Boxing: Costa Mesa High alum Crystina Poncher in Vegas to work the big fight
All you need to know about Crystina Poncher and her desire to rise in her sports broadcast career can be traced back to her days at Costa Mesa High School where she showed some charming tenacity.
Before graduating in 2002, she once met John Ireland, who worked as a Lakers sideline reporter for KCAL TV at the time. He was at Costa Mesa’s gym for an NBA D-League practice, Poncher said, and the young girl couldn’t help but approach him with a playful, yet challenging statement.
“I told him, ‘I’m going to take your job,’” said Poncher, who now works for Top Rank Boxing and is in Las Vegas as a reporter for the big fight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao. “My dream job at the time was to be the sideline reporter for the Lakers. I was so driven at that point. I was aspiring to do what he does. Obviously, I didn’t take his job. I think John Ireland is doing OK.”
Poncher is doing just fine herself.
Her first love was basketball. She played hoops while she was a Mustang for then-coach Jim Weeks.
Now she is totally immersed in boxing, and football. Usually at this time of the year she would be at the NFL Draft, as she also works for NFL Network and NFL.com.
She watched the draft in her room at the Mandalay Bay on Thursday night, while she spoke during a phone interview with the Daily Pilot.
“[Roger Goodell] pronounced Marcus Mariota’s name wrong,” Poncher said after hearing the NFL commissioner announce the No. 2 pick.
Poncher has kept an extremely busy schedule during her stay in Vegas that began on Monday and has included interviews with Pacquiao and Mayweather. She also began her work with the MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout series on truTV, which made its debut Friday.
“It’s like I’m working two fights,” said Poncher, 30, who lives in Huntington Beach.
But Poncher is no stranger to juggling and multi-tasking.
After Costa Mesa, she remained driven, as she didn’t earn her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism until six years later at Long Beach State.
She had transferred to Orange Coast College and went back to Long Beach, where she began.
She interned at Fox Sports, where she quickly elevated after working behind the scenes in the operations department.
“They liked my work ethic,” she said.
She received her first opportunity in front of a camera during the fall of 2008, when she worked a high school CIF playoff football game. She worked long hours as she continued with operations during the day and reporting at night.
Now, she’s working at a highly anticipated boxing match.
“It’s bigger than anything I’ve been a part of,” Poncher said of Saturday night’s fight at the MGM Grand. “This is kind of what you work for. To be right in the middle of it has been a blessing. We do a lot interviews, but with this fight, it sells itself. It’s something that the fans have wanted.”
Poncher remains a basketball fan, just as she was during her childhood. She loved sports while growing up in Costa Mesa. She also remembers having fun during fight viewing parties at her home. But she didn’t really become totally interested in boxing until 2011, when she started working as a boxing reporter.
“My knowledge and my passion for the sport has grown so much,” she said. “Boxing is definitely a different dynamic. It just gets you. It tugs at you. I fell in love. This fight is definitely the high point. This is the biggest thing that has happened in recent years. All eyes are on Vegas this weekend.”
Poncher said it has been non-stop work during the week since arriving in Las Vegas.
She is conducting pre- and post-fight coverage, as well as post-fight interviews with each fighter.
“During the main event, I’ll be watching the fight,” said Poncher, who also offered her take on the big fight. “I can’t really predict. We all hope Manny pulls it out. (Top Rank promotes Pacquiao). Floyd is the favorite for a reason. I have a feeling it can go to a decision. I would think that would be Manny’s chance to win. We are here in Vegas, Floyd’s home. And, Floyd has his counter left hand. We now know that Manny can be susceptible to that, like against [Juan Manuel] Marquez. But Floyd has never fought anyone like Manny. He is a crazy, fast southpaw. If anyone has a chance to give Floyd a 1 in the loss column, I believe it’s Manny. But it’s not going to be easy.”