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by Rick Scharmberg She is a pioneer, an author, and a champion. England’s “Fleetwood Assassin,” Jane Couch, has accomplished nearly everything in her 7- year professional boxing career. She would like nothing more than to test her skills against the premier fighter in the women’s game, and a pioneer in her own right, Christy Martin. With wins over the likes of Sandra Geiger (W10), Andrea DeShong (TKO7), Leah Mellinger (W10), Marischa Sjauw (W10), and Sharon Anyos (W10), Jane feels she has the skills and experience needed to dethrone the formidable “Coal Miner’s Daughter." On
November 25th, 1998, Jane set a precedent, going
into the history books as the first licensed professional
female boxer in England. Jane went up against the British
Board of Boxing Control (BBBC), won the right to box
professionally, and opened the door for other British women to
do the same. Jane scored a 2nd round TKO over
Simona Lukic in Streatham, England in that historic fight. Jane, a
three-time woman’s champion, sports a record of 15-3, with 6
KO’s. The 3 losses were two close decisions to Dora Webber,
and a decision loss to top contender Liz Mueller. All three of
those fights were fought on foreign soil for Jane, in the
United States, on her opponent’s home “court." In
addition to her boxing career, Jane is active in the British
media, and has published her autobiography, entitled: Jane
Couch Fleetwood Assassin.
Jane also maintains an interactive website, which she
updates frequently. The link to her website, as well as
ordering information for her book is provided at the end of
this informative interview with Jane. How
old were you when you started boxing? I was 25
years old when I saw a documentary on women’s boxing. The
next day I visited a local gym in Fleetwood, and decided to
box. Please describe a typical day of training for you and trainer Tex Woodward We train
in two sessions. The morning session consists of skill and
circuit training, or hill running. In the evening I spar (with
men), bag work, pad work, shadow boxing, and skipping rope. Do you train with weights? I don’t
really use weights. I punch with weights in my hands during
circuit training, but I don’t lift them. What
is the quality of your sparring partners? My
sparring partners range from novices to very good class male
pros. I can practice the moves with the beginners, and
practice other things with my more experienced sparring
partners. Who
do you consider to be the toughest boxers in the 130-140 pound
range right now? That’s
a hard one because there are so many good fighters out there.
(IWBF Lightweight champ) Zulfia Koutdoussova would be tough,
Belinda Laracuente, Lucia Rijker, and me, of course. Besides
Liz Mueller, who do you consider the hottest new talents in
the women’s game today? There are
a lot of talented women coming through. It’s hard for me to
say about the girls in the USA, but Russia has some good
amateurs coming through. You
mentioned that amateur programs are great for the sport, and
would increase skill levels overall. Personally, I feel that
women’s boxing should be an Olympic sport. Have you seen any
progress made in this area? Women can
now compete at the World Games for the first time as amateurs,
so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before it is an
Olympic sport. The problem we have in England is the girls are
getting no competition, as the amateur boxing association here
is useless. They need someone with knowledge to get the girls
some competition. What titles have you held as a pro? I
held the WIBF Welterweight WBF Lightweight, and I hold the WBF
Light Welter belt now. Do
you think the results of your bouts with Dora Webber came
about from a difference in styles? I
think the Dora Webber thing was just down to experience. I
wasn’t experienced enough at the time. No excuses, she beat
me. I just wasn’;t ready at that time. The third fight would
be different because I have so much more experience now.
(note: Couch fought the veteran Webber in just her 7th
and 8th pro fights) Please
assess the skills of the following boxers: Melissa
Salamone:
It
is hard to assess Melissa Salamone, as I have only seen her
once, but she looks OK. Belinda
Laracuente:
Belinda
looks like the hottest prospect of them all, after beating
Christy Martin. (note: Martin won a majority decision over
Laracuente on 3/3/2000. Many observers felt that Laracuente
deserved the decision) Christy
Martin:
Christy Martin is a slugger, and Belinda proved that anyone
who can box will box Martin’s ears off. It’s just sad that
with all the great women boxers around people just seem to
know Christy Martin. We all know she is no way the best, not
even close. She won’t take on fighters who have any chance
of beating her. I would fight her tomorrow for free. I’ve
told Don King that, but we never got a reply. Do
you have a job outside of boxing? What are your hobbies? I
don’t have a full-time job, but I do some boxing classes to
pay the bills. I also do a lot of media stuff here in the U.K.
I don’t really have any hobbies. I just love boxing. What
is next for you? I
did have a fight lined up with Belinda, but for reasons
unbeknownst to me the fight was called off. It’s a shame
really. I think my next plan might be to get on a plane and
fly to Christy Martin’s next fight and call her out and show
her what a real woman boxer looks like. I thought with Lennox
Lewis fighting Rahman on November 17th, Britian vs.
USA, that I would be a natural opponent for Martin because I
am from England. We’ve sent many faxes to Bobby Goodman, but
have not received a reply. But I am going to keep trying. Do
you have any final words for your fans? The
message to my fans around the world is to visit my website for
the latest news on my career, and thank you for all the
support. It really means a lot! To
ask Jane a question, or to learn more about Jane’s career,
visit her interactive website by following this link: http://www.bigfanof.com/s/750041/ To order
Jane’s autobiography, Jane Couch Fleetwood Assassin, or
to get further information about the book, send an email to: adam@blake.co.uk As
always, Jane tells it like it is, and pulls no punches. For questions or comments. send email to: Rick_Fightnews@Hotmail.com |
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