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St. C. native on Moundsville boxing card

Photo Provided Robert Meese, left, and Lee Kreisher, right, are coaches for St. Clairsville boxer Stacy Sikole. She will step into the ring on Saturday, Aug. 7, in Moundsville at the former West Virginia State Penitentiary.

MOUNDSVILLE — Boxing returns to the former West Virginia State Penitentiary on Saturday, Aug. 7 as Jim Frio Promotions has an 11-fight card on tap.

It promises to be a full day of action inside the squared-ring as USA Boxing will have fights from 1-3:30 p.m. The first bell for the regular card — which includes amateur and professional bouts — is set for 6.

“This promises to be an exciting card,” matchmaker Mike Murray said. “There are some really good fighters on the card.”

He said the USA Boxing portion of the day-long event will also have some really good matchups.

The main event will open the night session. It will be a women’s amateur bout sponsored by USA Boxing between St. Clairsville native Stacy Sikole (3-0) against Donya Shodja (1-0) who is a student at the University of Pittsburgh studying for her PhD in the science field. She graduated from a high school in Iran.

All three of Sikole’s bouts have went the distance.

“I’m super excited to be able to fight in the Ohio Valley in front of all my family and friends,” she added.

She admitted that she knows nothing about her opponent, but being new to the sport, that is alright.

“Being young in the sport we are all learning and trying to develop our own identities,” she admitted. “I do know that she attends the University of Pittsburgh. I always do research on my opponents, but at the same time, being newer it doesn’t matter as much as it would down the road. You need to be prepared for both styles.

“I got into boxing just to learn something different. I’ve done Tae Kwon Do since I was a little kid and it mostly kicking, so it’s a totally different stance than boxing. You’re always standing tall, bouncing and kicking whereas in boxing you’re pretty much centered,” she explained. “I hired a boxing coach to help me with my stance and my striking.

“In boxing, if you do it correctly, you’re defense sets up your offense.”

Sikole is happy to be fighting locally.

“I’m thankful for Gerald Dopkiss and Caleb Fields getting me a great start with MMA; Jim Frio for giving me the opportunity to fight on his card; coaches Robert Meese and Lee Kreisher for training and coaching me; my teammates for the countless hours they put in with me on the mat; and my family and friends for supporting and loving me through this amazing journey,” she said.

“Coach Meese is a phenomenal striking coach. His entire family is into boxing. He trained his nephew, Cody Garbrandt, to a world boxing title. Fighters come from all over the country, and internationally, to have him train them.”

Sikole recently captured the Cleveland area Golden Gloves title.

“I look at it as the state championship for boxing in Ohio,” she said of the victory as a 125-pound novice. “I only had one fight up there, but my opponent was a pretty tough one.”

The co-main event is a men’s bout between 38-year-old “The Pittsburgh Bull” Mike Manna (5-2) and 27-year-old Andrew “Honkey Kong” Satterfield (5-5) from the Parkersburg area.

Some of the other bouts include Tonya Hopkins (1-0) vs. Jess Cimino (3-0); Bellaire’s Richie Lowe vs. Moundsville’s Tommy Burton; and 275-pound Nelson Best (3-0, 2KOs) and 265-pound Paul (Zeus) Zalus (4-2, 4KOs) in a heavyweight battle.

Tickets are still on sale.

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