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26 December 2014 Title Ch Yvonne Strahovski vs Katy Perry

Page history last edited by Vassago 9 years ago

OFFICIAL SSB PPV

UNIFIED LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on December 26, 2014, 12:35 pm

Yvonne Strahovski vs Katy Perry
Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

Plenty of respect in the run up, especially from the challenger. "No question this is a huge challenge for me," Perry repeats over and over again. "She's the best in the world right now, on a career run. So, it's not just a challenge, it's an opportunity. I not only have a chance to win the title, I can be the girl who stops that run. And, no disrespect, but I AM going to be that girl."

"I get asked a lot, 'Why Katy?'," says Vonnie in that gorgeous Aussie accent. "I always look for challenges in my fights, and she provides one. She's got welterweight power and she's very athletic. She's not the girl she was a couple of years ago, either. She's a legitimate contender. She can give me a fight. She also puts butts in seats. So, she's a nice bauble I'll add to my collection tonight."

ROUND ONE:

Contrast in styles immediately evident. Vonnie wants to use the long left jab to create distance and box. Katy wants to close and bang. Both have their moments. When Vonnie's getting the jab on target, she's able to force the brunette to the defensive, make her cover up, slow her down. Perry remains determined, however. She bobs past the jab, gets in close, and thumps the body. Straho smart. Not going to let these exchanges go on too long. Instead she clinches, forces breaks, gets back to the distances she likes. It goes like this, Vonnie in charge when they're at glove length, Katy winning the field when she gets in tight, where she wants to be. It's a good, close first that goes to the champion, who grabs the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Right back at it on the same terms. The Front Street strategy is clear. Usually, the plan calls for Katy to use her speed and athleticism to box. But, not tonight. Not against the more-experienced champion. Instead, Katy wants to work that body. And Vonnie's not going to have it. So, again, it's Strahovski at range and Perry when they're in tight. It's good, back and forth stuff until, about two-thirds of the way through Strahovski lands an overhand right as Perry closes and KATY DROPS TO HER KNEES! The brunette manages to beat the count, but she's clearly buzzed when the referee allows it to continue, and Yvonne goes to work. It's beautifully clinical stuff. The jab jab jab, landing to set up hard right hand follows. Perry forced to give ground. She manages to firm up enough to stay off the ropes and deny a complete clean up, but Straho scores plenty in the final minute and is in total control at the bell with a lead of 20-17.

ROUND THREE:

Straho in complete control now. Perry still doesn't have the legs all the way back early, and Yvonne gets in rhythm. Katy begins moving better as the round goes on, but it makes no difference. Yvonne's sniping with that left hand and she's controlling Katy with it. Perry tries to work forward again, but can't get past the blonde's defenses. She's thrown over to the defensive repeatedly and forced to fight counter. She does a bit of scoring under those terms, landing the odd solid shot, but all of that gets buried in flurry after flurry of accurate combinations from the champion. Vonnie's got everything working perfectly, and Perry has nothing working at all. By the time the bell rings, Straho's thrown a shutout that's given her a huge 30-26 lead after three.

ROUND FOUR:

Numbers getting dire for Perry. Not only has Strahovski pulled off the all-important opening trifecta, she's added a knockdown to the mix, giving Katy, basically, zero margin for error. Where she'd normally need five of the remaining seven rounds to send this thing to OT, a Herculean task against the best lightweight in the world, she now needs six, and that has to start here, because a Straho win in the fourth means Katy has to pitch a shutout the rest of the way. Highly. Unlikely. Brain. And it's these things Perry's corner tells her in between rounds. Got to get moving. Got to get into this fight. But, Vonnie has different ideas. She quickly gets back to wok with that left hand, touching Perry up and keeping her at bay. Katy tries to penetrate, but finds herself being stopped on the way in and set up for hard right hands. The blonde quickly takes complete command of the round and, basically, batters the brunette for nearly three solid minutes. Perry's in retreat by the time the bell rings, and Strahovski has another wide victory and a massive 40-35 lead only four rounds in.

ROUND FIVE:

Perry gets another talking to in between rounds. It's now or never for the brunette, who's not only getting beaten but getting embarrassed. Perry's game, but Vonnie's in rhythm and on a roll. It's all about the ranged accuracy of the Aussie blonde. The left finds Perry as she tries to close, and stops her for the follow on rights and combination flurries. Perry's not to be dissuaded. She continues to be aggressive and come after the blonde, but she's mostly unable to close and get any work done. Strahovski is, again, in complete control and, with about 30 seconds left, BOOM! BLONDE GIRL DOWN??? That's Perry's power showing up for the first time all night and it shows up in a big way. She ducks a right hand follow, steps forward, and drops Yvonne with a one-two, a left jab and a right hook. Strahovski ends up in a sitting position and is able to beat the count with time to spare, but the damage is done. There's not much time for a clean up, but Katy executes one for the remaining few seconds, and steals the round 10-8 with the knockdown, cutting Yvonne's lead to 48-45.

ROUND SIX:

Vonnie's still suffering the effects of last round and Katy knows it. The brunette is nothing if not a finisher, and finishing is the plan right now. She's after the blonde from the start, crowding her, banging away at the body and then the head, driving her back into the ropes and thumping away with both hands. Strahovski shows all her veteran slickness, clinching, covering up, counter-punching. It has its effects, but most of that is lost in the barrage of heavy leather coming from the challenger. This is the new Katy Perry. There's nothing sloppy about it. She's using the jab, she's setting up punches, she's getting to the right spots. But the power? That's pure old Katy Perry. These are welterweight-busting shots that would have had most lights long asleep on the canvas. But. Yvonne Strahovski? She's not most lights. She takes a licking, but she keeps on ticking. Perry claims the round wide, but Vonnie ends it on her feet, and still leading 57-55.

ROUND SEVEN:

Yvonne getting back to the jab, trying to get space again and settle this thing down, but Katy having none of it. Perry working forward aggressively and getting that heavy leather home. Thirty seconds in, VONNIE'S ROCKED! This time it's a straight right hand and Strahovski's legs to a shimmy. And Katy is, again, nothing if not a finisher. Perry's not quite all in, but she's close. She's all over Yvonne, giving her no space and, more importantly, no time. Strahovski tries to counter, tries to flurry, but she simply can't. She's suppressed by salvo after salvo of heavy shot from Perry. The blonde spends most of the round on the ropes taking. And Katy's happy to give. And give. And give. Again, those welter-busting shots hit home. And a few shake Vonnie's legs. But Strahovski ships it and remains standing. She takes a bell-to-bell beating and is looking a bit shabby when it's over, but she ends the seventh on her feet and with the lead, albeit a narrowing one, 66-65.

ROUND EIGHT:

Katy sensing victory now. She's all up in Yvonne's grill from the opening bell. Strahovski can't get space with the jab, so she's willing to bang back to try and get it that way. It's good, heavy, two-way stuff until...BLONDE GIRL DOWN AGAIN! Perry with an overhand right counter and Straho blown to her back! Was Perry all but out of this thing only ten minutes ago? Now, it's the champ struggling to her feet, beating the count but looking beaten herself. The referee waives Katy forward and the brunette all about the cleanup, backing Vonnie into those ropes again and having at her. Strahovski taking and taking. The referee looking in. This can't go on much longer and then...BAM! KATY DOWN! Seriously??? The champ lands a right-hand counter of her own and the challenger sent to her knees. The crowd going bat-crap as Perry also beats the count. Now it's Vonnie thinking clean up, scoring heavy in the final seconds. At the bell, neither girl is looking exactly chipper, and it may come down to which has the most left. The eighth is a draw, leaving the cards at 76-75 with two to go.

ROUND NINE:

The term is still in use, though not as much as it once was, back when boxing title fights went 15 rounds. The term is "championship distance" and the last few rounds were called the "championship rounds". There are championship rounds in the FCBA, too, and, while you can argue just which rounds those are, since all fights are a uniform distance, it says here the "championship rounds" are the ninth and tenth, in addition, of course, to any overtime rounds that might take place. The ninth and tenth are when champions have to fight like champions. And, Yvonne Strahovski is nothing if not a champion. The blonde is in "Beast Mode" from the opening bell, coming forward for one of the few times all night, working behind that left and taking the fight to Perry, who still doesn't have the legs back after last round's knockdown. Katy tries to hold canvas and fire back. After all, Vonnie's making it easy for her to get the terms she wants, but she can't. Instead, Strahovski IMPOSES her own terms, creating distance with barrages of accurate punches that back Katy up, pick her up, and, all too often, leave her trapped against the ropes taking heavy leather. Perry's legs begin to firm up after a minute or so, but it makes no difference. Yvonne's got everything going, she's got Perry on her heels, and she's going to keep her there. It's a beautiful thing to behold, or a terrible one, depending on where your rooting interest lies. Both fighters know the deal here. Both know they need the round. But, one of them has been here before and knows how to get it, and that's just what she does, in dominating bell-to-bell fashion. When it's over, Vonnie's pulled out in front 86-84 with one round to go.

ROUND TEN:

"You're. Blowing. It. Kid." That's the message in the Front Street corner. Their fighter has rallied out of a huge hole against the best lightweight in the world only to see the fight beginning to slip away again. "It's now or never." The final words into Perry's ear before the start of the tenth. And it is that. And Vonnie knows it. Strahovski back to the jab now. Not working forward. Content to work at long distance, range-find with the left, drop in the right. Straho waaay to smart to pressure now. It's Katy who has to make something happen. All Vonnie has to do is stop her. Perry is game. She's walking forward, willing to take heavy fire to get in position to return it. "It's now or never." And she knows it, too. So, she takes chances and eats leather as a result. Vonnie's on target, slowing Perry as time runs down on the brunette's opportunity. "You gotta believe, Brad." BOOM! DOWN GOES VONNIE! Perry lands a keyhole right out of nowhere and the champion is blown to her back with a minute to go! The crowd going nuts, but hold the celebration, because Strahovski will not die easy. Vonnie somehow back to her feet after a punch that would have ended the night of 90 percent of the FCBA's welters. On comes Katy. Perry on a mission now. She's emptying the magazines. "It's now or never." All or nothing. And she's taking nothing back to the locker room with her...nothing...or everything. Strahovski hanging on along the ropes as the clock ticks down. Perry swinging for the fences with every punch, keeps pouring on the fire as the referee looks in and the clock runs down. "Tony Hillll...TOUCHDOWN!" A BOOMING right from Perry turns the blonde's legs to jelly. She somehow stays on her feet but the referee has seen enough. He pulls Katy away and it's OVER! Your winner by TKO10 and NEW Unified Lightweight Champion is Katy Perry!

AFTER:

The ring is a madhouse, but that doesn't stop the fighters from getting through the crowd to hug one another. Perry on a high when she's finally cornered with a microphone and reminded that virtually no one picked her to win this fight. "I wouldn't have picked me, either," she says with a laugh. "The way she's fighting, as good as she is, there's no way you should pick against her. But, we knew I could do this. They kept telling me the whole fight, 'Keep fighting. Keep fighting. You'll get her. You'll get her.' It took a while, but I got her."