Sophie’s strong final coat for glossy finish

We won’t show pictures for Round 5 between Sophie Schumann and Julie Marks. Too tame and too tight for any highlight, and probably ending as a 10-10 on scorecards.

We go straight to the red corner ahead of the sixth and final round. Regina Halmich is about to give her protégée the last bit of coaching. The German coach is generally happy with Sophie’s performance, but she needs one last push to secure the win.

Regina: “Alright, my bitter orange. You have worked really well so far and I’m proud of it. We’re not done, though, and I absolutely need you to win the final round so we can put this one in the bag.”

Sophie nods.

Regina: “I want you to be fast on your feet. Fight backwards, lure her, throw punches from angles and be creative. Follow through whenever you are on target. Stay disciplined and you got this.”

Sophie: “Alrighty.”

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The bell rings. The ref gets out of the way and the crowd cheers.

Sophie willingly leaves the centre of the ring to her opponent and invites her, with a little hand gesture, to join her. Julie has no problem responding, coming in and throwing punches.

Picasso stays on her toes, moves sideways and responds with flurries that combine hand speed and heavy strength at the point of impact. That’s Julie’s face as she takes hits while coming in.

The Bavarian gets nearly trapped in a neutral corner while fighting backwards. Julie throws a left hook that curls to the right and misses as the bitter orange dances her way outside and smacks the American on the cheek with an overhand and downwards right cross. PAFF!

War against Marksism

Esther: “Oof. Schumann strikes hard from a near-corner position, forcing Marks to miss and punishing what wasn’t really a mistake. I guess she’s thinking: no Marksism for me. A Bavarian capitalist at heart.”

Anna: “Wut? Anyway, Sophie is boxing beautifully at the moment, with creative use of space and spartan discipline. Barring a big mistake, she is about to pass the biggest test of her career against the kind of woman who could blast many people into orbit.”

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Sophie’s boxing clinic continues into the second minute of the round, with a crowd that increasingly applauds her efforts. She finds herself nearly in the middle of the ring, with Julie throwing a head-hunting cross that rises high as she’s aiming at the body with a diving right hand. Picasso adjusts the trajectory slightly by leaning down, catching the American’s side and feeling the brown glove brushing against the right side of her head.

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The exchanges continue with Sophie in control of the action as the clock runs down.

Regina: “20 seconds!”

German force strikes late

The blonde got her signal. She surprises the American with an intense amount of pressure in the final stretch, throwing punches in bunches to stun her opponent.

Clack clack clack. Only 10 seconds remain. Julie uses her strength to twist her way into a dangerous left hook. Sophie leans slightly to the left and unloads a shoveling left downstairs, plowing into the brunette’s abdomen. Pish!

Julie: “Urgh!”

Esther: “I believe that Marks is hurt by a barbarous left downstairs! Luckily for her, we are reaching the end of this fight in a few seconds.”

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Sophie knows when a boxer is hurt, having had that kind of scene a countless number of times as an amateur. She also hears the crowd hurling for late blood, and goes forward to try and finish Julie.

Picasso throws a barrage of heavy punches that further thump the American upstairs. The visitor keeps returning fire, but she’s on the receiving end of severe abuse and retreating dangerously close to the ropes.

Right before the bell, the brunette tries to stem the tide with a left hand but Sophie comes in with a brutal straight left that clobbers the side of her face to sandwich her head between the orange glove and the top rope. PISH!

A split second later, her suffering ends.

Ding!

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Julie is spent. She leans back against the ropes after getting nailed repeatedly in the final stages of the fight. A little discouraged, she hears the crowd’s cheers and chant that celebrate Sophie’s strong finish.

Esther: “Julie Marks finishes the fight on her feet due to a hard chin and steady legs, but she may have been a couple of punches away from getting knocked down.”

For her part, a happy Sophie raises an arm, convinced that she has sealed a win.

Anna: “A decision will be announced shortly. If the judges have seen the same fight than I did, they will award it to Sophie for passing a difficult test with flying colours. I give her a two-round advantage. She was in trouble only once in this fight.”

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Picasso triumphs

Ring announcer: “After six rounds of action, we go to the scorecards. The three judges at ringside score this bout 60-56 in favour of the winner, by unanimous decision… from Munich, Sophie ‘Picasso’ Schuuuuuuummmmaaaaaannnnnnn!”

While the winner’s arm is raised, Julie drops to her knees in disbelief.

Julie: “What?”

Esther: “What do you make of this reaction, Anna?”

Anna: “I’m a little surprised to see that Julie apparently believes she won. She certainly gave a good challenge to Sophie, Picasso beat her fair and square. Sometimes fighters are so much into the contest that can’t see why they have lost. Perhaps will her opinion change when she reviews the tape.”

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Customary congratulations by Regina and Alesia follow the announcement. Sophie is now 3-0 with two knockouts on record. Julie’s record drops to 4-1.

Pissed, Julie leaves the ring without saying a word to anyone.

Eloquent prospect

Esther approaches for a TV interview with the winner.

Esther: “Hi Sophie. Congratulations on the third win since your pro debut. What do you make of this contest with Julie?”

Sophie: “The girl is strong! She has a hard head and a good chin. I felt it when landing my punches on her. I didn’t expect anything less after reviewing the first four matches she had.”

Esther: “Julie is naturally larger than you, and has commanding physical presence. Did the match go as you planned?”

Sophie: “It did. We came here to out-think and outbox someone I couldn’t just bully around the ring. I had to adjust my game by punching from outside and putting more emphasis on defense. I think it worked!”

Esther: “We also thought so at the broadcasting desk, but your opponent visibly disagrees with the decision.”

Picasso shrugs.

Sophie: “I disrespectfully disagree with her. There’s no way she fought better than I did over six rounds. Maybe I’d give her the fourth, but I believe I put everything else in my back pocket. I also had her hurt before the final bell. Ten more seconds might have been enough for a knockout.”

Esther: “Where do you go from here?”

Sophie: “Right now, I just want to eat!”

The reply makes people laugh.

Sophie: “I don’t know who I’ll face next but I think that beating Julie shows what I’m made of. Those who followed me as an amateur may see me as a one-dimensional puncher, but there’s a lot more all-around skill to my game now. I’m confident for the future.”

Esther: “Julie beat Chelsea Carter, who stopped you in your last amateur fight. Does that warrant a rematch?”

Sophie: “No idea. Actually, I don’t even think I’m a priority for Chelsea, who told the world that she wants to catch up with my sister. If that’s the case, a move to Super Lightweight is more interesting to her than a rematch with me at Lightweight.”

Esther: “Thank you.”

Sophie: “Pleasure.”

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Sophie Schumann
Sophie Schumann
The little sister of Alesia Schumann is a born troublemaker but supremely talented puncher. Former world champion at Lightweight.