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08/15/2007 Archived Entry: "Jeffries Drops NABF Belt After Rule Change"
Jeffries Drops NABF Belt After Rule Change
The North American Boxing Federation recently changed some of its rules pertaining to women boxers. Those rule changes and other policies prompted NABF 122 champion, Kelsey “Road Warrior” Jeffries, to ditch her NABF title.
Jeffries won both her bouts broadcast this year on the FXS network Best Damn Sports Show events. The 31 year-old blonde is a fire fighter outside the ring, and her 38-9-1 record has her walking around with 5 titles in three weight divisions. But up until July 25, she was carrying six. That was the day Jeffries resigned from her NABF 122 lb championship. The decision was based on the recent change in the NABF rules, which now require a champion to defend the title within six months rather than the usual year.
The CBZ asked Jeffries’ manager, Bruce Anderson for permission to publish the explanatory resignation letter he sent to Rex Walker, the President of the NABF.
Date: July 25, 2007
Dear Mr. Walker,
The purpose of this letter is to advise you that your amendments to the NABF Championship rules as recently announced, are alarming and also to convey to you our position regarding this matter. It is our opinion that it is not the fighters’ job to solicit Promoters to conduct NABF Title defenses. For a sanctioning organization to place the onus on the Champion to perform the duties of a Broker and/or a Matchmaker places undeserved pressure on the Boxer. By adding an unrealistic time frame, you are compounding that pressure. It is the fighters’ responsibility to prepare herself to fight. She must do this without the fear of being stripped of her hard-earned title due to the lack of a promoter willing to pay for a sanctioned fight.
In the case of a fighter like Kelsey Jeffries, who holds multiple Championships, to accept this added responsibility would be difficult and burdensome. For Kelsey, as well as many other fighters, it is not easy to obtain ANY fight, much less a title match. The purse for a female fighter is generally much less than for a comparable male fight, and even less in a title fight due to the promoters’ sanctioning expense. As one can see, the fighter pays a substantial price directly and indirectly to hold the belt.
Consequently after careful consideration and deliberation, Kelsey has decided to surrender her NABF Super bantamweight Title effective upon receipt of this letter by your office.
Respectfully,
Bruce Anderson,
Manager of Kelsey Jeffries
Kelsey Jeffries currently holds the following titles:
--WIBA Intercontinental, 130 lbs
--California State 126 lbs
--WIBF Americas, 126 lbs
--IFBA 126 lb World Championship
--IBA 122 lb World Championship
---Katherine Dunn
