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Women boxers take to the ring this weekend By KRIS HENRY Stacy Haddorff's introduction to the world of boxing revolved more around fitness than competition three years ago. Needing a break from the rigors of college life, the then-freshman at Southern Oregon University agreed to accompany a friend to a club boxing gathering in Ashland. "Fitness has always been important to me, and that seemed like a great way to keep active and provide a good balance with school and act as a stress reliever," Haddorff recalls. Somewhere along the way, however, the 21-year-old from Colorado became enamored with the sweet science inside the ring - and now finds herself one day removed from her amateur boxing debut. "It should be exciting," says an admittedly nervous Haddorff during a break in her workout Thursday. "I've been training hard core for the past month, and I think I'm ready to do it." Haddorff will be part of the action in the Pacific Northwest Women's Open Boxing Championships tonight and Saturday at the Medford Armory. Doors open at 7:30 each night. There will be some men's bouts on a preliminary card, resulting in four bouts tonight and seven Saturday. The main event for the championships will be Saturday night's final bout between two-time USA Boxing gold medalist Amber Gideon and 26-year-old Oregon Golden Gloves champion Angie Harritt of Salem. Tickets are available at the Medford Armory box office, with tonight's floor seating $8 and general admission $5. Saturday's floor seating is $15, $12 in the floor bleachers and $10 for the general admission balcony. Haddorff, who trains out of the Phoenix Boxing Club, will don the gloves in competition for the first time Saturday night as part of a novice undercard match with Yamhill's Michelle Johnson, whose record is 1-2. The light welterweight says her parents will learn of the English major's extracurricular efforts for the first time on Sunday. "They don't know anything about this," she admits. "I don't want them to worry." And she isn't worried about her future in the sport. What happens, happens. "I don't know where I'm going to go with this," says the junior. "I just want to enjoy the experience of competition and go from there. It may be a one-time deal. Who knows?" While Haddorff's match is a go for Saturday, Chris Heinz, general manager of the Phoenix Boxing Club which is promoting the event, says the final lineup for tonight and Saturday is subject to change. "Everything is subject to change right up to the second they're announced to come to the ring," he says. "Right now it's about 50-50 (in terms of women's-to-men's bouts scheduled). In the fight business, you're always going right down to the wire. People can get sick or get hurt, get scared or miss a plane flight, so the fights are continually changing." Barring the unforeseen, Gideon and Harritt will be the top draw. Gideon, a 31-year-old, 132-pounder from Warrenville, Ill., is the top-ranked lightweight women's fighter in USA Boxing. The card for today and Saturday is also expected to feature Carina Moreno, the No. 1-ranked light flyweight (106 pounds) from Watsonville, Calif., and two-time gold medalist Jennifer Han, who is from El Paso, Texas, and ranks No. 1 at featherweight (125 pounds). While Haddorff wouldn't presume to rank herself with the headliners, her love for the sport is apparent. "The more you get into boxing," she says, "the more it's a chess match in the ring where it's all about strategy and conserving energy and being most effective with your movements. You build up a mutual respect with whoever you're in the ring with. It's really great to see other women pursuing boxing because it's such a great sport." The history of women's boxing ranges back to the late 1970s but has picked up considerable appeal in recent years. Last year's breakthrough produced the first women's World Championships and a bid has been placed with the International Olympic Committee to admit women's boxing as an Olympic sport for the 2004 Summer Games. "It's growing larger and larger every year," says Heinz, adding that his Phoenix group is the only such boxing club in the valley that features women. "Women's athletics is clearly getting on an equal keel as for men. They're still behind because it's a male-dominated society, but women are rapidly approaching equality. "Any sport is not gender-specific anymore. Women are doing everything just like men." Although sometimes mom and dad are the last to know. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.