The
reason why I fought Tracy Carlton again, was because that is who the
promoters insisted on bringing down to fight (I guess that she is
moving to Calgary and is now going to be trained out of there) . So
really I had no choice in who the opponent was, the only choice that I
had was whether or not I wanted to fight."
 On April 23, 2005 at Shaw Convention Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena had little difficulty dispensing with Shakurah Witherspoon of
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, winning by a TKO at 1:50 in the first round
of a scheduled six-rounder. Jelena staggered Witherspoon with
a left to the body and then banged away with lefts and rights. Near the
end, Mrdjenovich backed off a slumped-over Witherspoon before wailing
away again until referee Len Koivisto stopped the one-sided
barrage. "I realized that I have a lot of juice," said
Mrdjenovich, "I can go six rounds two minutes, ten rounds two
minutes - as many as I can dish out. I'm not going back. I want to
leave it all out there for everybody to see."
Witherspoon fell to 11-40-1.
 On June 18, 2005 at Shaw Convention Centre in
Edmonton, Jelena (134 lbs) obtained a measure of revenge over Layla McCarter (129½ lbs) of
Las Vegas, with an eight-round unanimous (78-75,79-74, 79-73)
decision. McCarter tried to use her speed and movement to
control Mrdjenovich in the early rounds but Mrdjenovich used her jab
more effectively than in their first encounter and also landed left
hooks to the body and head. McCarter caught Mrdjenovich with a hard
left to start the third, but Mrdjenovich also landed some good
flurries. McCarter came on in the fourth but Mrdjenovich took over the
fight after McCarter suffered a broken radial bone in her forearm in
the fifth, and dominated the later rounds as McCarter gamely fought on
essentially one-handed from a southpaw stance. McCarter landed several
hard rights in the eighth but could not recover from Mrdjenovich's
control of the middle of the fight. On several occasions the ring
doctor asked McCarter if she wanted to continue, but the Las Vegas
fighter toughed it out and survived the last three rounds.
The bout was the main event of Canada's first all-female pro boxing
card in the "A Ring of Their Own" series.
"I'm a lot bigger
than her. I feel I did what I had to do and I had a lot of fun doing
it. I wanted to come out hard and I took a little too much
time feeling her out. I didn't execute quite like I wanted to, but this
is still one of my better performances", said Mrdjenovich. "I
didn't approach things like I should have when she was hurt, and I
didn't finish her off, but I showed what I could do. I wanted to box
and not just brawl. She had to resort to a lot of holding and
head-butting."
Team McCarter told WBAN "We
came back from the hospital and Layla broke her forearm in two pieces,
she will need surgery as soon we get back to Las Vegas, she probably be
out for three months." McCarter fell to 18-12-4 (2 KOs) with
the loss.
"The only thing I
have to do with her is try to get her over her stage fright,"
said trainer Lubovac. "She has to listen to me more and not
to what people tell her and not to what she tells herself.
I know what
she had to do to lift her up to better fights. Now we have to back
track a bit before we move her up in class again. She has to believe in
herself and that she is one of the biggest punchers and one of the best
in the business. And to win, she has to punch."
On August 27, 2005 at Chestermere Lake, Alberta,
Jelena won a fourth-round TKO over Leanne Villareal of Albuquerque, New
Mexico. Mrdjenovich improved to 13-1 (8 KOs) with this win while
Villareal fell to 1-4-1 (1 KO).
Jelena tags Alcanter with a left
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 18, 2005 at the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2200 enthusiastic fans saw Jelena (128¾
lbs) win the WBC and WIBF Junior Lightweight titles with a sixth-round
KO of Franchesca Alcanter (5'4", 129 lbs) of Kansas City. Mrdjenovich
entered the ring to thunderous applause and came out boxing in the
opening rounds, using her jab, ring movement, left hooks and body shots
to control Alcanter in the first two sessions. At the end of the third
Mrdjenovich rocked Alcanter with a big left hook followed by an
overhand right. Alcanter mounted a comeback in the fourth,
landing three hard shots at close quarters but Mrdjenovich regained
control with another hard left hook before the end of the session. In
the fifth, Alcanter tried to brawl and kept Mrdjenovich against the
ropes and in a corner.
Francesca Alcanter on the canvas in the sixth
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
At the beginning of the sixth Mrdjenovich, who had
been told to
"get to work" by her corner, knocked Alcanter's mouthguard
out with an overhand right. She later used a second overhand right to
move Alcanter into the path of a left hook that dropped her flat on her
back on the canvas. Alcanter tried to beat the count and made it to her
knees at six but the fight was waved off at the 0:44 mark by referee
Len Kovisto. The 32-year-old Alcanter fell to 15-7-2 (8 KOs) with this
loss while Mrdjenovich improved to 14-1 (9 KOs). For more of
Mary Ann Owen's photos of this fight card, see MPEG/Photo Gallery #306
on the WBAN Records
Member Site.
"It's only been about three years and I
couldn't have dreamt it better for myself," said Jelena. "You
have to believe your coach when he tells you you're going to be a world
champ in three years, and here it is."
On March 24, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Jelena easily overcame Donna Biggers of South
Carolina in a defense of her WBC Junior Lightweight title. Biggers
retired after the second round of an unequal contest in which the
American absorbed heavy punishment in the first two rounds and then
retired.
Mrdjenovich
found her range early and pummelled Biggers with a barrage of left
hooks and straight rights. The assault led to the ferocious right at
the end of the first that almost knocked Biggers through the ropes. "As
soon as I hit her hard a couple of times, I knew she was in trouble,"
said
Mrdjenovich. "I hurt her and I jumped right on her."
Biggers stayed on her feet in the second despite taking more
punishment, but ended the round bleeding from the nose and had her left
eye nearly closed, according to a ringside report by Scott Zerr of the
Edmonton Sun. Biggers,
who was unranked by WBAN, fell to
17-3-1
(15 KO's).
On May 20, 2006 in Yellowknife, Canada,
Jelena (130 lbs) KO’d Franchesca Alcanter (130 lbs) of Kansas City in
the fifth round in a rematch of their November bout.
Mrdjenovich retained her IWBF Junior Lightweight title
with
this win in her former home town.
On June 23, 2006 at the Shaw
Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Jelena
(133 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous (97-93, 97-93,99-92)
decision over Mia St. John
(134 lbs) of Los Angeles. to win the WIBF Lightweight title.
St. John fell to 43-7-2 (18 KOs).
On September 1, 2006 at the Shaw Conference
Center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
Jelena (133
lbs) won by a six-round unanimous (59-55x3) decision over Olga Heron
(130 lbs) of Mississauga, Ontario in a second rematch. Heron fell to
4-7-0 (1 KO) while Mrdjenovich improved to 18-1
(11 KOs).
Jelena battles Ann-Marie
Saccurato in November 2006
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen
On November 4, 2006 at the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton, Alberta, Jelena (133 lbs) lost by a split (96-94,96-94,94-96)
ten-round unanimous decision to Ann-Marie Saccurato (135
lbs) of New York City for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. Ann-Marie
Saccurato improved her record to 12-1-2 (5 KOs) with
the win.
On February 10, 2007 at the Delta South Hotel, in
Edmonton, Canada, a sold out crowd saw Jelena (130½ lbs) win an
eight-round unanimous (77-75,78-74,79-73) decision over Belinda Laracuente (127
lbs) of the Bronx, New York. Mrdjenovich told the local news
media that it was hard to fight Laracuente because she kept her hands
so low, and backs up a lot. She also said that Laracuente was tough and
talented. Laracuente said after the fight that Mrdjenovich was “a great
champion.” Jelena advanced to 19-2 (11
KOs) while Laracuente fell to 22-17-3 (9 KOs), her losses being to the cream
of the competition in women's boxing.
On
April 13, 2007 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs)
won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,98-92) decision over Emiko Raika (129 lbs) of Japan
for the WBC Junior Lightweight Title. Raika had few answers for Mrdjenovich's
right hand and was in trouble in the fourth and fifth rounds, but
rallied in the sixth. "She came straight forward all night,
but when she bent over at the waist to try to get inside, she was wide
open for my uppercut", said Mrdjenovich. Raika
fell to 16-3-1 (6 KO's)
while Mrdjenovich improved to 20-2-0 (11 KOs).
On
September 28, 2007 at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton,
Jelena (133½ lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (99-91) decision
over Kelli Cofer (131 lbs)
of Willard, Ohio for the WIBF Lightweight title. Mrdjenovich was too strong for the southpaw
Cofer, who she outfought at close quarters. Cofer was bloodied in the
fourth round and had to to convince her corner to allow her to continue
in the fight. Mrdjenovich improved to 21-2-0 (11 KOs) while dropping Cofer to 13-6-4 (4 KOs).
On
December 7, 2007 at the Shaw Conference Centre, in Edmonton, Jelena was
held to a ten-round draw (96-94,94-96,95-95) by Dominga Olivo of Monticello, New
York. Jelena retained her WBC Junior Lightweight title belt but was
quoted in a post fight interview in the Edmonton Journal as saying “I
really don't understand these judges. I outboxed her, out-countered
her, I had better defence, better offence. When I heard those scores I
was shocked. It's almost like the judges expect me to come out strong
and when I change my style a bit I get penalized for it." However,
as
detailed on WBAN by writer Bernie McCoy, the real issue may
have been a less than convincing outing by Mrdjenovich against a
surprisingly difficult opponent with a potent overhand right than any
mis-call by the judges. Olivo, who previously had a strong career as an
amateur and was coming off an eight-round majority decision loss to
Layla McCarter last June, moved her record to 5-2-1 (0 KOs).
On March 28, 2008 at the Shaw Conference Centre in
Edmonton, Layla McCarter
(132.6 lbs) of Las Vegas won a 10-round split decision over Jelena
(134.8 lbs). McCarter was defending her WBA Lightweight title. Final
judges scores were 96-94, 96-94, and 94-96. Mrdjenovich was cut on the lip, then the nose and
then a large gash on the right side of her face. While McCarter
appeared to be in control -- especially in the early rounds -- she
could feel the momentum shifting. "I thought I dominated the
first five rounds." she said, "but then I let the
tide turn. The second half of the fight was so close. It was hard to
call. I was nervous." Once again, Team Mrdjenovich
complained about the home town officiating. Mrdjenovich's trainer Milan
Lubovac blamed the loss on "lousy refereeing. You can't get a
good decision in this city." Asked about the decision,
Mrdjenovich said "I'm disappointed. But I'm not surprised in
Edmonton." (Before the fight, WBAN had ranked McCarter #3 at
lightweight, and Mrdjenovich #4.)
On September 12, 2008 at the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton, Jelena (133 lbs) won an eight-round unanimous
(77-75,77-75,77-75) decision over Lakeysha Williams (129 lbs) of
Philadelphia, PA, who fell to 9-14-3 (1 KO) while
Mrdjenovich moved to 22-2-1 (11 KOs). According
to a
report by Chris O'Leary, "Mrdjenovich
came out of her corner with some zip to her punch in her first match
since hurting her knee while fighting Layla McCarter on March 28.
Mrdjenovich showered Williams with combos to the head and face early in
the bout to set a dominant tone. Not one to back down, Williams
absorbed a lot of punishment and stuck around long enough to dish some
back to Mrdjenovich. Tensions overflowed in the later rounds, with the
two going toe-to-toe from the fifth round through to the eighth and
final round."
On November 7, 2008 at the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton, Jelena (129 lbs) successfully defended her WBC super
featherweight title against Lyndsey Scragg (129½ lbs) of Wednesbury,
U.K. by a 10-round unanimous (96-93,98-90,96-93) decision. According to
a
report by Murray Greig in the Edmonton Sun, "Maximizing
her five-inch height advantage by doubling hooks off a piston-like jab,
Mrdjenovich floored Scragg in the first and seventh rounds, but both
times the feisty Brit rebounded and reloaded to give as good as she
got. 'Except for the knockdowns, I thought we won," Erroll Johnson,
Scragg's trainer/manager said afterward. "Lyndsey was scoring heavily
to the body on the inside, but obviously the judges weren't seeing
that." Mrdjenovich disagreed, saying "She was tough, but I didn't think
it was close at all. We knew she'd gamble by trying to go to the body,
but that left her head wide open. Once I was able to set up the hook
off the jab, I rocked her every time I doubled up. She was definitely
one of my tougher opponents, I give her full marks for coming all the
way from Britain and fighting as hard as she did. I think we gave the
crowd a great show." Scragg dropped to 7-1-0 (3
KO's) with her first pro loss.
On April 9, 2009 in
front of a sold-out house at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, Olivia Gerula
(127½ lbs) of Winnipeg,
Manitoba won a ten-round unanimous (97-94,97-94,96-95) decision over
Jelena (129 lbs) for the WBC super featherweight world title. Gerula
came out aggressively and outhustled the home-standing Mrdjenovich, who
looked tired after the early rounds and was unable to mount a
sufficient comeback after her corner told her she would need a KO to
win the fight. Mrdjenovich's trainer Milan Lubovac was unhappy with his
fighter's performance,
saying
"We can't blame this one on the judges or the
referee; my fighter just didn't fight. She was breathing through her
mouth after two rounds. What does that tell you? She didn't do her
running to get ready and she was complacent in the gym. She didn't want
to pay the price that a champion has to pay. Jelena has all the talent
in the world, but that means nothing if you choose not to put it to
use. That was her choice tonight. I knew after the fourth round she
couldn't win unless she got a KO, but she didn't go for it. Her heart
wasn't in it after she ran out of gas. She's going to have to decide if
she still wants to pay the price, or call it a day."
"It was an
amazing fight,"
said
Gerula. "I was aggressive from the very beginning. She tried
to land that famous left hook of hers and she landed a few. But I’ve
learned to cover up and take some punches. I had her in trouble... she
did hit the canvas once but they called it a slip. I had her tired and
backed up and she was holding. It was a war and it was
great." Gerula improved her record to
11-10-2 (4 KOs) with the win.
On November 13, 2009 at the Shaw Conference Center
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Ann-Marie
Saccurato (133 lbs) of New York won a ten-round unanimous
decision in a rematch with Jelena Mrdjenovich (133 lbs) for the WBC
Lightweight title. Canada.com correspondent Paul Owen
wrote
that "Saccurato knocked Mrdjenovich down in the third and
fourth rounds and escaped with an emotional 96-94, 94-94, 95-93
majority victory to retain her title belt ... '"I'm happy with the
outcome. I'm not happy with certain things that I couldn't pull off
that I would have liked to, technically, in the ring," said Saccurato
... The fight started well for Saccurato, as her first punch of the
bout caught Mrdjenovich on the left eye, and another shot in the second
round swelled up the other. Saccurato then caught Mrdjenovich off
balance and sent her to the mat in the third, and again in the fourth
with a vicious right hand. Mrdjenovich fought back after the second
knockdown, however, bloodying Saccurato's nose in the sixth round and
cutting open her forehead in the ninth. "I definitely wanted to finish
it, but I knew I was jumping in too much. I was getting too anxious and
I was falling away from my game plan, so I was just trying to settle
down some, which I didn't do as well as I would have liked to,"
Saccurato explained. The tide almost turned in Mrdjenovich's favour in
the ninth round when Saccurato was penalized a point for punching
Mrdjenovich in the back of the head after being repeatedly warned by
referee Don Smart, but it wasn't enough to overcome the early lead
built by Saccurato ... "All I have to say is that it was a great fight
for women's boxing. I thought it wasn't deserving of a draw, but it was
a great fight ... and that's what we need," said a curt Mrdjenovich
after the fight." (For a fight photo gallery see Photo Gallery #514 WBAN
Member Site). Saccurato improved to
15-4-2 (6 KO's).
On May 7, 2010 at the Shaw Conference Center in
Edmonton, Jelena TKO'd Dominga Olivo of Brooklyn, NY at 1:28 in the
sixth round of a scheduled eight-round rematch of their December 2007
draw. According to a
report
by Chris O'Leary in the Edmonton Journal, "A
quick right to the face did Olivo in, after she stood toe-to-toe with
the former World Boxing Council super featherweight champion through
the first five rounds of the bout. Mrdjenovich said she had a good
feeling about the sixth round. 'I felt that round,' she said. 'I told
Milan (Lubovac, her trainer) in the corner, I said, 'This is it, this
is the round.' And I shortened up and that right hand just opened up
and it was a nice, tight punch.'"
Mrdjenovich improved to 24-5-1 (12 KOs) as Olivo
dropped to 7-6-1 (0 KO's).
On
November 10, 2010 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Lindsay
Garbatt (129¾ lbs) of Oshawa, Ontario won a ten-round split (93-97,96-94,96-94) decision over Jelena Mrdjenovich
(129½ lbs) for the vacant WIBA Junior Lightweight title. Garbatt
improved to 6-3-1 (3 KO's) with the win. Garbatt's nose was
broken in the second round, and she later said "I felt the blow and I felt
the blood gushing out of my face. I've
never had that full-out broken nose before. You don't feel anything in
the fight, but when I was going back to the corner to get the water, I
was kind of suffocating and I couldn't understand why, but it was
because my nose was full of blood."
Jelena vs Lindsay Garbatt in Barrie, Ont on February 4, 2011
© Copyrighted photo by Durell Wambolt
On February 4, 2011 at the Molson Centre in Barrie,
Ontario, Canada, WIBA Junior Lightweight champion Lindsay Garbatt (128¾ lbs) of
Oshawa, Ontario defeated Jelena (129¾ lbs)by a ten-round majority
decision. The judges’ scores were 96-95, 96-94 for Garbatt and 95-95.
Rick Mclean
told WBAN that "Both ladies picked up where they had left off in
their previous fight as each went right at the other landing hard
combinations in a tit for tat battle in the early rounds ...
In rounds two through five Mrdjenovich was able to land solid straight
right hands to the head of the champion however Garbatt would respond
right back by landing good hooks to the her (head) and body on the inside.
These were incredibly difficult rounds to score. In
the sixth round Mrdjenovich got a bad cut over her left eye that was
caused by a right punch. Garbatt battered Mrdjenovich around the ring
for most of the round however Jelena was able to score but only with
only one punch at a time usually just enough to keep Garbatt off of
(her). Mrdjenovich’s face (was) a crimson mask throughout the seventh round
but she fought right through it taking the fight to Garbatt in what was
her best round of the fight. Garbatt took the eighth round with steady
pressure and a high volume of punches while Jelena threw punches back
but would then hold on a lot. Rounds nine and ten were an
absolute toe to toe war as both fighters chopped away at each
other’s head and body. Both fighters landed hard crowd pleasing
punches and neither took a step back. The judges did get the
decision right however as Garbatt did do more than enough to
earn the decision." Garbatt improved her record to 7-3-1 (3 KO’s) while Mrdjenovich
dropped to 24-7-1 (12 KO’s). For more of Durell Wambolt's photos of this fight, see MPEG/Photo Gallery #528
on the WBAN Records
Member Site. On
June 24, 2011 at the Shaw Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, Melissa Hernandez (129¾ lbs) of New York won an eight-round split
(77-75,77-75,75-77) decision over Jelena Mrdjenovich (132¼ lbs) of
Edmonton in a non-title bout. The
victory moved Hernandez to 15-2-3 (5 KOs) while Mrdjenovich dropped her third straight, falling to 24-8-1 (12
KO's). Hernandez was a late replacement for Irma Balijagic-Adler of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who failed a medical exam.
On September 22, 2011 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan,
Jelena (128¾ lbs) won a clear unanimous (98-92,97-93,96-94) ten-round
decision over Emiko "Fujin" Raika (130 lbs) of Tokyo in an eliminator for the WBC Junior Lightweight title held by Sweden's Frida Wallberg.
The bout was close in the first four rounds, but the WBC's open scoring
system alerted Mrdjenovich's team that she needed to pick up the
pace and set down on her punches more. “Raika can really take a shot,” Mrdjenovich told the Edmonton Sun's Murray Greig. “In the last three rounds I
hit her flush with punches that would’ve knocked out any other opponent
I’ve fought, but she took everything. I broke her nose and cut her up
pretty good, but she just kept coming." Mrdjenovich improved her record to 25-8-1 (12 KO's) while Raika fell to 22-7-1 (9 KO's).
Jelena was named WBAN Fighter of the Month for October 2011 for this away-from-home win. 
Jelena Mrdjenovich stands over fallen Olivia Gerula
© copyrighted photo by Guhdar Photography
On December 9, 2011 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Jelena (125¾ lbs) KO'd Olivia Gerula (125¼ lbs) of Winnipeg, Manitoba at 0:23 in the ninth round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the WIBA Featherweight title. Mrdjenovich
was ahead by 78-74 on all three scorecards of the open scoring before
she caught Gerula with a perfectly placed left hook to the temple as
she closed in.
Gerula hit the canvas face down and was out cold for several
minutes. Mrdjenovich improved to 26-8-1 (13 KO's) with the
win. Gerula, who took the fight at a week's notice as a
replacement for injured Sarah Pucek, fell
to 13-13-2 (3 KO's). WBAN
named Jelena Mrdjenovich "Most Improved Fighter of 2011" and cited her
KO of Olivia Gerula as one of the Three Biggest KO's of 2011.
When she isn't boxing, Jelena manages the Nova Inn
hotel and restaurant in Edmonton. "Boxing
is challenging to me, mentally and physically, and I enjoy the hard
work," she says. "Having to be hit over and over
again, having to deal with it and push through, it's kind of like
chess," she says. "You have to show one thing and
do another and plan your moves carefully."
Other
Jelena Mrdjenovich links
To check
out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge
digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records
Member Site
Page last updated:
Sunday, January 1, 2012
|
|
