Alesia Schumann vs. Stephanie Ward – Round 3

The bell sounds and Round 3 gets underway. Will our two fighters listen to their coaches and make this a bigger war?

Alesia and Stephanie circle each other cautiously. They fake punches, move their heads and think about the next moves. Both want to find a pattern in the other’s movement, but none makes an obvious mistake.Ally gets a bit closer with a jab, which Steph blocks. They keep pawing each other without significant hits.

Cindy: “Attack, baby!”

Steph throws a left hook to aim at the head, but the counterpuncher reads the situation. Alesia changes the angle, steps in and smacks her with a right hand on the chin.

The crowd claps. The intelligent move confirms that Ally is determined to take the advantage once again.

Regina
: “Good anticipation on Schumann’s part. She was more patient in the last few seconds and it pays off with a clean hit.”

Alesia feels a confidence boost after starting Round 3 with a clean right hand on Stephanie’s chin. She’s ready to attack some more.

Slightly bothered by the last punch, Stephanie is a bit slow to react. This gives the German the opportunity to re-position herself, lean on her left foot, turn her body, bring her left arm down a bit and send it up for a left uppercut. Straight on the chin again!

Maxim
: “GENAU! This is what I wanted to see from you! Keep the pressure ON!”

Cindy: “Argh! Defend yourself, Steph! Otherwise the right uppercut is next!”

Regina: “Schumann has suffered in Round 2 but she is back on the right footing. In this case, punching with her left foot in motion, but you know what I mean.”

Encouraged by the crowd and her own performance, Ally buys into her coach’s game plan. She lowers her body to sit down on her punches and intends to trade.

Stephanie is a bit surprised by the new stance, but she thinks: “come to me!”

After circling around her opponent, the German plants her left foot firmly on the canvas and does a weight transfer for a right cross. Steph is in her comfort zone, though. Before Ally can complete the move and extend her right arm, she reads it and releases her own right cross… right on target! Biff! The black glove hits Ally’s left cheek and forces her head back a bit.

Cindy isn’t saying anything, but her smileĀ  shows her state of mind. She thinks: “This is exactlywhat we want. Toe to toe. This will be your downfall.”

Maxim: “Throw a little quicker, Ally!”

Regina: “Credit to Ward for this punch. This is gorgeous boxing to deliver power with a fully extended arm. Easily the best thrown punch of the last two rounds.”

Stephanie is proud of her last punch, but she doesn’t rest on her laurels. She wants to punish Alesia some more.

The Englishwoman doesn’t seem to know what moves she wants to make next, though. She stands idle a bit while staring at her opponent, trying to figure out what is coming.

Ally thinks: “I’ll get her this time.”

She comes forward and Steph backs up. Ally goes for an overhand left hook… and walks into a right uppercut! The older woman only faked indecision. She dropped back to attract the German. The punch catches the blonde on the cheek, under the right eye.

Steph: “Queen of uppercuts my ass.”

Regina: “Schumann fell into a trap. This uppercut probably won’t hurt much, but it acts as a warning. If she is not careful, she will eat power shots thrown by a tricky veteran.”

Stephanie caught Alesia with a right uppercut, but it didn’t hurt much. How does the champ react?

Ally sees a large gap between Steph’s gloves. Her instinct tells her to go for it! She backs with her right foot, rotates her upper body backward with her right arm in V-shape and hammers the challenger with an uppercut. Steph groans.

Cindy: “Nooo!”

The crowd cheers the quick reaction. “Woooot! Auf geht’s Alesia!”

Alesia: “Yes, I’m the uppercut queen!”

Regina
: “Schumann was given space in the middle and she quickly used it on the counter. It did not catch Ward entirely but it sent a strong warning: do not make this a battle of uppercuts. The champ has the bigger one.”

A good uppercut from Alesia makes Stephanie retreat for a moment. She avoids trading long enough to prevent the further damage that Ally wants to make.

The Englischerjabs and takes her time before going back into toe to toe action. Alesia has time to lower her stance, adopt a compact position and go forward.

As the challenger approaches the ropes, Ally fires a jab but Steph twists her body sufficiently to avoid it and punch back from an angle. Her right cross comes from below, pushes Alesia’s arm inside and lands cleanly on her jaw.

Cindy: “Oh yes! Follow this beauty up!”

Regina
: “Ward makes a crafty move in what is now a battle in the trenches. At this point, it is hard to predict who may win it. Experience favours the Englishwoman, but she also is the only one who kissed the canvas in previous exchanges.”

Stephanie was instructed to follow up on an excellent right hand, but Alesia has other plans.

As soon as the challenger starts withdrawing her right hand, the champ’s starts moving forward. Ally pivots with her upper body with her right glove flying straight to Steph’s jaw. A big shot on target.

The crowd is going wild. The last two rounds have easily been worth the ticket price and they may get even more.

Maxim: “Keep going! Take her down!”

Cindy: “Fight back! Don’t let her do this!”

Regina: “We have an epic battle on our hands today. Both ladies refuse to give the opponent an inch. They are hitting, getting hit, bleeding and suffering for the title. Great entertainment for boxing fans.”

The battle rages between Alesia and Stephanie in Round 3. A moment ago, the challenger landed a big left hook and she is pressed to continue.

Cindy: “Get her! She’s hurt!”

Alesia wants to put her defense back together by bringing her hands up but she doesn’t have enough time to protect herself. Steph is quick enough to launch another attack, this time with a right cross that lands on Ally’s chin and mouth.

Maxim
: “Finish stronger! We need this round!”

Regina: “Body shots slowed Schumann down a bit in the second round and the impact is now clear. She has traded with Ward in this round, but some of her reactions are a tad slower.”

Action slows down in the last 30 seconds of Round 3, but we are not through yet.

Stephanie wants to engage further to win the close round decisively, but the German isn’t letting her have it that easily. She thinks that as the champion, judges will give her the benefit of the doubt.

Our fighters play a cat and mouse game and trade a few shots that either miss or hit gloves. Until Steph has enough of it and goes head hunting for a stiff, unpredictable straight right hand.

Alesia has little time to react, but she still has reflexes. Her left hook comes out. Steph’s black glove gets the shoulder, but the pink glove catches her face.

Regina: “Good job by Schumann there. She made Ward walk into a well thrown overhand left against a cross that was very hard to avoid. A last-moment hit sometimes sways the judges if they are in doubt about who wins the round.”

Ding! An action-packed Round 3 comes to an end, and Rebecca sends the fighters back to see their coaches.

Regina: “We head to the champ’s corner to see what Maxim will tell her.”

Maxim: “You did well in this round. You showed that you can trade with her, and land clean shots. The judges will give it to you.”

Alesia: “I took too many punches! You’re making me play her game!”

Tension is rising. Max accidentally drops the mouthpiece while gesticulating.

Maxim: “I’m in charge of strategy here! You did what I said and it worked.”

Alesia: “You’re thinking round by round. It will make me lose the fight! She’s more dangerous than you think.”

Maxim: “I guarantee that if you listen to me, Round 4 will make you take a clear advantage. Just keep pounding her. She has been knocked out so often before…”

Alesia: “Alright, but if that doesn’t work and there’s a Round 5, I may ignore anything you have to say.”

Max picks up the mouthpiece, cleans it, puts it back in her mouth and puts vaseline on her face.

Regina: “We heard disagreement in the red corner. Let’s head to the blue corner to know what is going on there.”

Cindy: “Great job, baby! She’s doing exactly what we want! You’re wearing her down. Her punches aren’t coming in as quickly as they did before. Your chin can lead you to a title win!”

Steph: “She can’t stop me. I’m too strong for her.”

Cindy: “Yes! Keep trading. Who won Round 3 isn’t obvious because it was close and the locals may give it to her, but you’re going to win the fight. It’s all that matters.”

She wraps up the minute’s rest by putting vaseline on Steph’s face.

Round 4 is about to begin and Regina updates her scorecard with additional analysis of the fight.

Regina: “This is a hard round to judge with both boxers trading power shots, and landing. It is worth a 10-10 in my view, but I predict that Alesia Schumann will get the benefit of the doubt with judges, as the champion and local fighter. Challengers have to convince to win rounds, while champs get the close calls. Schumann would therefore be ahead by one point.”

“What we should keep in mind, however, is the impact of this round on the whole fight. Schumann lost some of her speed. Ward has suffered more facial damage. More trading in the next round could separate the fighters and favour one.”

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.