Sechelt's Julia Budd is hoping the end of 2006 is just the start of an even better 2007.
Budd fought Chrisann Roseliep from Denver, Colorado in a hard-fought battle in Tampa Bay, Dec. 8. The fight was a three-round affair, each round three minutes in length.
"It was a really good fight - I dominated right from the start," Budd recalled in an interview with Coast Reporter while she was in Sechelt during the Christmas holidays. "The first kick she threw I blocked and I hurt my leg. To fight through that injury and still win is pretty big. She was also at a higher weight class than me too, so to beat her was a huge win for me."
The fight was Budd's first kickboxing encounter for quite a while. For most of 2006, Budd found it difficult to find top competitors in her weight class willing to get into the ring with her. So Budd concentrated on improving her boxing skills. That worked out pretty good too for the Sechelt fighter.
"I fought at the end of April and won against a girl from Victoria and fought in June with a TKO in the third round against a U.S. competitor," Budd said. "The boxing went really well and it was good to work on that aspect and hopefully use some of those skills to complement the kickboxing."
Away from the ring, Budd completed her degree in kinetics from the University of British Columbia.
Budd is hoping for a great 2007, which brings a title fight in March against Germain Derandamie - the top ranked female kickboxer in the world at the 140 weight class. The Holland fighter currently has a 27-0 record.
"It's going to be a great fight - I hope. I know I'm ready. I can't wait to get in the ring and test my skills against her," Budd said.
Budd has two major sponsors now, www.kartarmor.com and Vatabrasil, is working part time and wants to concentrate as much as she can on her fight career this year.
Budd also plans to head to Thailand where she hopes to get into the ring with some of the sports best and brightest stars.
"The promoter in Tampa has been great. He'll bring in fighters from all over the place for me to fight. But in order to stay competitive and get to the top, my philosophy is, if they won't come to you, you have to go to them. If that means going to Thailand to fight, so be it," she said.
