Scragg's bid to take WBA title begins
Wolverhampton's first female professional boxer Lyndsey Scragg admits it will be Judgment Day when she bids to unseat the WBA champion in California later this year.
The hard work starts here for the reigning Global Boxing Council super featherweight champion, ahead of her main event showdown with Kina Malpartida at the 10,000 capacity Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on December 5.
The 30-year-old once again goes into the champ's backyard against her Peruvian-born opponent, who fights out of Lakewood in California, as the massive underdog. Malpartida has already defended the title once successfully after unseating hot favourite Maureen Shea at Madison Square Garden in February.
But Scragg at least has experience of the big stage and showed great heart before she was ultimately outpointed in Canada last November for the WBC crown against hometown champion Jelena Mrdjenovich.
With her second chance at one of the game's richest prizes looming large on the horizon, the Englishwoman dare not be the victim of a hard luck story again.
She said: "I can't believe I have been lucky enough to box for both titles in just over a year, and I may not get another chance if I don't win. I am going to box clever this time, although I know it's going to be a war. I have got to show my experience now. She is class, so I have got to step up to that.
"Kina is a tough girl, the best in the world for me, there's no doubt about it. She has got the whole package - strength, endurance and experience. This is an even tougher fight than Canada, this girl is the real deal.
"Once again I am the 'away' fighter, it's very hard to do that and get the decision without stopping your opponent. It's a fine balance, I can just go gung-ho either so outworking the girl early on is part of my plan.
"Could I get the stoppage? Nothing is impossible. This girl has been stopped before and once got knocked down three times in one fight, so she is not unbeatable. It's about the fight on the night, if that chance comes I will take it.
"I would never say no to a stoppage."
Scragg believes she has done all she can in the domestic scene, after taking home the GBC belt in her hometown at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in June.
She said: "There isn't anyone who can challenge me in this country and I need to feel fear, because that is when I up my game.
"When I think about it, I have just been really going through the motions since I fought in Canada, although winning a world title in Wolverhampton was a fantastic experience earlier this year.
"But this is something else, I couldn't ask for a better opponent than what is front of me now. I go there as the underdog, and I love that, because they may underestimate me."
