Kali Reis ecstatic over upcoming tournament for undisputed
In countless ways, female boxers are still battling for the same common respect given to their male counterparts. This can be seen in the realms of headlining events, their pay and the two-minute rounds that they were forced to compete in. Yet, no one can deny that a great deal of women fighters are willing to put it on the line against top competition at the drop of a dime. This has once again been proven with the upcoming super lightweight tournament negotiated by promoters Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment. Once completed, the novel series will crown the undisputed champion of the division. One of the elated foursome of female bruisers taking part in the impressive tournament is WBA and IBO super lightweight champion Kali “KO Mequinonoag” Reis (18-7-1, 5 KO’s).
FIRST OF ITS KIND
The significance of the challenging gauntlet is not lost on the two division champion and she is quick to highlight this in a recent interview with IFL TV.
“I’m very excited! This is the first time that women’s boxing has had like a tournament or a Super Six kind of series like this. So I am really excited to be a part of one of the hottest divisions in women’s boxing right now. It’s a long time coming. We’ve been talking about this for like a year now, so I am really happy that it’s finally happening.”
Reis was just in the ring a few short weeks ago picking up a majority decision win over Diana Prazak. With the victory, the Rhode Island native was able to gobble up the vacant IBO super lightweight title. The bout also stood as the first defense of her WBA title. Reis first captured the vacant title over Kandi Wyatts on November 6, 2020.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!
KO Mequinonoag understands that she has an arduous journey ahead of her, but this is a reality she embraces. All she really has to do to give herself a boost is think about all that she has already accomplished. Such as, strong-arming Wyatts for the WBA belt. And with this brand of motivation, she looks forward to testing her wits with the dangerous women included in the upcoming tournament.
“Yeah I had the opportunity to win the WBA last year and just defended it, and won the IBO two weeks ago. So to put this all together, it takes really good fighters to win those titles. So now that everybody has a title, it’s not like somebody is fighting somebody who is coming from a different country with a crappy record. We are actually all the best in the division and so it takes a lot. It takes us to take the fights as well and wanting to fight the best. You know, not all fighters are in it to fight the best and we are.”
By: Bakari Simpson
