WELTERWEIGHT TITLE
AMANDA RIGHETTI (32 y/o, 5 ft 8, W: 62, L: 23) VS GEMMA ATKINSON (31 y/o, 5 ft. 9, W: 9, L: 12)
(Words: Bonzo / Results: Lookout!)

Before: Atkinson with her first title fight: sexy Brit surprised but enthusiastic about her biggest opportunity yet. Gemma’s been fighting since 2008 and lost most of her early bouts, including Landry, Prepon, Bjorlin, Perry, Ruah and Wilson, but a 2012 knockout of legendary Ali Landry opened the world up to her capabilities. She’s getting a title shot mostly because of her successful appearance in the welter tournament last year in which she demolished pre-favourite giant Megan Gale to only come up short against champion-to-be and welterweight-of-the-year, Sarah Lancaster, but she was widely considered to have profited from her showing there significantly, too. Since the tournament, she’s lost to Upton, but easily handled muscular Paula Patton with plenty of vigour. “I’m hearing the whispering behind my back that I don’t deserve this shot, that I’m somehow just here so that Cassidy freeman or Robyn Lawley have to wait for their shot, but that’s not really something I care about. I’m here tonight, my fists are ready to roll, and I know I’m strong enough.” – Righetti, having hand-picked her first title defense, hoping to extend lengthy dominance over the rest of the division, explains her choice pre-fight. “I’ve followed Gemma’s development through the years, and I’m plenty impressed, especially by her level of fitness and body strength. She’s simply one of the most powerful celebrities around, and she’s someone I haven’t squared off with, so it was an obvious choice to make for me.” 

R1: Atkinson forming aggressive stance early, sampling wide hooks cutting through to Amanda’s gut, as she’s circling with redhead, hopping-to, and eager to prove she’s on par with Amanda body to body. Redhead suspending the action, calmly managing Atkinson’s little bursts with fine head movement/nimble legs: she’s only coming forward in spots, picking up little holes in Gemma’s defenses, generally being more precise, when Gemma’s fine with showing off her considerable strength detonating off Righetti’s toned flanks, her alert guard. Atkinson definitely up to the spotlight challenge, taking the initiative in her title fight debut, following a plan based on raw power – those straight-arm punches buried in Righetti’s arms/shoulders getting redhead’s respect – this is booming, powerful stuff by the blonde challenger. Righetti’s technical experience allows her to circumvent some of Atkinson’s heat, proving robust against early blonde salvos, answering wicked short hooks to Gemma’s ribcage, looking prepared/swift against heavy-handed blonde chasing her during these instances, clipping short counters past Atkinson’s raised guard. Righetti staying back, keeping distance on bobbin’ legs, allowing Gemma to lead the way with her thick, prowling jabs but mostly keeping blonde in check by precise counters on Atkinson’s way in.
 
R2: Atkinson employing variety of booming hooks early: a short, straight power punch rattles past Righetti’s guard, has redhead toddling away from the impact, eyes concerned, her knees only bending up slowly. Righetti settles into passive earmuff, squeezed down into ropes by sturdy blonde pressure. Gemma using her left arm wickedly, keeping up-tempo jabs scraping at Amanda’s defenses while sliding in detonating rights off-rhythm, bouncing leathery off Righetti’s belly/side. Righetti suffers in the grasp, getting pinned, outhit in exchanges, her lefts sailing past Gemma on top, as blonde keeps the pressure intense. Atkinson slowly rolling into thundering rhythm, her fists spanking Righetti’s arms/shoulders to good effect – physical work slows down Amanda’s reactions, she turns her head late a couple times, and Gemma’s getting through her guard mid-round, and one power-right neatly tilts redhead’s head to the side, topples her into sweaty,  aggressive, on-the-spot clinching. Atkinson squirming for position, keeps walking and punching, driving her rights under Righetti’s armpit, grappling her foe into ropes to intensify the body work. Righetti aching under the damage, but able to search for Gemma’s head with straight-arm hooks, easing the momentum late with a stunning counter on Atkinson’s mouth, momentarily dizzying tough blonde to move the fight to mid-ring, drawing Atkinson into close, thudding exchanged hooks until the bell.
 
R3: Righetti stabilizing her front behind crusty, mean jabs, rolling shoulders into mounting assault, getting Gemma’s respect with stinging lefts continually knocking/twitching at her blonde’s head. Atkinson driven back, stopped in her forward steps by Amanda’s pulsating whacks, complying to tread into reverse, tightly settling into rope-side passiveness, as her attempts to sneak in fast-break counters fail, only brushing past Righetti’s prepared guard. Righetti not letting go, stacks up Gemma in set-piece battles at various rope positions, always touchin’, workin’ with the left, pumping in rights to do the necessary damage to Gemma’s lats/shoulders/upper arms. Atkinson’s body strength neutralized by the pumpin’ pressure, her thickly strong body’s getting worked over expertly, and she’s grumpy/groaning, always having to turn her head to evade Amanda’s merciless jabs, unused to her athleticism being treated this shabbily. Righetti switches targets rhythmically, beginning the hard work of reducing Gemma’s body during these sieges. Atkinson absorbing, but moving from sulk to defiance later in the round, as she’s getting rocked/dominated, but feels her body holding up well, finally reading one of Righetti’s rights for a brutal counter jab cracking just beautifully through to Amanda’s nose – terminating Righetti’s pressuring on-top position, and Gemma pounds her way out behind rock-solid lefts like a badass, driving back Amanda, stacking HER up at opposite ropes, forces sagging/confused redhead into bendy, anxious escapes, pounds her chest at bell when she notices the champ’s nose bleeding, glowing all throughout the break, while Amanda’s staring grimly on, astonished by Gemma’s turnaround making a dominant round much closer, as her team frantically works on her nose.
 
R4: Righetti’s early jabs go missing, sailing past attentive Brit’s defenses, not doing much damage, and Gemma’s answer right hand cracks through the vacuum, shutting down Amanda’s forward-bopping with a crushing punch on her mouth – Righetti’s stepping out to the side, hurt, flailing, her arms outstretched to keep distance. Atkinson leans in full-body, swinging a right across Amanda’s tits, stomping the champ into ropes, opens up on foe with wide, bashing rights/lefts to Righetti’s ribcage, her arms shivering in punching frenzy, muscular buttocks quivering from rigid, hard-edged attack on Amanda’s lats/ribs/flanks. Righetti’s face a blank stare – she’s getting stacked up roughly at ropes, and rights continue to get pumped into her gut – her legs baby-stepping, she’s stooping/swooning forward. Mid-round, Gemma’s looping right hand rolls close, cracking Amanda upside the head, pushes her butt into turnbuckles, as Atkinson attempts to bully her chest/shoulders, staying big and muscular on top of her shocked opponent. Gemma’s slugging lefts keep Amanda’s guard busy – her hands clutched at temple, groaning in pain – as blonde challenger throws a hefty, straight right deep into redhead’s toned belly, follows up with a beefy right hand on Amanda’s hurt, gurgling mouth – BLONDE’S COMING After HER WITH ANOTHER THICK JAB crashing on Righetti’s chin: slightly delayed effect ensues, then Amanda’s tumbling to the side, overwhelmed, stumbling forward, clutching for ropes in hurt, spiraling out of control. RIGHETTI GOES DOWN! Champ’s dropping to her hands and knees – her hair loosened, face sweaty, body heaving, her face gazing emptily – until she grimly reaches into the near ropes to rise! Righetti’s up at eight, groggily insisting she’s ready: Gemma moves into thick-legged stalking mode, preparing rag-dolled Righetti with whirling lefts to mid-body, burying savage right hands into her ribs. Atkinson’s baring her teeth, her snappy fists bouncing off spanked meat, picking up Righetti’s face again and again, as champ stoops forward, unable to ease worsening pressure, getting picked up on her mouth and nose. Righetti’s taking little baby-steps backwards into ropes, just hoping to ride out rest of round on her strong legs, then slumping into heaving, trembling clinches. One of the worst rounds for Righetti in quite a while, evident as she’s stumbling dimly back into her corner at bell, softened by Gemma’s relentless fists flirting with a definitive knockout punch.
 
R5: Righetti’s looking somewhat shabby out of the gates – legs serviceable, but reactions delayed – settles into passive, defensive rhythm against pursuing blonde challenger, arms up in tight earmuff, sponging up beefy Atkinson punches, keeping the distance as best as she can, finally driving/pulling blonde into meaty clinches, proving robust against Atkinson’s squirming, hungry body. Gemma very thorough: she’s not a precise, masterful jabber, but she’s packing strength into her work, as she’s driving Righetti through the ring, using brutal hooks from wide angles and short, straight power punches up close, extending dominance and pressure on champ’s body. Righetti’s guard better-defended this round, giving up body to protect head, sluggin’ back in spots, but usually staying on her toes, circling twitchily out of range, pushed to corners/ropes by Gemma’s extended jabs. Righetti starts to attempt counter-attacks by mid-round, marching forward in little, tentative steps, bringing shoulders behind her checking-out jabs, but Gemma’s blocking/repressing her – suddenly, the broad-shouldered Brit throws a wide, angular hook over Amanda’s outstretched left, catching Righetti upside her temple – redhead totters into ropes with a moan in reaction, soaking up series of stunning, gut-checking blows, besieged by hungry blonde looming large: Gemma jostling/holding the champ for position by her elbows, ramming in nasty straight-arm punches to Amanda’s flanks/tits, staying on top until the bell.
 
R6: Down on the cards after five, Righetti’s forced to dig deeper, take more risks to stop Gemma’s momentum: redhead’s rolling with the punches, substantiating her jabs. Girls start trading brutal hooks in mid-ring area, no holds barred – blonde with a natural big puncher’s stance, using slick/straightforward punches to body, testing Righetti’s guard up top, while the champ’s perverting her angles, sneaking in leggy, reactive counters to Gemma’s body at ideal moments, frustrating her challenger with precision and efficiency. By mid-round, Amanda’s amassing damage has slowed bold blonde pressure down a bit, and Righetti’s moving into more solid/robust destructive work – inch by inch, she’s expending her space, walking Gemma down behind clattering jabs, finally carving out a top position near ropes. Righetti’s solidifying her position behind up-tempo lefts: free to work, a plump, murderous right cracks through near Gemma’s ear, snapping Atkinson’s head to the side; two chunky straight lefts spank Gemma’s chest righting her faltering upper body; another fluid right sails right over Gemma’s counter jab striking the challenger’s left cheek to thumping effect. Atkinson’s visibly wounded by the series of awful hits, her knees are bending awkwardly, and she moves sideways with a stricken, puzzled expression – stretching out arms defensively, she’s getting stalked by Righetti, then gets caught again by Amanda’s wide, swinging hooks into her side, all her counters going awry, ending up in circular, back-pedalling retreats. Righetti relaxes offense during final minute: she’s still driving Atkinson backwards, but reverts into standard set-up each time, thus managing both the ring and her challenger, but leaving her opponent space to breathe and options to defend/counter orderly in opening spots.
 
R7: Righetti’s starting to work systematically, first pounding jabs against Gemma’s skull/shoulders, then starting to shove impelling right hands into her face, penetrating ever closer the body, caging a sluggish Atkinson. Gemma’s crossing her arms, tryin’ to bob and weave her way inside on her own terms, but Righetti’s tracking most of her straight-arm punches, picking up an unsuspecting, infuriated Gemma repeatedly on her nose/cheeks/mouth. Atkinson’s shying away from the inside after that for a while, as Righetti maintains a mid-distance stance, rhythmically dominating Atkinson’s movement with her ever-steady jab work. Mid-round, Gemma’s making efforts to step out again, scuttling/hopping, disguising her right hand’s trajectory, only to eat a well-timed short left uppercut on her chin when she moves out that has her swaying all wobbly-butt, eyes hurt. Atkinson’s big-legged and strong, but after a couple of zingers the blonde challenger looks increasingly clumsy and inapt at managing Righetti’s distance work, no longer impeding redhead’s legs, read or track her jabs. Righetti now settles into familiar rhythm: by the last minute, she’s trapped a reduced Gemma near ropes, thudding ruinous body punches into blonde’s ribcage, ramming in right hands aimed for Atkinson’s see-sawing head – when Righetti’s whirlwind jabs have her prepared for another thundering right hand cracking through upside her left cheek, the accumulating damage finally unhinges Atkinson’s relentlessly strong legs. AND GEMMA’S DOWN – the blonde’s tottering into ropes, sloshing forward onto her hands and knees, panting heavily, finally gets into faltering position on her haunches, rises to sway, murmur in protesting pain, allowed to continue. Only seconds left to go, Righetti’s left keeps jerking heartlessly, searching for wobbly, peek-a-boo-stance Gemma’s chin, but her brutal punches only bounce, spank off Atkinson’s jolted guard.
 
R8: Righetti’s settling into her dominant stance right at bell, pumping thick jabs – WHEN SUDDENLY, Gemma shrugs a wide, unexpected overhead right past Amanda’s penetrating left to land with a thud on the champion’s mouth. Righetti’s legs turn all rubbery – her eyes expressing shock, she’s stumbling along ropeside, forced into jittery ear-muff, and Gemma’s already there to ram-drive rights into her toned gut. Atkinson pushes Righetti into ropes, propping her up left-arm-on-right-shoulder, opening up to drill the champ a right hook across Amanda’s undefended left cheek – Righetti’s mumbling in pain, hurt – curling a left hand behind redhead’s head to pick up the forward-toppling champ on her face – as Amanda totters, holds, clinches desperately. Atkinson squirming to free herself, but ref’s break enough to get Righetti’s body responsive again, her energy back – athletic welter girls move into shoulder to shoulder battle mid-ring, and Amanda’s already shoving short lefts into Gemma’s stomach, defending with her right arm at nose height, suddenly pumping a nasty, twisted left over Atkinson’s own right, sputtering onto Gemma’s chin in grinding fashion. THE BLONDE IS HURT! Atkinson suddenly wobbly-butt, her eyes in a fog of pain, tottering on shabby legs: Righetti bends forward on supple hips to drive a right uppercut to Gemma’s upside skull, folding proud blonde body into ropes, unhinged. Amanda steps to her, punishing Atkinson’s gut with brutal sidearm rights into her waist. Gemma’s tilting back up – arms raised but her guard slack – and Righetti parts her gloves with a massive, sturdy right hand to chin, loosening Gemma’s head. Atkinson’s a wreck, soaking up punches with incredible resilience, but just stumbling into more harm – Righetti’s ruthless jabs pick her up again and again, and Gemma’s head starts lolling, as she’s taking dizzy baby-steps forward, her lips murmuring in pain and protest. Finally, another hefty right drops poor Gemma’s hands to her laps, folds her limp into ropes, where she droops, grabs around dizzily for rope support, slides down, landing on her butt, where her torso slumps backwards in relaxation, eyes dimming, head lolling down to the side, as her foe erupts into cheering, relieved exultation: that’s a KO8 – and STILL welterweight champion, Amanda Righetti!
 
After:  In major welterweight thriller, Atkinson’s definitely exceeded expectations with her performance: big punches brought her close to a major upset tonight, and legitimize her as a future contender – she’s all the more heartbroken after her loss. Blonde – face puffy, wounded, stepping out to face the press on rickety legs – so disappointed in post-fight interview, shaking her head, “I really thought I was close. I mean, she was doing what she always does, and I stood up to her, I knew my punches hurt her like hell, I have no idea what happened then, I really thought I had her.” – Righetti, on the other hand, also doesn’t seem convinced by her own performance, “Gemma was as strong as I expected her to be, but I definitely let her work too much tonight. I’ve always let her back into the game, when I should have just overwhelmed her. It feels great to pound out such a strong-bodied competitor, but this was much closer than it had to be.”