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Jelena Mrdjenovich to defend titles in France

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Jelena Mrdjenovich has big plans to celebrate Canada 150 in style.

She’s getting back in the ring.

The eight-time world champion is set to defend her World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association featherweight titles against Stephanie Ducastel in Strasbourg, France on Saturday night.

It’s been nine months since Mrdjenovich has stepped into the ring, which is the longest layoff in her career, but there will be no ring rust for the veteran boxer.

Ducastel holds the World Boxing Federation Super Featherweight title and has compiled a 8-3-1 record. She earned a unanimous decision victory over Maria Soledad Capriolo in May to win the WBF title.

“It’s been insanely long and I’m ready to go,” said Mrdjenovich. “I’ve seen some video on her. She’s really tough and she’s aggressive and the challenge will be to stay composed. I’m going to rely on putting my work in and do the job and hopefully get the knockout.”

Mrdjenovich, 35, last fought in October with a split decision victory over Gaelle Amand in France.

She was set to take on Amand in a rematch in May, but the fight was pulled in the late stages by Amand and the promoter leaving Mrdjenovich with no opponent.

“This is the first time this has happened to me. It’s been a bit of a mental mind game. It’s been challenging, but I’ve just tried to stay focused,” said Mrdjenovich. “I’ve had a 15-week long training camp. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in after training that long.”

Mrdjenovich wasn’t happy with her split decision victory over Amand in her last fight and was looking to redeem herself in the May rematch, but now she’s facing a different opponent.

It may be a different opponent, but her mindset and her preparation is still the same.

“I’m very fortunate that (trainer) Milan (Lubovac) does all the planning. I watch video a few times and then he does all the background work. He tailors me to the opponent without me even knowing,” said Mrdjenovich. “We’re always looking to improve something. It could be for a specific fight, it may not be and that helps me mentally when I prepare for a fight. He twists and turns things in a way that all I focus on is improving certain aspects.”

Mrdjenovich is no stranger to fighting away from home. This will be her second consecutive fight in France. She’s also fought in Argentina, Panama and Japan. She’s 3-1 in her fights outside of Edmonton and she’s enjoys the challenge of boxing outside of her comfort zone of her hometown and the Shaw Conference Centre.

“There’s a risk with every fight. In my last fight, I thought I didn’t lose more than one or two rounds, but then one of the judges awarded the fight to her,” said Mrdjenovich in regards to her split decision win over Amand.

This will be Mrdjenovich’s 49th career fight. She holds a 37-10-1 record (19 knockouts) and is 9-1 in her last 10 fights.

Mrdjenovich last fought in Edmonton on March 11, 2016, but she plans to have her next fight in Edmonton.

“I love fighting in Edmonton, but I wanted to take my last couple fights on the road and make some money,” said Mrdjenovich. “I wanted to get my 49th fight in by this summer so I could do something big here at home for my 50th fight later this year.”

@hillsyjay

hillsyjay@gmail.com


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