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Robert Morris fund-raiser gets its first female boxers

Friday, February 28, 2003

By Monica L. Haynes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

When Jaima Schiffer climbs through the ropes tonight at Robert Morris University's annual Fight Night, she'll throw one small jab for herself, one giant jab for womankind.

	Jaima Schiffer, a sophomore at Robert Morris University, practices for her upcoming bout yesterday at the school's health club. She and her opponent, LeAnne Hudy, both from Erie, will enter the ring as the first female boxers to participate in the university's 13th annual Fight Night. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Well, that might be stretching it a bit.

Still, Schiffer, a 20-year-old sophomore, and her opponent, LeAnne Hudy, an 18-year-old freshman, will go into the record books as the first female students to tie on boxing gloves in the 13-year history of the school's intramural scholarship fund-raiser.

"Actually, I feel honored," said Hudy. "I like being the first female to do anything."

It was Schiffer, a former high school athlete from Erie, who got the medicine ball rolling when she decided last year that she would box in the next Fight Night.

"Everybody said I couldn't do it, so I took the initiative to do it," she said.

She found a willing opponent in Hudy, an athlete since age 8 who also attended Erie McDowell High School. Schiffer, a sports management and marketing major, believes tonight's friendly female fisticuffs will inspire other potential pugilists.

"I think it's kind of a door-opening thing for the rest of the women who wanted to fight or thought they couldn't do it because nobody had done it before," she said.

The two young women will bob, weave and throw uppercuts and hooks through three one-minute rounds in the first of seven scheduled bouts.

Last year, 1,400 tickets were sold to the event, designed to generate school spirit by bringing the campus's 1,000 residential and 4,000 commuter students together. It also raises funds for women's intramural scholarships.

While the Schiffer-Hudy bout probably won't rank up there with Ali-Frazier I, II, III or even IV (which pitted daughters Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde two years ago), the female fighters are expected to draw 1,500 to 1,700 this year, the largest crowd to date.

When Jaima Schiffer, left, and her opponent, LeeAnn Hudy, face off tonight, they will be the first female students to box in the 13-year history of Fight Night, Robert Morris University's intramural scholarship fund-raiser. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

In the past couple of years, several female students have expressed interest in boxing at Fight Night, said Jim Popovich, assistant director of student activities. But none ever got past the necessary paperwork. Students must sign a waiver, provide a copy of an insurance card and undergo a physical by the school nurse.

"We take all the precautions on our end to make sure the students are safe," Popovich said. That includes protective headgear and mouthpieces, a doctor at ringside and a waiting ambulance. Fortunately, he said, no one's ever suffered anything more serious than a bloody nose.

Officials from the Allegheny Mountain Association of the U.S. Amateur Boxing Federation talk to the boxers about the rules and etiquette of the ring. The association also provides judges who determine the winner of each bout and people to serve in each student's corner along with someone the student selects.

"It's the one night students look forward to," Popovich said.

Fight Night is so popular that it's been mentioned in Sports Illustrated.

Schiffer, who only started learning to box last month, is not taking any of the hubbub lightly. She's been doing everything but punching sides of beef. She trains up to five hours a day, making time before, between and after her classes, internship and tutoring sessions.

"I've been doing a lot of lifting, a lot more cardiovascular than I had before," she said.

She's also enlisted the aid of two male student boxers, George Stiles and Chuck Klingensmith. They've been showing her different ways of throwing punches so she wasn't, as they say, fighting like a girl.

"It's going to come down to who wants it more," Schiffer said. "It's the biggest thing on campus, so I have a lot to lose if I don't win."

Hudy, a communications major, is in a less-intensive training mode.

"I usually run a mile or two a day and play a lot of Hacky Sack," she said.

If she finds a friend who wants to help her train, she'll do so for maybe an hour or two a day, four days a week. To test her endurance, Hudy sets up a mattress, punches it for a minute, takes a 30-second rest, then goes two more rounds to simulate a three-minute bout.

At 5 feet, 7 inches and 130 pounds, she's the favorite over Schiffer, who's 4 inches shorter and 7 pounds lighter. Hudy hasn't risen to the level of Ali-style braggadocio, but she's still confident.

"I was prepared from day one. The first day she asked me, I knew I could do it," she said. "It's just a friendly boxing match."

Asked what's the worst part of preparing for a "friendly boxing match," Schiffer replied, "Getting hit."

"It hurts," she said, "especially when you're sparring with guys all the time. They don't let up. I think they sometimes forget I'm a girl, but I guess that's how you learn. You either sink or swim. I'm working on that swimming part."

Fight Night at Robert Morris University's Sewall Center in Moon begins at 8 p.m. today. Tickets, $5, are available at the door.