Yenifer’s Class

skill and talent win the day

The two fighters enter the sixth round both relatively fresh and knowing that these middle rounds are key to the last stage of the fight.

Yenifer boxes round calm and disciplined, letting Wambui chase her around the ring. When the Danish fighter gets too close, she lashes out with a strong jab that keeps Wambui guessing and unable to form any effective offense of her own.

Laila: “A good jab has been the key for a number of good fighters throughout the history of boxing, and Yenifer is showing that she has a fine one of her own.”

Round 7

With Yenifer increasingly confident and Wambui desperately searching for answers, it makes openings for more serious punches to land. Yenifer is again the one beating Wambui to the punch, showing a bit of creativity with an uppercut from a long way out that sneaks through Wambui’s guard. Having not expected the punch, Wambui’s head snaps back painfully.

Laila: “An uppercut from that far out is just begging to be countered, so you have to be really confident to throw such a punch and much quicker than your opponent. It just goes to show that even though Yenifer is winning, she’s willing to take the risks in the fight. It’s a reason why fans like her so much.”

Round 8

The second half of the fight has been all Yenifer Perez and ‘La Chica Feroz’ is feeling quite confident. Her guard drops lower, not due to any fatigue, but as a show of confidence and as a means of unlocking some more offence. Moving freely and confidently, even in the eight round of what has been a fairly intense fight, Yenifer makes it look easy as the southpaw Wambui tries to land a big left hand, but Yenifer easily slips it.

Laila: “Yenifer Perez’s body language is fantastic and those moves are too. Sometimes you can just tell when a fighter is winning a fight – and that small smile tell a whole lot about who is winning, and enjoying their time in the ring.”

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A noticeably slower Wambui struggles to keep up with the pace late in the round, and that could be a sign for Yenifer to take her foot of the gas and just cruise. But Yenifer doesn’t want to cruise, she wants a win and a statement win at that.

Wambui is forced on the defensive, with Yenifer patiently waiting for her chance to strike and do damage. The Colombian has a couple of misfires but eventually does find the target, snapping Wambui’s head back wickedly.

Laila: “Yenifer seems to be slowly wearing down the challenger. ‘La Chica Feroz’ is just as fierce as the eight round as she was in the first, and that is bad news for Wambui, who is losing round after round here.”

Round 9

Wambui knows that only a stoppage will probably do. The ‘Chadian Viking’ tries to get physical with Yenifer, but is uncomfortable to find out that the champion with the brilliant colour hair is more than a match for her in close.

As the two tussle in close, Yenifer cleverly uses a shoulder to push Wambui back and create a space for her to punch.

Yenifer of course does, twisting her body to land a short right hook before Wambui can react. For extract insult to injury, Yenifer uses her own left arm to prevent Wambui from making any sort of block.

Yenifer thinks: I may look flashy and fast, but you don’t come from where I’m from without being able to fight in close. I’m stronger than you at this point of the fight to be sure.

Round 10

The tenth round is the only one where Yenifer really starts to sit on her lead, forcing Wambui to chase her around the ring and then clinching whenever she gets into a threatening range.

Wambui knows she needs a knockout and to her credit, throws caution to the wind, throwing wild bombs in order to land a desperate punch that she needs.

That only creates an opportunity for Yenifer to strike and when she does come out of her shell, after Wambui missed with a left and tries to follow up with a right, Yenifer torques her body to throw a massive left hook that explodes right on the chin of the challenger!

Laila: “Perez has thrown very little in this round, but that one landed perfectly and Njeri is hurt very late!”

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Wambui nearly loses control of her legs and she stumbles back to the ropes, using them to support her.

As Yenifer rushes in to apply the finishing blow, the unpleasant sound of the bell renders the action moot.

DING!

Kanti: “Stop boxing! Fight’s over!”

Yenifer thinks: Damn it all! I had her ready to go!

Laila: “This fight ends with a moment where one fighter is saved by the bell, but there’s not going to be much controversy as to the result. Yenifer Perez won this one by a landslide. She’ll rue not being able to get the stoppage though.”

Final Verdict

With 10 rounds of action in the books, this fight goes to the scorecard. Mechelle Gauthier is again in the ring to provide the verdict.

Mechelle: “Ladies and gentlemen, after 10 fantastic rounds of boxing, we go to the judges scorecards. Judges Emiliano Rojas and Patricia Madden score the bout 98-92 and judge John Angelino scores the bout 97-93 all for your winner… and STILL WBU Featherweight champion of the world, Yenifer ‘La Chica Feroz’ Perez!”

Kanti raises Yenifer’s hand high, while Wambui taps her gloves together a few times, applauding the result.

Laila: “No surprise there, as all of the judges score this fight decisively for Yenifer Perez. The fight was close in the first half, but Yenifer completely ran away with it in the second half.”

Laila: “Yenifer Perez, you have just made your first defence of your Super Featherweight world title. How do you feel?”

Yenifer: “I’m on a high! This was me back to my best, and you can all see how good that is. I have to say, since I have the spotlight, we’ve got to stop with this two minute round crap. I would have won by knockout with three-minute rounds. Probably wouldn’t have even gone 10 rounds. I’m going to ask Final Bell that all my fights be three-minute rounds. Simple as that.”

Laila: “Well we look forward to that. Speaking of looking forward, do you have any plans for your next title defence?”

Yenifer: “I don’t have a mandatory at the moment. Emma McGale is going to fight Thea Karras, and to me the winner of that is going to get the next shot at the title. So, will I wait for that or will I fight again? Remains to be seen! I plan on using my athletic prime though. I’m not going to sit on this title and wait for fights to come to me.”

Laila: “Congrats on a brilliant performance!”

The interviewer walks over to a disheartened Wambui Njeri for a quick interview.

Laila: “Wambui, your thoughts?”

Wambui: “I got my butt kicked from pillar to post. I was totally out at the end, the only thing that saved me was the bell. Tough one, but we go again. Credit to Yenifer, she is a deserving champion and she’s got to be in the top pound for pound fights in the world. Just a beast.”

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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.
Wambui Njeri
Wambui Njeri
Born in Chad but raised in Denmark. A southpaw all-rounder that can give any fighter a superb test. Super Featherweight contender.