Boxing Tournament in Grenada (Part 2)
By Jillian Russell, jillian37dd@yahoo.com
Twelve ladies, including Jillian Russell, duke it out on the Caribbean island of Grenada. Part 2 narrows the group to four semi finalists.



Saturday!
The day seemed to drag on given me every second to think about and imagine
what this evening had in store for me. My stomach was churning even though
I hadn't eaten anything for 12 hours. I even wretched a couple of times in
the late afternoon. Should I declare myself sick?

Finally it was time for me to go to the dressing room. I went through my
normal routine of massage, stretching, have my hands taped, dress, shadow
box and spar and finally have my gloves laced on just before going to the
ring. This time I already had my gloves on before my bikini was delivered.
I had asked for green and it was a pale green. It was brief with the top
covering about 3/4 of my breasts and the bottom scarcely my womanhood. There
was absolutely no room for any protective gear under the bikini.

The day had been hot so the fight had been delayed until after sunset. We
take the short golf cart ride from the dressing room to the ring entrance
and I can feel my nipples stiffen in the cool evening breeze. My second
lifts my robe off as is required before I enter the ring. I'm in a daze
from the lites flashing and the noise of the crowd as I walk to my corner.
I can see that Chantel was in the ring and looked ready to fight. The
introductions were made. Montpellier and I were in a stare down as the
referee went over our final instructions. We banged gloves without breaking
our stare then turned and went to our corners. The cool breeze blowing
across the outdoor ring was like an aphrodisiac as it struck my body. My
nipples looked like two bullets as they pushed out the green fabric of my
bra.

The bell rang and I move toward the center of the ring. Montpellier charges
me driving me back into my corner. Her punches were flying and I was trying
to cover up. She scored with a right into the top of my bikini that hurt
me. I doubled forward and Montpellier caught me with a left upper cut under
my chin. My mouth guard popped out of my mouth. I could taste blood; she
had cut the inside of my mouth. I attempted to tie her up as I didn't want
to get hit in the face without a mouth guard. The referee pulled us apart
and called out for us to box. He had no intention of letting me get a new
mouth guard. I fought defensively for the remainder of the round with
Montpellier working me over with some brutal punches to my breasts and
tummy.

I had protected my jaw and mouth from further damage but my breasts and
tummy had paid for it and I'd lost the round. My trainer was livid with the
referee who stated that he would only stop the fight if one of us was
seriously injured. The inside of my mouth had a nasty cut that continued to
bleed throughout the fight. Montpellier had won the round, 10-9

I went out aggressively for the second round but couldn't back Montpellier
up. This was going to be a crowd pleasing fight with one of us KOed or
TKOed. I snapped the French lady's head back with a right uppercut and I
think she was going down but was able to wrap her arms around me to remain
on her feet. The ref pried us apart and admonished her for holding. She
recuperated quickly and hurt me with a left that landed below my bell
button. The punch was too low but the ref didn't do anything. I was
momentarily paralyzed and Montpellier rocked me with a huge right to the
left side of my head. I stumbled backward into the corner with Montpellier
on top of me, delivering another left well down into my bikini. The bell
ended the round and saved me from a certain knock out as I was unable to
defend myself. I struggle up and my second enters the ring to carry me to
our corner.

The judges could see that she had rendered me defenseless at the end of the
round which put her up 20-18. My corner work feverishly on me with ice and
water but a minute to recuperate isn't much time. I described the hard body
shots that really hurt me but I had taken about 10 in the round which tend
to have a cumulative effect. I was still swallowing blood which wasn't
doing my stomach any good.

In round 3, I came out offensively to either hurt her or be hurt. She was
up to the challenge and we traded some heavy punches for about 30 seconds.
I was able to stagger the French lady twice. She now had a mouse forming
under her left eye and a substantial swelling around the eye but Ms.
Montpellier kept up her attack. She went back to my body and breasts until
I lowered my guard, and then scored with a big right hook to my left eye. I
cried out as the pain stabbed through my face. She had opened up a nasty
gash on my left eyebrow and the blood was running into my eye obscuring my
vision. Next, I'm on my back as if in a dream looking up at the stars and I
can hear noise echoing like in a vacant room, 4 . . . . 5 . . . . 6 . . . .
I roll over and get to my knees. There's a small puddle of blood on the
mat. 7 . . . . 8 . . . . I pull myself up using the ropes. I can barely
stand as the referee cleans my gloves and asks if I want to continue. I nod
"yes" He calls out "let's box" I'm still dazed as Montpellier hits me. I'm
on my back again. The hollow noise in deafening but again I hear the
counting. 6 . . . . 7 . . . . 8 . . . My legs seem numb but I'm on them.
The referee is holding me and steering me to my corner. Is the fight over?

Montpellier had dropped me with a right hook that I never saw, then when I
got up I couldn't defend myself and she floored me again. My corner was in
frenzy, not knowing for sure whether to repair me or throw the towel in. My
left eye was a mess, almost swollen completely shut now with a gruesome cut
along my eyebrow and a whopper of a mouse below the eye. I staggered as I
stood for round 4

It was 30-26 for Ms. Montpellier as she had knocked me down twice in the
third. Round 4 was about to begin, a sudden rain shower moved through the
area delaying the fight. I got a 10 minute rest because of the rain. We
both got the rest but I needed it more. We were soaked and despite efforts
to dry the ring canvas, it remained slippery. We were toe to toe exchanging
punches when Montpellier slipped. I was able score a big right to her head
before we both went to the canvas. Chantel was under me and I think got
hurt in the fall although she tried not to show it. The cut on my eyebrow
had opened up and with blood trickling into my eye I could not see
Montpellier's right hand coming and she took full advantage with some firm
shots to my breasts and head.

I walked back to my corner with blood trickling down the left side of my
face and I was still swallowing blood from the cut inside my mouth. The
French lady had won all 4 rounds probably with a score of 40-35. The left
side of Montpellier's face was now badly swollen but she hadn't been cut. I
actually felt like boxing now, the cut bothered me but I was coping with
it.

You think to yourself as you come out at the bell for Round 5 that there
are only 8 more minutes to go. It's at times like this when 2 minutes turns
into what seems like half an hour. We both began very aggressively and she
worsened the cut on my eyebrow early. I was fighting half blind as I buried
my left into her solar plexus. Montpellier hadn't seen the punch coming and
the result was devastating for her. Ms. Montpellier was totally defenseless
for the first time in the fight. I drove my right up under her chin
snapping her head back, then a left under her right breast and a final
right into the left side of the French ladies face. Chantel Montpellier
crumpled to the canvas out cold. The French lady lie stretched out on her
back as the referee administered the full count before allowing her trainer
to come to her aid. My final right hook had split her left cheek open about
an inch below her eye. Her trainer/husband and the ring doctor worked on
her for about 5 minutes before carrying her to her corner.

I had won but I was certainly batter and bruised. It would be about 60 days
before I'd be healed enough to continue in the tournament. I knew the
organizers had planned to complete the tournament in three weekends.

I returned to my dressing room where I lie on the trainer's table packed in
ice waiting for the doctor to suture my eyebrow. It was past mid night by
the time the doctor arrived. He wanted to sedate me as the cut was deep and
it would take 12-15 sutures to close it.

I wasn't conscious of anything until Sunday morning about 11 am and
realized that I was so sore that I could barely get out of bed. My left eye
was swollen completely shut, my breasts were bruised and my ribs were so
tender that I could hardly breathe. I wanted to go back to bed but I also
wanted to see today's match.

It was sunny and about 80 degrees by 1:30 which was half an hour before
fight time. Alexandra Witherspoon entered the ring first, and then about 5
minutes later Tekina Tavares made her entrance. Tekina was definitely the
crowd favorite. The referee gave the ladies last minute instructions and
the fight was on.

Witherspoon took the fight to Tekina. These ladies were very close in size
and weight. Round 1 was more or less a feeling out process with no visible
damage inflicted but Witherspoon had taken some heavy body shots. Round 2
begins with the ladies going at it in a toe to toe exchange. Witherspoon
goes down from a looping right thrown by Tekina. Witherspoon makes it to
her feet by the count of 8 but is wobbly. She tells the ref that she'll
continue. The words "let's box" are called out by the referee. Tekina moves
in backing Witherspoon to the corner with body punches. Alexandra's hands
drop low and Tekina unloads a combination to the Brit's head. Witherspoon
is out cold. The referee waves off the count. Witherspoon's trainer and the
doctor rush to her aid. It's a devastating 2nd round knockout by the
Jamaican, Tekina Tavares.

This leaves three unbeaten fighters, Jitka Zabrzova of the Czech Republic,
Tekina Tavares of Jamaica and Jillian Russell of the USA. We wait anxiously
to see who would get the by and I wondered what the organizers would do
about my injury.

The announcement was made. There would be no by. It was decided to bring
Danielle Coulthard of Australia
 back to fill a wildcard spot and have two semi final fights. The names
were drawn from a hat. It would be Danielle Coulthard against Jitka
Zabrzova and I would fight Tekina Tavares. Both fights would take place
here, mine on the Friday nite and Zabrzova and Coulthard on the Saturday
nite exactly two months from this weekend.

Friday Evening

Jillian Russell - USA
173 cm (5' 8")
63 kg (139lbs)
93d-73-91 (37d-29-36)
             vrs.
Tekina Tavares - Jamaica
175 cm (5' 7")
60 kg (132lbs)
90c-70-95 (35c-28-37)

Saturday Evening

Jitka Zabrzova - Czech Republic
181 cm      (5' 9")
63 kg (138lbs)
91c-63-91 (36c-25-36)
               vrs
Danielle Coulthard - Australia
178 cm (5' 10")
64 kg (140lbs)
86b-71-79 (34b-28-31)

Tekina Tavares had fought less than three minutes and had come away with
two destructive knock outs. Both of Tavares' opponents had spent a nite in
the hospital, both were ok but the knock outs were brutal.

Would I be ready to face Tekina Tavares in 60 days?

Watch for Part 3