Janet Todd suffered heartbreak last December. A couple of days before her atomweight Muay Thai unification bout with Allycia Rodrigues she tested positive for Covid-19.
The news came completely out of the blue to the American who though she was just suffering from allergies,
“I remember bawling my eyes out, I was just in shock. I didn’t believe it. Because the last time I had Covid I had body pains, fever and I didn’t have any of that. It was just like a stuffy nose, which I thought were allergies because we were staying at a casino where there’s cigarette smoke that I’m not used to. I couldn’t believe it.”
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Devastating setback
Having completed her training camp and made the long journey from Los Angeles to Manila it came as a devastating setback to Todd,
“It just took me a little bit to kind of get over the fact that I flew 15 and a half hours and trained really hard to get to this point. I made so many sacrifices, and then I didn’t have anything. I couldn’t do anything. I was really devastated. It’s devastating for me.”
Three months later and Todd should finally get to fight Rodriguez. The match is scheduled for ONE Fight Night 8 later this month and she sounds in a much more positive frame of mind,
“I can’t sit there and just feel sorry for myself. What’s done is done. I can’t go back in time. I don’t even know how I got Covid. Maybe it was in the airplane. Who knows? But there’s nothing I can do at that point. So all I had to do was look forward. And just keep training once things get better. Knowing that this fight was going to happen sometime. And now it’s here.”
She also thinks that the delay might have helped her because Todd has had some extra time in which to prepare for the challenge which the Brazilian poses,
“I think that time has helped me hone some skills that would work against Allycia. But it also allowed me to work more of the creative side of my brain, so that when I do get in a certain situation, I can flow from one movement to the next. So it allows me to move more freely, knowing I have more tools to work with.”
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Dream come true
It is nearly four years since Rodriguez beat Stamp to win the belt. Todd would go on to capture the interim atomweight Muay Thai title but the regular champion has always been lurking in the background.
Having had to wait so long to face Rodriguez has helped to put the three month delay into perspective for Todd. She was devastated to discover she had Covid-19 just days before their scheduled fight but plans to make up for lost time when they finally face off on March 25th,
“Oh man, it’s been four years in the making (and) it’s been something I’ve wanted for a really long time. So I’m really looking forward to it, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that I have wanted for four years.”
