Stefi Cohen Earns Close Decision with Big Knockdown

Dr. Stefi Cohen beat Leanne Calderon Smith by close unanimous decision tonight at the Fantasy Sports Resort in Indio, California, USA. A big second round knockdown proved to be the difference between a win for Cohen and a draw.

Both Cohen, a 30 year old native of Venezuela, and Calderon, a 35 year old Texan, came out firing. When the fight settled down, Cohen landed several pretty jabs while responsibly keeping her right hand up to guard against the counter. Calderon connected with a good left hook and a couple of rights from the outside. It was a swing round.

In the second, Cohen showed a jab and came with an explosive right behind it. Calderon took it flush and fell to the canvas. She rose quickly with a sheepish smile across her lips and reddening around her left eye. Stefi shrewdly followed up with another big right that forced Calderon back. The powerlifting record-holder then took her foot off the gas and began boxing the rest of the round. Perhaps she sensed Calderon was still strong, but perhaps throwing those big shots had winded her.

Calderon showed tremendous fortitude and smacked Cohen with a couple of punishing rights of her own to finish the second. Calderon continued to connect with crunching rights in the third. Cohen boxed and countered, but her face quickly turned red amidst Leanne's onslaught. A tired Stefi did enough to stay in the fight, but by the end of the third, her condition appeared dire.

Mustering up both courage and grit, Cohen fought her way back in the fourth. She ate a jab and then landed her own. She scored with a big right, but Calderon came back to finish the final round strong. The final punch numbers showed that Calderon had thrown more, Cohen had landed slightly more, and Cohen had landed a greater percentage of her attempts.

All three judges scored the bout 38-37 for Cohen. The Jewish Boxing Blog scored it 38-37 for Calderon, but the fight could have gone either way. Cohen's record moves to 3-1-1 with one KO; Calderon is now 1-3-1.