Mrdjenovich Stops Garbatt in First!: Full Report from Edmonton
By Darren Hauck

On March 23 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, boxing fans were treated to seven fights with Jelena Mrdjenovich (26-8-2) versus Lindsay Garbatt (7-4-1) as the main event. Mrdjenovich and Garbatt met twice in the past with “Lethal Lindsay” coming away with two wins. On this night, however, Garbatt was on the receiving end of perfectly timed power punches and was dropped very early in the first round by a left hook. Garbatt made it to her feet, but after a small exchange was dazed again, leading referee Len Koivisto to give her an eight count. The fight resumed with Garbatt on unsteady legs, until the 1:45 mark of the round, when referee Koivisto waived off the fight with Garbatt basically out on her feet. Friends and fans of Garbatt know the skills ‘Lethal’ Lindsay possesses, but on this night Mrjenovich was spot on and fought at a level of peak performance. Mrdjenovich is now the proud owner of the WBC World Featherweight Title which was presented to her by WBC representative Ed Pearson in the ring. Mrdjenovich is now 27-8-1 and Garbatt 7-5-1.


 In the semi-main event, fans witnessed two Edmonton fighters go at it both pugilistically and verbally as Jason DeLaronde (12-0-0) and Anthony Lessard (8-7-2) squared off in a light heavyweight six rounder. Both DeLaronde and Lessard have been out of the ring for awhile (DeLaronde 23 months , Lessard 12 months) and the ring rust showed. In round two DeLaronde dropped Lessard with a nice left hook and while Lessard was down for the count from referee John Braak, DeLaronde got down in Lessard’s face and yelled something (Nice comments, I’m sure). After Lessard got up, he rushed towards Delaronde in the neutral corner, throwing a few ill intentioned shots on DeLaronde Referee Braak was a little off on this night, missing most of Lessard’s rush and some rabbit punches and other infractions thrown by both men. DeLaronde had the advantage throughout the fight, showing flashes of the talent that had him 12-0 before the lay off. Like him or not, Anthony Lessard always comes to fight and by the end of this matchup, the crowd was favoring Lessard. Joel Scobie had it 60-53, Len Koivisto 58-56, and William Warwick Jr 60-53, for winner by unanimous decision- Jason DeLaronde. With the win DeLaronde moves to 13-0-0, while Lessard drops to 8-8-2.

In a six round welterweight affair, Rory Coveney (7-1-0) of Edmonton made short work of the inexperienced Jesse Seberg (0-1-0) of Lethbridge, dropping him at the 15 second mark of round 1 with a left upstairs. Referee John Braak waved the fight off. Coveney is now 8-1 and Seberg 0-2-0. This fight, unfortunately, was a total mismatch.

 At cruiserweight, Paul Mackenzie (1-0-0) of Edmonton took on Brad Soanes (2-1-0) of Medicine Hat over four rounds. Both of these up and coming professionals put on a good show, displaying good movement, with Mackenzie being the more fluid of the two. By the end of round two both had bloody noses from their heated exchanges. Mackenzie dominated the damage category by the end of the fight, but Soanes held his own throughout. John Braak scored it 39-37 Soanes, William Warwick Jr had it 39-37 Mackenzie, and David Hass had it even at 38-38, rendering the fight a drawn decision. Mackenzie is now 1-0-1 and Soanes 2-1-1.

Heavyweights Rob Nichols (2-1-0) of Edmonton and Ken Frank (6-4-0) of Lethbridge clashed in a four rounder, putting on a good show for the fans. Nichols delivered the more accurate punches, while Frank displayed a good jab, was in poor shape. Frank lost a point in round two for intentionally spitting out his mouth piece. By round three Nichols had Frank’s back against the ropes, delivering head and body shots, and leading referee Koivisto to stop the fight and award the victory to Nichols via TKO. Nichols is now 3-1-0 and Frank drops to 6-5-0.

In his professional debut, Steve McGillivray of Edmonton displayed very good, but still developing, skills against the tough Saskatchewan brawler Gary Kopas(2-3-0). This bout was a throwback type of fight and a real crowd pleaser. There was good back and forth action with McGillivray landing the harder more accurate punches. Kopas was getting tired by round three, but still delivering punches on McGillivray. This fight went the four round distance, with McGillivray coming away with a majority decision victory: 40-36, 38-38, 39-37.

The first fight of the night was Clayton Gladu (1-5-1) of Edmonton versus Chad Nielson (0-2-0) of Calgary in a heavyweight four rounder. This was a short one as Nielson dropped Gladu three times in round one. Gladu never got into a rhythm and Nielson was the busier more accurate puncher. Neilson won via TKO at 2:15 of the very first round, moving to 1-2-0, while Gladu drops to1-6-1.

At the end of the end of the night the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission presented long time fight writer Murray Greig with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to professional boxing in Edmonton. Murray has been on the scene for 30 years and was the cornerman /coach for Danny Stonewalker who fought for a WBO world title against Michael Moorer. Murray is also a close personal friend of Canadian boxing legend George Chuvalo.