A young woman boxer from Moreno Valley who works at Loma Linda University Medical Center is preparing for a 10-round fight Oct. 6 in Pomona for the vacant International Female Boxing Association Super Bantamweight Title.
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she'll be "Boxing for the Cure."
Kaliesha "Wild Wild" West, 24, won a 2003 National Golden Gloves championship when she was a schoolgirl in Moreno Valley. She turned pro in 2006 at age 18 and she is the current World Boxing Organization Female Bantamweight Champion, according to the WBO.
She also works in the LLUMC Emergency Room greeting patients, and she trains at her father's home and several local gyms. Kaliesha's promoters bill her as the Inland Empire's first-ever world boxing champion.
West returned to Canyon Springs High in Moreno Valley on Thursday Sept. 20 for a workout and to re-connect with her hometown roots.
For her Oct. 6 fight West has support from Pomona legend "Sugar" Shane Mosley, former three-division world champion, who appeared with West on Thursday at Canyon Springs High.
"I'm going to have a lot of friends and family come out for my fight," West said through promoters before the workout. "My last few fights have been in Mexico, so it feels great to come home.
"I'm excited to make history as being the first world title fight to be featured on Sugar Shane Mosley's professional card," West said. "Women do belong in the sport, fighting on the same cards with the men."
West is moving up from the 118-pound limit bantamweight class to super bantamweight, which has a 122-pound limit, according to promoters.
West is 15-1-3 with 4 knockouts. She'll be facing Christina Ruiz of San Antonio, Texas, who is 6-4-2 with 4 knockouts.
The contest will be the featured main event of the boxing card "KO Cancer - Boxing For The Cure," presented by Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions, in association with Diamond's Love Foundation and The Susan G. Komen Foundation. Promoters said:
The event was created to help the fight against cancer and to increase cancer awareness. West-Ruiz will receive coverage from several outlets, including Verizon’s FOX International television channel, MundoFox, Ringside TV, and Fox Sports Radio. Some notable women’s boxing match-ups featured on the undercard include Holly “Lil Bear” Lawson vs. Tammie “The Tasmanian Devil” Johnson and Katarina “Guantes” De La Cruz vs. Blanca Raymundo.
Weigh-ins for West-Ruiz fight are scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 5 during intermission of the KO Cancer Amateur Show, at the Finish Line Sports Grill in Pomona, the same venue for the bout.
The day of the fight, doors open at 2 p.m. Saturday Oct. 6. The first fight on the 10-bout card begins at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $50 and $100 for VIP. Tickets for Kaliesha's fight will be available for purchase online by visiting http://knockingoutcancer.eventbrite.com or by calling Diamond’s Love Foundation at (909) 622 9092. The Finish Line Sports Grill is located at 2201 N. White Ave., Pomona, CA, 91767.
The Finish Line Sports Grill is at 2201 N. White Ave., Pomona.
West last fought April 14, 2012, when she defeated Claudia Lopez by unanimous decision in Rosarito, Mexico.
Follow Kaliesha West on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OfficialKalieshaWest and on Twitter @kwildwildwest or www.twitter.com/kwildwildwest.
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