Whirlwind

Steffi and Sarita are engaged in a power struggle in Rounds 1 and 2.

We are ringside in Berlin, for the undercard of a Final Bell Boxing fight night. Our ring announcer is the lovely Veronica Lillegard, who is Vice President at the promotional company.

The executive has further fine tuned her speaking skills and her smile, and she is becoming an increasingly familiar and popular face.

Veronica: “Good evening and welcome to everyone at Mercedes-Benz Arena and live on Box TV. We kick off this evening with a special attraction. Eight rounds of boxing in the Super Lightweight division, featuring an American veteran and a young Finnish flash.

The crowd cheers.

Veronica: “This fight is brought to you by Voltaren, your best friend when you’re in pain.”

At home in Munich, two friends are laughing.

Sophie: “A pain reliever sponsoring a boxing contest?”

Akane: “Hahahahaha!”

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The kiss

Veronica: “Introducing to you first, fighting out of the blue corner and coached by Sara Timonen. Wearing blue and silver. Her professional record? Three victories, including two by way of knockout, three defeats, no draw. She scored 20 straight wins in the amateur ranks before turning pro. Aged 19, she hails from Salo in Finland, she is Sarita ‘Princess of Darkness’ Warrrrrrrrissssss!”

The young blonde kisses her left glove, confident she will make good use of it tonight.

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Make more noise

Veronica: “Her opponent across the ring is fighting out of the red corner. Wearing grey with black gloves, and coached by former world champion Maxim Weiß. Her professional record stands at 22-6, no draw, with half of her wins coming by way of knockout. Aged 44, from Berlin by way of Cleveland, Ohio, she is Steffi ‘The Lady in Grey’ Slaaaaaaattttttterrrrrrrr!”

The American looks stern and unimpressed, gesturing to ask the crowd to make the cheers amplify.

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Fast against slow

The fighters meet briefly in the centre of the ring with referee Zelda Deniz, who is in charge of the action at the bell. They listen to final instructions and follow up with an unfriendly touch gloves.

About a minute later, the bell has rung and action is underway.

The Finnish southpaw wants to strike early and hard. She starts the first round with a wave of straight punches with the hope she can make an impression and leave some marks on Steffi’s face.

The woman in gray is cautious at the beginning. She has seen Sarita’s fast release in video and she must learn its timing before taking any risk. Steffi blocks and dodges a few shots while only using her jab as a range finder.

Steffi thinks: “The cute princess is a violent one. Gonna have to respect her.”

At the broadcast table, the usual suspects provide insight.

Esther: “Waris is on the warpath with fast straight shots but Slater keeps her punches for later.”

Anna: “It’s the first time that German boxing fans see Slater in action, and they are in for something new tonight. She doesn’t mind taking it slow to pick where and when she engages, while Waris wants the action to be fast and furious. It’s experience versus eagerness.”

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The unexpected

There’s no shortage of patience for the Lady in Gray. She works the angles, manages space, jabs, avoids shots and blocks as the visitor from Finland is antsy and working hard to flash the blue leather in the first minute.

A switch in gears comes as a surprise at 1:04. Sarita throws another threatening punch, this time the left cross. The adopted Berliner stands her ground, leans low to the right and lets out a snappy left hook from an unpredictable angle. PAFF. In the cheek, jolting the young blonde’s head.

Esther: “What a crafty counterattack by Slater! A change of pace to score with a clean, rising left that leaves Waris a little stunned.”

Anna: “Slater likes to pick younger opponents apart and she doesn’t mind the odd tactic. This showcases her ability as she slips and smacks to thrwart aggression and return it whole.”

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Hide and seek

Steffi loosens up. She plays hide and seek in plain sight, letting her opponent do all the work to find her. Slips, slides, blocks, facial taunts and counters show that hundreds of rounds of competition and sparring are priceless for a 44 year-old whose brains have absorbed all that experience.

The Lady in Gray runs down the clock and enjoys Sarita’s energy expenditure even as the pair gets close to a gray corner. Perhaps the perfectly coloured spot for a good counter. The Finnish girl goes in with a straight left to the body, but the American pivots slightly to counter with a right hook from above. PISH! On the chin. The crowd cheers.

Steffi thinks: “She comes in with single shots. Easy to pick.”

Anna: “This is quality from Slater, who doesn’t panic in tight space against an aggressive invader. She picks the spot and scores with a clean right that won’t go unnoticed in the Finnish camp.”

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Doing more

It shouldn’t come across as a surprise that Sarita was told by her coach Sara Timonen to work with more volume. Single shots won’t carry a fight against a veteran.

When the bell rings, the Princess of Darkness aka Drama Queen takes combinations out of her drawers for even more aggression. Having nailed down the timing for one-hit wonders, Steffi’s defense loses some of its effectiveness.

Sarita feels like she has a better chance to put her stamp on this fight now. She fakes the right hook, her biggest weapon, to draw the counter from the left hand. Before Steffi can unload it, the girl in blue and silver withdraws the right and twists her torso to deliver a left cross instead. Easy pickings as her blue glove smacks the older woman’s cheek. Pish!

Esther: “It’s Waris’ turn to serve the leather. A nice feint to bait and switch that make her game more complex and more effective.”

Anna: “Indeed, it was too easy for Slater in the first round. If you only throw a single big shot every time, your opponent can counter with the confidence that the risk of getting hit is very low.”

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Drinks kicking in

A little success fans the flames. It suddenly looks like Sarita guzzled three energy drinks before going ringside, and like they’re all kicking in. She goes for a stream of violent straight shots that cost energy but leave little reaction time to Steffi, who is bewildered by this upsurge in activity.

The hard work has its effects when the American gets caught near the ropes. She looks to throw a jab for control but the blonde is already in motion with a straight right hand that looks more like a cross than her own jab. A blue Paffen glove lasers in and connects with Steffi’s cheek to make her head turn.

Esther: “Waris is showing some of her promise, Anna. She struggled in a few of her pro fights but there’s no denying she has talent.”

Anna: “The question here is how long she can deliver such an effort. The Finn isn’t the most consistent or durable fighter. If she wants to make a statement, she wants to make it in the first half of this fight, not later.”

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Young authority

Sarita: “There’s more coming. A lot more!”

The Finnish blonde’s body language exudes confidence. She throws quickly and accurately with every intention of hurting the veteran who stands between herself and potential European fame.

Into the second minute of the round, Steffi throws a tentative and defensive right hand. Sarita slips away from it and throws a long-range right hook from a dead angle. Her glove rises under the arm and paffens the Lady in Gray’s cheek, making her grunt.

Maxim thinks: “We’ll need to make a couple of changes. We can’t make this fight about speed.”

Esther: “It’s all Waris so far in this round. She’s aggressive and quite accurate when she is into the groove.”

Anna: “She punches with authority as well. I’m not sure if Slater expected to deal with this kind of volume, speed and power tonight.”

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Bending the rules

The American launches a resistance movement. She endures a few more punishing shots for the sake of getting closer, where she feels she has a better chance of taking back control.

This tactic pays off. As soon as she feels comfortable inside, Steffi sticks out the right arm to feint a right hook. What she does, in fact, is wrapping it around Sarita’s upper back to bring her down.

The 19 year-old can’t resist this amount of old-woman strength created by a couple of decades of hard training. She gets held while Steffi slams a short left uppercut that batters her right cheek and makes her groan.

The crowd cheers.

Esther: “Slater brings out a favourite weapons of hers with the hold-and-punch routine. It’s firmly on the line that stands between the legitimate and the illegal, precisely in her comfort zone.”

Anna: “Exactly. Slater likes to bend the rules to gain an advantage, and she does it skilfully. While hand speed is Waris’ speciality, craftiness is on the American’s agenda.”

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That energy level

Although she will most likely get the judges’ nod for this round, Sarita feels like it took a lot out of her. A river of combinations thrown and Steffi’s unforgiving game in close quarters slow her down much faster than anticipated.

At the end of the round, the Finn’s punches lose some of their pop. Steffi notices and capitalises on the shifting grounds to make a statement in the final stretch. When Sarita throws a tentative left cross, the American goes all-in with an aggressive right to the body, striking in the abdomen.

Sarita: “Urgh!”

The brunette follows up with a left hook upstairs, forcing the blonde to cover up for a couple of seconds before the bell rings.

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Make it a battle

We’re going to the corners. There’s an upbeat tone on the German-American side. Steffi even cracks a smile.

Maxim: “How are you feeling?”

Steffi: “Great. She caught me well early, but I think she’s tiring already.”

Maxim: “Yeah. She doesn’t have your strength. Stay close to her. She doesn’t like fighting inside and she can throw her best punches from a distance. I want to see accurate moves and power shots from a short range. Let’s break her down and bank on her lack of endurance.”

Steffi: “Yeah.”

Maxim: “That chick isn’t battled-tested, and you are. Grind it if you must.”

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Keep her far

All isn’t well in the blue corner.

Sara: “You won the round but lost steam at the end. I want a little more energy and enthusiasm in there. This fight gives you the chance to be somebody in Germany and Europe. Now is not the time to slow down.”

Sarita nods.

Sara: “Don’t give her the time to get close. She’s used to playing a little dirty inside and getting away without a warning. You saw it. Keep her far, at the end of your fists, so she can’t do that.”

The boxer wants to talk but she gets interrupted.

Sara: “No. Catch your breath. You were winded in the last 20 seconds. Breathe.”

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Anna: “Two rounds in, I have this even at 19-19. My impression is that pure firepower would favour Waris, but that Slater can prevail if this becomes a war of attrition.”

Zelda: “Seconds out!”

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Steffi Slater
Steffi Slater
Former Super Lightweight world champion. A veteran who had a very successful run after moving up in weight and migrating to Germany.
Sarita Waris
Sarita Waris
Hailng from Salo, Finland, the “Princess of Darkness” has knockout power, supreme belief that she is the best and a remorseless bad girl attitude.