Sharon Horgan vs Jennifer Lopez
(Writing: LMW / Results: Lookout!)
Sharon Horgan
(52, 5’8, 1-0 FCBA, League of Mighty Women)
Jennifer Lopez
(53, 5’6, 44-33-3 FCBA, Global Boxing Syndicate)
Pre-Fight: In the second fight of the cougar double-header, League of Mighty Women’s executive director Sharon Horgan will be making a rare in-ring appearance as she fights Global Boxing Syndicate’s Jennifer Lopez in a catchweight cougar bout. It will only be Sharon’s second fight and while she showed that she can do pretty well in the ring in her debut, she will be facing an experienced fighter and an ex-champion. Jennifer has been getting more cougar action lately and she will be looking to bounce back from the jaguar tournament in which she ended up in a tough group. It is speculated that this fight has to do with Jennifer marrying Ana de Armas’ ex.
Sharon is first to talk during the pre-fight press conference and she addresses the speculations right away. “It is true to some extent. Look, it is not my business to get involved in others’ personal affairs. I can only wish well to Jennifer in her private life. However, her bad mouthing and making fun of my fighter Ana is my business! The significant age difference between Ana and Jennifer means that we can’t let Ana challenge her and I always say that I will support my fighters in every way, even if it means stepping into the ring. That is why we are here today and I’ll make sure that Jennifer respects my fighters!”
Jennifer looks indifferent or even bored with what Sharon said. She talks nonchalantly as she begins addressing the audience. “I already forgot what that was about and I don’t have any time for a loser like Ana. However, if an executive director like Sharon wants me to kick her ass, then I can’t say no to that. It is cute that Sharon is standing up for her fighter, but it is stupid of her to challenge me and I’ll make sure that she pays for it!” After finishing her statement, Jennifer stares at her opponent with a smug smile on her face. Sharon slowly shakes her head and mutters something under her breath. They leave the press conference without any further interaction.
It is the fight night and Sharon enters the arena first with her coach Ali Landry accompanying her. She is getting a warm welcome from the fans in LMW’s hometown and she responds by waving and blowing kisses to them on her way to the ring. Once in the ring, she shifts her focus on the fight and gets a serious expression as she listens to Ali’s instructions.
She is wearing an orange sports bra with green trim, matching trunks and white gloves. She will be fighting barefoot and her hair is tied into a ponytail.
Next comes Jennifer with her coach Jeri Ryan beside her. She is also getting a huge support from the fans in her husband’s hometown. She pumps her fists and blows kisses to the crowd as she walks down the aisle. She locks eyes with her opponent as she enters the ring and then she starts shadow boxing with a smirk on her face.
She is wearing a leopard print sports bra, matching trunks and black gloves. She will also be fighting barefoot and with her hair tied into a ponytail. She is one of the fittest fighters and not just for her age, though she has put on some lean bulk for this catchweight fight to match her bigger opponent’s power.
Both fighters come to the center of the ring to receive final instructions from the referee and then they go for a hard bump of gloves as they stare down each other. They step back to their respective corners and we are ready for 10 rounds of catchweight (135lbs) cougar action!
Fight: Round 1: Sharon and Jennifer are bouncing on their toes and circling around each other at the start of this fight as they wait for each other to make the first move. Sharon ends up making it with a double jab, but J-Lo easily avoids it by stepping back. Sharon keeps having to take the initiative in this opening round as it looks like Jennifer wants to know more about Sharon’s range and movement before she commits for longer exchanges. Unfortunately for J-Lo, Sharon does find her range soon and lands a one-two combination from outside as she is not ready for a longer exchange yet either.
Sharon continues to land either single jabs or short combinations from midrange and then step away to start circling the ring again. Jennifer occasionally scores with single counterpunches to the body. It ends up being a slow and close round but Sharon wins it as she was more active and landed more punches. During the break, Jeri urges her fighter to be more aggressive and work her opponent’s body.
Round 2: Jennifer listens to her coach as she is much more aggressive at the start of the second round and rushes her opponent quickly to get inside and land a lead uppercut to the midsection and a couple of hooks to the ribs. Sharon is surprised by this sudden change of style from her opponent, so she steps back and switches to a more defensive style. She tries to establish a defensive jab to slow J-Lo down, but the American fighter looks like she is on a mission now and that mission is to punish her opponent’s body. Jennifer takes a jab to the top of her head, but she goes through and gets inside to land a double jab-straight combo to Sharon’s abs, forcing her to step back, but not before scoring a glancing blow with an uppercut to the chin.
Sharon struggles to match Jennifer’s intensity for the rest of the round. The Irish fighter lands a few jabs and one-two combinations, but Jennifer keeps getting inside to blast Sharon’s body with hard shots. J-Lo is the clear winner of this round and she ties things up on the scorecards.
Round 3: More of the same at the start of this round as J-Lo quickly gains control of the center of the ring and starts stepping in for body shots. She scores with a bunch of rapid-fire shovel hooks to the abs that makes Sharon groan. The American start follows it up with a lead uppercut to the solar plexus and a big hook to the ribs. Sharon quickly clinches with her opponent, looking for a breather from this relentless attack, but she doesn’t find it. J-Lo continues to hit her with shovel hooks from the clinch and the Irish fighter doubles up. Her punishment doesn’t end there either as J-Lo pushes her away and lands one hook to the ribs and another to the chin and then another one back to the ribs. Sharon finally lands a double jab out of desperation, which gives her the opportunity to put some distance between herself and her unforgiving opponent.
Fortunately for Sharon, Jennifer needs to catch her break after that high-effort attack, so the pace slows down a bit in the middle of the round. However, J-Lo ups the pace again towards the end of the round to dish out more punishment to Sharon’s body as large red marks start to appear all over it. Jennifer is in control of the fight and the scorecards after this round. During the break, ice packs are applied to Sharon’s body as Ali tries to encourage her to fight back.
Round 4: Jennifer confidently rushes to her opponent with the bell, not wanting to give her any more time to recover. She goes right back to punishing Sharon’s midsection with a jab-straight combo then switches targets to land an uppercut to the chin. Sharon tries to stop Jennifer’s attack by clinching with her, but it doesn’t work this time either as J-Lo keeps landing body shots from the clinch, each lifting Sharon on her toes and making her grunt in pain. After Jennifer dishes out some more punishment from the clinch, the referee finally separates them.
After the separation, Sharon fights back with a one-two combination followed by a hook to the chin, which slows J-Lo down momentarily, but not for long. The American fighter comes back with a short combination of her own to force Sharon back. Another combination lands and the Irish fighter takes a few more steps back, but there is nowhere else to go as she is backed against the ropes. Jennifer doesn’t waste any time to launch another barrage of shovel hooks to Sharon’s tummy. She is able to block a few, but the rest land hard and Sharon decides that she needs to fight her way out of this situation. She lands a jab, but misses with a straight as J-Lo ducks and lands a massive overhand. Sharon bounces from the ropes and J-Lo steps to the side to let her faceplant to the mat! Jennifer knocks her opponent down, takes a good look at her and walks over to the neutral corner while blowing a kiss to the crowd. The referee begins the count. 1…2… Sharon is still lying face down as she slowly starts moving her limbs 3…4…5… she pushes herself off the canvas and gets on her knees while clutching her tummy 6…7…8… she slowly gets back on her feet and raises her guard to show the referee that she can continue. The referee takes a look and allows her to continue, we are going back to the action!
Jennifer is looking surprised that Sharon is able to continue after the beating she gave her, so it takes her a few seconds to get back into the fighting mindset. She is trying to put pressure on her opponent again in the last thirty seconds of the round, but she is breathing hard after the effort she put in earlier, so Sharon is able to survive until the bell. J-Lo dominated that round and she now has a commanding lead on the scorecards and complete control of the fight.
In between the rounds, Ali looks concerned as she says “Sharon, I need you to protect yourself and start fighting back or else I will have to throw in the towel.” Sharon quickly replies “Don’t you dare!” Ali seems to be convinced for now, not just by the reply, but also by the look in the Irish fighter’s eyes.
Round 5: At the start of the fifth round, Sharon looks beaten-up which is not surprising after the punishment she received in the previous rounds, but what is surprising is that Jennifer looks exhausted as she moves sluggishly. Of course she has expended lots of energy trying to finish her opponent off and she might not have as much stamina as she used to have, but she is known for always being in great shape, so it is surprising to see her getting tired this early. It might have to do with the extra lean bulk she gained for this fight.
With Jennifer’s movement being sluggish, Sharon’s defensive jab finally starts working as intended. The Irish fighter keeps her opponent at bay for the most part by consistently landing that defensive jab and when Jennifer decides to move in anyway, Sharon is able to block the punching attempts as they are not as precise and forceful as they used to be in the previous rounds. Sharon is not in the condition to go on full attacking mode either though, so the pace slows down considerably in this round and those consistent jabs are enough for her to get a narrow win.
Round 6: Looks like both fighters recovered to some extent, so they are willing to go on attack once again. Sharon takes control of the first exchange as she lands a one-two combination up top and then blocks two body shot attempts by Jennifer. Sharon keeps scoring with two more hooks, but this time J-Lo answers as she slips a jab to the abs and a hook of her own up top. It is an uppercut from the Irish fighter that puts an end to this exchange as it forces J-Lo to retreat.
Sharon keeps gaining ground as the round progresses and she regains her confidence as she starts controlling the action. Just as Jennifer tries to get inside, Sharon lands a big uppercut to the chin that lifts J-Lo on her toes. The American fighter raises her guard, but Sharon slips a stiff straight through the guard and it lands square on the nose. As J-Lo backs off, Sharon targets her body with two hooks and then steps in with a wide hook that lands on the jaw and J-Lo goes down with a thud! Sharon almost trips over her fallen opponent and then she walks slowly to the neutral corner, clutching her tummy in this moment on respite. The referee begins the count. 1…2…3… Jennifer lying on her back, slowly raises her head, looking woozy 4…5… she gets to a sitting position and takes a moment to clear her head and vision as she blinks her eyes 6…7…8… she gets up on her feet, but then she loses her balance and goes down on her bum hard 9…10! J-Lo is still sitting as the count passes her. It is all over in shocking fashion!
Official Result: Winner via KO in round 6, Sharon Horgan!
Post-Fight: Sharon raises her fists in celebration, but that makes her wince and she quickly clutches her battered ribs and midsection again. Ali comes over and congratulates her fighter/boss. Sharon jokingly tells Ali not to hug her too hard. On the other side, Jennifer is helped to her corner, where she sits on the stool and takes a moment to recover. Sharon comes over to check if her opponent is alright and offers a fist bump, but Jennifer pushes her hand aside as she isn’t in the mood for pleasantries. Sharon chuckles and says “Well then let me know when you want to go at it again.” She only receives a cold stare from J-Lo in return.
After getting her hand raised, Sharon takes the microphone to address the crowd. “I’ll keep it short as talking hurts right now. Jennifer hits like a truck, there is no question that she is a great fighter. I just hope that she will respect my fighters and my stable from now on. Thank you for your support, it really helped me to make a comeback. Good night!” She leaves the ring with Ali’s help.
Sharon once again showed that she is a very tough fighter as she completed a comeback victory from a very desperate position against an experienced opponent. She wanted to show solidarity with her fighters and she did that to full extent. As for J-Lo, it is a very tough loss to take as she was in full control of the fight after fully dominating her opponent for three straight rounds and knocking her down, but she wasn’t able to finish the job. This could motivate her more if they ever face each other again.
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