ANNA TORV VS MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD
Results: Lookout Writing: Archer
Anna: 38 YO, 5’9 (1.75 m), 37-10-0, 22 KO since 2008, Front Street Stable
Mary: 33 YO, 5’8 (1.73 m), 42-38-0, 36 KO since 007, Foxfire Boxing



Before: “I was honestly shocked when I realized I hadn’t had a single fight with Anna Torv,” Mary Elizabeth Winstead confessed in the pre-fight. “I mean, I have fought every other Front Street lightweight: Katy Perry, Gemma Arterton, and Serinda Swan. I mean’s Anna from Australia same as my ‘Best Frenemy Forever’ Yvonne Strahovski! Well, as soon as I realized it, I was all for a showdown with Anna. I can’t wait to get in the ring with her.”

“Oh, now, no need to be upset, Mary,” said Anna Torv, “oversights happen and I am more than happy to get my belated shot at you. After all, we Australians do like to make sure no outsider goes unpunished for beating us.”

“Well, you know, Vonnie—I mean Yvonne Strahovski beat me—a couple of times,: Mary pointed out. “And way back when, Poppy Montgomery beat the snot out of me.”

“Yes, but you have had unanswered wins over Miranda Kerr, Phoebe Tonkin and Abbie Cornish. So now it is up to me to help even things up,” Anna said.

“I had no idea you Aussie’s held such a grudge,” Mary said.

Anna smiled: “You never asked.”

“Well, all I can say is, I plan on adding you to my list of ‘unanswered wins’ and you’ll just have to let Vonnie deal with them,” Mary said.

“You can plan it, but that does not mean it will work,” Anna said serenely. “I do look forward to this.”

“So do—I think,” Mary muttered, shaking her head.

The night of the fight finds Anna Torv in a black one piece swimsuit. White gloves and boots with black laces. Mary is in a retro red and white checked one piece with red gloves and boots (white laces). Anna’s blonde hair in a battle braid. Mary’s hair is loose, but wetted down. Correct, professional ring instructions have the two fighters in their corner awaiting the bell. It rings.

R1: Anna and Mary move briskly to mid ring and after some initial circling they start firing away from mid-distance, Shots to the head mix with swiping punches across stomachs. Then they start moving in closer and the tempo picks up rapidly. Mary working Anna’s head, trying to get around her blocking gloves over the top or underneath. She scores some success, rattling Anna’s chin with good uppercuts and knocked her head back with overhand shots to the forehead and cheekbones. Anna working Mary to the body with raking shots across the ribs and hooks to the belly that make Mary quiver. Then Mary goes to the body and finds unguarded areas of the midsection to swathe in sweeping rights and lefts. Anna now pushing leather into Mary’s face, stinging her forehead and cheekbones with well-placed shots. Neither able to push the other back so they stand there punching away steadily to the bell. Judges rule it a draw.

R2: Mary seemed to like the close-in action in the latter part of the opening round because she goes in close to drive hard ones into Anna’s body. Anna a bit awkward at first in her counters, but is able to make adjustments and gets her answering jab into Mary’s body. Round seems to be developing very evenly with plenty of punches from both fighters. Mary then changes course with a uppercut that slides behind Anna’s gloves and up onto her chin. You can see the shock of the punch go through Anna as she lurches back on unsteady lags and flails at Mary with a now-unsteady jab. Mary tries to press the advantage, but Anna shakes it off and stalls Mary with a sudden strike to the nose. Mary stalls and covers up. Anna tries to take advantage with hooks to the belly, but Mary snaps out of it with some strong rights and lefts to the head that make Anna cover up and retreat. Round ends and MEW wins a narrow one.

R3: Anna looking cautious coming out this round, Mary seems to sense Anna’s head is not quite clear she starts circling, using feints and sending surprise shots slamming into Anna. Anna just little sluggish in her responses, but it is enough for Mary to keep building her attack. Anna struck first to the body with digging hooks to the ribs and stomach, but then lightning stabbing rights and lefts to smite Anna hard in the face, Anna doggedly fighting back, but seems a fraction of second too late with her counters and is taking some damaging shots to the head. Anna forced to cover up to protect her head. Mary finishes up with some work on Anna’s side ribs until the bell sounds. Mary wins round wide.

R4: Anna Torv under pressure, but she is keeping calm. Mary resumes her attack in the new round, but Anna counterattacks with a head swiveling right to the jaw, Mary reeling away in obvious distress. Anna does a nice sliding circle to stay in front and bust up Mary to the face with a strong series of quick rights and lefts. Mary bleeding from nose and split lip. Up goes MEW’s gloves to cover her face and Anna romps to the Winstead midsection. Mary being driven back into the ropes all hunched up and protected. Mary tries to slide along the ropes fighting back with frantic jabs, but Anna cuts her off and Mary ends up seated on the ropes, face in her gloves. Anna swinging away but can’t get MEW down, but the Foxfire fighter looks pale as she leaves the ropes at the bell, The blood from nose and lips all the crimson as she makes her way slowly to her corner, Anna Torv comes roaring back with a round won wide.

R5: Mary not looking good as she comes out for this round despite the best efforts of the Foxfire corner crew. She has her dukes up and tries to parry Anna as she moves towards her with confidence. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Quick strikes to Mary’s head have her ducking behind her gloves. Anna moves in a strikes with meaty hooks to the belly to tip Mary forward and shake loose that high guard. Then Anna lifts uppercuts into Mary’s gloves. She has to work at it, but Mary finally breaks through and bangs Mary hard to the chin. Mary shuddering and backing up, gloves still high as Anna follows and sends sweeping right and left swipes criss-crossing Mary’s midsection. Mary falling back in disorder is herded into the ropes for another thrashing, Mary all huddled up, enduring the leather storm, and just counting the seconds to the bell, It finally comes, Anna has won the round by a shutout. Mary looks relieved she’s still able to stand and walk back to her corner.

R6: More hard work by the Foxfire crew with lightweight trainer Rachel Nichols trying to talk to her fighter. Not sure if it was the corner crew’s efforts or Rachel Nichols words but Mary seems more alert and ready to fight, though she’s not exactly storming across the ring to get at Anna Torv. Anna’s on the attack again and is trying for Mary’s head once more but she is being blocked or evaded. Then Mary starts attacking Anna to the body with a vigor that seems to surprise Anna, However Anna takes the challenge and goes to Mary’s body, The two are pumping short, hard lefts and rights into ribs and stomach, Then Anna gets an overhand right that hits Mary between the eyes. Mary rocked back on her heels. Anna redoubles her body attack and pushes Mary back for a step or two more, but Mary rallies and fights back now working Anna’s chest. Anna responds with a dose of jugg mugging of her own, but time runs out before the JMD gets out of control. Judges give the round to Anna, but MEW has made it close and she walks firmly back to her own corner after bell.

R7: Mary moves hard to challenge Anna in close with another bruising battle of body banging. Story of this round is actually fairly simple Anna and MEW get toe to toe and go at each other;’s bodies with all the force they can muster. Very exciting to watch they doing this, legs braced and straining, elbows churning like pistons to ram home the leather. Grunts and gasps heard between the SPLATT of leather gloves hitting sweat soaked swimsuit fabric. Mary and Anna face to face, looking each other in the eyes and trying to maintain the pressure while ignoring the pain of their own bodies. Then Anna shudders as one too many MEW hooks to the belly sends a wave of electric shock pain through her body, Anna faltering and being driven back, Mary grimly moving forward. Then bell rings and Mary stops. Anna gasping for breath, still shaking and turning away quickly, Mary watches and then turns away herself. MEW wins a close, hard-fought round.

R8: The Front Street corner working hard on Anna and she does come out with a burst of energy. She bounces some quick rights and lefts off Mary’s head, but Mary gives it right back with answering rights and lefts to Anna’s head. Anna quickly loses energy and Mary attacks her hard to the belly once again. Anna trying to jab Mary back, but Mary ignoring these to keep uop the pressure which increases with MEW’s punch rate. Anna in retreat, her defenses seem to be crumbling as Mary’s advances with merciless fury. Suddenly Anna is sinking to her knees, arms wrapped around her gutshot midsection and Mary adds a right to the jaw as a coup de grace. Anna falls onto her side and lays her all curled up. Mary to neutral corner and watches as Anna tries to rise, but her legs betray her and she falls back onto her butt, She looks up in despair as the referee finishes the count:

“EIGHT!...NINE!...TEN!...YOU”RE OUT!”

THE WINNER: MART ELIZABETH WINSTEAD DEFEATS ANNA TORV KO8.

After: “It was a tough fight, no doubt of that,” a very tired, but smiling Mary tells the press after the fight. “I think the key was that I was able to survive that shutout R5. I was hurting plenty, but new I could get back in it, Rachel encouraged me to keep the pressure on Anna. We were hoping she would eventually crack and, fortunately for me, she finally did. She didn’t make it easy, but none of those Australian fighters do. Sure I’ll keep fighting them. Maybe they’ll stop having a grudge against me and realize I am just a very good fighter who is really hard to beat!”

“Mary IS really hard to beat,” says a chastened Anna Torv, “I have her my best stuff and she got through it—came back and beat to the body. I may be on a liquid diet for a week after tonight, but she has earned my respect. I hope she respects me as well.”

(“Of course I respect her, It was a honor to fight her,” Mary says when later informed of Anna’s comment.)

Excellent, hard-punching lightweight contest between two proven veterans. It now seems a shame we haven’t been watching a whole series of fights between them over the years, but the past is past. Tonight the fans were treated to a thrilling back and forth contest. Both fighters look ready for future adventures and their fans are just as ready.