Fight 21: FIONA Fight Machine PHILIPPI Vs

FIGHT REVIEWS

REVIEWS OF FIGHTS 21-28 FROM EVENT 27 HELD ON 08/08/2005

Fight 21: FIONA “Fight Machine” PHILIPPI vs. STEPHANIE “Bruiser” EAST

Record/Votes: Fiona – 1-1-0 / 20 Stephanie – 2-3-0, 1 KO / 18

Description: (4 Rounds) The DWBL is acquiring a most appealing group of young women boxers who will sustain and invigorate the league’s growth in the coming years. This next four rounder features a couple of popular young boxers; Stephanie comes from the United Kingdom, while Fiona is from Germany, a member of the Dynamite Ladies stable. Both are decked out in very comely ring attire. The Bruiser recorded her first career knockout in event 26, stopping Tara Teen who was making her league debut. On the same card, Fiona lost a four round decision to Birgit Hermann. From the opening bell of round one, it became quickly apparent that Ms East’s additional ring experience would be a factor in the outcome of this match. Ms Philippi was looking a little stiff and nervous in the early action between the two. It appeared that Stephanie’s fight plan was to keep using her fast left jab to paint the face of her German foe. This caused Fiona to revert to a retreating defensive style with many of her shots becoming wasted blows that were blinded by the incessant jabs of the English lass. Early in round two, with that persistent pink leather repeatedly landing on her nose, some blood begin to issue from the Fight Machine’s sensitized nostrils. Fiona was reminded of her preparatory training between rounds two and three. Girlfightlover advised her to bob and weave, to use her gloves to catch and parry some of the Bruiser’s pesky jabs and to respond with hooks to the body and overhand rights to her foe’s head in response to errant jabs. Early in round three, Fiona started to act on this advice and it worked to win her control of the fight action for the remainder of that stanza. For the first time in the bout, Stephanie was made to pay for her missed punches and suffered some telling punches to both her torso and head. The fourth and final round was considered crucial by each woman if she was to successfully capture the victory in this match up. All out punching was the scenario for this final stanza. Stephanie re-established her jabbing effectiveness even while she introduced more body punching to her battle plan. Fiona altered her defensive stance, attempting to thwart the twin phase aggression of Ms East. The Bruiser was punishing the Fight Machine with greater completion rates for her blows and more powerful delivery. Both kept up a fast paced exchange of leather fisted bullets right up to the final bell. With the fight over, they fell together into a mutual embrace of reconciliation. The judges were working feverishly to finalize their score cards.

Decision: Although there was one score that expressed a disagreement, the majority decision winner was Stephanie East over a disappointed but accepting Fiona Philippi. There will always be occasions for disagreement in the subjective task of judging fights. Most likely these two boxing practitioners will meet again as they traverse their respective professional travel routes. They provided the fans present tonight with a real exciting exhibition of the womanly art of boxing.

Fight 22: TANYA “The Body” DANIELLE vs. TERESA “The Venice Queen” DENSON

Record/Votes: Tanya – 11-2-2, 2 KO / 16 Teresa – 8-6-2, 3 KO / 22

Description: This match-up was a rematch between two league veterans who last met in Event 22. At that time, Tanya scored a unanimous decision victory over the Venice Queen. The first meeting between these fighters was a closely contested and strategic fight for the first six rounds. Ms Danielle came on strong during the final two rounds, landing some hurtful punches that had Ms Denson struggling to remain erect and survive the onslaught. She did survive the battering of those last two rounds, but neither woman was completely satisfied with the outcome. The Body felt that she was deprived of a knockout because of what she perceived as the untimely intrusion of the referee. Teresa attributed the loss to sloppiness in her defensive technique, and tonight would like to achieve the victory she gave away in their earlier fight. With a victory over Ms Danielle, Teresa should be elevated in the league rankings so that she, rather than Tanya, is ranked among the top ten best fighters in the DWBL. But the time for talking is over; the women wait eagerly for their call to commence the fighting action in round one. Right from the bell, there was plenty of give and take action between these two fighters. Unlike in their previous match up, Teresa was the early aggressor in this match. Tanya had some success throughout brief segments of the round, but I sensed cautiousness in her salvos as she remained very much focused on protecting herself from the power shots thrown by the Venice Queen. That seemed like a wise move to me, because she knew that Teresa had scored a knockout over Monica Rabat in her last fight. The Body had in interest in becoming another knockout statistic on her rival’s record. Round two was another winning effort for the Venice Queen who was almost surgical in dissecting the defensive perimeter of the Body. Tanya’s manager, Chairman Andy, reminded his fighter that they had a winning strategy which she had yet to employ. It was time for her to take charge of this fight by gaining some respect from the Queen. Tanya displayed how she was planning to gain that respect as the fight continued into round three. Using some very effective shoulder rolls, Ms Danielle started digging to the belly and ribs of the Italian aggressor. Using more punching angles as the round progressed permitted the Body to deliver poker stiff jabs repeatedly to the head of her adversary. Often double jabs and hooks were combined in hurtful sequences rocking the raven haired beauty down to her black booted toes. Late in round four, Tanya scored the first knockdown of this fight. It came from a volley of four quick head punches. Straight short jabs from both her right and left fists landed with jet like quickness, bludgeoning the stricken Italian immediately down to her hands and knees. Teresa shook her head, gathered herself, and rose before the count of eight was tolled by the referee. With only a short period remaining in the fourth round, Teresa evaded further efforts by Ms Danielle to follow up on this momentary advantage. When the Californian attacked early in round five, she suffered the wrath of the indignant Italian who topped her gloved defense with two powerful overhand blows, one from each fist that exploded with stunning force on Ms Danielle’s face. Sutter-stepping backward, Tanya was opened for a left hook to the liver which took out her legs. Her sudden descent to the ring floor allowed her to avoid a blistering right cross that passed through the space where her chin had been just seconds before. The Body ended sitting upright on the floor, her back against the lowest rope, supported by her gloved fists. She was up before the count reached eight. When the referee waved the fighters together to resume the action, Tanya spun rapidly out to center ring where she had room to evade the on rushing Teresa. The moment of opportunity for the Venice Queen had been lost to her. Teresa came out strongly in the sixth round, pursuing the back pedaling Ms Danielle. Although the blonde Californian was retreating, she still managed to dish out some punishing counter punches to the face and body of her forward moving rival. It was another even round on my score sheet, with just two more rounds to go in the fight. Round seven was the slowest paced, most limited action round of the fight. It appeared that both women were seeking to work off the offensive efforts of their foe; therefore, neither woman showed an inclination to initiate the action. Round eight went to the opposite end of the action rating spectrum. Both pugilists charged from their corners and tapped gloves briefly before igniting their offensive fireworks. It was a give and take slugfest throughout the entire two minutes. Using short, fast body punches at close quarters I felt the Body edged out her European rival who was trying to land hooks and uppercuts that were both fewer in number and less effective. This was going to be another close decision I suspected; nothing new for the ringside judges who were making lots of hard calls throughout this evening’s program.

Decision: The judges confirmed by their close scores that this was indeed a very close competitive match. The official verdict was awarded to Tanya Danielle, who for the second time had bested the veteran Teresa Denson. I felt that this match up was even closer than their initial fight. In her typical quiet, genteel manner, Ms Denson congratulated the winner in what was most certainly a disappointing defeat after her last exhilarating victory. There are no easy fights in the DWBL.

Fight 23: LORENA “La Gatita” BERTONI vs. DENISE OUTSIDER

Record/Votes: Lorena – 12-5-2, 1 KO / 21 Denise - 14 votes

Decision: Lorena Bertoni fought to an inconclusive draw against Denise Outsider, not what she or the league’s fans suspected in this shootout.

Fight 24: MILLY “The Pulverizing Girl” REID vs. DENISE OUTSIDER

Record/Votes: Milly – 13-5-3, 1 KO / 28 Denise - 8 votes

Decision: Milly won this decision going away from an outclassed Denise Outsider. The fans saw it coming this time.

Fight 25: JENNY B. “Dreamcatcher” SWEET vs. DENISE OUTSIDER

Record/Votes: Jenny- 8-5-2, 2 KO / 25 Denise - 12 votes

Decision: Jenny B. Sweet knocked out the rugged Denise Outsider for a most welcome win.

Fight 26: BIRGIT “Girlie” HERMANN vs. DENISE OUTSIDER

Record/Votes: Birgit – 7-2-1 / 27 Denise - 9 votes

Decision: Denise decisioned a surprised Birgit Hermann, who found Ms Outsider a tough opponent to handle.

Fight 27: CARRIE “The Total Knockout” SMITH vs. DENISE OUTSIDER

Record/Votes: Carrie – 12-9-3, 1 KO / 29 Denise - 12 votes

Decision: Carrie Smith upheld the banner of the DWBL with another decisive win over Denise Outsider. Even though she seems to have trouble finding any of the league’s top tier competitors willing to fight her, she keeps winning despite them. Come on, ladies give Carrie a match.

Fight 28: DWBL CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT -

VANESSA “Sweet Warrior” LOPEZ – CHAMPION

Vs. MARISOL “The Babysitter” CHAVEZ –CHALLENGER

Record/Votes: Vanessa – 13-7-2, 3 KO / 19 Marisol – 14-9-2, 1 KO / 21

Description: (10 Rounds) Champion Vanessa Lopez will be making her first title defense after regaining the belt. In this match, she faces Marisol Chavez, another former champion who seeks to reclaim the title. Being the defending champion in the DWBL is about as unpredictable as being a head coach in the NFL - win or you are out. Both ladies are wearing very attractive ring attire; they are definitely good role models for young women considering a career opportunity in professional boxing. All the formalities for this evening’s feature event have been completed, so the fighters and fans are prepared to get down to the serious business of determining who will be the DWBL World Lightweight Champion.

Round 1 – Vanessa set the tone for the first round of this ten round battle. Using a rapier like left jab she split the defensive shield of the challenger repeatedly throughout the stanza. When the barrier was opened, her left hooks had ready access to the midriff of Ms Chavez. Although these initial gut busters seemed to have little effect upon the challenger, after repetitive strikes stomach muscles become less resistant to the intrusion of these leather clad bullets. The old adage “kill the body and the head will die” is a truism in the sport of boxing. Both women moved in and out, bobbing and weaving to present as little target as possible for their antagonist to strike. They displayed the superior ring skills that one would expect of top professionals, with each constantly on the lookout for miscues on the part of their adversary. I favored Vanessa a by a score of 10-9 in this opening stanza.

Round 2- Action in the second round was just as fierce as in the initial round. Marisol was particularly successful in throwing hooks off her lead jabs. This special skill is rare among even the top contenders, and in this league I know of no fighter who does it as well as Ms Chavez. When the champion attempted to counter or initiate her own offense, she was typically off balance from the unanticipated second strike. The Babysitter used her trademark double hooks extremely well throughout the second session. Adding extra power to her punches as she moved forward against her rival, Marisol scored blows that shook up the title holder. It was in my view a clear winning round two for Marisol, 10 - 9. My unofficial overall score after two rounds was even at 19-all.

Round 3 - There were fast give and take exchanges of opposing jabs in round three. Vanessa’s blows seemed to have more snap to them than those of the challenger. This power advantage became apparent when Marisol was made to retreat slowly before the repetitive jolts of those blows. At the midpoint of the round Marisol was backed into the strands where the Sweet Warrior used her superior positioning to land quick, short armed punches to the body of Ms Chavez for perhaps thirty seconds. Since the challenger was pressed against the ropes, she was unable to get the leverage needed to respond effectively to this entrapment, and escaped only after she was able to grasp the Champ in a tight bear hug, resulting in the intrusion of the referee to separate the struggling duo. Vanessa won the round on my score sheet 10-9, pulling ahead in the overall scoring for this match after three rounds 29-28.