By Mike Anderson
After turning professional in 2022 and winning six straight fights, Melinda Watpool, aka The Whip, has finally reached her goal: her first title fight.
“This is what we’ve been working towards. It’s called an international title. So, the next step would be a world title,” Watpool said.
“We hope it opens the door to more travelling, fighting in the U.S., and higher purses.”
Watpool will fight fellow Canadian Natasha Spence, aka The Nightmare, at the Pickering Casino on Friday, September 20, for the WBA International Middleweight Title.
Watpool, 35, defeated Spence, 39, in a six-round fight last year; however, she’s not taking any chances this time around.
“This time, it will be a ten-round fight. It should be a competitive fight as we both had training camps and time to prepare,” she said.
“She fought in the U.S. last month. She’s explosive and has pretty rhythm and timing in the ring. “
But Watpool is confident she can counter Spence’s strengths and tire her out over ten rounds.
“I’m going to keep the pace up. I don’t think Natasha can keep up with my volume of punches. We also plan on going to the body a lot to slow her down even more,” she said.
“With counterpunchers, you want to fake and do a bit more tricky stuff to get them to react.”
While Watpool has won her previous six bouts, there have been a few hick-ups.
Watpool was knocked down in the seventh and eighth rounds of her last fight against Brazilian Adriana Dos Santos Araujo on April 13, but she won the fight in a unanimous decision.
According to Watpool, being knocked down was a wake-up call.
To prepare for her first title fight, she improved her diet, hired a strength and conditioning coach, and added new sparring partners.
“I proved something to myself, that I can get back up and dig deep. But I also don’t want to be in that situation again.”
“You can’t just go all out the whole time. You have to be a bit more strategic. And you have to work your game plan. The good thing is it’s ten rounds; if something is not working, you have time to change it.”
“But you have to be in shape. If you get hit hard in the later rounds, you need to be able to get back up.”
At 35, Watpool is not showing any signs of slowing down. She is confident she has some prime years of boxing left. And a world title is still in her sights.
“I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now. And everything is going well,” she said.
“I have a lot more that I still want to achieve. And I’m still enjoying myself. So, there is no end date yet.”
Tickets (Silver: $150) are still available. To purchase, email Watpool at melinda.watpool@gmail.com.
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