Pink pepper, red chilli

Heather starts strongly and Leyla adjusts

Jim: “Heather Barker does her homecoming in Vancouver against Leyla Abdul, the German Lightweight champion. We expect a cracker.”

Ding. Round 1 starts. The contestants meet in the center of the ring, have a quick tap of the gloves, drop back a step and get going.

The White Swan lets her hands go early with light but zippy shots to establish and maintain a distance. She bobs and weaves whenever The Volcano gets close, working the angles and letting out a snappy jab.

That jab lands pretty clean a few times and the Muslim boxer struggles to find the proper range to get settled.

Jim: “It’s only light violence so far but the British Columbian is setting the tone early, Warren. A peppery jab delivered by pink gloves is giving the visitor some level of trouble.”

Warren: “That’s pink pepper.”

Unphased

Leyla bases herself on the Philly shell, a style that her Canadian opponent hasn’t seen yet in an official contest. However, she’s unphased by it due to having worked many times with Alesia Schumann.

The host slows down the pace in the final minute of the engagement to bait the German. She lets her attack, moves around and picks her spots for the counter.

Leyla gets caught with 25 seconds left. Heather drops her left hand after a half jab, prompting The Volcano to throw an overhand right and replying with a short right in the jaw. Pish! The crowd cheers for success.

Jim: “Barker scores! She’s having a good round against an uncommon fight style.”

Warren: “Philly shell tacticians keep the left arm low to protect the body and the shoulder high to guard the chin. In this case, Abdul should have brought her hand back up while unleashing her right.”

Cold shoulder

The White Swan is very energetic at the restart in Round 2, throwing fast combinations to not only keep Leyla outside but also apply leather to her pretty face.

This forces a strategy change in favour of realism: Leyla decides to force her way in physically. When the porcelan skinned Canadian goes all-in with a right hook, the German Muslim drives in with a lead shoulder. She makes sure it collides with the incoming arm to block the motion and unsettle the purplehead.

Warren: “Abdul is a clever little beast. Already going for the ‘realistic’ tactics to disrupt the favourite before she can start running away with points.”

The German goes on the offensive in the next phase. Red leather flies in combinations, taking Heather aback. She’s forced to retreat to avoid catching volleys on the chin, turning to defense to bide her time while looking for openings.

Those don’t come easily with an active Leyla on the front foot. The Canadian digs trenches to duck and block shots.

Jim: “Abdul’s story is an interesting one. She lost a close decision to Anna Schwartz and that could have made her hit a ceiling but she was reborn in a German title fight with Akane Watanabe.”

Warren: “She also diversified her sparring diet to gobble up quality partners and hired Maxim Weiß to be coached at a higher level. And she’s got the heart of a warrior.”

Crunch

Leyla piles up the pressure to try and make the local girl buckle. Heather is caught in increasingly tight spaces near the ropes, under assault from red leather but avoiding clean shots.

Then, the girl in pink and white gets a break. Leyla throws herself forward with a jab and Heather changes the angle to move inside to her right, coming in with a short left hook. PAFF. A clean punch in the lower cheek that makes Vancouverites applaud.

Jim: “Dominant under pressure. Such is the ring generalship of a woman who is very hard to contain once she gets going.”

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Long game

Urged to react with adjustments by Maxim, Leyla opts to listen very closely to his advice in Round 3. She stops attacking relentlessly to instead hang outside of Heather’s range to spur pressure.

The first 90 seconds feel long. Deprived of opportunities to counter, the purplehead has to take the initiative if she’s going to land anything.

Leyla is content with playing the long game, defending with the hope that it’s the Canadian who will commit and make mistakes.

Warren: “She’s flipping the script, Jim. Baiting Barker and making her miss to find flaws.”

The mistake comes in the final minute of the round. Heather throws a reverse 1-2, with her left dropping after missing. Leyla, who is backing up, is still on firm enough footing to strike back with a long, stiff right hand from a distance. Her red glove collects the open chin for the best paffening she had so far.

Jim: “Barker gets caught! That’s what happens when you shoulder the responsibility to make things happen. You can’t be perfect 100% of the time, and eventually pay the price for it.”

Leyla thinks: “Got you there, huh? You’re not invincible, my cute little swan.”

Late reward

Is there’s one thing you don’t want to give this Muslim warrior, it’s a heartening moment. She turns up the volume and velocity. The acceleration in rhythm surprises the Canadian, who is surprised by the timing and accuracy of Leyla’s counters.

Nearly caught in the ropes, the German keeps backing up under pressure. When Heather looks to finish a combo with a straight right, she sidesteps to the left and feeds her an overhand left hook planned ahead of time. PISH. In the jaw.

Jim: “Abdul is rock and rolling on this stage in Round 3 with a perfectly delivered left hook that made Barker grunt in pain.”

Warren: “It’s not easy to adjust to the speed of motoring that Barker offers, but Abdul seems to have the heart and skills to make it happen.”

About 15 seconds later, the bell ends Round 3. We head to the red corner.

Maxim: “Good. You flipped the script by working from outside. It’s the opposite of what she expected, and that’s why you did well. Work the defense first and throw when you have generated an opening. She can be beaten, but you have to remain patient. Alright?”

Leyla nods.

Heather Barker Leyla Abdul 9

Across the ring, Heather is a little spooked.

Heather: “I can’t believe she did this. Switching to outside fighting isn’t her at all.”

Sylvie: “Look. You’re throwing two punches at a time, with patterns, and I need you to go for combinations with more than that. Otherwise she can time you. Increase the work rate because you know that no one can stand up to you when you’re out in full force. Storm!”

Heather: “Yeah!”

Heather Barker Leyla Abdul 10

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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.
Leyla Abdul
Leyla Abdul
A Muslim boxer who doesn't mind going to war, works with the Philly shell and trades with anyone. A German Lightweight champion.