Submitted by Kaitlyn Clark*
Last night, Thursday August 21, 2014, the women’s teams from Canada and the USA battled it out in Montreal at the Bataille Des Frontières: USA vs Canada. At the end of the night, Canada came out on top defeating the USA in 5 of the 9 bouts of the evening. Boxing Ontario is proud to have been represented by 3 boxers: 48kg Canadian Champion Taveena Kum, 51kg 4x Ringside Champion Amanda Galle and 75kg 2012 Olympian and 3x World Champion Mary Spencer.
Taveena Kum kicked off the night in excellent fashion showcasing her ability to box bell to bell against 2x USA Boxing National Champion, Alex Love. Taveena showed determination and relentlessness from start to finish of every round, not allowing her opponent to gain momentum at any point during the match. The fight was action packed with both boxers engaging in large exchanges throughout the fight, leading to a nail biting split decision finish, which saw Taveena Kum come out on top victorious.
Next up, in the 51kg division was Amanda Galle vs 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Marlen Esparza of Team USA. At the start of the first round, Galle came out confident, not allowing her opponents vast experience faze her. As the round progressed, Galle stalked her opponent around the ring while maintaining a tight guard, limiting opportunities for Esparza to land. Throughout the next three rounds, Galle’s confidence began to show as she began to let her hands go, throwing quick and powerful punches to the body and to the head. At the end of 4 rounds of another outstanding boxing match, Galle lost by unanimous decision; however, she held her head high and displayed admirable character as she congratulated her opponent on a hard-fought bout.
Last on the card representing Ontario, and the second to last bout of the evening, had 2012 Olympian, Mary Spencer taking on Francheon Crews of the USA. This bout was very intriguing due to the history between these two boxers – having fought numerous times in past. As soon as the first bell sounded, Crews marched across the ring, attempting to land the first big combination of the fight, and threw wildly at Spencer. Spencer, using her years of international experience, kept her focus and didn’t allow her opponent’s initial aggression to disrupt her game plan. Throughout the fight, Spencer showcased her extraordinary skills by snapping her jab ruthlessly and utilizing her speed and agility in her footwork and head movement to out maneuver the brawler, Francheon Crews. Spencer dictated the pace of the fight throughout all 4 rounds and after the last bell rang she came out on top in a split decision victory over “The Hard Hitting Diva” Francheon Crews.
Congratulations to all of the women who represented Canada last night and a special appreciation to Taveena Kum, Amanda Galle and Mary Spencer for showcasing the talent and skill that Boxing Ontario has to offer while displaying excellent sportsmanship towards the USA Team. Great job girls!!
This exchange and training camp is in preparation for the American Continental Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico which will see changes to the roster.
Full Results for the evening are as follows:
- 48kg Taveena Kum (CAN) defeats Alex Love (USA) 2-1
- 51kg Marlen Esparza (USA) defeats Amanda Galle (CAN) 3-0
- 54kg Christina Cruz (USA) defeats Vicky Pelletier (CAN) 2-1
- 57kg Sabrina Aubin (CAN) defeats Kristin Carlson (USA) 3-0
- 60kg Queen Underwood (USA) defeats Odile Letellier (CAN) 3-0
- 64kg Sara Kali (CAN) defeats Destiny Chearino (USA) 2-1
- 69kg Myrium Da Silva (CAN) defeats Danyelle Wolf (USA) 2-1
- 75kg Mary Spencer (CAN) defeats Franchon Crews (USA) 2-1
- 81+kg Krystal Dixon (USA) defeats Vanessa Lepage J. (CAN) 2-1
*Kaitlyn Clark is Ontario’s Elite Women’s Light-Welterweight Champion, boxing out of Beaver Boxing Club in Ottawa. She will be boxing for the Canadian title from October 27th to November 1st at the Delta Meadowvale in Mississauga. Follow her on twitter @kaitlynEC
