Dierdoff & Barber: NABF Featherweight Title Fight
Rocky Mountain Boxing
CC Edwards traveled to the Sky Ute Casino to scout fighters for his show. He told Barber and Delgado that whoever won their fight, he would like to bring them in for a title bout against our hometown hero, Teri ‘Lil’ Loca’ Cruz. Barber won but Team Cruz refused the fight, putting Edwards in a little pickle. He had already made a commitment to Barber, 30 years on the police force will help hold you to your word, with no one local to match her with. He didn’t let it get him down as Brooke Dierdorff stepped up and signed the contract that Team Cruz refused. Tonight we will find out if Team Cruz made a good decision or passed on an easy title fight.
On paper you would think Barber will slice her way through Dierdorff easily. Dierdorff has 3 losses in a row and Barber is undefeated, right?
Look a bit closer at their records and you can see the difference in the level of opposition each fighter has faced.
Dierdorff beat one of our locals, Mercedes Mercury and holds a win over Mia St. John. Her losses have come to top 5 rated fighters in the world and former world champs, only.
I had the pleasure of taking Dierdorff and Chris to the radio station yesterday so I asked about the fight.
Photo: Stephen Blea
“She’s never been hit without head-gear. I will take nothing from her, she had a great amateur career and she’s undefeated. But she hasn’t been tested, yet. I will be her first test and I plan on taking that NABF belt home over my shoulder.”
Looking at Barber’s record the first 3 were ‘give-me’ type fights against pro debuters which her amateur background could easily handle. Her last fight was against Adrianna Delgado who looks respectable at 10-2, but she hadn’t fought in nearly 6 years. So four of the 7 wins were pretty easy pop quizzes.
This will be Barber’s first real test and the question is, can she pass?
Jennifer Barber, Lee Peters & Brooke Dierdoff at the weigh-in
UPDATE:
She did! Jennifer barber is the new, NABF Female Featherweight Champion.
(Photos: Joseph Cordova)