Canadian featherweight champ vows to capture new crown in unification bout
EDMONTON — When six-time World Boxing Council featherweight champion Jelena Mrdjenovich takes on World Boxing Association female featherweight champion Edith Soledad Matthysse on Saturday, everything will be on the line.
“Edith is putting up her WBA featherweight title; I’m putting up my WBC featherweight belt,” Mrdjenovich said of the fight to unify the titles of the two boxing organizations that will take place in Matthysse’s hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It’s also a fight between two fighters ranked No. 1 (Mrdjenovich) and No. 2 (Matthysse) in the world for their 126-pound division.
“It’s exciting,” Mrdjenovich said. “It’s the first time I’ll be fighting for the WBA title and it’s an opportunity for me to win my seventh world title in three divisions, which I don’t think has ever happened before.”
In 21 career fights, Matthysse (13-7-1) has never been knocked out.
But Mrdjenovich’s coach and mentor, Milan Lubovac, said that is about to change.
“Jelena will stop her. I’m sure of that,” said Lubovac. “Matthysse has no chance of surviving. She’s not as big as Jelena. She’s not as strong.
“I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Jelena will damage her early, especially with body shots. Matthysse will collapse.
“I’ve seen a tape of (Matthysse) once. I didn’t bother looking at it again. Matthysse is a good fighter or she wouldn’t have the title. But Jelena is at her best,” Lubovac said of Mrdjenovich (35-9-1), who has won 11 of her last 12 fights. “Every fight, Jelena just keeps getting better.
“I don’t see this fight going more than five or six rounds,” he said of the fight, which is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Mrdjenovich, 33, is just as confident.
“If I don’t stop her, I’ll be disappointed,” said the woman who been a boxing champion for a full decade. “You know me; I like to finish things decisively.
“It doesn’t scare me one bit.”