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!

30 January 2015 Title Ch Katy Perry vs Jill Wagner

Page history last edited by Vassago 8 years, 11 months ago

OFFICIAL SSB PPV

UNIFIED LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on January 30, 2015, 9:27 pm

Katy Perry vs. Jill Wagner
Lightweight Title
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Lightweight titles on the line, but the typical Bazz/Front Street friendly rivalry on display pre-fight as both girls are all smiles with one another in the pressers and at the weigh in. "Katy and I get along very well," says Jill with a smile. "I was very excited for her when she won the belts last month. But. It's time to put all that aside. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I need to take advantage of it. And, that's just what I'm going to do."

"I have no illusions about how good Jill is," says Katy with a shake of the head. "This is a girl who's beaten our two top-ranked lights, Swan and Arterton. If she can beat them, she can beat anyone. I've got my work cut out for me tonight. But, I'm ready to prove my beating Vonnie was no fluke."

ROUND ONE:

One wonders what this fight would have looked like two years ago, when Perry was a straight-ahead brawler. It probably would have involved Jill circling and boxing and Katy trying to close and bang. But, not tonight, because Perry's a different fighter. Katy uses the good feet, shows plenty of movement, and boxes with Jill. Wagner perhaps a little quicker, a little slicker. She's all about angles and staying off center, and she gets some good work done while doing that, but, when Katy squares up, the difference in power becomes evident. Perry lands solid shot. Wagner's not spooked. She's not hurt. But she does get backed up and forced to cover up in those situations, and it's those big flurries that tell the tale on the cards. Katy grabs the first round with her heavy hands and takes the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Wagner starts to get the geometry right more often. Jill's all about slick movement, of course, and, in the first. Katy moved with and squared up pretty well. But, not in the second. Wagner's got the angles down now, and she makes excellent use of them. She's popping the jab, slide-stepping, forcing Katy to keep her hands back while she tries to get to spots to punch. Again, this would have been different two years ago. The old Katy would be winging away even if she wasn't in good spots. But, not this Katy. She's disciplined now, and she's patient. She moves her feet. She waits for openings. She finds some, and, when she does, she scores. But, Wagner's fighting her fight now. This round's all about hit and avoid being hit, something Jill does as well as just about any lightweight in the world, so, when it ends, Wagner has the points and has the fight even at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Katy now making an adjustment. She wants to crowd Jilly Wags, take some of those angles away. It's a good strategy, because it allows Perry to get square and land those heavy shots again. But, Wagner isn't going to allow Katy to change the terms without resistance. Instead, Jill uses drop steps and slide steps to get space, sticks out her jab, keeps the feet moving, makes Katy work to cut the ring and bring her to battle. HERE'S what this fight might have looked like in 2012, absent the wild power shots Katy would famously wing back in those days. Now, it's more chess. More Jill not being where Katy wants her to be, and Katy trying to trap her into being EXACTLY there. It's a good, back-and-forth round, with Perry managing to create some heavy exchanges and Wagner scoring plenty in open canvas. It's close, but it's Jill, who now leads the champion 29-28 after three.

ROUND FOUR:

Perry keeps the pressure on, closing, crowding. Jill continues to make with the feet to stay off square, while Perry works her own good feet to cut the ring and create heavy salvos of artillery. Wagner holds her own in those exchanges, but it's clear Perry has the bigger...um...guns. That's why Jill continues to use the legs in efforts to create space and stay in open canvas as much as possible. Add what she can do there to the points she scores as Katy closes, and she can offset the advantage Perry has in the big exchanges. So, the round becomes a three-minute effort to create terms. And, just like in the third, both women have moments where they're able to do so. The result is another close round, this one to Perry, and the cards even at 38 heading into the fifth.

ROUND FIVE:

The pattern is now set. Both fighters know what they want to do, and both know what the other wants to do, and it's all about doing my thing, which prevents you from doing YOUR thing. Katy ramps the pressure up a bit, but only a bit. Wagner doesn't have the power Perry does, but she DOES have power. Get sloppy against her and the result won't be pretty. So, Katy doesn't get sloppy. She stalks, cutting, and getting off heavy when she gets Jill in her sights. Wagner is slick and slippery. Moving just as well in the fifth as she did in the first. She's able to spend long swaths of time in open canvas jabbing and putting combinations together, scoring with both hands as Perry looks to close. With about two minutes gone, Perry cuts the ring and the biggest exchange of the fight develops. Jill backs Katy up a step with a solid right hand and JILLY WAGS IS DOWN! This is no keyhole right like the one that took down Vonnie a month ago. This is a nasty right hook that turns Wagner's head and sends her crashing to her right side and rolling to her back. Wagner spends several seconds staring up at the lights above the ring before attempting to sit up only to fall back to the mat, where she remains as the count passes her by. It's over! And your winner by KO5 and STILL lightweight champion of the world is Katy Perry!

AFTER:

Perry over to Wagner's corner to check on her rival. Gloves are tapped and the brunettes hug it out before officials pull Katy to the center of the ring for an interview. "She's pretty slick, isn't she," Katy says with a smile. "She's a great boxer and she's very quick, as quick as Vonnie. I didn't want to take the chance of this thing ending up on the cards. That would have been rolling the dice. So, I thought the best way forward was to get after her and not let the judges decide who won the fight."