Anna Schwartz vs. Masae – Round 2

The bell rings for Round 2 to begin.

Anna thinks: “The hell with everything I thought before. If I go down, I’ll go down swinging.”

The Berlin beauty puts her hands up, tightens her shoulders and elbows to form a turtle shell. She comes forward while staring at Masae. The Japanese boxer is by no means intimidated since she had such a good time punching the shit out of Anna in the first round.

Masae tiptoes her way around Anna, who remains stable on her legs instead of falling back. The blonde waits for the brunette to fire the first salvo. When it comes by the way of a jab, she sees the red glove moving and dives forward. She ducks the punch and throws a right cross downstairs.

Pink leather hits the midsection’s flesh.

Masae: “Urgh!”

Maxim: “THAT… IS… IT! Take the body!”

Esther: “Surprise! Anna Schwartz knows how to box! An abominal right hand in the abdominal region to force a groan out of the grown-up Masae.”

For the first time since a scandal brought her to her knees, a new emotion emerges from Anna’s core: anticipation. The right hand on target wasn’t the product of wishful thinking. She landed it without help against someone who could knock her out.

Anna thinks: “Maybe I can win this after all?”

Emboldened, the Ice Queen looks Masae in the eye with more confidence. The Japanese doesn’t give anything away, but she feels body pain that she didn’t think Anna could inflict.

The two boxers throw jabs to feel each other out. Anna’s comes out with more authority than in the first round. Then, she fakes a stiff jab only to stop halfway and twist her upper body to deliver a left downstairs. Masae starts tightening up to block it, but the punch comes in too quickly for her defense. Pink leather pounds her stomach once again.

Masae: “Argh!”

Alesia: “YES! KEEP GOING! HIT HER WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST!”

Esther: “Schwartz has just found out that if you want to shake the foundations of a building, you have to go to the basement. The body shots she has landed in the first 30 seconds of this round were heavy, and Masae’s facial expressions confirm that they hurt.”


Anna has found Masae’s weak spot, but the visitor steps back to put distance between the two fighters and switches to the counterattack. Anna stays down and goes forward to attack the body, but she meets resistance and punches come her way.

The German comes in to throw a right to the body. The lady in green makes a crafty move. She takes another step back and puts all the weight she can behind a right cross to Anna’s face. Pish! Another serving of red leather on the nose and mouth.

Esther: “What was initially the Berlin Beatdown is turning into the Berlin Slugfest! Schwartz is taking the fight to Masae, but the Japanese woman remains a fierce competitor. You have to applaud the courage from both sides, although it’s surprising that the German is showing any.”

The taunt

Having survived some body punishment, Masae feels like she can do anything. She takes a few steps back and looks at Anna. Her gesture leaves no room for interpretation.

Masae: “Come here! Are you afraid?”

Anna thinks: “Who the fuck does she think she is?”

At ringside, Alesia is pissed. She bangs on the table, making everybody around her stare at her.

Alesia: “COME ON! DON’T LET HER DO THIS SHIT!”

Heidi: “Geez. You’re scary when you’re pissed off.”

Stunned at first, Anna sees red.

Anna thinks: “Enough public insults. She’ll pay the price for this shit.”

Masae steps back and gets ready to counter. Anna’s determination makes her come in faster, though, and she gets ready to strike. She fakes a jab, to which Masae wants to respond with a straight right. Then, the blonde steps to her left, swings her weight down and comes back up with a left hook. Her punch slides under the Nippon fighter’s elbow as she lifts her right arm to throw a cross.

Masae: “Urgh!”

Maxim: “YES! KEEP HAMMERING HER!”

Esther: “Did Masae think too far ahead? She taunted her opponent, who targeted her with a left hook to the body that Mexican fighters would be happy to claim as their own. If Schwartz’ hit is hard enough, it will make her fold like a tortilla.”

Anna thinks: “Left to the body, right over the top.”

The Ice Queen follows up on the previous punch, using abundant space between Masae’s glove to send a hammer of a right cross that forces her upper body back.

Alesia shouts: “THAT’S IT, BABY!”

Esther: “Did Masae wake up a beast that was sleeping deep inside Anna Schwartz with that taunt? She surely is paying the price for daring her to come forward. All of a sudden, the German seems to be on a punitive expedition that would make Genghis Khan proud.”

Masae escapes before ending up in the ropes. She circles around Anna to regain her composure. She keeps her away with the jab and sideways movements.

The Berliner doesn’t mind this more quiet phase. She gains confidence by making fluid moves to block or dodge the punches and studies her opponent’s movements.

Zelda thinks: “Not bad. Anna is growing into this one.”

Esther: “Schwartz has found her feet. She still has the looks of a ballerina, but her attitude is that of a fighter as she engages in the noble art with more verve than at any point earlier in her career.”

At ringside, a promoter and a girlfriend are captivated by the action.

Heidi: “What do you think?”

Alesia: “A fighter is born.”

An official takes the wood sticks to signal that Round 2 is almost over. Clack clack clack.

Maxim: “10 seconds left! Finish strongly!”

Anna gets closer to Masae and puts her under pressure with fast shots. Once she has her in the ropes, she fakes going downstairs, only to come back up and throw a right hand. The Japanese brings her hands back up to defend, but it’s too late. A pink cannonball slides between her gloves and blasts her jaw.

PISH!

The crowd emits a big “ooohhhhhh!”

Esther: “Schwartz hurts Masae with an explosive right hand just before the bell. Golly, I may have received gunpowder at ringside!”

Alesia: “Holy shit, what a punch!”

Heidi: “I never thought she was capable of this.”

The bell rings to end the second round. The crowd is silent, astonished by the change of course and hesitating to cheer for the fighter it heckled a few minutes ago.

Maxim thinks: “Good. Now I can treat her like a fighter. On to a speech about winning instead of proving that she belongs to this ring.”

In the first row, two guys have a conversation.

Guy 1: “I can’t believe she survived and took the advantage. This can’t be. You think this match is fixed?”

Guy 2: “I don’t think so. Bubblegum pink glove girl is doing her best to compete with Masae. It won’t last long. The Jap is only surprised. She’ll destroy her in the third.”

Closing the gap: corners

Mood swings. The atmosphere in the red corner has changed drastically after four minutes of action.

Masae sits on her stool, and a kneeling Yumi is grumpy.

Yumi: “What were you thinking? You had her and that taunt turned her into a dragon!”

Masae: “I… I’m sorry.”

Yumi: “Now you know that she’s a lot more dangerous than expected, or more than at any point before. She’s lost all respect for you. You have to find your fifth gear now.”

Masae nods.

Yumi: “Box from outside to avoid getting hit downstairs. Move quickly. Nail her with faster counters when she comes in. She may have the longer reach, but she’s been looking to get inside for power. You need distance. Do you understand?”

Masae: “Yes.”

Yumi: “Good.”

The coach gives her fighter water and puts vaseline on her face.

In the blue corner, the coach can’t hide a smile as he starts talking.

Maxim: “Nice work. I like what you’ve just done. Put your head up. I have to kill this nosebleed.

Anna: “Ok.”

Maxim: “I want you to stick with the basics. Stay low, compact stance, let her do the headhunting. Block shots, avoid them and go in to take the body again. Before you did it, she was a punishment machine. After you did it, you were in control.”

With a towel up to her nostrils, Anna can only nod a bit.

Maxim: “There is no reasonfor you not to win this fight. Get close, dig in and give her the pain.”

The coach puts the towel down and grabs the water bottle.

Anna: “Should I try to knock her out?”

Maxim: “Don’t rush it. Focus on landing solid punches first, and pounce if you see that she’s vulnerable. Only go for the knockout at the right time.”

Anna: “Got it.”

Maxim: “It’s the final result that counts. We want to win convincingly. Nothing else.”

Zelda: “Seconds out!”

As she gets up from her stool, Anna gives her coach a playful punch on the cheek with her right glove.

Anna: “Thank you. I’ll win this.”

Maxim: “Hehe. That’s the spirit.”

Ally: “Woo. Tough beginning, but I think that Anna will do fine. She’s got… rage.”

Heidi pauses for a moment to think: “Maybe she’s got potential, after all.”

Heidi: “How serious has she been in training?”

Alesia: “Max is tough on a fighter. He whipped her into shape and she did everything he asked for.”

Heidi: “That’s settled. If she wins this fight, we’re making a firm offer for a multi-fight deal.”

Analysis

Esther: “After a nightmare in the first round, Schwartz has stormed back with fury in the second. She was the busier fighter, throwing more punches and landing with far more authority than Masae. She didn’t return the favour with a knockdown, but the result is clear enough and well reflected in the numbers. While most people will probably remember the harder punches, more than half the shots she threw were jabs. It shows her commitment to her favourite weapon.”

Esther: “I give Schwartz that second round with a 10-9. Masae still leads on my scorecard, so she still has a chance to stay ahead. She must, however, reverse the momentum and avoid being pounded by body shots. The Ice Queen will surely do everything she can to blow up the basement and take the house down.”