BEFORE:

"Listen," says Nicki without a trace of a smile, "I'm no damn OPPONENT. I've BEATEN people in the FCBA, and BEAT people is exactly what I'm going to do tonight!"

"Yes," says Sophie with a nod, "Nicki's beaten people. But, tonight, she's going to GET a beating."

ROUND ONE:

O'Dell: "Back at ringside and that's 'Super Bass', and here comes the singer of that tune, the lovely Nicki Minaj!"

McCarthy: "And, finally, we get a girl WITH some FCBA wins, and, actually, more wins than LOSSES. AND SHUT UP, WALMART!"

Tess: "What'd I do?"

O'Dell: "Drink up, boys, and drink IN Nicki, as she's helped off with the robe to reveal that bubblegum pink number we've seen before. And, that's 'Hotter Than Hell' by Dua Lipa you hear hammering through the arena, and here comes 'Sultry' Sophie Mudd!"

McCarthy: "AFTER Minaj finishes with this Dancing Hooker, I'm going to get a rematch...at JMD this time!"

Cassie: "That could be arranged..."

McCarthy: "Tell Weirdo to BOOK it!"

O'Dell (sighing): "Sophie into the ring and helped off with the robe by Jewel and Neve to reveal that Egyptian blue number she prefers, and the crowd showing plenty of appreciation..."

McCarthy: "LOW standards!"

O'Dell: "Aaaaannnddd, the ladies are about ready. Time for some picks. Tess likes Sophie. Mac?"

McCarthy: "OVERRATED! Nicki!"

O'Dell: "Cassie?"

Cassie: "I agree with Tess!"

O'Dell: "Split panel. Let's see who's right. Ladies wasting no time going after one another as you might expect in JMD action. Minaj, always physical, stepping right to Mudd, and Sophie willing to bang in the phone booth if that's what Nicki wants to do. Both brunettes getting VERY physical early..."

McCarthy: "May be trying to make a statement here. I'm not backing up."

O'Dell: "May well be, and nobody IS backing up right now. Instead, we're fighting in close quarters, which may be an advantage for Nicki, who's giving up the reach. But, Sophie doing a fine job of holding her own in there, digging body, going back upstairs, then right back down."

Cassie: "Awful lot of hard leather being thrown right now."

O'Dell: "No doubt about it. Nobody hurt, but everybody feeling it. We're down under twenty seconds to go in an action-packed first. Good right from Mudd and a nice right hook from Nicki in response and there's the bell. Close in the opening frame, but Minaj gets the points."

Tess: "And takes the 10-9 lead."

ROUND TWO:

O'Dell: "Into the second and they are right back at close quarters. Ladies not worried about boxing. Instead, they are getting physical in a big way, digging body, banging away upstairs. Nothing sloppy, mind. Both fighters very sound, playing good defense in there as well."

Cassie: "Lots of subtle defensive stuff going on."

O'Dell: "Absolutely. Movement of the head to slip, blocking with the arms. But, despite all that, plenty of leather landing to every legal part of the body, including the jug, where we're seeing much more work done here in the second. There's a solid right from Mudd that backs Minaj up a step..."

Tess: "Might be the first backward step either fighter has taken."

O'Dell: "Coming down the stretch in another very active round. Mudd digging a hook to the ribs and Minaj counters with an uppercut to the rack. Ten seconds to go. SHARP exchange to the head right there and there's the bell. Ref jumping in between the fighters just to make sure, and, after a brief staredown, they head back to their corners. Close again. Sophie."

McCarthy: "And, we're even at 19."

ROUND THREE:

O'Dell: "Third begins the way the second ended. Ladies just meeting in the middle of the ring and having at it. No pretense to any of this, though there's plenty of art and science involved. It's all about banging away, wearing down the opponent, looking for a big shot..."

McCarthy: "And, there are some big shots landing..."

O'Dell: "No doubt about it and MUDD ROCKS MINAJ! A right hook from Sophie and Nicki is GOBSMACKED! Younger brunette quickly to work, driving the singer back into the ropes and GOING RACK IN A MAJOR WAY! Minaj getting POUNDED right now, crouching, covering up and DROPPED WITH A RIGHT UPPIE!"

Tess: "Caught her dropping the head!"

O'Dell: "And, Nicki goes straight down to sit against the ropes, legs splayed in front of her! Mudd to a neutral corner. Count at three. Four. Five. Six. Minaj turns, grabs the bottom rope, can't hold on to it! Seven. Eight. Nicki reaches for the middle rope, drapes an arm across. Nine. TEN! It's over. Minaj hanging on the ropes as the count passes her by and it's OVER! And your winner by KO3 is 'Sultry' Sophie Mudd!"

Cassie: "This Front Street at JMD thing just might catch on!"

AFTER:

O'Dell: "Let's go up to the ring and Tess Valmore!"

Tess: "I have our winner, Sophie Mudd, and, Sophie, this isn't exactly a debut in JMD for you, as three of your first four fights were JMD, but, it's been over two years...and you didn't seem rusty..."

Sophie (smiling): "JMD is always something I've been interested in. Management here, they don't want to pigeonhole anyone. So, they kind of took me out of that realm for awhile. But, I'm an established Top 25 bantam now and we're going to make a JMD effort. I'm going to be involved. And, just to be clear. I'll be involved on the beach, too."

Tess (smiling): "Well, my next question was going to be, 'What's next for you?'"

Sophie (smiling): "LOTS of options. And, I'm open. Ice Hotel, too. All of it. This is my junior year, and I'm going to show that I can be a factor in a lot of places in a lot of ways."