Unsybilized

‘Civil’ Sybil Graves shows why that name is unwarranted

Round 2

The second round. Kayleigh does what she does best – and that is box. Sybil may have hoped to have lured Kayleigh into a firefight, but the blonde stays far away from that, simply boxing behind a composed jab. When Sybil tries to force the action, she leaves openings, which Kayleigh is more than happy to take advantage of and then slip away.

Her dominance in the round is exemplified perfectly by a jolting right hand from Kayleigh that lands at a good range – Sybil was trying to get into range, but ‘The Fluke’ said no, with authority.

Amanda: “This round has been all Kayleigh Parsons. She’s doing everything she would have wanted – she’s controlling the range of the fight, which was something that Wambui Njeri did to Sybil Graves as well. Graves may not have the answer to deal with a boxer as slick as Parsons and it could be a long night for her.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 8

Kayleigh v. Sybil 8b

Kayleigh v. Sybil 8a

At the end of the round, we see a smirk from Kayleigh. She knows the gap in talent has been laid bare in that round.

Round 3

Inspired by her coach and knowing that she has to do something to change things up, Sybil goes into her bag of tricks. And her bag of tricks is full of creative ways to bend the rules.

During an early tie-up, Sybil sees an opportunity to get some hits in, and she doesn’t particularly care where she hits Kayleigh, landing several clubbing shots to the back of Kayleigh’s head, an illegal punch in every rulebook, including the boxing rulebook.

Kayleigh grunts, as her husband yells at the ref in vain. Monique either didn’t detect the foul, or is too intimidated by the crowd to penalize the hometown fighter.

Amanda: “With some fighters you’d give the benefit of the doubt to them if they land a punch to the back of the head. With Sybil Graves, you suspect that any fouls that she makes, not only does she intend them, but she probably dreamed about them the night before. A scandalous performance by the referee is in the offing, as she doesn’t even reprimand ‘Civil’ Graves.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 9

Kayleigh v. Sybil 9b

Kayleigh v. Sybil 9a

A little bit disorientated by those hard shots to the back of the head, Kayleigh can’t find the same success as she did in the last round. As Sybil looks to land some hard shots inside, Kayleigh does the smart thing and holds on to her opponent, this time doing a good job of controlling Sybil’s arms and not letting her punch, legally, or illegally.

Sybil: “Let go!”

Kayleigh: “I just want a dance. I bet the boys never asked you for one.”

Monique: “Break, Break!”

Amanda: “It’s not pretty, but learning to control your opponent inside is something that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of fighters. Parsons has learned quickly in this one.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 10

Kayleigh v. Sybil 10a

Not very Civil

Commanded by the referee, Kayleigh releases her hold on Sybil and steps back, dropping her gloves. Not so inclined to listen to the referee, is Sybil, who sees an opponent with her hands down. She steps forward and throws a huge right hand. Kayleigh’s not expecting a punch. She isn’t defending – the red glove jerks Kayleigh’s upper body backwards, her head being spun by the punch.

The crowd cheers.

Amanda: “The rules of boxing state that after being broken apart, both fighters must step back. Parsons clearly did, but I do not think Graves did…”

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Monique: “STOP!”

The French referee does her first good work of the fight, physically getting between the fighters and directing Kayleigh to the neutral corner.

Monique: “TIME!

Sybil: “What!”

Monique: “That was a foul! Hitting on the break! I am deducting one point. Cut this out.”

The French referee makes it clear to the judges that she is taking a point for the obvious foul. The crowd, as you might expect, makes its displeasure known about the decision with a chorus of boos and invective hurled at the referee. To her credit, the French official ignores it.

Sybil thinks: That was totally worth the point. Little princess is over in the corner, hurt. Vulnerable. Ready to be taken.

In the neutral corner, Kayleigh struggles to clear the cobwebs. That clean punch was one she was not expecting, and those kind of punches hurt the most. She shakes her head in an attempt to clear it. Which doesn’t exactly work.

The French referee attends to the girl in gold.

Monique: “Are you ready to continue?”

Jim: “Take your time!”

Kayleigh: “I’m ready now.”

Amanda: “Parsons is either brave, stupid, or both as she clearly could use more recovery time after that wicked illegal shot from Sybil Graves. Her legs do look a wobbly as we are set to resume.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 12

Kayleigh v. Sybil 12b

Kayleigh v. Sybil 12a

Golden girl in trouble

It’s clear that despite the brave words, Kayleigh has not recovered much, if at all from that punch from Sybil. The hometown favourite is on the ascendency, absolutely bullying Kayleigh and landing punches clearly on the normally slick ‘Fluke.’

Sybil caps off a good sequence by stepping slightly to the side and thundering a right hand right through Kayleigh’s open guard. The power is enough to snap Kayleigh’s neck and head backwards.

Amanda: “Graves is hunting for the finish! Parsons is in deep trouble here! She’s never been stopped, but Parsons has been down before, and might be going down again here!”

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Kayleigh’s legs lose strength completely and she falls backwards, landing flat on her back. A stunned Parsons can only stare up at the ring lights in confusion.

The crowd is obviously jubilant to see the fighter that they support towering over her downed opponent, the result that all of them want to see, and may be getting.

Amanda: “Parsons is down! Kayleigh Parsons went down hard after taking a succession of right hands from Sybil Graves. And she is flat on her back! Could this be the end of Parsons’ undefeated record?”

Sybil : “Stay down, princess.”

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Heart

Monique doesn’t start the count until Sybil gets to the neutral corner, which gives Kayleigh an extra second or two to gather her wits.

Kayleigh thinks: “She flattened me. But she didn’t knock me out. Mistake.”

The girl in gold takes her time to gather herself, using the ropes to support her as she climbs. By the count of seven, it seems like she is ready to get up and continue.

Monique thinks: She is clearly hurt, but she can continue, but I will stop it if she takes further punishment.

After the count of eight is tolled, Kayleigh gets to her feet, feeling her legs not quite recovered to their full strength.

Monique: “Can you continue?”

Kayleigh: “Not only can I, I want to.”

Amanda: “Parsons does look a bit shaky as she gets to her feet, but she’s been down before and I wouldn’t underestimate her tenacity. Graves clearly is going to go for the finish in the time remaining, though.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 15

Kayleigh v. Sybil 15b

Kayleigh v. Sybil 15a

Monique: “Box!”

Sybil boxes like her hair is on fire, but that increased urgency does little to unsettle Kayleigh, who doesn’t just survive the round, she sends a message that she can hurt Sybil.

As Sybil swings for the fences, Kayleigh plants her legs and sways out of the way of a nasty hook, while using Sybil’s own momentum to add power to her own shot, a short right hand to the midsection.

Sybil: “Ugh!”

That punch takes more out of the local fighter than she’d care to admit, but there’s not much time for the momentum of the round to shift – and neither fighter has much inclination to change it further.

Amanda: “An excellent counter against the run of action from Kayleigh Parsons. That is courage under fire from ‘The Fluke’ who does possess good power herself – though she’s rarely a one punch KO artist, she does know how to use timing to hurt her opponents. This will go down as an even round 9-9 – Sybil losing a point for the foul and Kayleigh losing a point for getting decked. Probably a fair trades as far as Sybil Graves is concerned.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 16

Kayleigh v. Sybil 16b

Kayleigh v. Sybil 16a

Corner chats

Sybil’s corner

Liv: “Perfect stuff, girl. You can’t be wild against her, though. Hurt her, but don’t open yourself up when you do it.”

Sybil: “She’s tougher than she looks.”

Liv: “She’ll fold. Keep on her. Might have to lay off the special stuff for a bit. Don’t want the ref to get any ideas.”

Sybil: “But its more fun when I’m roughing her up.”

Liv: “It’ll be more fun to fight for the title. Come on. Get in close and be physical. That’s legal. Grind her down.”

Kayleigh’s corner

Jim: “When you fight, it’s like you lose 50 IQ points. What are you doing in there?”

Kayleigh: “I made a bad decision. Sorry.”

Kayleigh’s forthright admission stuns even her husband.

Jim: “Okay. Past is the past. Go back to what worked for you in the last round, defence first. Frustrate her.”

Kayleigh: “Anything to beat this chick. I hate her.”

Jim: “If you stay disciplined, you’ll beat her. You are levels above her.”

Kayleigh v. Sybil 17

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Kayleigh Parsons
Kayleigh Parsons
A confident Englishwoman with skills to match. Technically skilled with underrated power. Former Featherweight champion.