When I covered the finals of the Henry Armstrong Diamond Gloves Tournament several weeks ago, I mentioned that a female bout early on the card had polarized and thrilled the crowd. The conversation among the fans stopped the jittery fighters camped around the gym and suddenly focused their attention squarely on the ring, as Deirdre Rhodes from the Gamble Community Center and Ieshea Wallace from the Marquette Rec Center fired vicious power punches at each other for three rounds. Rhodes won via decision.
I caught up with her last week as she prepared for her rematch with Wallace tomorrow night (Friday, March 25) in the finals of the Gateway Classic Tournament.
She was hitting a speed bag when I entered the boxing room at Gamble, and at the completion of the round, she walked over and introduced herself. After securing her braids, she gloved up and waited to work the focus mitts with Coach Winston Shaw. The electric bell and glowing green light of the timer beckoned her into the ring, and she followed her coach across the rumpled blue canvas secured by a web of ropes.
She was clad in a t-shirt and her sweatpants had the word “princess” printed down her left leg, but after several stinging combinations into the leather mitts, it was clear she possesses power and a left hook that any prince would be proud of.
Coach Shaw was constantly teaching, reminding her to keep her weight centered as she flicked her left jab and added solid right crosses. She dug in, following a left uppercut with a left hook and then adding a straight right. After her time in the ring, we sat down on a wooden bench next to a long row of brown metal lockers with names such as “Butch” and “Big Daddy” scribbled on peeled masking tape.
The 13-year-old has been boxing since last June, and she mentioned that her fraternal twin sister won’t be lacing up the gloves anytime soon because their personalities are “as different as night and day.” She also told me that her family approves of her boxing, even though the type of action that provided excitement at Deirdre’s last tournament also creates anxious moments for her mom.
Deirdre is an honor roll student and runs track at Sperreng Middle School, and she looks forward to following her older sister at Lindbergh High School. As I scribbled notes, Coach Shaw was working with a youngster, trying to get him to extend his cross and punch through the target.
After the round, the coach walked over and described Deirdre as “very dedicated and hard working.” She told me her goal is to star in either boxing or track, and it’s obvious from her devotion to her schoolwork and training that she has the work ethic to accomplish anything. As I was departing, she grabbed a jump rope and continued training for the challenges that lie ahead.
Deirdre Rhodes and Ieshea Wallace are scheduled to face each other again tomorrow night, March 25, at the Gateway Classic Sports foundation’s Tournament beginning at 7 p.m. The Gateway Classic Sports Complex is located at 2012 Martin Luther King Drive. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.
