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Monday, March 6, 2023

The Delay Before Ben Ephraim-Draskovic

Odelia "Thunder" Ben Ephraim shut out Tijana Draskovic last Friday in a six-rounder in Blagnac, France to improve her record to 4-2. Before the fight, Draskovic waited in the ring for seven minutes and forty-five seconds before Ben Ephraim began her ring walk. From the time Draskovic climbed through the ropes until Ben Ephraim's entrance into the ring, ACDC's Thunderstruck played for one full rotation and then restarted. Officials scrambled to see what was happening.

The Jewish Boxing Blog has learned the cause of the delay. Ben Ephraim-Draskovic was the fourth of six pro bouts on a card that began with amateur fights. Originally, an intermission had been scheduled for just before Ben Ephraim's fight, the halfway point of the pro portion of the event. The intermission was cancelled at the last minute, which threw off the timing of Ben Ephraim's warmup. She smartly decided not to rush out to the ring and instead, finished her pre-fight preparation.

A proper warmup is essential for a boxer's success before a fight and cannot be hurried. The extra warmup time paid off as "Thunder" controlled every moment of the bout to get back in the win column. In February, she dropped a split decision to Anaelle Angerville for the French featherweight title. After two fights in a month, Ben Ephraim announced on social media that she will take a little break and come back even more motivated for her next fight.

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