CONFIDENTLY fighting her way through eight full rounds, Port Macquarie boxer Jessica Messina successfully defended her Australian Welterweight title last Thursday, defeating Arlene ‘Angerfist’ Blencowe via unanimous decision.
It’s the 33-year-old athlete’s first professional boxing title to defend following her securing the belt in June last year.
Taking to the ring at Bella Vista Hotel in Sydney, Jess delivered according to her gameplan throughout the eight two-minute rounds.
“The fight went great. My team came up with a great gameplan that we had been working on throughout camp and I executed it almost perfectly on the night,” Jess told News Of The Area.
She does admit however, that it wasn’t her best pre-fight preparation.
“We had a 10-12-week camp and to be honest it wasn’t the greatest prep as I was hit hard this flu season and was sick almost every other week, with actually coming down with influenza six weeks prior to the fight,” said Jess.
“However, we kept pushing forward and made the most of the training sessions we had.”
Her opponent, Arlene Blencowe, is a seasoned combat athlete, having previously held a boxing World Title.
She is however best known for her career as an Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athlete where she has competed against top fighters including the infamous Cris Cyborg.
Although Arlene is no longer ranked, Jess wasn’t taking the fight lightly; a loss meaning that she would have been sent packing back to the beginning.
“Every win feels amazing, however this one had a lot riding on it because I had everything to lose and not much to gain,” she said.
“I was the champ with world rankings and as mentioned, Arelene was more known for her MMA career, so at this time she did not have any ranking in boxing, so a loss would have put me back to square one.”
First picking up the gloves at 17-years-old and turning to the gym where she became hooked on the sport, Jess’ relationship with boxing is complex.
“It’s a love-hate relationship. It gives you the highest highs where nothing else compares to the feeling of winning but it also gives you the lowest lows,” she said.
With her biggest inspiration however spurring from an intense longing to fulfil her potential and be the best boxer she can be, she has no plan to stop anytime soon.
“I want to go international and win World Titles,” Jess said.
“And I won’t stop until I get there.”
By Rikki WALLER
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