Staying in the fight
Andrea Kallas has now seen the mountain she intends to climb. She has studied its faces, planned her ascent and begun stalking its summit.
Kallas, a 24-year-old former basketball standout at Central Valley, has her sights set on the 119-pound gold medal at next year’s U.S. National Women’s Boxing Championships — wherever they may be held.
“I’ve seen the competition,” Kallas said after losing in the quarterfinals of the national tournament last week at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. “I can win this next year.”
In just over a year, Kallas has run her amateur record to 7-2 while winning both the Oregon Golden Gloves championship in her weight class and the regional championship, which earned her a berth in the national tournament.
She won her first bout in the tournament handily and appeared to win her quarterfinal bout. Not only that, she owns a victory over Gabriella Barragan, the silver medalist at 114 pounds, in the Oregon Golden Gloves tournament, and over national qualifier Allison Porter, the reigning Miss Washington, at the regional qualifying tournament in the Tri-Cities earlier this year.
The tournament, scored with an electronic system that requires a majority of judges to concur before awarding a point, produced a number of decisions that ran opposite of popular opinion, including Kallas’ loss to Leonie Hall of Vista, Calif.
“I knew when I lost that first fight to Allison (in the Tacoma Golden Gloves championship bout),” Kallas said. “I knew it before I ever got back to my own corner. But I still think I won that fight (with Hall).”
If the highly driven Kallas can go from zero to the national quarterfinals in her first year in the sport, there’s no telling how far she can go next.
“I support her wholeheartedly,” her mother, Carlotta said. “But there’s a part of me that just wishes she’d meet a nice, young man and want to settle down. It’s not gonna happen, but I can still hope.”
At least, not any time soon.
After nursing an injury heading into the national tournament, Kallas said she wants to take a couple of weeks off to heal and begin work on her next challenge: The Chicago Golden Gloves tournament in October.
One of the things Kallas realized after watching the final two rounds of last week’s tournament is the need for her to travel in order to find quality opponents.
It’s a plight she shares with the vast majority of other boxers in the tournament. There are just not enough quality opponents in any one area to be able to improve yourself locally.
Stella Nijhof, the eventual champion at 119, admitted that travel is vital, even in the big city.
The New York City bartender said there are always good, young fighters in the Greater New York area, but even she must hit the road to keep getting better.
“I know I’m going to have to travel,” Kallas said. “In fact, I’m kind of looking forward to that.
“Once I have a goal, I really go after it. I really want to win a national championship. I want that gold medal, and I’m going to get it.”