Just call me pugilistically correct ... I mean ... some of these dames doin' battle on the pro circuit today are pretty good at the business of boxing ... took no more than a glance at that dandy Christy Martin to get my attention.

The fite hierarchy couldn't have made a better choice than Christy to get this female pro boxing thing off the ground ... not only a looker ... but better schooled than most male prelim fighters ... and a few main eventers as well. Has mucho heart to go with them picture perfect combos she tosses ... and after catching her guest commentary on one of them USA Tuesday night shows, the guess here is she has a post-fite career awaiting as a ring analyst ... but then maybe not ... makes too much sense behind the mike.

And how about this Lucia Rijker ... bigger puncher than Martin ... tall and rangy ... usually the one doin' the chucking ... rarely on receiving end ... and Ali's kid you ask ... will surely be getting most the attention ... but like that Playboy centerfold gal Mia St. John ... is not the real deal ... but they both serve a purpose if the female game is to go beyond the novelty stage.

But what pray tell was that Maggie McGregor - Loi Chow thing all about anyway ... hey, Maggie the mauler is one tough gal let me tell you ... but that Loi guy ... gimme a break ... enuf gravy train in his diet to have placed jockeys at the same level as ex-footballers when it comes to pro fist fighting.

But pleez, no-mas ... Maggie gambled and won ... trounced a man in front of the whole wide world ... did it with a two-fisted aggressive style I might add ... and should now become a hot commodity. But the time is now for Maggie baby to abandon the woman vs man adventure ... can only become a statistic ... should join the female circuit and rake in the big bucks ... this fiery lady landscaper has earned it.

Not like some past male pro fighters that come to mind ... Pete Rademacher ... fresh from the Army ranks in 1957 and gifted with a heavyweight title fite in his pro debut ... surprise ... is taken out in 6th candle by defending champion Floyd Patterson.

Chuck Wepner ... the ol' Bayonne Bleeder ... served up to Ali in 1975 ... had nothing to offer but blood-n-guts ... and is stopped in round 15 ... and Duane Bobick ... bombed out in opening candle by Ken Norton in title elimination mismatch ... qualifications? Happy you asked ... musta been that 3rd round KO suffered at the hands of Cuban amateur great Teofilo Stevenson in quarter-finals of Munich Olympics.

There were others ... Randy "Tex" Cobb ... tough as nails ... problem is he always checked the skills at the arena door before readying for combat ... got title tilt Nov. of '82 ... as a Thanksgiving turkey treat for defending champ Larry Holmes ... a nasty 15-round decision thumping.

And Mark Gastineau is another that comes to mind ... never accused of being title timber ... more of an oversized version of that Loi fraud ... less said about Mark the mutt the better ... and then came Peter ... as in McNeeley ... action fighter ... at the pub of your picking ... but not very much once inside the squared circle.

On that note ... a tip of the hat to Christy, Lucia, Maggie, Mia and Laila ... and them others ... Jacqui Frazier, Marcela Acuna, Jane Couch, Tracy Byrd and Debbie Nichols. Perhaps not the equal of the today respective male title holders ... but surely every bit as believable as that large one that does biz under the handle "Butterbean."

Keep the faith guys and gals.

Semper fi,

Geo Elsasser

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