If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.
You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

28 September 2018 Kristin Kreuk vs Ariel Winter

Page history last edited by caspian2 4 years, 1 month ago

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on Sep 29, 2018 at 3:11pm

Kristin Kreuk vs. Ariel Winter(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Winter coming off the biggest win of her career to date, stopping Kreuk's stablemate, Hall of Famer Natalie Portman, on the sand at the last pay-per-view. No doubt in the buxom one's mind what the Kreuk challenge is all about. "HISC is all about pruning. Always have been. And, there's no question Portman was an effort to do that to me. Only, it didn't work. So, here comes plan B. Which won't work any better."

"Sure," says Krissy with a smirk, "She got LUCKY against Natalie, who probably didn't take her as seriously as she should have. Well. I've cleaned up Natalie's messes before, and I'll clean up this one, too."

ROUND ONE:

No mystery about what Ariel wants to do. The game plan is the same as it was against Portman a month ago. Close. Bang. Bring the physical. And, the veteran former champion Kreuk has clearly been preparing for exactly that strategy. Because Krissy's all about movement. After all these years in the FCBA, some folks forget that Kreuk trained at the national level in both karate and gymnastics before her acting career began. She can move. Very, very well. And, that's exactly what she does, to the complete frustration of Winter. Ariel spends the round trying to find Kreuk and failing spectacularly to do it, while Kristin's getting to spots, landing combinations, and throwing the younger fighter onto the defensive. Winter's never hurt, but there's no question she's touched up for the entirety of the round. When the bell rings, Krissy's taken it wide and grabbed the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

And, it gets worse from here. Kreuk, in almost complete control in the first, makes it complete in the second. She leads Winter a merry chase, but Ariel's not catching anyone or anything except a bunch of leather in her face. The younger brunette puts plenty of effort into running the Canadian down, but she can't do it. Instead, Kreuk continues to slip, dip, bounce, dance, angle, and, oh yes, pepper Winter with punches. By the closing minute of the round, it's clear frustration is starting to build for the younger flyweight. Again, she's not hurt, but she's taking tons of leather, and, in truth, being embarrassed in there. She's looking completely outclassed as Kreuk toys with her down the stretch, piling up even more points before ending the round with a nasty combination that forces Ariel to cover up. At the bell, it's a shutout for Kristin, who now leads 20-18.

ROUND THREE:

Winter hears it in the corner between rounds and comes out with less aggression. Counterintuitively, that's actually a plus. Instead of chasing Kreuk, she's now stalking, and, while, in the early going, that doesn't accomplish much, as the round goes on, it begins to bear fruit. Now, Ariel's able to square Kristin up at times, to get her offense going, to get some heavy leather on target. Only at times, mind. There are still times when Krissy's limber, quick movement rule the day, times when Kreuk's calling the tune and scoring the points, but, those are being offset now by Winter's own offensive forays. Not much body work from the younger brunette, as she's using all her limited opportunities to go upstairs, but she's finally getting something going, and, in the closing seconds, she lands a big right hand that gets Kreuk's attention. At the bell, it's close, but it's Winter, and the cards now read 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

BOOM! Right off the bell. BOOM! Just seconds into the round. BOOM! A straight right hand from Winter and Krissy is HURT! Kreuk stumbles, nearly goes down on that tight backside. And, she immediately regrets not doing so, as Winter trains the big guns on the Canadian and gives her a beating. Krissy's in full retreat, until there's nowhere else to go and she's backed to the ropes. At that point, Ariel abuses her to both head and body as the referee looks in closely. But, Krissy's a three-time champion whose first FCBA fight came when Winter was THREE years old. She's nothing if not a crafty veteran, and that craft is on full display here, as she slips punches, rolls with others, counters in spots, shows the referee repeatedly that she's still competing, all while avoiding the big punch that might end it. At the bell, Krissy's still taking, but also still on her feet. It's Winter, wide. And, we're even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Ariel determined to finish. And, while the 20-year-old is surely giving away tons of experience to Kreuk, well. She's pushing 20 FCBA fights. She's no longer a tyro. And, she knows not to get sloppy or overly aggressive in situations like these. And, that knowledge pays dividends. There's no "all in" this time. Instead, there's a clinical beat down of the still-wobbly Kristin. Because, see, without her legs, Kreuk can't do all of that movement she used to torture Ariel in the first two rounds. And, Winter KNOWS it. As a result, the American simply squares up the Canadian and brutally batters her with hard shot, driving her back into the ropes and then thumping her for nearly two minutes, tearing into the body and hammering heavy leather to the head. Again, the veteran wiles allow Kreuk to keep the referee at bay and survive the onslaught, but, at the bell, Krissy's looking scuffed, Winter's pitched a shutout, and the American has her first lead, 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Ariel after Kreuk again early, but Krissy's, surprisingly, moving better now. Those two minutes on the ropes have allowed her to get some leg back. And, here's where Winter makes a mistake. She keeps pressing. And, that's exactly what Kreuk wants. Now, the Canadian's turned things back to where we were in the first two rounds. She's leading a chase and Ariel's cooperating, trying to run Kristin down and train the heavy guns back on her. Instead, just like in the opening stanzas, all the American gets for her troubles is a bunch of leather in her face. Over and over again, Kreuk lands combinations, then slips away before Winter can respond. The American keeps coming. But, of course, that's JUST what the Canadian wants. In the final minute, Krissy's moving as well as ever and putting on a clinic, touching up the younger woman right to the bell. When it rings, Kreuk has the round wide and we're even at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Kreuk back on the move. Winter, chastened once again, has turned the aggression down and is back to stalking, creating only the second two-way round of the fight. This isn't quite a carbon copy of the third, but it's close, with Winter scoring when she's able to bring Krissy to battle and Kreuk doing the same when they're on the move. Things are on a razor's edge for the first two minutes and fifteen seconds. Then. BOOM! A right hook from Winter and Kreuk again stumbles and nearly goes down on that rump. Ariel wades forward, throwing bombs and DOWN GOES KREUK! A straight right hand blasts Krissy to her back! Ariel quickly to a neutral corner as the referee begins counting. Kreuk rolls to her belly, pushes up to hands and knees...then SINKS BACK TO THE CANVAS! It's OVER! The count passes the Canadian by and your winner by KO7 is Ariel Winter!

AFTER:

Two months, two huge wins for Winter, and, for the first time since Jamie Lynn Spears imploded, there just might be someone not named "Kristen Stewart" on top of the Front Street flyweight division. But, none of that seems to be affecting the even-keeled Winter in the post-fight. "Look," says Ariel with a shake of the head, "Obviously, she's very, very good. I mean, she's GOT three titles. But. She's not as good as PORTMAN. She's not in the Hall of Fame. So, yeah. I knew I could beat her. I EXPECTED to beat her. And, that's exactly what I did."