The concussion

Egged on by her coach, Heather has fire in her eyes before the bell rings to begin Round 5 of her bout with Veronica Lillegard.

Heather thinks: “Alright babe. I’ll show you something you’ve never seen before.”

At the other end, the girl in red is pretty confident.

Veronica thinks: “Heather is totally beatable. I just have to remain aggressive and turn her brain into mud.”

Ding!

Heather finds her stride early on. She occupies the middle of the ring with her hands high. Veronica fires hard punches and hits the Canadian’s purple gloves. Smack, paff, pish! Heather feels The Swimmer’s authority through the hands that absorb shocks. It raises hairs on her skin and makes her feel weak at times, but she refuses to surrender.

Increased upper body movement is enough to make Veronica’s stiff punches start missing as time advances. Then, Heather sees her opportunity. Veronica sends out a more predictable right cross, making the White Swan lean forward to the right and dig at the body with a fast right hook.

Esther: “Barker plays attack dog and takes a bite in Lillegard’s midsection once again. She ruffs her up, if you know what I mean.”

Anna: “That pun was barking mad, Esther. Anyway. Heather now mixes patience and aggression more expertly than before, and that’s why her body shots have more impact.”

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Persistent Swan

The purplehead keeps working downstairs to effectively weaken Veronica’s defenses late in Round 5 and early in Round 6. She gives the occasional shove to mess with her balance. It works beautifully for the former Canadian Featherweight champ, who sees her opponent’s hands dropping.

Now’s the time to go upstairs. Heather fakes a left hook to the body to make hands drop again, and instead comes back up with a vicious right cross that cracks the Norwegian’s chin. Her eyes roll back a bit.

Sylvie: “That…. is… it! Keep going!”

Esther: “Barker lands a big right hand after a skillful feint! This one hurt. Lillegard is on a slippery slope as we speak.”

Anna: “Perseverance may be the most underrated asset in Barker’s game. Lillegard has given her a taste of her experience in previous rounds, but she dug in the trenches until she could find flaws to exploit. Now, she lets her talent speak and this right hand is the expression of it.”

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Veronica is finding out that Heather’s tempo is upbeat and hard to disrupt. High bone density, compact muscles, sharp wits and high precision generate force at the end of her fists, which keep coming.

Viewers at ringside and on television are also quick to notice a change. Veronica slows down and she struggles to put her hands back up, getting punished as a result. The analysts aren’t missing on that detail as Heather pummels her opponent.

Esther: “Something is wrong with Lillegard. She is more passive, taking clean power shots upstairs and barely doing anything to defend herself. The referee is getting closer to the boxers, but he’s not ready to act yet.”

Anna: “It’s like Barker’s right cross broke something inside the Norwegian. The will to compete doesn’t seem to be as strong.”

The blast

Heather throws flurries with increasing confidence and power. Seconds before the halfway point in Round 6, she goes for full force. First with a thumping right cross in the middle of Veronica’s face. She follows up with a massive left hook that blasts the red girl across the right cheek.

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Veronica stumbles back. Referee Jeffrey Cain gets closer and waves at Heather to make her stand back.

Esther: “Lillegard is disoriented. She looks lost, not even looking at her opponent anymore. Something is wrong with her.”

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The ref steps in and wraps an arm around Veronica. To everyone’s surprise, the veteran fighter leans against his shoulder. She’s out on her feet.

Jeffrey: “Fight’s over!”

Fans cheer for the technical knockout win that goes to to Heather. The Canadian Lightweight raises an arm to celebrate, but she hopes that Veronica is okay.

Esther: “The referee stops it! Lillegard is confused and unable to defend herself, leading to a logical decision by the official.”

Anna: “You are absolutely right. Lillegard is concussed after taking hard punches to the head, and the only question is how severe is this concussion. Let’s put a star in the man’s record. He made the right decision to protect the fighter, her career and perhaps even her life.”

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The Swimmer walks back to her corner with her coach Inge as the ring announcer gets in to give the official result. Sylvie congratulates her fighter for a job well done. They agree that a stoppage was necessary. Inge plans on having his boxer checked by the ring doctor.

Ring announcer: “We have a winner at 1:00 in Round 6. By technical knockout! She is Heather ‘The White Swan’ Barrrrkkeerrrrrrrrr!”

The purplehead’s record moves to 8 wins (4KO) and one loss. Veronica’s drops to 12 wins, 3 losses and one draw.

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The post-match ritual goes smoothly, but only for a few more seconds. Heather hears a thud from behind and the canvas shakes a bit. By the time the Canadian turns around, she sees an unconscious Veronica lying on the mat and her surprised trainer looking down.

Heather: “Oh my God! No!”

Esther: “This is a terrible turn of events! Lillegard is now motionless on the canvas!”

Anna: “Oh, dear. By now, it appears that Lillegard has a severe concussion after losing consciousness. She requires immediate medical attention.”

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The ref orders everyone to stand back as the paramedics rush to the scene. Veronica is put on a stretcher by the medical team and taken out of the arena, to be transported by ambulance straight to hospital for treatment and observation.

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The joy of victory has turned to stress in the Canadian camp. Heather and Sylvie aren’t sure what to do or say.

Heather: “Dear God. Please make sure that she’ll be okay.”

Heather Barker
Heather Barker
A religious, caring and ambitious woman from Canada, now based in Marseille. One of the most tenacious boxers in the sport.