On Friday, March 11, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, WBA/WBC World female featherweight champion Edith Soledad Matthysse (14-7-1, 1 KO), from Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina, defends her titles against Jelena Mrdjenovich (35-10-1, 19 KOs), the first lady of Edmonton.

It will be their second fight. They first met in August of last year at Ce.De.M. N° 2 in Caseros, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. It went the distance and Matthysse won a unanimous decision. The final scores were 97-93 (Stanley Christodoulou), 98-92 (Gustavo Padilla), and 96-94 (Samuel Conde Lopez).

Going into Friday’s fight, Matthysse is confident.

“It’s another big challenge,” she said at a recent presser. “Although I beat Mrdjenovich last August, I consider her a rival of high caliber.”

Mrdjenovich feels the same way, but this is a fight she plans to win.

Jelena told the Canadian media: “I have a lot of things I want to show Matthysse and people who saw the fight that night. Whatever the reasons, it was not me that night. Some things went wrong in training and perhaps there wasn’t enough time to solve them.”

“That wasn’t me in Argentina,” said Mrdjenovich. “If they’re expecting me to come out the same, they’re in for a world of hurt. I would say I was 30% of myself that night.

“I literally asked for a rematch in the middle of the ring. I was so disappointed in myself.

“If everything falls the way it should, you should see the best Jelena we’ve seen in a long time. This is where I take the challenge and choose to shine.”

Touch gloves … and may the best woman win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck75rCU5oKg

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.