Make Ready

Emma and Thea get ready for the battle

With the fight announced, it’s now time for the weeks and weeks of preparations that lead up to the big day.

This work happens mostly out of the view of the public eye, but Thea Karras wants to give her fans the experience of being in camp with her. The camera is often rolling throughout.

Brought in to help her prepare for Emma is a fighter that is very different than ‘The Peach’ – Kasandra Sobieski, returning the favour of when she sparred with Thea in preparation for Kayleigh Parsons. Thomas Nagy also follows along, as he is being requested to provide insight into his former charge.

Before the boxers start with the in ring activities, Thea, coaches Darius and Thomas all meet in a room.

Darius: “Thanks for coming. I think you know why we asked you here.”

Thomas: “You want me to give you any dirt I have on Emma.”

Darius: “Yes. I’m sorry to do so, but we’d be foolish to ignore any path to victory we can find.”

Thomas: “That’s all right. I worked with her a lot. Emma is a very smart fighter who knows what tools she has and works within them. You won’t see her doing shoulder rolls and fancy feints, because that’s not her and she knows it. She was big for Featherweight and she’s big for this division too. She knows how to use that. She’s also not going to get tired late in a fight – she’s a good athlete and she knows how to pace herself. As I’m sure you saw, if she has you hurt, she’ll put you to sleep. She throws every punch well, but none of them are outstanding.”

Thea: “What is this, a propaganda piece for Emma? She has six losses for goodness sakes.”

Thomas: “I’m getting there. I don’t think you should underestimate her caliber or her heart. If you give her a 1% chance to win, she’ll take it, even if that means getting knocked out. She’s not afraid of that or losing. BUT, if you gain the mental edge, she has shown in the past that she can mentally capitulate. Her chin is probably average, and if you hurt her, her confidence can go away Plus, she’s used to being able to hurt people with punches, so if you can take a good punch and not act hurt, I think that might get to her. But to win by knockout, you have to knock her out. She won’t stay down and she recovers very well.”

Thea: “What would you do if you were me?”

Thomas: “You have fast hands, but she needs to feel them early. You need her to think she’s in over her head. Come out aggressive early, get to her and then when you built a lead, she’ll run into punches, like Namid Henderson made her. When she gets inside – and she will – contain her. Complain to the referee and break her momentum, take away her advantages. You can’t fight with her there, you’ll lose. You might get a good shot or two in, but over time, she’ll win.”

Darius: “That’s good, thank you.”

Thomas: “Good luck, Thea.”

Thea works hard

With tips provided by Thomas Nagy, Thea gets to work, sparring with the recently successful Kasandra Sobieski.

Kasandra hardly matches the style or the physical characteristics of Emma, but she can certainly work hard and make sure that Thea is sharp for the upcoming match. Kasandra finds that the Greek-American fighter is more prepared than when she worked with her in preparation for her fight with Kayleigh Parsons.

What stands out most to the Polish fighter is the speed of Thea’s hands – Kasandra experiences the pain of dealing with someone that is faster and know it. The Greek’s punches come in flurries, making Kasandra reactive in trying to figure out where the next punch is coming from, when the first punch is already on the way.

This freezes the defensively capable Pole and Thea takes advantage. In one particularly clean example, Thea lands a lead left hook that Kass doesn’t anticipate.

As Kass brings her guard up to protect her head, Thea shifts her feet just a little bit to adjust the angle of her punch, doubling up on the left hook as this one goes low towards the liver of the redhead. It makes connection.

Kass: “Ugh!”

Darius: “Fast hands, Ms. Karras! Love it.”

Thomas thinks: That is some of the fastest hands I have seen in that weight class. She’s creative in throwing combinations, too. I’ve see what happens when Emma gets hit clean and it often isn’t pretty.

Kasandra works with Thea for the camp and learns a few lessons from the undefeated fighter. Despite being in line for a high ranking herself, ‘Bombel’ feels it necessary to pay Thea back from sparring with her before her fight.

Once done though, Kasandra lets her know her opinion.

Kasandra: “You know, I thought about moving up to Super Featherweight, but if you’re in that division, I’m just going to stay where I am.”

Thea: “Aw, you’re just being generous. If you would have worked behind a long jab, you could have made my life difficult.”

Kasandra: “But that’s not how Emma fights.”

Thea: “I know. And I appreciated what you did for me.”

Kasandra: “If you appreciate it, you’ll take me out on the town tonight. I think that’s fair.”

Thea: “Party with a hot redhead? Sounds good to me!”

Emma and Juana work together

The main sparring partner for Emma in camp will be ranked Lightweight Juana Sanchez. But it’s not a choice that Emma quite understands. She brings this concern to Sandra Blohm.

Emma: “I don’t get it. Why her? Thea is known for having fast hands, but Juana has slow hands. Shouldn’t I spar with someone that has Thea’s skill set?”

Sandra: “The problem with that is, if I put a Bantamweight in there with you, one with fast hands, you’ll get used to being able to take a shot or two to get your one punch in. That’s not the mentality I want you to have in this fight. Sparring with Juana, the goal is not to get hit. She’s big and tough enough that you can’t just push her around either. Plus, when she hits you, you’ll feel it. It should reinforce not making mistakes.”

Emma: “Fine. I get it. What do you want me to work on with her?”

Sandra: “Thea is the type of fighter that won’t settle on one style. She’s a thinker and she can execute any gameplan and her fast hands can make it happen. I need you to be in control and make her reactive. Juana will be tough and she won’t make it easy, but I need you to be in control. Take away her agency.”

Emma: “With punches or feints, or…”

Sandra: “With EVERYTHING! This isn’t the type of fight where I give you one tip and suddenly you win by knockout. You have to use every tool at your disposal. Got it? This is championship shit. I need championship level.”

Emma: “You know, I was Canadian champion.”

Sandra: Ah yes, the storied Maple Syrup Championship. Very prestigious. You can retire now if that trinket was important to you. If you want nicer things, go get gloved up. It’s time to work.”

Emma and Juana get in the ring and true to Sandra’s instructions, the Mexican provides a solid test, with Emma especially instructed not to get hit by the heavy-handed Mexican puncher. This involves Emma keeping a flexible upper body and making sure she doesn’t get trapped in the corner.

Emma shows good upper body movement to make a right hand miss, keeping her right poised defensively while dropping her left to allow her to move easier.

Sandra: “Good! Movement is key to a good defence.”

What is also a good defence is punching your opponent.

Juana is good enough to keep Emma off balance to force creative attacking of her own. She steps to her left and then launches a scything left hand from below that catches Juana on the jaw as she was trying to throw a left hook. It’s not a knockout punch, but it’s solid contact delivered well by ‘The Peach.’

Sandra: “Good! Giving unusual looks to your offence will slow her down. It doesn’t have to all be from a textbook.”

It’s a long session though and Juana Sanchez is no mug. She finds the range for her black Reyes gloves, her best shot being a downward arcing right hand that catches Emma as she was preparing to throw an overhand right. The solid punch has Emma seeing stars momentarily.

Emma: “Ungh.”

Sandra: “See, going for the big shot is risky. Now you know!”

As camp winds down, Emma thanks Juana for the tough workout before asking her coach a pertinent question.

Emma: “Why did you let her wear those Reyes gloves?”

Sandra: “I told you I wanted to let you feel every mistake, didn’t I? That’s also why we are stopping sparring a week and half out – now it’s just about staying sharp and keeping fitness up.”

Fight Night

We now go from the hard work behind the scenes to the co-main event of the evening. Our hostess, clad in a lovely navy blazer is Greta Reider.

Greta: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the co-main event of the evening. Presented by Final Bell and High Rank, this bout is scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds and is a final eliminator for the WBU Super Featherweight title. Sponsored by the MGM Grand Casino and live on Star Sports 2, it’s time for the Queens of Leather to show down! It’s time for a fight!”

The audience responds. After a somewhat lackluster undercard, this fight promises to be competitive and action-packed.

Greta: “Introducing first, fighting out of the red corner. She fights out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada by way of London, England. This woman comes to us tonight with a professional record of 14 wins, against 6 losses – with 9 of those wins coming by way of knockout! Known as ‘The Peach’, this gritty and powerful skilled fighter is coached by Sandra Blohm. Please welcome the number 2 ranked Super Featherweight by the WBU, Emma ‘The Peach’ McGale!!”

Laila: “McGale’s rise has been meteoric in the last year. She was the runner-up in BOX! Magazine’s fighter of the year after posting three knockout wins. Now competing at Super Featherweight, a weight that seems to fit her extremely well, she is one fight away from fighting from the world title. Despite her cute looks, McGale uses those shoulders of hers to work in close and dominate. This is a fighter high on confidence, and look at that outfit – that’s what a fighter that expects to win would wear.”

Greta: “Introducing her opponent, fighting out of the blue corner. Originally from Athens, Greece, she fights out of right here in Las, Vegas, USA! She comes to us tonight with a perfect professional record of 12 wins in 12 fights with 6 of those wins coming by way of knockout! A dangerous woman with lightning-fast hands, this fighter is coached by the esteemed Darius Miles. Las Vegas, please welcome your hometown favourite and number one ranked contender by the WBU, Thea Karras!”

Laila: “Karras might have originally made a splash on social media, as a bright and bubbly face that brought boxing workouts into your home, but she is not in any way a product of hype. She’s won 12 fights and none of them were particularly difficult at the end for her. Karras has very fast hands and the stamina to last the whole ten rounds if it goes that far. The question will be: can McGale make Thea work and can she unlock something that the other 12 ladies could not?”

The last moment before the bell rings and violence commences. The two fighters are called to the middle of the ring by the referee for the match, Victoria James.

Victoria: “Ladies, we went over the rules in the dressing room. I expect both of you to be on your best behaviour. This is a 10-round fight. I want you to follow my instructions at all times. Protect yourself at all times. Please remember that you cannot be saved by the bell in any round. If you score a knockdown, I will not start the count until you are in a neutral corner. Touch gloves and go back to your corners. May the best woman win.”

Thea: “Red is a good choice, it will match with the blood you’ll be seeing on your face shortly.”

Emma: “Small dogs yap. Big dogs take care of business.”

Victoria: “Alright, back to your corners. Let your fists do the talking. It’s what these people paid to see anyway.”

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Laila: “You get the feeling that these two aren’t going to be friends after this one ends. Fortunate for us, these two get to work out in the next 30 minutes of action, though I suspect this one won’t last until the final bell.”

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Emma McGale
Emma McGale
A self admitted boxing nerd and friend of Virani. Especially powerful and dangerous working from in close Super Featherweight contender.