Kel-C “The Road Warrior” Jeffries – speak softly and carry a big fist

by Ivette Ricco

July 21, 2005 HP Pavilion San Jose, California

When I arrived at HP Pavilion Thursday the 21 st to interview Kelsey Jeffries, I wasn’t sure what to expect. First, I had never watched Kelsey box, nor had I ever watched a women’s boxing match live or on TV. My husband Mike came along to take photos of Kelsey as well as the other fighters on that night’s fight card.
Bruce Anderson, Kelsey’s manager, had arranged for www.Femmefan.com to interview Kelsey in her dressing room before the fights.

Kelsey Jeffries (32-8-0) weighed in at 118.5 pounds, is the #1 ranked featherweight in women’s boxing, The IFBA World Champion , IBA World Champion, California State Champion, WIBF Americas Champion, WIBA Intercontinental Champion. Kelsey (29) was raised in Hawaii Kai, Hawaii and is now living in Gilroy California. In addition to her already busy schedule and demanding training regimen, Kelsey is an Emergency Medical Technician and a Paid Call Fire Fighter for the Hollister City Fire Department.

This night she was scheduled to fight Leona Brown (13-15-0) who weighed in at 122 pounds, in a 6 round bout.

Kelsey Jeffries was fighting fourth, on a five-fight card that night. Kelsey’s opponent was Leona Brown, a fighter from NY who Jeffries had defeated in June of 2004.
After that fight Kelsey stated that it had been a really dirty fight.

I knocked on the door with some hesitation. I was feeling a bit excited and somewhat nervous about this one on one with a boxing Champion.

When I entered, she was, sitting on a chair, with her knit cap pulled low over her brow, her baggy workout clothes hanging loosely from her slight frame.
She looked so small. The image struck me. Here was a 29 year-old young woman doing what generations of men had done before, but not generations of women. She was trying to be the Champ. She was fighting against all the odds.
She spoke very softly, but with great conviction. And as I would later discover she would also carry a big fist.

Ivette:
Kelsey thank you very much for doing this interview with www.Femmefan.com.

You’ve been a professional boxer since 1999 and one of the busiest fighters in women’s boxing. At the age of 29 how much longer do you want to stay in the game and what is your ultimate goal.

Kelsey:
My ultimate goal is to achieve the best that Kelsey can achieve in boxing.

And part of me wants to give the public a different view of a women fighter, which is myself, a woman fighter who has skills and can look and can fight as well as a guy but not, you know, with the strength, not equal as a man but the same levels as a man, like skills, and they can move and slip and they look professional.

That’s probably one of my goals.

How long? As long as it takes, it’s tough. You know this fight was tough; you have to fight just to get to fight. Sometimes a fight doesn’t weigh out and I’m giving more than I’m getting back.

I will just gotta keep on going forward.

Until it happens. Until I achieve my goal, and I will do what it takes to do that. I’m too determined.

Ivette:
So how many years do you think it’s going to take to achieve this goal?

Kelsey:
It’s taking a lot longer than I thought, but I’m getting to a stage in my career where I’m really starting to improve. I’ve got an excellent trainer, and excellent manager. It’s taking a lot longer than I thought. I’ve got an excellent trainer, and excellent manager. And my trainer Buddy McGirt, he has improved me a hundred percent.
I’ll give it as long as it takes.

Ivette:
You’re fighting Leona Brown tonight and you fought her on June 17, 2004.

And after the fight you said “she did everything bad that I’ve ever experienced”.

Will you approach this fight any differently tonight?

Kelsey:
Leona Brown is a fighter. She’ll do what it takes to win. That’s what a fighter is. That’s what I meant by that. I didn’t mean it as, like there was some pretty bad stuff in there. But, she’s a fighter and you’ve got to do what it takes to win a fight. I anticipate that tonight. I know she’s made some improvements she’s had a couple of fights and I’m ready for whatever and I want to see how I handle her tactics tonight. I want to handle them differently. I don’t want to let her be able to get dirty with me. I want to be able to keep her where I want to keep her.

Ivette:
So it’s more of a mental challenge to you than a physical challenge?

Kelsey:
Definitely.

Ivette:
You grew up in Hawaii and became interested in boxing by way of kickboxing.

Do you have any favorite male boxer?

Kelsey:

Arturo Gatti. He’s my favorite, favorite fighter. In all the world.

Ivette:
Because of his heart?

Kelsey:
Definitely his heart.

And he’s a beautiful man; he’s a great person. I’ve met him several times at camp and definitely - his heart and his will to fight.

Ivette:
He’s kind of the fan’s type of boxer because he gives it everything and you know he’s never going to leave the ring until he’s given everything, his all. Is that the type of fighter that you are?

Kelsey:
Definitely, definitely. He’s my idol.

Ivette:
In women’s boxing the heavyweight division is the most visible with Laila Ali being the most recognizable, do you think that division will reach mainstream America before other women’s boxing?

Kelsey:
I think it has already, just with the name. They’re able to push her in places someone like myself can’t go. So you know everybody thinks of her when they think of women’s boxing. More power to her that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Ivette:
Could you describe your training regimen and diet for the young women out there who might be interested in pursuing a career in boxing?

Kelsey:

If it doesn’t hurt you’re not doing enough.

I work hard - I run hard - always pushing myself on my limits. If I run a mile and it’s really easy then I run two. If I run a mile and a half and it’s really hard maybe I can break it down a little bit. A lot of running you need to do, a lot of mental discipline. Keep a regimen and keep it no matter what comes up or what comes in don’t give up on your training.

And your diet, I mean, eat healthy, real clean food.

Ivette:
One of the things that I’ve noticed over the years and I’m a boxing fan, is that people have a perception that it’s sort of a primal and vicious sport. And I think the people who really love boxing are in admiration of people who train because it’s a very demanding sport mentally and physically. Would you say that boxing is going to get a better reputation by way of women’s boxing?

Kelsey:

I don’t think so. Just because you know in men’s boxing you see a death and people freak out. With women it’s like three times that. It’s really hard for people to see women getting hurt.

I don’t think it’s a brutal sport.

Unfortunately what we do is, you can say it’s brutal, we’re punching each other but to me it’s about heart. It’s so much about heart.

You’re in there and you’re hurting the other opponent, it’s all about fatigue, you’re getting tired you wanna give up and you wanna keep going. You got a lot of pride on the line. It’s all so mental I think it’s hardly any physical.

Ivette:

Did the success and popularity of Million Dollar Baby help or hinder women’s boxing?

Kelsey:

That’s hard to answer because I really didn’t care for the movie. But in a way I guess you can say that any publicity is good publicity. I think it helped people at least to see that it is a sport perhaps, but, again, back to the brutality, that’s all it was, it was about this girl getting hurt. I wish they would have put a little bit more in to show the athleticism of a women fighter and shown how women athletes can perform

Ivette:

So what do you think it will take to change people’s perception of women’s boxing?

Kelsey:
Kelsey Jeffries.

I want to change them. That’s my goal; my ambition is to show them the new fighter. I’m a different fighter. I’m Arturo Gatti as a female.

I wanna show them I’m a different kind of a female fighter.

Ivette:

Any words for your fans out there in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Kelsey:
I’m The Ali'i warrior, I wanna prove I’m the best; I wanna prove that a girl can fight. I’ll give it everything I got, to show that.

Ivette:

She’s kissing s strange man who just walked in (Buddy McGirt).

Thank you very much Kelsey - www.Femmefan.com appreciates this opportunity.

Kelsey went on to defeat Leona Brown in a unanimous decision, 59-55, 60-54, 59-55, increasing her record to 33-8-0.
Her boxing skills were obvious to the very savvy 3300 boxing fans in attendance and although the crowd gave Contender winner Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora a big hand when he was introduced, they saved their biggest applause for Kel-C, Pu-Ali, the Road Warrior with a soft voice and a big fist.

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