Alesia Schumann vs. Akane Watanabe: Round 3

The ref says “box!” and Round 3 starts.

Akane wants to storm back into this fight and after a few seconds, she is eager to throw a jab. She does, but Alesia keeps her distance and finds an angle slightly to the left, throwing a jab that seeks and finds her opponent’s bottom lip and chin.

Alesia’s corner: “Great work, baby! That’s what we talked about! Keep beating her to the punch!”

TV commentator: “Schumann is back in the office for a new shift and she’s not writing emails. A well timed jab to force her opponent’s head and body back as she was expecting to land a jab.”

Akane is still hungry. She goes after Alesia again, this time faking a left hook to the head, only to go downstairs and send a left hook flying down to land on Alesia’s ribs. She doesn’t have enough time to react and block it, making the wrong move with her hand anyway.

Akane’s corner: “Keep going! Punish her until she can’t take it anymore.”

TV commentator: “Back and forth, back and forth. This is turning into a very nice fight. We have two boxers who don’t know how to spell the word quit.”

Encouraged by the last punch she landed and by her coach’s words, Akane presses. She thinks she sees a good opportunity to score, throwing a hard right hand at Alesia’s head. The German blonde however sees it on time, lifting her left shoulder and moving her body back a bit to deflect it.

“Wicked!”, says one guy in the crowd.

TV commentator: “Is this Alesia Schumann or Floyd Mayweather? This is a perfect defensive move that makes an opponent miss and waste energy, while minimising efforts on the slippery moves. Excellent work.”

Akane is not discouraged by the last miss. She pressures Alesia back against the ropes and goes for the right hook. Her second attempt at landing this punch isn’t as tragic as the first, but it still leads to a successful counterattack by her opponent.

Alesia uses her longer reach and extends her right arm to land a stiff cross to Akane’s stomach. The pain makes her grimace and it forces her to stand back for a moment.

TV commentator: “It looks like Schumann is taking control of this fight now. The last few moves she made were smart.”

“Get out of there!”

Alesia’s coach says the right words, but his protegee takes too much time to turn around and go away from Akane. Right as she lifts her right leg to make a move, Akane’s left has already gone down and back up, crashing against her jaw.

The ref gets closer to the action in case he needs to intervene.

TV commentator: “Forget what I said a moment ago. Schumann has just been hurt due to slow reaction time. Perhaps was she taking pictures of the last punch she landed?”

Down she goes! Alesia collapses near the ropes and hits the canvas after taking a monster of a left hand delivered by Akane. She looks out of it. Or is she? The first body motion she makes is grabbing the lower rope with her right hand.

Alesia’s corner: “Get up! Please get up!”

TV commentator: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have drama late in the third round. Schumann will have a hard time getting up from this big knockdown.”

“One… two… three…”

At the count of four, Alesia isn’t seeing clearly yet, but she is trying hard to make it to her feet with nothing but the strength of her legs. She is encouraged by a relentless crowd that wants the local to win at all costs.

“Alesia! Get up! Get up!”

TV commentator: “Schumann looks strong enough to get up from a knockdown that would keep many people down and wondering what happened. She may be wondering, actually, but survival instincts make her get up anyway.”

At the count of six, Alesia is back on her feet. Her focus on the referee already is much better. Can she straighten up in time to keep going?”

TV commentator: “That woman truly is made of steel. You have to wonder what it takes to make her stay down for 10 seconds. Getting knocked out by a train? Well, that won’t happen because trains are always late in Germany.”

She made it! The ref has counted to eight and Alesia looks straight at him, with hands up, swearing that she is OK to continue.

“Alright, but one more and I won’t let it go any further.”.

The crowd cheers to encourage her.

Being a smart young fighter, Akane does exactly what he coach told her. As soon as the ref says “box!”, she goes after Alesia, who is not at full strength. She puts her body behind a left uppercut that Alesia just doesn’t see coming because of that closed eye. The impact is so striking that even the ref is stunned by the power shot.

TV commentator: “You know, I’m not sure that this fight should continue. Schumann may have scored a knockdown in the second round but anyone can reasonably doubt her ability to defend herself at this point. Better safe than sorry.”

Alesia falls back and tries to avoid Akane’s pressure. She does so for a few seconds and the bell signals the end of Round 3.

Wait. The two fighters are so focused on each other that they don’t hear it. Alesia tries to throw a right, but Akane’s cross is too quick, finding the chin in an open guard.

Two men aren’t happy about it. The ref steps in to separate the two fighters while Alesia’s coach is furious near the ring.

Maxim: “You let her punch my fighter after the bell! Eff you!”

Anyways. Alesia gets a much needed minute of rest. She sighs in relief.

“Ally, I’m stopping this fight.”

“Dafuq?”

“I know a hopeless situation when I see it.”

“I’M NOT QUITTING! Give me a plan or I’ll fire you on the spot.”

Silence and angry stares between the two.

“You’re bluffing, but I have an idea. I can’t guarantee that it will work, but I noticed something.”

“Anything.”

Maxim gets closer and whispers.

Alesia: “Got it.”

TV commentator: “Our apologies to viewers. Our microphones couldn’t pick this one up. We’ll find out soon, I am sure.”

Alesia Schumann
Alesia Schumann
Super Lightweight champion of the world, German champion and one of the pound for pound best. The Diva is known for her tactical strength and durability.