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‘Bolivian Queen’ a clear favourite on fight night

Jennifer Salinas will be one of the star attractions at next week’s All or Nothing WBC & WBA World Middleweight Boxing Championship at Fairmont Southampton

At a glance, Jennifer Salinas looks like the innocent girl next door.But as many have learned the hard way, looks can be deceiving when it comes to ‘The Bolivian Queen’ of boxing.Salinas, 30, is currently preparing for her featherweight bout with fellow American Karen Dulin at next week’s All or Nothing WBC and WBA World Middleweight Boxing Championship at Fairmont Southampton.With a superior record (12-3-0) to that of her rival’s (2-11-0), the orthodox fighter will step into the ring as the clear favourite.However, Salinas who was born in the USA but also has Bolivian citizenship isn’t taking any chances against the underdog who has earned a reputation for going the distance against tough opponents.“I’m not going to take her for granted by going by her record,” she told The Royal Gazette. “A lot of times when fighters go by other fighters’ records they take things for granted and surprises come down the road, so I’m not going to do that.“Karen is an experienced fighter but her record doesn’t give her any justice as she doesn’t have a winning record. However, she does have a lot of experience and she’s fought very tough fighters that usually knock people out and has gone the distance with some tough girls .”Salinas, who is currently ranked seventh in the US and 41st in the world, has scrutinised her rival’s technique in the lead-up to next week’s bout.“I’ve seen her videos and she’s a smart fighter who doesn’t take a chance at getting knocked out,” she said. “She’s never been knocked down or knocked out by top ranked fighters.”If all goes accordingly Salinas hopes to secure a title fight in the not-too-distant future.“Overall, I have a winning record and the plan is to fight for a title,” she said. “So if I lose this fight it’s really going to affect that plan.“We’re looking at fighting two more fights for classification just for ranking and the third one will be a title fight. This is obviously one of the two we have left and so the pressure is on.”Outside of competitive boxing, Salinas, who recorded a unanimous decision against compatriot Angel Gladney in her previous outing in the ring, works as a personal trainer and boxing instructor.“I take my career and boxing career very seriously,” she declared. “I have a lot challenges when it comes to time for training, so when I do train I really make the best of it.“I do my conditioning in the morning and my boxing in the evening and control it to the point where I’m not over training but not under training either. I listen to my body and if I feel I need a day’s rest I recover and go back strong.”Dulin, 36, lost to fellow American Michelle Vincent in her last fight.Highlighting next week’s event at Fairmont Southampton is the WBA and WBC world middleweight unification championship bout between Bermuda’s Teresa Perozzi and American Tori Nelson.Perozzi is the reigning WBA middleweight champion while the WBC belt is currently vacant.Tickets for the upcoming event can be purchased at International Sports Shop and also online at Ptix.bm.