Kanti: “BOX!”
Action resumes with Round 6 beginning. Alesia and Lilly feel each other out for a few seconds, clearly more tired than they were earlier.
The Mexican is the first who wants to fire with her left hand, but Ally’s defensive moves confuse her. She wants to throw it straight but realises that the angle isn’t there. She switches to make it a hook, but before she can throw it, the German’s arm comes out and a white glove sinks into her abs before she can complete the transition.
Lilly: “Ow!”
Esther: “Schumann is in the longest fight of her professional career, against one of the toughest boxers in the business, and she doesn’t seem to care. Going to the body to hurt Sanchez is once again a clever tactic. You’d think she’s coached by a legend. Oh wait… she has Halmich in her corner.”
Round 6 goes by and although both ladies were knocked down twice, they show determination and refuse to give each other an inch. They trade punches without flinching.
49 seconds in, Alesia is convinced that she can land a left hook on Lilly, who is bending forward. The Aztec Princess however keeps moving her upper body to go under the punch and come back with a right hook to the abs and ribs. She also uses her arm and glove to push the German’s left arm up.
Ally isn’t too hurt because her body is stronger than before, but that doesn’t mean she’s happy to receive the punch.
Esther: “Sanchez is probably thinking: I can hit the body too! Here’s a taste of your own medicine, Evil Doctor!”
Time goes away, but it still refuses to separate our two fighters in Round 6.
The Aztec Princess plays her cards well, throwing punches that are difficult to avoid. They make Alesia more cautious, making her turn to her defensive skills to keep her opponent quiet. She becomes too cautious, leading Lilly to throw a very accurate jab between her gloves, giving the German a knock on the chin.
Esther: “That’s what happens when you don’t throw enough punches. Your opponent eventually punches a hole in the defense and that’s just what Sanchez did. Punching holes. You get the pun?”
Round is is almost drawing to a close but before it ends, Lilly goes for the pragmatic approach. She tries to make a late surge to win it on points instead of thinking only about a knockout.
The Mexican throws combinations but her leather meets the Bavarian’s leather until she can corner her. Ally feels threatened and she goes for her right uppercut to hurt and repel. Lilly keeps her distance to make it miss and sees a chance to score. She unloads a right hook straight on the chin.
Lilly thinks: “A couple of more shots and this round is mine for sure!”
Esther: “Nice work by Sanchez. She made Schumann miss with her biggest punch, saving herself a mountain-like amount of pain and giving herself a chance to steal the round. Is robbery legal in a boxing ring?”
Round is is almost drawing to a close but before it ends, Lilly goes for the pragmatic approach. She tries to make a late surge to win it on points instead of thinking only about a knockout.
The Mexican throws combinations but her leather meets the Bavarian’s leather until she can corner her. Ally feels threatened and she goes for her right uppercut to hurt and repel. Lilly keeps her distance to make it miss and sees a chance to score. She unloads a right hook straight on the chin.
Lilly thinks: “A couple of more shots and this round is mine for sure!”
Esther: “Nice work by Sanchez. She made Schumann miss with her biggest punch, saving herself a mountain-like amount of pain and giving herself a chance to steal the round. Is robbery legal in a boxing ring?”
Lilly has Alesia cornered late in Round 6 and she’s keen to take the round with power shots.
The Mexican doesn’t want the German to escape after counting an uppercut perfectly. She presses her knees against her opponents’ legs to physically trap her in tight space. She throws a big left cross in the middle of a wide open and disorganised defense.
Lilly: “You’re mine now. No need to move. I’ll beat you until the bell rings!”
Esther: “Schumann is hurt now, but in a position to clinch. Sanchez looks set to take this round and get ahead for the first time in the fight.”
“Let’s not stop there, thinks Lilly. Still got time to beat the shit out of her.”
Round 6 is soon coming to a close but the Aztec Princess has a golden opportunity to kick Alesia’s butt after landing a right hook and a left cross. Ally’s defense has opened up and the girl in pink goes for the punch she couldn’t expect: the right uppercut. She does a quick weight transfer to land it cleanly on the tip of the chin.
Alesia grunts. She’s in great pain.
Esther: “Can Schumann withstand the assault? Can she stay up after this? Can she clinch? Three huge questions after three huge punches. She better provide an exclamation point now or she’ll have an overdose of pink leather.”
Alesia took a huge uppercut a moment ago, following up on a hard right hook and left cross from Lilly.
The Bavarian feels her knees buckling. She loses her balance and gravity pulls her down. She hits the canvas. The crowd gasps and goes silent.
Esther: “There are 7 seconds left in the round. If Schumann wants to stay in this fight, she has to beat the count because she cannot be saved by the bell in any round. The unified rules are unforgiving!”
Alesia fell on the canvas and Lilly doesn’t even look at Kanti. She goes straight to the neutral corner with her arm up, hoping that this gives her the win.
Kanti sees that the Mexican is getting out of the way and she approaches Alesia to start the count.
Esther: “This is a critical moment. We will see how much Schumann has left in the tank after a third knockdown.”
Kanti has already started the count with Alesia down late in Round 6.
Kanti: “One…”
Ally is still looking down, not yet responding to the referee.
Kanti: “Two… three…”
The German starts moving. She pushes with her left arm and right leg to gain leverage and some balance.
Kanti: “Four… five…”
Ally moves to her left and grabs the rope. There isn’t much time left but still hope if she can use her legs.
Esther: “Schumann’s body language is negative, but she is focused already. Perhaps she can make it.”
Kanti: “Six… seven…”
Esther: “This could be another very close call. It’s still possible for Schumann to get up, but she has to risk leg instability to do it by now.”
Kanti: “Eight… nine… ten…”
Alesia looks up as she hears ten, and the vision is blurry. She realises that she couldn’t beat the count and that she just lost the fight.
Kanti: “OUT!”
You can hear the Lilly fans cheering, but most of the crowd is silent. It was hoping for an Alesia win after her excellent performance in the first half of the fight.
Esther: “Lilly Sanchez beat Alesia Schumann by knockout in the dying seconds of Round 6! A rough ending to a violent fight in which both boxers took serious punishment. Sanchez can celebrate another win. Schumann will probably be disappointed with the loss because she’s so darn competitive, but she pushed her opponent in a way few fighters can pretend to, even if Lady Luck gives them a big, juicy kiss. She can be proud of her performance.”
Alesia has been knocked out by Lilly Sanchez and her coach Regina goes to her immediately to help her get up.
As soon as Ally is up, the crowd cheers for her: “Alesia! Alesia! Alesia!”
Esther: “Listen to this. Berlin is in love with Schumann, who fought with heart and forced Sanchez to do something amazing to win.”
Kanti wants to check on Ally right after that, but Regina won’t let her. “Back off. She’s myfighter!”
Regina: “How are you feeling?”
Alesia: “Disappointed. I wanted to win.”
Regina: “I know, but we went into this knowing that it would be very difficult and you did everything you could possibly do at this stage in your career. You gave her hell and knocked her down twice. She was a split second away from a KO loss. How many people can do that?”
The fighter smiles sheepishly.
Alesia: “Not many.”
Regina: “Exactly! She had her moments and ended it with one big sequence late in Round 6. The rest of the way, you were ahead or even against a top fighter, and we haven’t even gone through our rebuilding program. All we did in two months was catching up to make this fight a good one. What’s next will be truly exciting.”
Alesia: “You’re right.”
Regina: “Ok. You have a TV interview to give. Keep what I said in mind.”
After the match, Lilly and Alesia have a quick chat.
Lilly: “Hey, you didn’t make this easy, did you? My head hurts! You have mad skills.”
The Mexican gives the German a kiss on the cheek.
Alesia: “Thanks.”
Lilly: “Let’s be friends and trade phone numbers. I’ll definitely be following your fights and hoping you win titles.”
Alesia: “Sure! Does the Sanchez gym plan on broadcasting its fights on TV?”
Lilly: “Only on a Not Safe For Work channel.”
The two have a laugh.
Esther: “It’s time for the ring announcer to make the result official.”
Referee Kanti calls the ring announcer to the middle of the ring for the official result of this fight.
Announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, please give our two fighters a round of applause for a close contest by two impressive boxers.”
The crowd cheers, shouts and claps for Alesia and Lilly.
Announcer: “At 0:00 in Round 6 at the Estrel Centre in Berlin, we have a winner by knockout. From Mexico, Lilly ‘Aztec Princess’ Saaaaancheeeeezzzzz!”
Kanti lifts Lilly’s arm. She now has 7 knockout wins, 1 loss and 1 draw on her professional record. Alesia’s record now stands at 4 knockout wins and 3 losses, the last two fights lost respectively by TKO and KO.
In the background, Regina and Marlene are chatting. We don’t hear what they say, but they are about to shake hands. It must be OK…
Esther Schouten and Alesia meet in the center of the ring for the post-match interview on Box TV.
Esther: “Alesia, tonight was the first time that you couldn’t get up from a knockdown. Give us your first impression of this fight.”
Alesia: “It’s complicated. I wanted to win and I’m disappointed that I didn’t, but at the same time, I’ve done more than anyone but my coach expected of me. I sent Lilly to the canvas twice, and she barely got up the second time. It didn’t give me the win I wanted, but I still proved something tonight.”
Esther: “What was the turning point?”
Alesia: “I failed to finish her in Round 4. I should have been a bit sharper when I had her hurting.”
Esther: “Your record is 4-3. Are you concerned?”
Alesia: “No. Anybody who has boxing knowledge understands that giving hell to Lilly Sanchez proves that you are a very good fighter. I also have long-term contracts with my promoter and sponsor, as well as a commitment from my coach. They knew what this fight was all about.”
Esther: “What are your future plans?”
Alesia: “I can only think of the coming night at the moment. A bit of sleep is all I’m asking for!”
Esther: “Just don’t snore, ok?”
Alesia: “I’ll try not to!”
Esther: “Thanks for fielding my questions.”
Alesia: “Pleasure.”
It’s an exhausted Lilly’s turn to give Esther an interview.
Esther: “Congratulations on the knockout win. What’s going on in your mind now?”
Lilly: “It was a rough day in the office. I was convinced that I would win, but she gave me a good scare in Rounds 1 and 4. I had to give everything to get back up and keep fighting.”
Esther: “You started the fight slowly and Alesia quickly took advantage of it. Did you take her lightly?”
Lilly: “I was very confident. Look, Alesia also is a very strong fighter. She’s the real deal. I think it’s just a matter of time before we see greater things from her.”
Esther: “Did you plan that right uppercut in advance?”
Lilly: “It’s ironic that I knocked her out with it since it’s her biggest weapon, but it wasn’t planned. I simply threw the best punch I could to take advantage of an opening.”
Esther: “Are you open to a future rematch?”
Lilly: “When the time is right for both of us, yes. In the meantime, I think we are on friendly terms.”
Esther: “Gracias Lilly!”
Lilly: “Danke je.”
