Main Street Athletic Club Amateur Boxing Tournament – Round 1
Madeleine vs. Charlotte
Standing in her corner, Charlotte fidgeted nervously. She had brought a contingent of friends and family members to watch her first real boxing match and was hoping not to disappoint them. She had faced her opponent Madeleine in a tune-up match during the class, and though Charlotte had knocked her out, Madeleine had also knocked Charlotte down once as well. So though confident that she could beat Madeleine, the added pressure of having so many people close to her in the crowd was weighing on her.
Madeleine stood in the opposite corner, more concerned about Charlotte than about the crowd. Having been a professional wrestler for many years, she was used to performing before a live audience. Though she had retired from pro wrestling several years earlier, Madeleine missed the competition and the opportunity to test her physical skills against another woman. So when she found out about the boxing class and ensuing tournament, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back into the ring, even though it was not for the sport she was experienced in.
Her husband was her only supporter in this crowd, though Madeleine did not give his presence much thought, focusing her attention instead on her own game plan. Though a skilled wrestler, boxing was new to her and Charlotte had given her a lesson in the sport during their tune-up match. But Madeleine worked hard with the instructors to try and learn from her mistakes, and as the bell rang, she marched out of her corner, ready to execute that strategy.
Wearing a black sports bra and matching shorts, Madeleine moved forward, her black boots carrying her across the ring as she circled it. With her hands close to her face she began to recite her strategy to herself as she eyed Charlotte, waiting for the punches to fly.
"Fight her inside, don't let her use her reach advantage"
At four inches taller, Charlotte had a distinct advantage in terms of her reach. Her long arms allowed her to stay away from Madeleine's punches while still hitting her, the shorter, older brunette knowing that she had to prevent Charlotte from stretching her arms. So as Charlotte approached, Madeleine moved closer and quickly fired a hook into Charlotte's side. Charlotte took the blow and then tried a jab at Madeleine's head, but the brunette had moved in too close for her to accomplish the task. Instead Madeleine stayed in tight, moving her head near Charlotte's shoulder as she began to punch away at her body.
Though blocking many of the punches, Charlotte was unable to effectively counter punch, her long arms unable to extend enough to be effective. She tried to circle back, but Madeleine stayed right with her, keeping just a couple of inches between the two. Madeleine continued to press her weight against the taller, thinner Charlotte, drilling hooks and uppercuts into her body as Charlotte tried unsuccessfully to put some distance between them.
They danced together closely around the ring, and though individually, none of Madeleine's blows were having a dramatic effect, her intention was land enough of them to gradually wear
Charlotte down. With less than a minute remaining in the first round, Charlotte had not thrown a meaningful punch whole Madeleine had landed several blows on Charlotte's bare midriff. Backpedaling, Charlotte could not figure out how to get Madeleine off of her as she bulled in yet again and positioned her head alongside Charlotte's. The willowy, auburn-maned Charlotte felt Madeleine's face press against her own so in a knee jerk reaction, jerked her head to the
side. The two women's head banged together with a loud SMACK, the top of Charlotte's striking the side of Madeleine's temple.
Madeleine swayed to the side as result, her head throbbing as the ref moved between them facing Charlotte. He began to tap his own head, signaling for her to watch the head butts. Charlotte nodded, the collision accidental as she reached her glove out for Madeleine to smack it in a show of apology. Tapping her glove, Madeleine looked across at Charlotte who mouthed the word SORRY through her mouthpiece. Though her head was pounding from the smack, Madeleine
realized it was accidental as the ref signaled for the fight to continue. But just then the bell rang and both women turned and walked back towards their corners.
Charlotte was frustrated as she plopped down onto her stool. Her trainer began to bark instructions to her, and Charlotte half-listened, her frustration obvious. Madeleine meanwhile had carried out her plan quite effectively so far. Aside from the head butt, she had escaped the first round unscathed, though her head continued to ache. After a short while the bell rang to mark the start of the second round, and Madeleine moved forward, ready to begin.
Dancing on the opposite end of the ring, Charlotte tried to motivate herself by dancing and moving. She wanted to stay active and avoid Madeleine's charge, so she skipped around the ring as Madeleine trudged forward, following her. Once they drew closer, Charlotte quickly fired a few jabs toward Madeleine's head to keep her away. Though she blocked them, Madeleine was discouraged from bulling in again, fearful of one of the blows catching her. But even more
important, the pain she was still feeling from the head butt had left an impression on her, and subconsciously, she wanted to avoid it happening again. So instead of moving in, Madeleine stayed away, allowing Charlotte to take advantage.
Snapping jab after jab toward her opponent's head, Charlotte was reinvigorated. Madeleine kept her hands to her face, but gradually a jab here and there would sneak through, snapping her head back. She began to feel like a bobblehead doll as each time she prepared to counterpunch, she found herself being greeted by another long jab, stopping her in her tracks.
Staying on her toes, Charlotte continued to fire away at Madeleine's head, the taut skin on her midsection rippling with each punch she threw. Dressed in a gray sports bra and skimpy black shorts, her bare skin glistened as she began to perspire. She had assumed control of the fight and was gaining confidence as Madeleine's head had become her punching bag.
The mature brunette was now the frustrated one as about half of the second round had passed by without her landing a single blow. She knew that she had to get back to the strategy which had been so effective in the first round so she waited for Charlotte to throw her next jab, and then she went on the attack. Skillfully ducking the jab, Madeleine stepped in and drove her body up against Charlotte's, forcing her backward. But Charlotte was not willing to give up
control, so raising her right hand, she threw a jab down toward her bowed opponent's head. With Madeleine leaning forward, the blow landed on the back of her head and instantly the ref stepped in, separating the two. Once more he turned to Charlotte and tapped the back of his own head.
"No punching to the back of the head! Last warning!"
Charlotte again nodded in agreement and again stuck her glove out to Madeleine who reluctantly slapped it. She had begun to doubt the genuineness of the gesture as she scowled from behind her mouthpiece as the ref signaled for the fight to resume. Breathing heavily, Madeleine plodded forward, ducking as she prepared to crowd Charlotte again. But the tall redhead planted her feet and cocked her arm before firing a mighty, downward jab which landed on the side of Madeleine's face.
The blow not only stopped Madeleine from moving forward, but also caused her to stumble backward, hurt by the punch. Charlotte knew it and rushed in, unleashing a flurry of blows at her wounded adversary. A right cross landed flush on Madeleine's cheek. A left hook buried into her ribs. A right uppercut to the jaw jarred her head back and finally a stiff left jab caught her in the nose, dropping her to the canvas.
The crowd jumped to their feet as Madeleine fell onto her side before slowly rolling onto her back, the ref escorting Charlotte to her corner as Madeleine slowly got to her feet. Getting up at the count of six, Madeleine raised her hands to her face as the ref looked her over. She nodded her head when asked is she was okay, so he motioned for the action to resume.
The crowd buzzed, sensing that a knockout was imminent as Madeleine teetered on her feet, covering her face. So Charlotte rushed in and began to pummel her midsection, landing an array of blows into Madeleine's pale, yielding belly before finally the bell rang to save her from the onslaught. As Charlotte smiled widely, pumping her fist toward her friends and family, Madeleine slogged back t her corner, dazed and hurt. As she took a seat on the stool her trainer slapped her with a wet sponge, checking her eyes to see if she was able to continue.
"Are you okay?" he yelled into her face.
Madeleine nodded her head and though hurt, gave no thought to quitting. Charlotte meanwhile knew that she had Madeleine in trouble and was ready to put her away once the third and final round began. As the two women got up from their stools, Charlotte began to skip in her corner, anxious to attack. The bell rang and Madeleine curled forward while raising her arms in front of her face and body to protect herself. She knew that Charlotte was going to come after her, and if she could withstand the initial attack, she hoped to find an opening to land her own fatal blow.
Charlotte moved in quickly and began to throw punches right away. Madeleine ducked and covered, trying to bob and weave to avoid the blows, but then Charlotte nailed her on the side of the head with a looping, overhand right. Madeleine's knees buckled but did not give
way. Instead she instinctively hurled a wild, sidearm left hand which missed its' target by a mile and caused her to turn awkwardly. As she did however, Charlotte had already begun to deliver a right hook to her body, but with Madeleine turned to the side, the punch landed in Madeleine's kidney.
Madeleine groaned and the ref charged in, pushing Charlotte back before checking on Madeleine who slowly straightened up. He asked if she was okay and Madeleine nodded. He then turned to face the judges and waved one finger at them, directing them to deduct a point from Charlotte's scorecard. The crowd began to boo, though it was unclear if their wrath was directed at Charlotte's tactics or the ref.
After the brief pause, he waved his arms, instructing them to fight. Charlotte hesitated, feeling a bit guilty about the rabbit punch. But she also knew that it was unintentional and so again she stalked Madeleine before firing a jab which caught her flush on the jaw. It wasn't a powerful blow, but it was enough to distract her as Charlotte then buried a hook into her side, a cross into her ribs and a vicious uppercut which seemed to pierce her stomach and bury itself in Madeleine's intestines.
With an anguished OOFFF, Madeleine slumped forward, but as her head plummeted downward, Charlotte clipped her in the side of the face with downward jab and Madeleine feel to the canvas again, landing on her side. She remained there as the ref waved his arms over his head to signal the end of the fight. Charlotte immediately began to jump up and down as she turned to face her entourage, celebrating her victory. With Madeleine bewildered on the canvas, the ref raised Charlotte's arm over her head, proclaiming her the winner as Madeleine was eventually helped to her feet and helped out of the ring.
