Main Street Athletic Club Amateur Boxing Tournament – Round 1
Barbara vs. Melissa
Wearing a blue and green striped sports bra and matching shorts as she stood in her corner, Barbara shook her gloves and rolled her neck around as she tried to loosen up for the fight . She was extremely nervous, not only about facing Melissa, but also about fighting in front of the crowd of 60 or so people. But glancing out into the gathering she saw her husband and two kids smiling up at her, which helped her to relax.
Barbara needed to do more than relax however, she needed to concentrate on the fight. In her first boxing match, the tune-up to the tournament, she was knocked silly by Victoria and suffered a TKO in the second round. And to top that off, some of the other women in the boxing class had begun to chirp about Barbara's fighting style, or more accurately, running style! She had spent most of her bout against Victoria either running away or covering up, an observation not lost on her upcoming opponent, Melissa.
Melissa was a tough chick. In her tune-up she went toe-to-toe with Nina in her tune-up, knocking her out in the second round with little problem. Born in Puerto Rican, Melissa moved to America at a young age. She was a street tough girl and her personality reflected her upbringing in her rough neighborhood. Speaking with a Spanish accent which was often colored with four letter words, Melissa's brusqueness in her dialogue also carried over into the ring. She had taken the
class at the urging of her boyfriend, who not only wanted her to learn how to fight, but wanted to see her "kick some ass". As he sat in the front row along with about 10 of her other friends and family members, Melissa knew exactly what he wanted to see, and planned to give him just that.
Berto was only 21 years old, 4 years younger than Melissa, but he had a powerful grip on her. He was demanding, and sometimes abusive, but Melissa was madly in love with him which often blinded her. She knew that Berto wanted nothing more than to see his girlfriend beat the hell out of everyone in her path, which acted as her primary motivation in the tournament.
Barbara on the other hand was a 40 year-old soccer mom who was born and raised in a middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. She married after college, moved to a quiet suburban town and had two kids, relishing her role of wife, mother and homemaker. Always taking the most trendy exercise class, she stumbled upon the boxing program and quickly embraced it, dedicated to learning the nuances of boxing while getting some exercise. She was smart enough to know that she did not possess the punching power of some of the other women, so instead she focused on learning defensive techniques while trying to gradually score enough points to win her bouts by decision. That strategy was about to be tested however by her
brawling, younger opponent who was looking to knock her head off!
As the bell rang, Melissa rushed out of her corner, wearing a baby blue colored leotard and pair of black sneakers. She charged over and quickly moved in on Barbara who was just skipping out of her corner. Throwing a powerful jab toward Barbara's face, Melissa grunted in anger from the ferocity of the punch. But adeptly ducking it, Barbara then also avoided a left hook which Melissa threw toward her body by skipping away.
The crowd began to cheer as Melissa stalked the soccer mom, hunting her down and trapping her against the ropes. The brunette Latina then threw a flurry of body punches, most of which Barbara was able to block with her arms before again bouncing out of harm's way. But
Barbara felt the affects as she escaped the attack, though Melissa was determined to nail her again, She continued to stalk the curly haired housewife, bowing slightly as she held her hands high and tramped forward. She moved in on Barbara once again, but this time Barbara grabbed hold of her, clutching tightly to prevent Melissa from throwing any effective punches.
After a few seconds the ref split them apart, gesturing for each to move back before signaling for them to resume. Barbara concentrated as Melissa traipsed toward her, but once again backpedaled to escape the attack. Melissa had cut off the ring however and forced Barbara
back against the ropes, but just as she prepared to throw a big, roundhouse blow, she was hit in the cheek with a quick right jab. Barbara followed that with a left cross to Melissa's jaw. Though
the jab did little damage, the left cross stopped her from throwing more punches. The blow landed squarely though it did little real damage as Melissa recovered quickly before bulling forward and beginning to pound away on Barbara's midsection.
Immediately Barbara grabbed hold of her again, wrapping her arms around Melissa after having absorbed a few shots. Barbara's clutching prompted the ref to move in and separate them once more. Barbara was looking hurt already but Melissa was still frustrated, taking an animated breath as she glared at Barbara who bounced to the opposite side of the ring. Again Melissa rushed forward, following Barbara as she skipped backward to avoid the offensive. It quickly
became a race as Barbara skipped away while Melissa chased her, getting more angry with each passing second.
Finally, in frustration, Melissa rushed at her while throwing a wild, overhand right toward her head. As Barbara ducked it, Melissa lost her balance and stumbled forward, allowing her fleeting foe to land a short combination to the side of her head. But without much power behind her punches, Barbara had not yet hurt Melissa. The blows were nonetheless adding points to Barbara's scorecard, but Melissa wasn't much interested in points, instead wanting to slug it out with the housewife. So she straightened up and went back on the attack, spending the next several seconds chasing Barbara around the ring until finally the bell rang.
Frustrated, Melissa walked back to her corner and took a seat. She had hurt Barbara, but not enough to knock her down. She was also now behind on the scorecards but again was looking for a knock out, not to score points. As such she was much more concerned with her boyfriends' reaction, which she was about to hear firsthand. Rushing toward her corner, Berto yelled up at her with an angry tone of voice.
"Come on Melissa, you gotta go after that bitch! Don't let her get away!"
Melissa stared down at him, nodding her head obediently. Her boyfriend was a powerful influence on her and Melissa wanted nothing more than to please him. Despite her tough exterior, she cowered under his orders, wanting desperately to please him. So after he
went back to his ringside seat, Melissa was determined to turn up the heat on the honey-haired homemaker.
Meanwhile across the ring, Barbara breathed heavily, satisfied in her performance. She had wracked up more points than Melissa while avoiding her biggest punches, which was exactly her strategy. But as the bell rang to mark the start of the second round, Melissa was looking to change all of that.
Again she stormed out of her corner and made a bee-line for Barbara who was still getting her mouthpiece shoved back in place. Just as Barbara was ready, Melissa reached her and threw another wild, overhand right toward her head. But Barbara hastily side-stepped it and again Melissa lurched past her, this time blundering into the corner. With her arm hanging over the top rope, Melissa was vulnerable as Barbara turned and quickly delivered a hook into her side. Melissa took the blow, straightened up and turned around just in tome to take a jab to her cheek and hook to her shoulder.
Startled, Melissa was then met with another jab to her chin and then an uppercut to her ribs. She was forced to cover up, pulling her arms into her body as Barbara began to throw a combination of punches, taking advantage of the opportunity. Melissa blocked about half of them, but her poor defensive technique allowed the others to get through, momentarily stinging her. Even though Barbara did not possess much power, she was landing enough punches to gradually start
wearing the Puerto Rican girl down.
Then, in a surprising turn of events, Melissa grabbed hold of Barbara, the crowd sensing a change in momentum from the first round. As the ref separated the two women, Melissa looked confused and hesitated. Berto was furious as he watched from ringside, jumping to his feet and screaming up at his girlfriend.
"Let's go Melissa, this bitch is showing you up!"
As the ref signaled from them to resume, Melissa timidly looked down at him and nodded her head. Seeing her opponent distracted, Barbara rushed in and again nailed her with a left jab to her chin, snapping Melissa's head back. Barbara then pressed her body against Melissa's
and began to throw a series of punches into either side of her body. With Barbara so close, Melissa could not effectively counterpunch and showed little regard for covering up as she was absorbed the blows. Eventually though she forcefully pushed Barbara away, shoving her as
hard as she could. But Barbara had already landed a number of blows which helped her to build her lead.
Barbara faltered backward from the shove before regaining her balance as Melissa was again verbally berated by her boyfriend. She looked bewildered and upset despite being a tough chick and seemed baffled as to what to do next. But as Barbara skipped towards her, Melissa's
instincts took over. She threw a series of quick and short punches at Barbara while driving forward and forcing Barbara back. Landing several blows her confidence gradually began to return as Barbara continued to backpedal, Melissa clumsily wailing away at her, much to
her boyfriend's delight.
Finally backed into the corner, Barbara desperately tried to block the flurry of punches which Melissa was raining down on her. Melissa relented for a moment as if to reload, but as she did, Barbara threw a straight jab which landed square on her jaw. As Melissa's head snapped to the side, the bell rang, marking the end of the second round. Though she had just begun to take control, the round ended on a down note for Melissa as she was again clipped with one of
Barbara's punches. Walking angrily back to her corner, she greeted once more with angry taunts from her boyfriend.
"Jesus, this bitch is old enough to be your mother! Whassa matter? Can't you take her out?"
His question was direct and delivered with such contempt that it stung Melissa more than any of Barbara's punches. All she had wanted to do was impress him by showing him how well she could fight, but instead, this 40 year old housewife was whipping her.
"If you don't take her out in this round, she's gonna win the fight!"
Berto's words, though cruel, were accurate. So despite the newly formed lump in her throat, the 25 year-old Latina stood up and got ready to resume the fight, more determined than ever to end it.
Barbara meanwhile was ecstatic. She knew coming in that Melissa was a strong puncher and had the potential to knock her out. She had expected to be on the defensive throughout the match, but had actually taken control and landed so many shots that she was well ahead. She also had avoided all of Melissa's big punches and had taken surprisingly little punishment. As she got to her feet she looked at her family and winked, confident and smiling. She knew that she just had to stay away from Melissa for the third and final round and surely she would win the fight.
The bell rang and for the first time, Melissa did not storm across the ring. Instead she moved forward methodically, trying to follow the lessons she had learned in the class. She cut off the ring, forcing Barbara to face her as the two stood just a foot or so away. Melissa then threw a jab at Barbara's head, but she was able to avoid it and quickly skip away. Melissa hunted her down again, but once more Barbara ducked her punches and pranced out of harms way. This
kept up for the first minute of the round, Melissa continuing to stalk while Barbara continued to avoid her.
Melissa' face began to curl into an angry snarl and unable to avoid the temptation, rushed at Barbara in frustration. As Barbara tried to slip away however, Melissa grabbed her and tossed her back into the corner. Immediately the ref stepped in and separated them, warning Melissa about the tactic. But she was too angry to listen, instead verbally abusing her opponent.
"Come on bitch! You too afraid to fight me?"
Barbara ignored the remark, instead trying to get out of the round and win the bout. But as the ref stepped away, Melissa charged in again. Barbara tried to back away, but found herself stuck in the corner again as Melissa hovered in front of her, cutting off her escape. Melissa then began to fire away with everything she had, throwing punch after punch as Barbara tried desperately to cover up.
Right hook to the ribs, left uppercut to the belly, right hook just below her breast, left hook to the ribs ……
The blows came fast and furious, and Barbara was unable to block them all, her bare midriff getting pummeled. Finally dropping her hands from the body shots, Barbara left her head vulnerable and Melissa took advantage by landing a short and powerful right cross to Barbara's cheek. The blow snapped her head to the side as she stumbled forward out of the corner, but Melissa shoved her shoulder against Barbara's body to force her back into it. She then unleashed
several more body shots before Barbara's knees buckled and she dropped to one knee, prompting the ref to step in between them.
As Melissa backed up, the ref walked in front of Barbara who had already got to her feet though her arms hung at her sides. He ordered to her to raise her hands, which she did, though her eyes were glassy and a dazed expression spread across her face. The ref then grabbed her gloves and shook them, asking her if she was okay. Barbara took a deep breath and nodded, so he paused before stepping away and waved the fight on.
Melissa bulled her way back into the corner but before she could throw a punch, Barbara stuck a jab into her chin, causing Melissa to hesitate. She shook her head to clear it before charging in again, this time ducking her chin into her chest while throwing a myriad of punches towards Barbara's body. As Barbara grunted from each blow, Melissa then went up top, pummeling Barbara's head as her long, curly hair flew around it. Finally Melissa unleashed a powerful left cross onto Barbara's chin, snapping her head back before she fell forward and landed flat on her face, Melissa standing menacingly over her.
"I got you now bitch!" Melissa taunted as Barbara lay flat, her hair sprawled around her head.
The ref moved in and pushed Melissa back toward her corner, allowing Barbara the opportunity to slowly get to her feet. Finally pushing Melissa against the ropes he then walked back to Barbara who by this time had gotten to one knee, but no further. Staring into her vacant
eyes the ref waved his arms and called for the bell, marking the end of the fight. Melissa began to jump up and down in celebration as her friends and family cheered, all of them that is but Berto. The ref raised her hand in victory as her fans cheered wildly.
After a few more moments she then climbed out of the ring and was greeted by her supporters who hugged her and celebrated her victory. Finally after hugging all of her entourage, she was face to face with Berto and threw her arms around him. Hesitantly he hugged her back
while whispering in her ear.
"You're lucky you won baby, that old bitch spanked you tonight. If she had any power at all she would have knocked your ass out! You got to be better than that tomorrow night!"
He pushed her back as she stared into his eyes and nodded submissively. She then walked away on her own, back toward the locker room. Though still satisfied with her win, Berto had taken
the wind out of her sails. Barbara meanwhile got to her feet as her husband jumped up into the ring to check on her. Though she was still in a bit of a daze, she was okay and happily he hugged her, giving her a kiss on the lips before whispering into her ear.
"You were great honey! Great effort!"
She bowed her head for a moment but then lifted it and smiled, appreciative of her family's support. The two then walked out of the ring together, her kids running over to hug her before they all helped her back toward the locker room.
