Golden Brit

Round 2 starts between Kayleigh Parsons and Yenifer Perez

Yenifer bounds out of the corner, eager to set her mark on the round early on. Kayleigh, experienced enough to sense when her opponent is being overly aggressive. A different fighter would use her feet to be elusive, but Kayleigh plants her feet and throws a strong jab that catches Yenifer coming it. It snaps the Colombian’s head back as she attempts to get into prime power punching range

Commentator: “Parsons starts the second round strongly as she catches Yenifer coming in with a strong jab. That wasn’t a range finder – that was a punch thrown with real pep on it.”

Kayleigh thinks: Predictable. Stupid. I hope you enjoyed that punch, because it was your fault it landed.

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The overhand

Kayleigh’s strong start lasts for a good quarter of the round. Yenifer is forced to fight at the end of Kayleigh’s jab, which doesn’t work well for her. Kayleigh doesn’t land anything too heavy, but her aggression certainly carries that part of the round.

That forces Yenifer to get a bit more creative, and to her credit, the pink and green warrior shows off some of her offensive skills as she sneaks into range before firing a unique overhand left hook that catches Kayleigh on the chin.

Commentator: “Lovely shot from Yenifer Perez!  The former champion is not going to make this easy. That punch was delivered from an awkward angle, but it landed in the right spot to cause hurt. Parsons’ durability has been a question mark in the past.”

Yenifer thinks: This is tougher than usual but I’m going to get it done.

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Hard to hit

Reinvigorated after landing a good power punch, Yenifer puts the pressure on, letting fly with both of her hands. But Kayleigh’s the kind of fighter that is tough to make a clean connection on, as evidenced by some of the slick defensive moves, the girl in gold is able to pull.

The best of the bunch is Kayleigh ducking down low to make a right hand from Yenifer miss by the smallest of margins.

Commentator: “Yenifer Perez is finding that it is hard to maintain momentum against a fighter that can be hit, but unless you stun her, that fantastic defence kicks in and suddenly it’s hard to follow up on that success!”

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Kayleigh isn’t done with the defensive tricks this round either. While Yenifer continues to try to crack the ‘enigma’ code of Kayleigh, she doesn’t have that much success in doing so, as Kayleigh neatly parries a right hand at a safe distance.

Commentator: “Parsons is putting on a show so far in this one. The only thing missing from her game has been using her defence to open up for her own offence. That’s usually a hallmark of Parsons’ game, so it’s a bit surprising not to see it in play at this point.”

Kayleigh thinks: Once you lose heart, I’ll start really unleashing. We’re in this one for the long haul. And you will not enjoy it.

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The Kayleigh Parsons experience

As Yenifer’s attacks fade in intensity, Kayleigh steps up her offensive game, pressuring with her feet. She’s not throwing punches in huge numbers, mostly using feints and fakes to try to draw Yenifer out of position. After a couple of clever feints, Yenifer isn’t quite sure what to react to and what not to react to. By the time that Yenifer figures out that Kayleigh is throwing a real hook/uppercut, it’s a bit too late to react, her head is jolted by a wicked punch from ‘The Fluke.’

Commentator: “Parsons scores with an excellent uppercut! Perez takes it, but you can see from her expression that she did not like taking that shot from Parsons, who does have heavy hands.”

Kayleigh thinks: Former champ? I’ve fought better than you.

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Yenifer knows when a round is lost and she withdraws from the exchanges and sees out the remainder of the round, though she does take a few half-decent potshots from Kayleigh as the round ticks down.

At the bell, Yenifer turns and walks back to her corner, looking nonplussed. While Yenifer walks back, Kayleigh spreads her arms wide and smiles at the back of her opponent as if to say ‘is that all you got?’

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Corners

The Blue Corner

Kayleigh: “I’m enjoying this. She’s decent, but I’m in control.”

Jim: “Keep the pace. Make her hesitate and make her pay. We can just outpoint her until she gets desperate. Then we can finish her off.”

Kayleigh: “When the time is right, I’ll knock the colour out of her hair.”

Jim: “Do we even know what her natural hair colour is?”

Kayleigh: “That’s what I want to find out!”

The red corner

Yenifer seethes on her stool, clearly pissed off about the last two round.

Martina: “Boxing with anger doesn’t work. Do you see that now?”

Yenifer: “Tell me how to fix it. Give me the adjustment I need.”

Martina: “Remember there are many long rounds left and you have won most of your fights by stoppage.”

Yenifer: “I meant things to help me turn this around.”

Martina: “Mentality first, then tactics. Go out and fight with the basics. Fight with your mind. Then we can turn the fight around.”

Yenifer thinks: I need to get a coach that’s less philosophical.

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Eyes On
Kayleigh Parsons
Kayleigh Parsons
A confident Englishwoman with skills to match. Technically skilled with underrated power. Former Featherweight champion.
Yenifer Perez
Yenifer Perez
Current Super Featherweight champion. A Colombian who overcame a party heavy lifestyle to return to the top. A classic defensive boxer.