Joanne Kelly vs. Laura Pausini

(I.F.F.I. vs Latin Union)
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:
Not a ton of respect being thrown around pre-fight. Pausini plenty confident despite the rankings difference. "She's Top Twenty and all that," says Laura. "But, I'm far more physical. I'll jump start my FCBA career by knocking her out tonight."

"I hear all about how physical she is," says Joanne with a shake of the head. "Like I haven't been in the ring with girls like Torv, Mitra, and Peregrym. I KNOW physical. And I can BEAT physical."

ROUND ONE:

Zero surprise in the start. Kelly moves well, likes to angle, jab, box, and she's good at it. Pausini wants to bang, because she's good at that. Problem is, she's got to get Joanne square, and, that's not happening. Kelly's all about the geometry, staying off center, stepping to the side, forcing Laura to adjust, slowing her down and opening her up for punches. Joanne gets into rhythm quickly. She's throwing punches in bunches and she's landing a lot of stuff. Laura a step off, can't get started, keeps getting opened up and then opened up ON. Pausini's not hurt. But, she's getting touched up a lot. Late in the round, Laura actually goes onto the defensive, trying to figure this out. Kelly unable to hide an actual smirk, as she knows she's gotten exactly what she wants now. Laura's hesitant, and the Canadian legs and jabs out the first, which she wins wide, to claim the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Laura adjusts. By being less aggressive. Wouldn't seem to work for a slugger like Pausini, but it does. Because, by keeping the guard up and advancing carefully, she takes away the opportunities Joanne was using to score big points with combinations. Instead. Laura slows the pace, slows the work rate, and finds herself able to close some distance and work some body as a result. Joanne still moving well, still angling, still making things tough on the Italian, but she's not scoring nearly as much as she did in the first, because the opportunities aren't being handled to her on the proverbial silver platter. Instead, a more retrospect Pausini is a better Pausini, and that makes for a close, two-way round from beginning to end. There's not exactly a ton in it when the final bell rings, but there is a nose difference in the two, and that nose belongs to Laura, who evens things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Game of adjustments continues. Kelly now adds another trick to the arsenal. She's not just angling and side-stepping now, she's back-stepping, too. And, while that might not seem like a major change, it is. Because it forces Laura to either reach, which opens her up to counters, or to wait another instant to punch. Again, it doesn't seem like much, but it is. Because, that extra instant can be used by the Canadian to punch. And, that's exactly what she uses it for. Laura remains soundly aggressive, however. She's finding ways to close and bang both head and body. She's scoring her points and, once again, making this a good, competitive, two-way round. She even lands the best punch of the fight so far, a straight right hand that backs Joanne up a step and sends sweat flying. But, when the judges turn in their cards, it's Kelly who's won a close one to go back in the lead 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

And, more adjusting. Pausini gets the hang of Joanne's little fade move, counters it by stepping wide, getting to Kelly's front side and getting leather on. Joanne has to turn and square, putting things back on more even footing. Kelly still the slicker of the two fighters, no question of that, but, Laura offsetting that with weight of shot. She's tossing Joanne to the defensive here and there, and it makes a difference. It allows Pausini to put together scoring flurries and build up points, points that more than make up for what Joanne's able to do with the slick movement and resultant nice combinations she puts together when she gets to her spots. Again, it's competitive stuff all the way through, there's no question  of that. But, when the final seconds tick off in the fourth, there's also no question about who's come out on top. It's close again, but, it's Pausini, who's evened it again, this time at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Competitive battle continues with both brunettes starting to get more aggressive, though only slightly so. Kelly moving more, trying to make Pausini work to square and bring her to battle. Laura applying a bit more pressure, committing on the punches a bit more, looking for something big. Neither fighter able to find it, which is nothing new, as neither has been able to do so in the first four rounds, either. Instead, we get more good, competitive, two-way fighting. Both girls sound. Both girls working hard. Neither able to gain control or, really, much momentum. It's back and forth stuff, just as it has been most of the way. Things are just about dead even going into the final 30 seconds, and that's when Kelly makes a veteran move. She turns it on. Puts together several flurries. And steals the round right at the end. As a result, she goes back into the lead 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Both fighters continuing to try to get this thing off dead center, to try to get some momentum, to try to land something big. And, frankly, it's surprising that, through over 15 minutes of boxing between fighters who hit like Pausini and Kelly, nobody's managed to shake anybody yet. But. Sooner or later. And, in the sixth, it comes somewhat later, but a lot sooner than Joanne Kelly would have liked. Kelly's doing what she does, moving, angling, scoring points, fighting on even terms with Pausini yet again. Laura's pressuring soundly, jabbing, looking for an opening for that big right hand. And, after about 17 minutes of trying, she finds it. BOOM! Kelly's wobbled, stumbling back against the ropes, which are the only things that keep her from going down. And, then it's a jailbreak. Laura goes all in to finish, pounding away at Joanne against the ropes. Kelly hangs on desperately in a tight guard, looking like she might go at any time. But. She doesn't. She rides it out and gets to the bell. But, it's Laura wide, and we're even at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Laura's finally gotten an advantage, and she plans to press it in a big way. She's all over Joanne immediately, forcing her right back into the ropes almost immediately. Kelly clearly still buzzed, still wobbly, and Laura smelling the blood in the water. She's winging away with both hands, buffeting Joanne's head side to side as she pounds heavy leather off the Canadian's high guard. Kelly grimly hanging on, jabbing back in spots, doing her best to keep the referee away. About halfway through the round, Pausini slows a bit, tiring somewhat from three straight minutes of trying to finish. And, Kelly pounces, throwing a brilliant three-punch combination that staggers Laura, sending her wobbling back toward the center of the ring. Joanne pours forward, throwing in all the reserves, tossing a blizzard of shell at the Italian. And, finally, it's too much. Laura simply crumples face first to the mat under the onslaught. The Italian does her best to rise, even making it to forearms and knees. But, that's as far as she can get before the count passes her by. It's over! And your winner by KO7 in buzzsaw fashion is Joanne Kelly!

AFTER:

Kelly's face showing some swelling, nose trickling blood. She's obviously been in a fight tonight, but the lovely smile on her face makes it just as obvious who won. "This is what I said in the pre-fight. I can handle physical girls. I can handle boxers, and swarmers, and brawlers, and sluggers. I can handle them all, because I'm as good as any lightweight in the world. Period."