Katy Perry vs. Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Front Street Gym vs Foxfire Boxing
(Lightweight Championship)
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Plenty of respect to go around, as is normally the case between Front Street and Foxfire fighters. Winstead both excited and confident pre-fight. "She's as physical as anyone I've fought," Mary admits with a nod. "She's also good enough to have stopped Vonnie's run. But, I've beaten Vonnie, too. And I can beat Katy and claim the titles I should have gotten when I fought Strahovski."

Vonnie on the minds of both fighters. "Mary's a tough test for me," Katy says. "You saw what she's made of against Strahovski. She's got a ton of skill and a huge heart. She's dangerous, no question. But. She's also a test I'll pass."

ROUND ONE:

Mary wants ranged warfare, wants to use that long left-handed poke to set up the rights, wants to box the thicker, more powerful champion. There was a time when Katy would have had none of this, when she'd have pressed the issue, demanded a brawl and either got one or gone out on her shield trying. But. Not this Katy. Because this Katy is more than willing to use all the quickness and athleticism she has
to box with. And that's exactly what she does. She boxes with. And then she starts to out box. Perry a little quicker, both of hand and foot. She gets off first, she slips retorts. She plays quickly but does not rush. Everything is set up. Nothing is forced. And, by the end of the round, Perry's taken control. She's throwing Mary onto the defensive, forcing her to cover up, taking the fight to the challenger, the points, and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Katy in rhythm. And that's not good news for anyone inside the ropes who is NOT Katy Perry. Winstead is game, aggressive, but it doesn't matter. Perry's calling the tune right now, and the tune is "Your Face Meets My Fist (Over And Over Again)". Mary's getting picked up and backed up. Soon, she gives up efforts to grab lead and begins boxing counter. This works somewhat better. Winstead is slick, not just waiting for openings, but creating them with good hand and foot work. She's still being out hit, but at least she's no longer being taken to the woodshed. But. She can SEE the woodshed from where she is, on the end of Katy's punches, caught in the middle of heavy flurries, being forced to, strategically, give ground to avoid the kind of set piece fight she definitely doesn't want. By the time the bell rings, Perry's officially rolling, with a 20-18 lead.

ROUND THREE:

Mary stop the roll. It's tactical stuff, defensive stuff, but it's also necessary and effective. Winstead begins to slip and dip. She's sliding off center, crouching below punches, changing range and level, doing everything she can to foul Katy's sights. It doesn't all work. The champion gets leather home. But it does slow her down, force her to work harder to get punches on target. And it creates more openings for Mary to counter. And counter seems to be the way to go for Ms. Winstead on this fine evening. Instead of trying to beat Perry to punches, she's simply taking the openings those punches give her and making the most of them. It's nip-and-tuck stuff from bell to bell, with neither fighter able to gain control of the round and both able to have their moments. The scoring is as close as the action, but Winstead slips onto the board. 29-28 for Perry.

ROUND FOUR:

Katy back to playing offense and Mary Elizabeth back to her crafty defensive work. And there IS craft to it. It's like what a good starting pitcher does to a dangerous hitter. It's all about disrupting timing. Go in. Go out. Go up. Go down. Vary speeds. Make the hitter GUESS. Don't let him get comfortable up there. And, when he's pretty sure what he's going to get, show him something else. Fastball. Fastball. Fastball. Straight change. STRAIGHT CHANGE! In the form of a sneaky uppercut that catches Katy stepping forward. A sneaky uppercut that lands PERFECTLY with a whole JAR of mustard on it. The champion is staggered! She wobbles backward. She does NOT go down. Winstead hesitates a second. SHE DIDN'T GO DOWN? How the hell did the batter get a piece of that and stay alive? The hesitation lasts only a second. And then Winnie's firing away, bombing Perry with both hands, sweeping her into the ropes and hammering away with the big guns. Winstead swings for
glory. But, there's none to be found. She scores plenty. She wins the round wide. But, Katy's still standing when it's over, and the score is even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Winnie knows she has the advantage, and she's determined to press it right to the lightweight gold. She's after the champion right off the bell, forcing her to cede canvas. Winstead's firmly on the offensive, reducing Katy to countering in spots, mostly off the back foot. THERE'S A LONG DRIVE...DEEP CENTER....t's a short left hook. Katy walks Mary right into it and BLASTS the challenger...BACK...WAAAAAYYYY BACK...Winstead staggers...stumbles...OFF THE WALL! And somehow stays on her feet! Mary is, however, seriously discombobulated and the champion goes all in to finish the job. Now it's Winnie who's against the ropes taking, taking, guard high, snapping back the odd jab to try to keep the referee at bay. Perry shakes her with a right in the final seconds, but Winstead makes the bell. And Katy takes the lead back, 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Katy in seek and destroy mode, but the challenger has another idea. Clutch and grab. Perry walks forward looking to finish. Winstead jabs for space, and, when Perry gets past the jab, ties her up. Katy shoves off, works a little body, but Winstead ties again, wrapping Perry up, forcing breaks. Over and over again, Katy works inside only to have her offense smothered by Mary, who's playing for time, time to get those legs back under her. Perry keeps at it, lands the odd good punch inside, but, again, Winnie has found a way to slow the roll, to take the champion out of her rhythm. In the final minute, Mary's got the confidence back in those gams. She starts moving, along with jabbing for distance and is able to parry Perry's offense. Katy keeps working, keeps coming, but the offensive has stalled. Winstead claims the round. And we're even again, this time at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:
Mary wants that ranged boxing again. And, again, Katy more than willing to comply. Winstead wants to fight counter, to allow Perry to fight lead. Again, Katy more than willing to comply. Mary working hard to keep the champion off balance. The head and hands move, the feet move, she's involved in a constant effort to stay off square, not to allow Katy to put together flurries, and to counter through every keyhole opening in Perry's defenses. Those are the terms Winstead wants. Katy's fine with playing along. Because, Perry's quicker. She's more athletic. Not by a lot. But, she doesn't need a lot. She just needs enough to be able to get leather home before Winstead can slip the punch, to be able to get her gloves back before Mary can land the counter. And she has enough. She's adjusted to Winstead's defensive wizardry. The result isn't a solid Perry round like the first two, but it is a victory for Katy on the cards, and the champ is back up 67-66.

ROUND EIGHT:
Same terms. Everybody's happy with them, and purists have to be enjoying it, too. This is good boxing from both fighters. Katy's setting everything up with that hard left jab. She's working it heavily, locating, getting Mary where she wants her, then coming with the right and following on for solid flurries. Winstead is slick and tricky on the defensive. She's setting traps, creating openings with movement and feints. And, again, there's not a keyhole she can't put some leather through. The windows are small, because Perry's both quick and sound, but they aren't too small for Winstead to find, and they don't close to quickly for her to exploit. It's good, back and forth stuff, with both fighters getting their offense in. But it's Winstead who's getting more done, landing more clean. And, when the eighth is in the books, we're even yet again, at 76.

ROUND NINE:
Winstead pitching slick. High and tight. Low and away. Fastball. Curve. Change. Changing the eye level. Speeding up the bat head, then coming with off speed stuff to get Katy ahead of the pitch. Perry fouling them off. Pitch after pitch. Mary can't get anything by her. Katy can't square a pitch up on the screws. Sooner or later, something has to give. Either Perry will miss, or Mary will...and the result is going to be a ball planted in the cheap seats. Sooner or later. Sooner. It's a beautifully baited trap by the challenger, a quick slip of a punch and a slide step. Katy steps forward and Winstead lands a scintillating right hand on the button. PERRY DOWN! Katy dropped to her rump by a perfect counter punch with a minute to go in the ninth. Winstead to a neutral corner watching. Waiting. Perry to her knees. Perry climbs to her feet. STRIKE THREE! It's too late! The champion has made it up at ten, not nine. The referee waives it off. It's OVER. And your winner by KO9 and the NEW Undisputed Lightweight Champion Of The World Is Mary Elizabeth Winstead!

AFTER:
Winnie can't hide the joy, doesn't even try to. "It was a great fight," she beams. "Just great. She's so physical. She's the most physical girl I've ever fought, and that includes Vonnie." Vonnie again. Always Vonnie. "I knew I had to find a way to counteract some of that, and, I was able to, able to hold my own with her long enough to finally catch her." When reminded of how close she came to not getting the shot due to a previously-signed fight, Winstead smiles more broadly. "Maybe this was meant to happen, then. Maybe this was meant to be my night. I'm not going to question it. I'm just going to enjoy it."