WPCNR RINGSIDE. Interview with Ann Marie Saccurato with WPCNR From TeamSaccurato, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. November 6, 2006: " It was a fight from bell to bell. I hurt her badly in the first round and had her at the end of the first round. But she came back and landed a hard hook on me in second round on my chin. I felt it. I was aware of that the rest of the fight.....She landed just one good one on me in the second round...It became more of a street fight than a boxing match," New WBC Lightweight Champion  Ann Marie Saccurato told the CitizeNetReporter Monday morning in a telephone interview.

Pounding on The Prairie: White Plains' Ann-Marie Saccurato, (Black Trunks) brawling with Jelena Mrdjenovich in Edmonton's Shaw Conference Center Saturday night, punching her way to the title. In this action from Edmonton, Ann Marie is landing a right cross -- her best punch. Photo, Courtesy TeamSaccurato.com, by Mary Ann Owen

Saccurato stunned Mrdjenovich in the first round but Mrdjenovich rallied and turned it on in the second.  What followed was exciting back and forth action for 10 rounds with Saccurato landing the cleaner, harder blows.   Saccurato said, “Jelena is a world champion boxer and I was very thankful for the opportunity to box on an all-female card that is donating money towards breast cancer research.  Even though it was her hometown, I knew it was my time.  I have trained hard for this fight, and I knew in my heart I would take home the WBC green belt.”

Saccurato told WPCNR, she used her jab to get inside on the taller Jelena. After Mrdjenovich landed the left hook on Ann Marie in Round 2, Saccurato was aware of it and adjusted She said it mostly turned into "a street fight, a lot of headlocks, mostly by her." Ann-Marie said she was doing a lot of damage with her right on Mrdjenovich throughout the fight. 

 She said her superior conditioning was a major factor and credited Juan Carlos Santana of the Institute for Human performance in Boca Raton for laying out the conditioning program she followed to get ready for this fight. She said she definitely hurt Mrdjenovich in the first round and Mrdjenovich was not used to Ann-Marie's power. She said her jab set her up inside throughout the fight and that she worked Mrdjenovich's body relentlessly. 

Ann-Marie said she would be fighting Liza Olson next within 90 days, if Olson recovers from a toe injury suffered in getting ready for the Mrdjenovich fight. Ann-Marie was signed to replace Olson on the card when Olson suffered the toe injury sparring. Ann-Marie said it remains to be seen whether Olson would be ready for the fight. As a result of her win over Mrdjenovich, A Ring of Their Own has offered her a one year contract to fight on their all-women Boxing Programs.  Ann-Marie also said she would like to fight for the Lightweight titles of other commissions. She is currently managed by Luigi Olsece

Hector Roca, her trainer, and trainer of 15 World Champions, one of them Hector Camacho, told her she was ready for this fight and did not give her any special advice. She credited Sherif Ouna for working with her on mitt targets during her training at Gleason's Gym, the fight palace in Brooklyn. 

Ann-Marie who can often be seen running on the streets of White Plains, said that in the 10th Round, she thought of how many times people have come up to her on the streets of White Plains  and mentioned to her how her efforts have meant a great deal to them and the city. Ann-Marie said those comments motivated her to reach back and finish strong. "That means a lot," she said.

This fight was the main event of an all female card titled "A Ring of Their Own" "Border War" which also featured two other world title bouts and will be telecast on iNDemand Pay per view beginning November 17th.  The fight promoted breast cancer awareness as all the fighter’s donned pink gloves to enter the ring.  The event was promoted by a Ring of Their Own and KO Boxing Promotions and took place at the Shaw Conference Center .

Ann-Marie was born in Eastchester, NY and trains out of New York Boxing gym and Souler in White Plains and Gleason’s in Brooklyn.  Her senior trainer is the legendary Hector Roca who has trained 15 World Champions.  Her other trainers include New Rochelle police sergeant Luigi Olsece and sport performance guru Juan Carlos Santana of the Institute for Human Performance in Boca Raton.

This victory symbolizes the ultimate comeback for Saccurato.  Ann-Marie has overcome tremendous odds just to be walking today.  In 1995 she was a passenger in a devastating car wreck returning from a volleyball competition at the Empire State Games.  The driver of the vehicle was killed and Ann-Marie suffered a punctured lung, broken pelvis, hip, 2 broken legs, a shattered arm, broken ribs, and severe nerve damage.  She was not expected to live the night, let alone ever walk again.  Being ever the determined athlete, she proved everyone wrong and immediately took up an aggressive rehabilitation program knowing in her heart she would play sports again.  In 1999 she entered her first boxing gym stronger than ever.

Ann-Marie is known for her boxing skill, athleticism, footwork and knockout power, and now she's a champion. But, she always was in her own heart. Winning a boxing championship in a fighter's home town is the hardest task in sports, unless you do it by a knockout. But she did it in a split decision.

After the fight she was invited by the promoters to The Gaspipe in downtown Edmonton, and was very impressed with how well they treated her, considering she was an out-of-town fighter who had just taken a title away from their hometown favorite. They were just great to me she said.

As she told the CitizeNetReporter, "sometimes you have to go through the fire."