Alesia Schumann vs. Masae – Round 4

DING!

Lee: “BOX!”

Round 4 gets underway and there is a sense of urgency in Masae’s mindset. She knows she is behind and that the ref could stop the fight should she fail to defend herself or take a few more big punches.

The Japanese and the German circle and trade jabs in the middle of the ring. Alesia waits for the opportunity to counter, sticking to her game plan. Masae doesn’t like being the aggressor anymore, having paid a high price for risk-taking in the last two rounds.

Yumi: “Attack!”

Masae fakes a couple of moves and sees an opening for a left hook as Ally’s right hand is a bit low. She obliges with a left hook that catches her partly, but the Diva leans to the left, minimises the impact and sends a left hook to the solar plexus.

Esther: “Schumann resumes her domination but Masae’s punch partly caught her ear. The host is trying.”

Alesia thinks: “I have to keep taking the body.” Masae thinks: “I have to defend myself.”

Both ladies work hard, but the Japanese has slowed down. She can’t escape as Alesia stays close to try and land more body shots to further wear her down.

The onslaught continues without a big one landing until an exchange near the ropes. Ally comes forward and leans down while throwing a big right hand that lands in the midsection. At the same time, Masae “welcomes” her opponent with a right hook to the chin… but she loses her mouthpiece!

Masae: “Urgh!”

Esther: “Sometimes you have to take a punch to land an even better punch and that’s exactly what Schumann just did. Masae is doing a bit better than before but time plays against her.”

Masae lost her mouthpiece after absorbing the shock of a solid right to the body. The ref picks it up and gives it to Yumi.

The coach fakes that she forgot the bottle near the ring, so she goes back to get it. Then she waters the mouthpiece while talking to her fighter.

Yumi: “You landed a clean hit but she keeps hammering the body. We need one-way traffic to pull through. You have to be faster!”

Lee: “Ladies! Let’s get back to fighting!”

Yumi finally dumps the bottle down, then turns back to Masae to give her the mouthpiece back and the fight can resume.

Esther: “Yumi hit the pause button and threw the remote control as far away as she could. Typical tactics from a coach who has been in the game inside the ring and at ringside. Yet, I can’t help thinking that Masae is on borrowed time and that the hit man is banging on the door. Germany is a tough creditor!”

Lee: “Box!”

The fight is on again now that Masae has a mouthpiece between the teeth.

Alesia is a little frustrated because she hasn’t found a way to finish this although she trounced the Japanese in Rounds 2 and 3. It doesn’t help that the opposition is releasing fast punches to try and keep her away.

Alesia thinks: “She’s fighting better although she’s tired. I have to take risks.”

The German advances but before she can throw a punch, Masae smacks her cheek with a jab. Pish!

The hopeful crowd cheers this success from the woman in green.

Esther: “Veterans can be tricky to beat. It looks like they are toast but they often squeeze themselves out of the toaster with the intent to set the house on fire. That’s what Masae is attempting before our eyes.”

Round 4 has been a closer affair so far, with Masae landing some shots.

The jab she used to smack Alesia’s face gives her a confidence boost and she follows it up with a right hand. As she twists her body to make the delivery… Alesia does the same by bending her body and she does it much faster. She uses technique that is very similar to her uppercut to sink a strong right hand in Masae’s body.

Masae: “Ugh!”

Esther: “Back to square one for the Japanese, who eats another bomb to the body. You have to think that sooner or later, she’ll implode… you get the pun?”

Esther: “Masae just took a hard right hand to the midsection on the counterattack and DOWN SHE GOES! This is the first knockdown of the fight and the Japanese is in great pain.”

Masae is on her knees, she feels sick due to the accumulation of body punches and tears are coming out of her right eye. Can she recover?

Masae is down in Round 4. Referee Lee immediately takes control.

Lee tells Ally to go to the nearest neutral corner. She happily obliges. In the red corner, Yumi is devastated. “I don’t know if she can get up from that. The body is her weak spot.”

Esther: “Schumann, who was scared and just watching her opponent beat her up in the first round, has come back to her senses in roaring fashion. Her inner lion has been unleashed. Whether Masae gets up or not, I think that the writing is on the wall, in big red letters, and it says DEFEAT.”

Now that Alesia is waiting in the neutral corner, Lee bends his knees to take a look at Masae.

She looks up but her eyes are small and her expression vacant.

Lee thinks: “Oh, there’s no doubt here.”

Lee: “OUT!”

The crowd goes totally silent. The local favourite just lost by knockout.

Esther: “SCHUMANN WINS! She suffered early on, but she came through with a defend-and-counter lesson with body punches that Masae will certainly remember. This should boost the Diva’s morale.”

A knockout! Alesia pumps her fist after finding her winning ways again.

She thinks: “Finally! I was running into trouble but things worked out in the end. What a relief.”

Masae was taken to the dressing room to see the doctor, who is concerned. We are set for the official result.

Announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, at 0:48 seconds in the fourth round at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, we have a winner by knockout. Please give a round of applause to Alesia “The Diva” Schuuuummaaaaannnn!”

The crowd cheers a bit and applauds the winner. Lee thinks: damn, I had to stretch my arm to lift hers. Those Germans are massive!”

Alesia moves on to a 5-3 record with all wins coming by the way of knockout. Masae’s record is now 16-8 after this loss.

An interview will be next.

Esther invites Alesia and Regina to a short post-fight interview in the middle of the ring.

Esther: “This fight started with some difficulty…”

Alesia: “You mean that I fought like crap!”

Esther: “Well, it was an ugly start. What was going on through your mind?”

Alesia: “I was too nervous after being KO’d by Lilly Sanchez and I hesitated while Masae was confident from the beginning. Regina screwed my head back on at the break, though.”

Esther: “We all heard it!”

Regina laughs.

Esther: “Your tactics were different today. Less trading, more defense, more counterattacking. How satisfied are you with that?”

Alesia: “Very! It was a first test after going through a specific training program to redefine my boxing style and I believe I passed. There are still things to improve but for the time being, I’m happy to win again and to have done it this way.”

Esther: “Regina, what are your thoughts on this fight?”

Regina: “Alesia did a good job starting from the second round. She is still a work in progress and she ate too much leather, but I’m satisfied because she trades less and depends less on her uppercut to make things happen. Defending is what has to guide her through a fight, and while the uppercut is not going away, it’s not the only go-to weapon.”

Esther: “Alesia, you have a second fight scheduled in Japan, a rematch with Akane Watanabe. What are your expectations this time around?”

Alesia: “I can’t tell you what we’re planning to do, unfortunately, but I can say that I am very confident going into this one. Having Regina in my corner means better preparation and excellent scouting of the opposition. Once the bell rings, I’m ready.”

Esther: “Thanks, ladies!”

Alesia: “Pleasure.”

Once the microphones are off.

Esther: “Look at us, Regina. We’re the old timers and Ally’s the young pup around here.”

Regina: “Haha! We weren’t bad, were we? Just wait until you see where I’m taking Ally. And you can visit our gym at any time.”

Esther: “I will!”

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.