Kyra Santoro versus Poppy Drayton

Kyra:
(23, 5’7, 4:1 FCBA, VIXENs)

Poppy:
(25, 5’6, 4:0 FCBA, Girls Friday)



Before: Kyra and Poppy both civil in their pre-fight interview. No shenanigans from VIX’s nice girl and Poppy respects that respect as well.



“We’ve admired each other's work from afar,” Kyra begins. “But we’ve never actually met in the ring. I’ve always said her textbook knockout of Leven Rambin was impressive.”



Poppy follows suit with praise of her own: “I’ve seen the way Kyra fights as well and i’m impressed. But will she be the reason for my first loss? I think not. All these American girls think they can just walk over us BBU ladies - not likely to happen.”



Kyra in a white bikini, red gloves, doing last minute stretching in corner. Poppy in red swimsuit, black gloves, popping in her mouth piece. Referee calls for the bell and here we go with 10 rounds of Bantamweight action.



Round 1: Poppy begins with a barrage of jabs thrown Kyra’s way. The brunette struggles to intercept or dodge out of the way, Poppy just too fast and relentless. Kyra eating some hard shots to her face despite her nominally excellent guard. Mid-round, Kyra decidedly stops her retreat and pushes back, going straight to hooks on Poppy’s forearms - the lithe actress is suddenly pushed back in mild surprise, not comfortable with such huge bombs thrown her way so early. Kyra dominates the rest of the round, getting in one or two nasty straight hands that slip past Poppy’s guard and into her mouth, then the brunette bangs her fists off of undercarriage as she pushes Poppy just barely to the ropes, before running out of time to capitalise on her turn in fortunes.



Round 2: Poppy now knows what she’s dealing with, realises extra care needed when dealing with Kyra’s big punches that can damage her… if they land. More defensive Drayton emerging in Round 2, flitting out of the way and using her speed and agility to jab-jab at Kyra’s head. She avoids a big right hook from the Vixen, then moves in to jab-jab again, pecking away at Kyra’s flesh and leaving the bigger girl exasperated at not being able to land any significant blows on her opponent in return. Mid-round, Kyra stops chasing her, hangs back, both gloves raised high. Poppy tries her quick combination again by moving in and flicking her left hand. Kyra expertly blocks one, deflects the other away - Poppy shocked by a right glove that smashes into her face and throws her off balance!! But she’s saved by the bell as referee stops a charging Kyra, who does some damage at the end but not enough to take the round for herself.



Round 3: Nonetheless, Poppy slow as she rises from stool. Kyra now concentrating intensely, smile long gone from her lips as she charges, quick jab followed up with powerful hook after hook designed to take Poppy’s head off. Poppy defending as best she can, refusing to get trapped along the ropes by snapping counter-jabs into Kyra’s body and chest, but she can’t stop this barrage forever! Kyra grits her teeth and lets out a shout of celebration when a right uppercut finally breaks through and grazes Poppy on the chin! Brit actress momentarily stunned, eats more left hands to lips as Kyra keeps up the pressure. But once again, Drayton’s fantastic footwork comes into play, avoids full force of Kyra’s blows as she scuttles out of the way. Round ends and Kyra is the one panting hard, having spent loads of energy and earning so little results, however judges still award the Vixen with a close round.



Round 4: Poppy back to her hit-and-run tactics in the fourth round, preying on a spent Kyra with lefts & rights that slam into every part of her body. Kyra fires the occasional big hook in response, but is unable to catch Poppy off-guard, body instead absorbing fists as Drayton now takes the lead in pushing Kyra back. Santoro letting out a dull grunt as another left-right combo fires into her abs - she grits her teeth and lunges back into the fight, swinging her arms around Poppy’s chest to wrestle. Kyra exploits Drayton’s momentary stunned expression by slamming her left fist deep into the side repeatedly. Poppy not used to this treatment at all, struggling to break free but Kyra now bullying her back to the ropes, tries to create some separation and fire a knockout blow to Drayton’s chin, but Drayton still the faster one, flicks her gloves into Santoro’s nose and mouth in a flurry of jab-jab-whack-whopp, treating Santoro’s head like a speed bag and following through with a snap uppercut that sends Kyra’s head backwards! Crowd cheering the sudden comeback as Poppy goes free from Kyra’s clutches, but she’s unable to capitalise as the bell soon rings signaling the end of the round. Poppy claws her way back into the lead this time, folks. Looks like she was in a tough spot back there with Santoro on her on the ropes, but she managed to pull through.



Round 5: It looks like there’s trouble in Kyra’s corner as she’s taking her time getting up and out. Drayton though seems fired up and ready to go, charging in and looking for a repeat performance. Whether Kyra’s strength spent or she’s simply utilising new strategy, the Vixen hangs back and lets her guard be peppered by Drayton’s consistent jabs. Poppy extra cautious that this might be a trap though, herds Kyra into the corner slow and steady, but perhaps Santoro already in trouble here: her body’s hunched over, chest panting hard as she barely attempts to fire offense back at her opponent. Kyra’s corner screaming at her to get in there, but it’s too late: Poppy scrubs Kyra across both cheeks with a quick one-two combo. Kyra lets out a grrruhhh as she’s thrown back to turnbuckle. Poppy follows up with a right uppercut to base of chin, and then a left hand, and then ANOTHER RIGHT, drubbing Kyra’s head up and back repeatedly! Kyra looking more and more out of sorts, on the verge of tears as her chin used as a springboard… IT’S A KNOCKDOWN FOR POPPY DRAYTON as Kyra unable to weather such repeated blows to her chin,simply falls forward onto canvas! Crowd roars as Poppy lets out a premature yelp of celebration, two hands swinging at the people in attendance. Referee bent over, counting out Kyra, who’s crawling back to the ropes and hoping for salvation.



3...4… Kyra makes it to apron, drapes one arm over bottom rope, but no effort to stand just yet.



5...6… Poppy in neutral corner, bunching gloves together in supreme confidence, waiting to go in again if needed.



7...8… Kyra manages to make it to both feet, but she’s hanging onto the top rope to prevent her two legs from collapsing. Definitely not a good sign, but she doesn’t have a choice as the referee waves for the last minute to continue!!



AND ON COMES DRAYTON, back again, making a beeline for Kyra, who has no answer as Poppy abandons caution and just slams lefts and rights into her midsection hup hup hup hup, goes upwards to tenderise chest and finally sputters Kyra’s cheeks with hard blows to the left and right! Santoro barely defending herself as her body gets worked over with leather, arms waving in front of her trying to protect her body... But Poppy once again starts snapping her fists to brunette’s chin with aggression, referee finally pulls Drayton off her! Kyra simply collapses to her knees and falls onto her side with a loud THUD.



Official Decision: Poppy Drayton defeats Kyra Santoro via TKO5!!



After: Stunning victory for Poppy Drayton as once again she defends her undefeated streak and cements her place in the FCBA. A bright future for the actress and she knows it herself, standing on the middle rope and soaking in the adoring fans and camera flashes. “She almost got me once or twice, but really, she needs to work on her speed,” Poppy tells reporters later on about her opponent.



Kyra being revived in the corner, medics attending to her reddened and flushed cheeks. Not a good day for the Vixen as she once again fights to stay relevant in the overcrowded Bantamweight field. “I knew this fight could’ve made the difference for one of us,” Santoro whispers later on, disappointed etched on her face. “Just didn’t think it would be her instead of me...”