Full speed on the Lightweight Autobahn

The contestants are ready to go. “Akane!” and “Maya!” screams bounce on the arena’s walls.  The German Lightweight championship begins now.

Referee Rebecca Linden stands in the middle of the ring, looking in both corners’ directions, waiting for the bell.

Ding!

Rebecca: “Box!”

A loud cheer accompanies the much-anticipated beginning of the fight. Akane springs out of the corner to take the middle of the ring. Maya takes it as a signal that the Japanese-German will be aggressive from the get-go, so she steps forward in a more tentative way to avoid getting gunned down. They circle for a moment.

Akane looks to paw her jab, but Maya takes her by surprise. She steps in to fire an overhand right that collides against her cheek. The stiff punch is harder on the ego than anything else, but it makes Akane step to the right and reconsider the idea of early pressure.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 1

Emboldened by the 100% landing rate of a single punch, Maya happily takes the centre of the ring and throws unpredictable, brisk jabs to test her opponent’s defense. Akane tightens up her guard and blocks the shots, which are crisp enough to be bothersome.

The Japanese-German takes her time. She zooms in on Maya’s movement. The champion looks to take charge, making her miss on the following shots and standing her ground. Akane isn’t in the ropes, but finds herself outside.

The fighters paw their jabs to try and create an opening, which fails to turn up and say anything at the check-in counter.

Maya thinks: “Good. I got her to respect me.”

Akane thinks: “Settle down. I’ll figure her out. No rush.”

Maya pumps her jab like a piston. As she comes forward and opens up to throw a right, Akane gets socked by the incoming left hand and grunts a little.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 2-1

Esther: “Cerci means business from the very beginning. Her opponent rarely gives you time or space, which means you have to act quickly to suppress her attacking instincts.”

Alesia: “That jab. So straight and hard.”

Anna: “It can’t be easy to get past it. Akane, though? She’ll move all around it and send Maya to Jupiter.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 2-2

Akane resets her position and prepares to jab with her right hand, but as soon as her shoulder moves, Maya’s jab pops out. The hard, gloved fist smacks her head sideways. The jab is heavy enough for the champ to put the challenger under her spell with one hand.

Esther: “Cerci thrusts the responsibility of risk-taking in the hands of the Watanabe. The upstart has to surge forward to get her game going, but this thumping jab prevents her from mustering the kind of speed and firepower she is known for.”

Rolling her sleeves

Little Storm doesn’t freak out. She pulls out, starts moving her upper body and lets Maya come in with straight shots that miss narrowly, so she can pick up her timing.

At the sight of a moving left shoulder, she takes a chance by bringing her right leg up to the right and planting it on the canvas. At the same time, she leans forward on the same side and fires an uppercut to Maya’s midsection.

The punch hammers the one nicknamed Cannonball in the abdominal muscles and makes her wince a little. It draws cheers from the Akane fans, who finally get a nugget of satisfaction.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 3

Maya concedes the exchange and retreats. She wants a moment to keep her composure. This doesn’t sit well with Akane, who comes in with a left hook. The champ blocks it, but the brute force in that punch unsettles her upper body by sending it to the left.

For a second, Maya’s hands drop a tad as she attempts to keep her balance. Akane comes inside and leans in with her shoulders, pressing her upper body against the German’s and forcing her back.

Unstable on her feet, Maya unwittingly leaves an opening between her gloves. Akane drives in and throws a bolo punch inside the guard, smashing her jaw and whipping her head to the right side.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 4

Fans roar this demonstration of boxing skills and the impact of Akane’s punches. “Akane! Akane! Akane!”

Maya’s fans are stressed. “Fight back! You’re the champ!”

Esther: “Watanabe makes me look even more brilliant than usual by stepping forward very quickly to land a few solid shots. If you think of it, she springs like a grasshopper and stings like a mosquito. A grassquito sounds like a dangerous insect to me.”

Sophie: “Come on, baby!”

Tamao: “Wow. I think we’re in for an equal battle. These two are boxing well.”

Sophie: “That won’t last long. Akane isn’t working at full speed yet. When she does, look out.”

Cannonball sidesteps to the right and escapes before the challenger can take this fight to the ropes. Her coach pumps his fist at this mature reaction under pressure.

Akane thinks: “Well done, because I had you. Let’s change it up to take the body.”

The Japanese-German gets closer to the German. She walks into range without punching, as if to invite Maya to attack. Maya obliges, throwing a vigorous one-two. Akane blocks the jab successfully, but the right cross comes from below, goes up, slides between her gloves and rubs forcefully against her lips, nose and forehead at the impact.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 5-1

Esther: “Cerci thumps Watanabe, who was probably waiting for a chance to counterattack. All she gets is a cracking right in the middle of the face. The post-match döner just got a bit harder to chew.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 5-2

Chess from a distance

The challenger grunts and sidesteps to the left. Her hunch that a left hook is coming next is very accurate: Maya steps inside and throws, but her red Adidas glove doesn’t even come close to creating a collision. The challenger escapes a potential onslaught.

Nevertheless, Maya finds motivation. She thinks: “I can punish her.”

In her stride, the champ stalks a more defensive Little Storm around the ring. She throws a jab to the head and a right hook to the body. Akane’s movement to step outside is too quick for the attack to succeed. Maya can’t deploy her right arm properly, but she is satisfied about having the initiative.

Always the weather expert, Little Storm steps back and sidesteps to avoid getting caught in a hurricane. Maya chases and tries to intimidate the challenger.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 6-1

Esther: “Watanabe shows the versatility of a black and red chameleon by going defensive. It seems that she isn’t too keen on an extensive sampling after eating a solid piece of leather.”

Alesia: “DEFENSE!”

Anna: “Haha! Someone is preaching her own virtues.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 6-2

Akane thinks: “I gotta switch to the counter.”

On the prowl, Maya comes in with a heavy right cross aimed at Akane’s chin. The Japanese-German takes a step back to make the punch miss, then a step forward, plants her left foot firmly on the ground and unloads a vicious right cross.

PISH!

The champ groans as her nose and mouth receive the crushing pressure of Akane’s tightened fist. The bones in the puncher’s hands feel the impact, and so does Maya’s jaw.

Ringside, the crowd cheers loudly.

Sophie: “THAT’S IT, BABY! MAKE SOME MAYA BURGER!”

Tamao shoots her a surprised look.

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 7-1

Esther: “Cerci walks into a right hand made in Japan and engineered in Germany. A custom-made product you can’t order on Amazon, it’s tightly packed shipped quickly, and it surely doesn’t feel good to receive.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 7-2

Stylish finish

Surprised by this painful counter, Maya lifts her leg and moves it to the left. She puts her foot back on the ground and drills a jab to take back control. It happens too late. Akane is already inside. She rotates her entire upper body and unleashes a lightning-like left hook that paffs Maya’s jaw.

The champ’s neck twists and her head turns on the receiving end of the most powerful shot of the round. Thunders of applause come from Little Storm’s fans.

Alesia: “What a punch!”

Anna: “I think I heard her neck crack from here.”

Sophie, to Tamao: “See? When that girl shifts gears, she’s danger on two feet.”

Tamao: “Oh, she’s good.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 8-1

Esther: “Watanabe is en fuego, lighting up Cerci near the end of this opening round, burning her with fiery punches that would make any arsonist very proud.”

Akane Watanabe Maya Cerci 8-2

Clack clack clack.

Arne: “10 seconds!”

Scared and in pain, Maya falls back in the ropes and ducks under dangerous punches from her opponent. She escapes to the right and to then the middle of the ring to find safety. She stays away from Akane because the weather forecast seems gloomy at the moment.

Ding!

Rebecca takes a couple of steps forward between the fighters, who show discipline by immediately turning back to their corners. Akane pumps her fist. Maya shakes her head in disbelief. It’s been a while since anyone hasn’t respected her.