Local boxer Kelsey Jeffries gets one last training session in Monday afternoon before her Thursday night fight with Jessica Mohs. Jeffries leaves today, Tuesday, for Oregon where she'll fight Mohs.
Jeffries works the bag in Hollister. Jeffries departed Tuesday morning for Oregon, where she is scheduled to box Jessica Mohs at the Seven Feathers casino in Canyonville.
After a two-week training session with Buddy McGirt in Vero Beach, Fla., Hollister boxer and IFBA Featherweight champion Kelsey "The Road Warrior" Jeffries returned to California last weekend.
Her stay, though, will be limited. In fact, after arriving back in the Bay Area on Saturday night, Jeffries (40-9-1) is headed north for Oregon today, Tuesday, for her Thursday bout with Jessica "Goodnite" Mohs (7-17-2) at the Seven Feathers Casino and Hotel Resort in Canyonville.
"I feel good. I feel strong," Jeffries said. "I was pushing these guys around and I felt good about that."
Jeffries sparred with two male boxers last Thursday and Friday at McGirt Boxing in Florida, and was able to keep pace.
"It was tough the last two days, but I'm ready to go," she said.
When asked why it was tough, Jeffries responded, "It was hot. I was sparring. I wanted to get the hell out of there. All of the above."
Much was made of the excessive heat during her last week in Florida, where temperatures crept into the high 80s and the humidity nearly reached 90 percent.
"Oh my goodness," Jeffries said last week. "Last week, it wasn't so bad. I was like, 'Hey, I've got it made.'
"But there's really nothing like the heat. It sucks you dry, but you've got to find the strength somewhere. When you're body breaks down, you've got to keep going."
Although Jeffries' IFBA Featherweight championship belt will not be on the line Thursday against Mohs, the Hollister fighter is seeking to be in top physical condition in order to offset the likely weight differential with her opponent.
The contract weight for the fight is 125 pounds, but with a one-pound leeway, manager Bruce Anderson expects Mohs to be at 125 pounds, at least, if not 126 by Thursday night.
Jeffries, on the other hand, is having difficulty keeping the weight on. Training hard in the heat will usually do that, though.
"I had a big steak before I left and I ended up losing weight after I ate the steak," said Jeffries, who weighed 120 pounds on Sunday and 121 pounds on Monday. "I think I can be at 122. I'm gonna be eating up until the weigh-in."
The weigh-in will be held Wednesday night at 5 p.m.
Although she trains harder when she's not preparing for a fight - making her training with McGirt all the more easier - Jeffries admitted the heat added a level of difficulty last week.
Jeffries awoke every morning at 7 to begin her calisthenics, and then headed to the gym at 10 a.m. for her workout with McGirt.
After approximately 90 minutes of training, she would eat, rest, and then go on a one hour run at 3 p.m.
She finished her day with dinner and a walk, and then repeated everything the following day.
According to Anderson, Jeffries weighed 122 1/2 pounds last Monday, and 123 last Tuesday.
"She looks really good," Anderson said last Tuesday. "She looks better than she thinks she does. She looked pretty sharp on the big bag ..."
Mohs, 36, recently lost to Noriko Kariya (9-2-1) by unanimous decision on April 30, and hasn't won a fight since defeating Melinda Woody (1-4-0) by knockout on May 11 of 2007 - four fights ago for the Oklahoma boxer.
Jeffries hasn't fought since Dec. 23 when she defeated Yun-Jung Jun by unanimous decision in South Korea. Her June 12 bout against Mohs will be the 51st fight of her career, and it will take place at Seven Feathers where Jeffries has compiled a 7-0 record.
Jeffries had a light workout on Monday and departed Tuesday morning for Canyonville, Ore. She is expected to fight Thursday night at approximately 9 p.m.
Noting that she simply cannot weigh 120 pounds at the time of the fight, Jeffries is seeking an attainable weight of 122. If she reaches that, she says, she'll be fine.
"I was 122 for my last title fight last year," Jeffries said. "I'm strong. I'm quick. I think I'll be fine."
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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