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5'7" lightweight "Merciless" Mary McGee was born on September 25, 1986 in
Gary, Indiana, USA. Raised by a devoutly religious grandmother, the former high
school cheerleader had to choose between a boxing career or an easier life with
her family.
As an amateur she boxed out of John Taylor's Gary Police
Athletic Gym in Gary, Indiana. Under Taylor's training, she won the 156-lb Novice
Championship at the 2004 Chicago Golden Gloves and was named captain of
the PAL team in 2004 and 2005.
She made her pro debut on May 20, 2005 at the Radisson Star Plaza Hotel in
Merrillville, Indiana, weighing in at 144 lbs and winning a four-round unanimous
(40-32,40-32,40-32) decision over pro debuter Jasmine Davis (144 lbs) of Madison,
Wisconsin.
On July 8, 2005 at the Radisson Star Plaza Hotel in Merrillville, Mary (142
lbs) TKO'd Willicia Moorehead (5'10", 137 lbs) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 1:37
in the third round of a scheduled four-rounder. Moorehead fell to 2-17 with this
loss.
On September 30, 2005 at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana,
Mary (140 lbs) knocked out Brandi Davis (5'5", 140 lbs) of Milwaukee,
WIsconsin at 0:51 in
the first round. Davis fell to 0-3 and has not fought professionally since.
On October 21, 2005 at Caesars Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana, Mary (138½ lbs)
TKO'd pro debuter Brandy Pope (138½ lbs) of Olive Branch, Mississippi at 1:53 in
the first round of a scheduled four-rounder.
On February 24, 2006 at the Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana, Mary (140 lbs) won
a four-round unanimous (40-35,40-35,40-35) decision over Susan Winner (148 lbs)
of Lawrence, Kansas, who fell to 0-1-1.
 On April 14, 2006 at the Radisson
Star Plaza Hotel in Merrillville, Mary (143 lbs) won by a TKO
over pro debuter Kelah Pollari (142 lbs) of Milwaukee at 0:57 in the first round
of a scheduled four-rounder (photo at left).
On May 26, 2006 at Resorts Casino in East Chicago, Indiana, Mary (141 lbs) won a
six-round majority (58-56,59-55,58-58) decision over Leora Jackson (140 lbs) of
Springdale, Arkansas, who fell to 2-7 (0 KO's).
On November 17, 2006 before a packed house at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Mary (137 lbs)
faced unbeaten (9-0) rival Rita Figueroa (138¾) from Chicago, Illinois in
a scheduled eight-rounder for the IN.B.A. Junior Welterweight title. The fight was
stopped at 0:41 in the fourth round due to a clash of heads, and it was ruled a no
contest. The scorecards for the first three rounds read 30-27 McGee, 29-28
McGee, 28-29 Figueroa.
Mary McGee (L) vs Kim Colbert
© Copyrighted Photo by Juan C. Allyon
On February 9, 2007 at the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana, Mary
(134 lbs) won a four-round unanimous (39-37,38-37,38-37) decision over Kim
Colbert (137 lbs) of Southfield, Michigan who fell to 2-12 (2 KO's) with the
loss. McGee received a standing eight count in the first round, but came back to
take the decision over the always-dangerous Colbert. According to WBAN
correspondent Juan C. Allyon, "In the
first, Colbert nearly floored McGee. Knocking her off balance on the ropes, she
unloaded with both fists. Covering up and pinned down on the lower ropes, McGee
drew an eight count. Resuming, she knocked Colbert across the ring with a
counter. Springing, she unloaded. The two battered each other back and forth
until the bell. Colbert’s rushing tactics threw McGee off balance in the first
half of the second round. Clearly uncomfortable, McGee slipped into a pattern of
covering on the ropes while Colbert unloaded with winging, looping blows from
odd angles. Coming off the ropes, she said, “F—you,” to Colbert’s corner when
they said McGee was scared. That did it. She bulled forward and pounded Colbert
against the ropes. The two took slugged hard until the bell. Changing gears in
the third, McGee began moving more, spearing with two or three punch bursts,
then circling out instead of waiting for the counter. Boxing better, she
asserted herself. Her puzzle was solved. This tactic carried into the fourth and
final round. McGee jabbed, crossed and circled out when Colbert pressured her to
the ropes. The two slugged toe to toe for the last 30 seconds of the round."
 On April 20, 2007 at the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana, Mary (137
lbs) KO'd Christina Jones (139 lbs) of Cincinnati, Ohio at 1:07 in the second
round of a scheduled six-rounder (photo at right). Jones fell to 0-3 with the loss.
On June 8, 2007 at , Mary (133 lbs) won a four-round unanimous (40-36,
40-35,40-36) decision over Eva Lidia Silva (138 lbs) of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico who
fell to 4-8 (0 KO's). Try as she might teeing-off on rugged, but ultimately
outmatched Silva,
According
to Juan C. Ayllon for CyberBoxingZone: "McGee was unable to stop her over
four rounds. Their bout appeared on the cusp of a stoppage in the first and
fourth rounds, but Silva was truculent enough in swinging back to stay in the
bout. The decision was a mere formality." (Fight photos
here).
On September 21, 2007 at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Mary (135 lbs)
TKO'd Willicia Moorehead (132 lbs) at 1:33 in the first round of a scheduled
six-rounder. Moorehead fell to 2-18 with her second loss to McGee.
Tawnyah Freeman (L) vs Mary McGee
On October 19, 2007 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, Mary (139½
lbs) TKO'd Tawnyah Freeman (137¼ lbs) of Fort Smith, Arkansas at 1:12 in the
fifth round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the NABC Lightweight title. Freeman
fell to 8-5 (3 KO's) with the loss. According to a
press release
from One In A Million Boxing, "McGee dropped
Freeman for the first time in round three and twice in the fourth. McGee, who
got stronger and sharper as the fight went on, finished Freeman off at 1:12 of
the fifth. 'At first, it was hard for me to settle down,' McGee said after the
victory, 'but I looked to my corner and my trainer Carlos (Jones) told me to
relax and do what we worked on in the gym. So that's what I did. When she threw
her jab, I moved and then dropped her.'"
On December 14, 2007 at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana, Mary (140
lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-54,60-54,60-54) decision over Leora Jackson
(144¾ lbs) who fell to 2-11-0. According to a
press release
on EastSideBoxing.com: "From the opening
bell, McGee was clearly a more skilled boxer, stronger puncher and smarter
fighter, but Jackson proved to have a chin of granite, taking power shot after
power shot during every round and refusing to go away. After the bout, McGee
said, "She's (Jackson) a tough girl. Tonight I beat her more convincingly than I
did in 2006. Now I'm moving on and will be looking to win another title next
year."
 On April 19, 2008 at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana, Mary (135¾ lbs)
TKO'd Renee Richardt Douglas (134 lbs) of Fenton, Missouri at 1:22 in the first
round of a scheduled six-rounder. This was Richardt Douglas's second straight loss since a
three-year layoff from pro competition, and dropped her pro record to 11-6-1 (4
KO's). "I worked very hard to make sure everyone understood how serious I was
about defending my title tonight", McGee
told NWI.com, adding "I hope everyone saw what they wanted to see."
On August 2, 2008 at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana, Mary (134½ lbs) TKO'd
Tonya Gallegos (5'6", 132 lbs) of Denver, Colorado at 1:52 in the second
round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Gallegos fell to 4-9 (2 KO's) with the loss.
Jessica Mohs vs Mary McGee
Photo: One In A Million Boxing
On January 23, 2009 at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Mary (133 lbs)
TKO'd Jessica Mohs (131 lbs) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 0:01 in the third
round of a scheduled six-rounder. Mohs fell to 7-20-2 (2 KO's) with the loss.
McGee said
that she entered her bout with Mohs carrying a heavy
heart following the passing of another World Champion Giselle Salandy 17-0 (6
KOs). "I have the ultimate respect for her and I looked up to her," said
McGee of Salandy. "This fight is for her and her family, this is one fighter
that I had really respected and there are not many female fighters that I do
respect the way I do Gisselle."
On April 25, 2009
at the Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana,
Mary won a 10-round majority (95-95,97-93,97-93) decision over in-state rival
Kristy Follmar of Cedar Lake, Indiana for the vacant
WBC International Junior Welterweight title.
According to Jacob Chavez at
FightNews.com, "As
the ladies entered the ring, the shouting and applause from the
audience was deafening as the action got started right away. Both
fighters aggressively looked to establish a jab. Follmar displayed good
footwork as she circled the ring and used her taller frame to keep the
action at a good range. The crafty McGee demonstrated great skills in
her aggression. She landed solid combinations while fighting on the
inside which gave her the ability to cut-off the ring. McGee continued
to press the action in the second while she displayed better accuracy
in her punching. Follmar was very game when trading with her opponent
but often ate more punches than she connected with. Follmar began to
make adjustments in the third as she circled McGee more effectively and
found a better rhythm with her punches. She also focused more on the
jab, but McGee wisely stuck to her strategy. Midway into the round, she
pounced on Follmar and lured her into trading power shots. Again, the
fans went berserk as they came together for explosive exchanges.
McGee once more had a higher connect percentage as she shortened her
punches, despite absorbing plenty of punishment herself. Follmar looked
to step up the pace in the fourth by becoming more aggressive than in
the previous rounds. She focused early on the body and scored with
solid combinations. But McGee however did not back off as she
successfully countered to the head of her opponent. Round five would go
to Follmar due to her steady and relentless pressure. This seemed to be
taking somewhat of a toll on McGee as she slowed slightly. Round six
also saw terrific trading with Follmar once again landing and moving,
however McGee connected with the more effective punches. Rounds eight
and nine were extremely close. Follmar stuck to her guns with
combinations on the outside. McGee continued to land with hard counters
within close range. The tenth and final round showed what makes certain
fights special and keeps people talking for years to come. The grueling
and debilitating exchanges from both fatigued women had fans on their
feet throughout the stanza. Both woman wanted the win and pushed for
it. There was no more boxing or back peddling; it was all toe-to-toe
trading. In the end McGee let out a cry and fell to her knees in tears
when announced as the winner, and like a true sportsman, Follmar
applauded and congratulated her." Follmar fell to 16-2 (9 KO's).
Brooke Dierdorff (L) vs Mary McGee in February 2010
© Copyrighted photo courtesy Team No Mercy
On February 26, 2010 at the Hammond Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana,
Brooke Dierdorff (133 lbs) won a six-round
unanimous (58-56,58-56,58-56) decision over Mary McGee (136 lbs).
According to NW Indiana Times correspondent Nate Ulrich, "Dierdorff
controlled the first four rounds with several hard charges that repeatedly
pinned McGee against the ropes. McGee, however, opened the fifth round with a
relentless attack and ended the sixth by drawing blood from Dierdorff's nose.
Still, McGee's late emergence wasn't enough in the end." Dierdorff
improved to 6-4-1 (3 KO's) with the win. On
July 30, 2011 at the US Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana, Mary McGee
returned to action and won a six-round decision over Ashleigh
Curry of St.Joseph, Missouri. Curry fell to 3-6-2 (1 KO) while
McGee improved to 18-1 (10 KO's).
"I am committed to my career and to training hard every day,"
said McGee, who
regularly spars with more experienced male fighters. "I chose this sport because
I know how to work hard, and the world will see the results of my work."
Other Mary McGee 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:
Tuesday, 2 August, 2011 |
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