Tune into ESPN’s Golden Boy Boxing this evening and in the super middleweight division, you’ll see Sam “Leggz” Pill take on No. 2-world ranked Maricela Cornejo live from Los Angeles.

 

Thursday evening, Pill said weigh-ins had gone well and that she felt energized and confident. 

 

Her first day in L.A. had been a busy one, visiting the Golden Boy Promotion Headquarters Commission to complete paper work, see a physician and participate in weigh-ins, which were streamed live. She said she also had ESPN photos taken and met with the broadcaster. 

 

The United Hospital Center nurse and nightshift emergency room supervisor just went pro in November. She never expected to get an opportunity like this so quickly. 

 

“This is all kind of crazy,” said Pill, who just received official word earlier this month that the fight was confirmed. “We weren’t expecting this at all. We were preparing and planning for a heavyweight fight in August, but couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

 

She said she couldn’t be more thrilled.

 

“Otherwise, it was really going to take a long time for anyone to know who I am and where I’m from because there aren’t a lot of events here that give boxers that much exposure. Some fight all their life and don’t get this kind of opportunity.”

 

It was Pill’s trainer, Keith Barr, and Cornejo’s promoter who set up the match.

 

“At first, it was going to be on July 21, but that didn’t get approved,” Pill said. “They said if we come a week sooner, they would be in L.A. and - by the way - that it was going to be on television.”

 

Pill, who works up to 50 hours per week at UHC, trains three mornings per week at Barr’s gym in Fairmont.

 

“I also started going to Gorilla Strength and Fitness and that’s been a nice addition to my workout,” she said.

 

During the last few days, she has stepped it up even more.

 

“My coworkers are helping me by covering some hours and my sparring friends are coming out to give me some rounds,” she said. “I cranked it from 60 to 120 percent within just a couple days. It’s very intense right now.”

 

Pill, her husband Jesse and Barre flew to California Wednesday in order to have time to settle in and finish her medical exam, which included an MRI, EKG and dilated eye exam. 

 

To make weight, Pill had to drop a few pounds.

 

“My last fight, I came down to 168 and now I’m dropping down to 165,” she said. “That’s mentally hard, but now I know how to do it.”

 

The six-foot-tall Pill said she and Cornejo, five feet 10, should combine for a quality contest.

 

“She’s also very tall and used to being the bigger opponent so this will be the first time going against someone taller and longer than herself,” Pill said. “We will look great in the ring together and it should be a great match.”

 

When Pill turned pro in November, she said there was no going back. Once a fighter makes that move, there’s no returning to amateur.

 

The timing is perfect as there is currently much interest in women’s boxing, she said.

 

In August of 2016, Heather Hardy faced off against Shelly Vincent in a10-round WBC International Women’s Featherweight

Championship bout at Coney Island; a fight broadcast on NBCSN as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series.

 

“More recently, doors have opened and Showtime is airing women and HBO had their first women’s televised fight a few weeks ago and numbers were great,” she said.

 

Barr said Pill has been on the radar for about a year, when he was in talks with Floyd Mayweather’s camp to fight Savannah Marshall.

 

“Negotiations fell through, but Samantha kept fighting and beat a very talented girl in Louisiana,” he said.

 

Pill claimed her first professional victory over Michigan’s Melisa Holmes and brought her record 2-0 by winning over Kayla Williams in Louisiana. Most recently, she dominated Crystal Byers at “The Rumble: Fight Night at the Feaster Center,” held at Fairmont State University.

 

Barre has extreme faith in Pill and said they will shy away from no one, not even the No. 2 fighter in the world. Rather, Pill will make West Virginia proud.

 

“I think we can go to California and shock the world,” he said. “I’ve always said Samantha is a special talent and she will be able to showcase it on the world stage.”

 

As of now, Golden Boy Boxing is expected to air on ESPN at 7 p.m. Friday, July 13.