Kaliesha West, Supported by LLUMC Co-Workers, Readies for New Title Fight

Professional boxing champion Kaliesha West, who works at Loma Linda University Medical Center, is in her final steps of preparation for a 10-round title fight in Pomona on Saturday Oct. 6.

"I'm getting ready for training this afternoon," West said Wednesday. "A run to cut weight, about four miles."

West, 24, has been keyed up for boxing most of her life. She won a 2003 National Golden Gloves championship when she was a schoolgirl in Moreno Valley.

Every fight is different though, and this time West has special motivation.

"Sugar Shane Mosley has me headlining his first pro fight card," West said. "There's going to be a lot of important people there.

"Some of the event coordinators are talking about bringing 'a Las Vegas fight to a little town called Pomona.'"

West said she wanted to give a shoutout to some of her co-workers at Loma Linda University Medical Center, "for all the support they're giving me."

Mosley, the former three-division world champion, appeared with West at a recent workout at Canyon Springs High in Moreno Valley.

She is the recent World Boxing Organization Female Bantamweight Champion, according to the WBO. She's vacated that title to fight Saturday for the vacant International Female Boxing Association Super Bantamweight crown.

West, who turned pro in 2006 at age 18, is 15-1-3 with 4 knockouts. She last fought April 14, 2012, when she defeated Claudia Lopez by unanimous decision in Rosarito, Mexico.

Saturday 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. The event was created to help the fight against cancer and to increase cancer awareness.

West-Ruiz will receive coverage from Verizon's FOX International, MundoFox, Ringside TV, and Fox Sports Radio. 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, $50 and $100 for VIP, are available for purchase online at http://knockingoutcancer.eventbrite.com or by calling Diamond's Love Foundation at (909) 622-9092.

The Finish Line Sports Grill is at 2201 N. White Ave., Pomona.

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