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Man vs. Woman Battle of the sexes reaches new level Saturday
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 08:08 PM
SEATTLE (AP) -- The battle of the sexes is on. Opponents in the first professional man-versus-woman boxing match weighed in Friday, both safely below the 135-pound lightweight limit. Margaret McGregor, a landscaper from Bremerton, Wash., and Loi Chow, a jockey from Vancouver, British Columbia, hugged each other before the weigh-in and agreed that critics of Saturday's groundbreaking match should mind their own business. "I think they should open their minds a little more," McGregor said. Chow, who weighed in at 128 pounds in jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt, admitted he feels caught in a "lose-lose" situation: If he wins, he's a brute who beat up a woman; if he loses, he's a wimp who got beat by a woman. Chow stepped in to box McGregor after the fighter he was training, Hector Morales, pulled out of the match. Still, Chow said, "Regrets -- I have none." He has never hit a woman before, but he said that won't hold him back. "She is not a woman the moment she steps in the ring with me," said Chow, 33. "When she steps in the ring with me, she's an opponent." Chow is 0-2 as a professional boxer and hasn't fought in more than three years. But the 5-foot-2 man said he feels he has "a slight edge" over McGregor, who's won three professional matches against women. McGregor, who's 5-foot-4 and weighed in at 129 pounds in a sports bra and paisley shorts, said she feels good and strong. She praised Chow as "a gentleman." "I believe it's a good match," she said. Like Chow, McGregor has been overwhelmed by the media attention. Co-promoter Jim Rupp said he has heard from news organizations in a dozen countries wishing to cover the fight. "I'm just a small-town girl, I like to box," McGregor, 36, told reporters at the weigh-in. "You all got pretty excited." Officials with male and female boxing organizations alike have decried the mixed-gender match, calling it a sideshow that sets back the sport. In an age when women athletes are gaining stardom from basketball courts to soccer fields, many people think male-female boxing crosses a line that shouldn't be crossed. McGregor doesn't see it that way. "I hope this boosts boxing for everyone," she said. Both fighters plan on sleeping a lot before their four-round fight, which will be the last of the night even though it's the undercard to a fight between lightweights Martin O'Malley and Tito Tovar. As far as boxing goes, promoter Rupp said, the O'Malley fight will be the one to watch. But he understands the spotlight on McGregor and Chow. "There's only one first," he said.
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