After fruitful negotiations, Alesia Schumann has her first fight lined up to begin her professional career in the Super Lightweight division. She will face Maria Méndez, from Spain, at Aachen in Germany.
Her new opponent’s record is 4 wins and 1 loss. A slugger, two of her wins came by the way of knockout. She had only 12 amateur fights in Spain, but she quickly established herself as a good puncher in the pro ranks, with an aggressive style. Her only loss was a stoppage and it came at the hands of a rising star in her country.
“I have worked extremely hard and I am looking forward to this, she says at the press conference. I am going back to the roots. I want to give the home crowd a good show.”
Maria sees this in a different light. “She went after a better, more experienced fighter. I’m happy that she selected me for a beating, though. I’ll give her the pain she’s asking for!”
Alesia: “Talk is cheap but you’re overplaying your hand, sister. I’ll give you a big invoice!”
Ring announcer: “Introducing first, out of the blue corner: She hails out of Spain and has a professional record of four wins, two of them by way of knockout, and one loss. She had 12 amateur fights, all wins, and has won by knockout on her professional debut a year ago. Maria “Chica Dura” Méndeeeeeeeeeez!”
“Come to me!”, she says right after her introduction, while gesturing in Alesia’s direction to try and intimidate her.
Alesia’s coach tells the German fighter: “Oh please. Someone has watched too many old boxing films.” To which she replies: “Yeah. I’m not impressed either!”
TV analyst: “She does look the part. She’s known for slugging it out with her opponents and this time, she’s playing mind games although she’s not at home.”
Ring announcer: “Her opponent, out of the red corner, needs little introduction to German boxing enthusiasts but I still get paid to make one. She has had one of the most successful amateur careers in women’s boxing in Germany in recent years, having won more than 40 fights and a national championship. She is a blond bomber, a fierce fraulein… Alesia “the Diva” Schumaaaaannnnnn!”
Cheers bring out a big smile out of the local favourite, who spontaneously salutes the crowd.
TV commentator: “You can sense that she is confident and genuinely happy to be here tonight. It doesn’t look like Maria’s posturing has bothered her at all.”
The referee invites both fighters to join him in the middle of the ring. “We went over the rules in the dressing room. Do you have questions? [Pause]. Protect yourself at all times. Obey my command at all times. I want a good, clean, hard fight. Touch gloves.”
Maria makes another attempt at intimidation, slamming her gloves hard on the German’s… but Alesia was expecting it. She holds firm and her hands barely move, much to her opponent’s surprise.
Alesia fires back with a cliché of her own: “I must break you.”
Round 1
TV commentator: “We are set. The fight will start in a minute. We have two up and coming fighters. One who is a classic slugger. The other likes fighting from outside. Two classic styles colliding once again in the ring.”
Both fighters go back to their corner for last-minute advice and wait for the bell to signal the start of the fight.
Maria’s coach: “Go get her. Mess up that pretty face!”
Alesia’s coach: “Remember your training and use your ring experience. Move around, stay on your toes and punch only when it’s worth it.”
Ding!
Maria comes out with bad intentions and takes the center of the ring. She attacks Alesia, who is happy to circle around her and look for the right opportunity to strike. After trading a few jabs, Maria goes for power with a left hook. Alesia steps back but stands her ground, throwing and landing an overhand right, flush on her jaw.
TV commentator: “A good start from the German fighter. She shows poise and discipline against the aggressive Spanish boxer. She doesn’t go toe to toe. She picks her spots.”
After getting smacked by Alesia’s right hand, Maria keeps putting pressure on her opponent. She keeps the center of the ring and throws punches until she thinks she has a chance to score. Then she throws a big right hand.
However, Alesia shows her defensive skills by bending slightly back, to her right, to avoid it by a hair. She barely feels the thumb of Maria’s glove brushing the side of her head as she avoids the force headed in her direction.
Alesia’s corner: “That’s it! Defense! That’s how it’s done!”
Maria’s corner: “Keep going! You’ll hit her hard enough to rock the boat!”
TV commentator: “Maria is threatening but Alesia does what it takes to avoid taking a big punch in the face. Good work by the German.”
Despite misses, Maria keeps pressing. She keeps attacking Alesia with power shots, but the fierce fraulein refuses to engage until she feels like it.
When Maria thinks she can get her in the ropes, she goes forward with a hard jab, but her unyielding opponent finds an angle and pops a jab of her own, snapping her head back!
The crowd cheers as the local fighter is having an excellent first round.
TV commentator: “Alesia’s timing is perfect so far. Her punches are clean and you can hear the sound of her gloves colliding with her opponent’s face. You can almost feel the pain yourself.”
After a few successful counterattacks, Alesia finds Maria on the backfoot and she goes on the offensive. She throws punches to force her back into the ropes and bends down to dig to the body.
She puts all her weight behind a left hand to the stomach, making Maria grunt in pain.
TV commentator: “For the first time this evening, Alesia becomes aggressive and she scores a big body blow. That’s usually money in the bank in a fight.”
The bell signals the end of Round 1 and the mood is feisty.
Alesia: “If you want to learn boxing, I can introduce you to a coach. One day, you’ll be good!”
Maria: “Shut up, you arrogant bitch!”
The referee steps in to break it up. “Ladies, go back to your corners NOW.”
TV commentator: “Alesia has selfishly and unquestionably dominated the first round, dictating the pace through her defend-and-counterattack game. She also turned the tables, attitude wise, and Maria is understandably frustrated. We are in for fireworks.”
Round 2
During the break, our boxers receive different advice. Maria’s corner tells her to be calmer while keeping up the aggression. She needs to manage space better. Alesia’s coach says: “keep it up and don’t let her impose her game. Be smart.”
The second round starts.
Maria keeps coming forward but she picks her shots better. She hits Alesia’s gloves with power shots and forces her to step back near the ropes. Then, she fakes a left hook to the body to make the right hand go down. Then, she pulls her hand back and throws a mean left hook that lands hard on the jaw! The punch twists Alesia’s head and she feels intense pain.
Maria’s corner: “Yes! Finally! Keep going!”
TV commentator: “Maria Méndez lands her first meaningful punch of the night and it’s a great one. She shows more discipline and it pays off.”
After getting rocked by a left hook, Alesia tries to escape by sidestepping to her right, but Maria presses and there is only one direction: back. She finds herself in the corner and the Spaniard has bad intentions.
Maria throws a powerful right hand that crashes against Alesia’s face. A few people at ringside say “oh!” and “ouch!” as her face receives the Charlie-branded glove and feels hard knuckles. Her legs are not stable and her upper body is forced back.
TV commentator: “Alesia is in real trouble this time. She’s hurt and it looks like her game plan went out the window at the beginning of this round. Maria’s power could turn this fight around.”
Can she find a way out of this?
Sensing that she is losing control, Alesia goes for an annoying but intelligent trick: the clinch. She gets closer to Maria before she can land another blow, tucks her head in and holds her waist to stop the action. This pushes the referee to step in, in order to separate the two fighters before the fight can continue.
TV commentator: “Maria was in a position to beat Alesia into submission but the local fighter refuses to stand there and stay within her range. She learned it the hard way.”
Alesia wastes precious seconds when clinching by holding on to her opponent and arguing with the ref, giving herself the time to regain her senses. In addition, she gains a sense of urgency and her temper flares when she feels a nosebleed and swollen cheeks, the result of her opponent’s punches.
You can hear the supportive crowd: “Auf geht’s Alesia! Kämpfen und siegen!”
Egged on by her fans, the German meets Maria in the center of the ring. The Spaniard throws a hard left hook but Alesia’s tight guard blocks it midway.
TV commentator: “Alesia has been rocked but she doesn’t look out of this fight at all. If anything, she is showing even more determination than before.”
Will that be enough to nullify her opponent’s power?
After blocking the previous left hook, Alesia doesn’t give Maria the time to react. She sidesteps to the left and makes a sweeping motion to deliver a left hook from an awkward angle. This is a move she made a countless number of times in the amateur ranks, and less than a handful of opponents were able to avoid it.
Alesia’s corner: “YES! SHE’S HURT AND YOU KNOW IT!”
TV commentator: “The punch that hurts the most is the one you don’t see coming and Maria has been blind sided by this one. Even if you are comfortably seated at ringside, you feel the sting.”
Maria is hurt and Alesia sees it. She comes forward and throws punches to force her back until her Spanish opponent is reeling, against the ropes, without a proper defense.
Alesia pivots and throws a massive right hand that finds Maria’s chin. Her head snaps back. She has never seen anything like this before.
The crowd cheers the German fighter’s successful attack, a very damaging one.
TV commentator: “Just when Alesia seemed unable to defend herself, she found the anger and energy to do just that. Round 2 is about to draw to a close and she regained the advantage.”
Maria is shaky on her legs and Alesia is eager to bulldoze her, but the bell signals the end of Round 2. The ref steps in to separate the two fighters. Alesia, who didn’t hear the sound, says “what?!?”. The ref insists: “Back to your corner or I’ll deduct a point!”
Alesia’s corner: “You’re getting there. Don’t let her get back into this fight. Stay focused, don’t forget your defense and hit back HARD.”
Maria’s corner: “Listen, there are only two rounds left and we’re behind on the score cards. Winning the last two rounds would only give a draw. We need a knockdown!”
TV commentator: “You heard what the coaches said. Maria needs to step it up for her arm to go up at the end, but Alesia isn’t in the mood to share the spoils tonight. I predict violence.”
Round 3
The third round begins.
Maria and Alesia get out of their corners, but it’s the Spaniard who feels the urge to right everything that went wrong for her in this fight. She steps forward and throws a big right hand.
Alesia, however, sees it coming. She bends backwards to her right, puts maximum pressure on her foot and a right uppercut flies up to meet her opponent’s jaw, with perfect timing! Maria’s head spins and twists backwards under the impact.
Many in the crowd gasp.
TV commentator: “Here’s the right uppercut we were waiting for! Alesia just used the most dangerous weapon in her arsenal just as her opponent opened up her guard. This is a massive blow and I wonder if she can survive it.”
After eating a giant-sized uppercut, Maria stumbles back. Alesia pounces and whacks her with a savage left hook before the referee has any time to react.
TV commentator: “This is a brutal icing on the cake. Maria was already out of it before receiving the extra shot that has to seal this fight. I can’t see her staying on her feet, or getting up, after this.”
There was no doubt. After that uppercut and left hook combination, Maria hits the canvas. Alesia dashes to a neutral corner and the referee doesn’t even bother starting a count. He puts an end to the fight.
Ring announcer: “The winner, by a stunning knockout… Alesia Schumann!”
Alesia moves to a one win, one loss record, while Maria’s is four wins and two losses. The crowd cheers for the winner.
Alesia’s post-fight interview: “I am very happy with this performance. She tested me in the second round but I came through. Thank you, Aachen, for the support tonight!”
TV commentator: “Alesia Schumann bounced back in style today. She showed discipline early on and character, as well as punching power, after eating power shots. An excellent outcome for this promising fighter.”
