Dr. Stefi Cohen to Face Leanne Calderon on Thursday

Dr. Stefanie Cohen is scheduled to face Leanne Calderon Smith on Thursday, February 23 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, USA. Calderon Smith will pose a tough test for Cohen.

Cohen (2-1-1, one KO) is a world record-breaking powerlifter, entrepreneur, and social media star. The 30 year old native of Venezuela earned a PhD and has been a professional boxer for just under two years. She's only had four fights because of bad luck. Quite a few of her scheduled bouts have fallen through. Most recently, two potential fights with Kedra Bradley were cancelled. The latest one, scheduled for late last month, was scrapped because of a bizarre weight issue.

As a result of the cancellations, Cohen last fought eight and half months ago when she lost a unanimous decision to Devany Cuevas Torres.

Calderon Smith (1-2-1) is a 35 year old from Texas. On paper she doesn't look like much of a match for Cohen, but Calderon Smith's lone win came over Cuevas Torres, the woman responsible for Cohen's lone loss. Calderon is 1-1 against Cuevas, and both fights resulted in majority decisions last summer. Calderon drew with an experienced fighter with an even record in her debut and lost her last fight to Shurretta Metcalf, a solid boxer with a winning record. Leanne also has amateur MMA experience.

BoxRec lists Cohen and Calderon as an inch apart in height, but in reality, Calderon will enjoy a wider advantage. Cuevas towered over Cohen while Calderon wasn't that much shorter than their common opponent. Calderon has a good jab, pretty quick hands, and solid fundamentals. She has no knockouts, so Cohen will want to jab her way inside and then use her strength. Cohen has improved tremendously in a short period of time, but perhaps she tries to box too much instead of finding her way in close and mauling her opponents.

This bout is scheduled for four two-minute rounds. The event will be shown on DAZN.