Yvonne Strahovski vs. Mary Elizabeth Winstead

(Lookout! Boxing vs Foxfire Boxing)
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Almost always referred to as the "best rivalry in the FCBA right now", Strahovski/Winstead has lived up to the hype. It's been a back-and-forth series of fights with both fighters grabbing five of the ten meetings. Throw in the fact that several of those battles were classics, and, yes, it's "the best rivalry in the FCBA right now". So, it's no surprise that both ladies are more than ready for the next installment.

"She's taken titles from me," says Yvonne with a shake of the head. "I've taken titles from her. We've both won in the Santa-kini. We're 5-5 lifetime. But. I've had the better of it lately, and there's a reason for that. I'm the better fighter now. And, I'll prove that again tonight."

"I know Yvonne's been going around saying she's passed me now," says Mary with a shake of the head. "She's got this idea that I had her number early but she's somehow gotten too good for me lately. Well. I STILL have her number. And, it's TWO. She's the SECOND-best lightweight in the FCBA. And, tonight, she's stepping in the ring with number one."

ROUND ONE:

Winstead aggressive early, as expected. Boxing with Strahovski is a recipe for disaster for almost any fighter, and the brunette knows it. So, she's after Yvonne from the opening seconds. She wants to pressure, throw heavy shot. And, Yvonne's seen this act before. She counters with her greatest weapon, that long left jab, which, like all great jabs, is unique among punches because it's both an offensive and defensive weapon. Not only can you score with it, set up power punches with it, you can create distance, dictate terms, suppress your opponent. And, Vonnie can do all of that. But. Not in this round against Mary. Because, Winstead, as she's shown in the past she can do, works past the jab and gets heavy leather on the blonde. Yvonne forced to back and cover and then ROCKED with a three-punch combination about two minutes in! Strahovski's hurt, trapped on the ropes, battered. Winstead looking for the shocking early finish. But. Denied by Aussie skill and determination. Yvonne plays defense well and makes it to the bell. But, it's Winstead wide and the fans are already on the edges of their seats.

ROUND TWO:

Winstead all over Vonnie early. She's got the Aussie on shaky legs and she takes full advantage. Damn the torpedoes, good, solid counter punches which Strahovski lands in spots, Winnie's full speed ahead. She's backing Strahovski up with volume and power, forcing her to cover up again and again. No question who's taking control of this thing. The blonde's on the back foot and can't get off. The ceaseless pressure. That's Winstead's greatest weapon. The one that can neutralize all of Yvonne's precision, all of her boxing skills, all of the things that make her as difficult to beat as anyone in the FCBA. Ceaseless. Pressure. And, it's on. And, Vonnie doesn't exactly wilt. But, she does retreat in its face. Until there's nowhere to retreat. Until Winstead has her on the ropes, digs a vicious hook into her midsection and a follow up right hook to the chin and STRAHOVSKI SPILLS ALONG THE ROPES AND CRASHES TO HER RIGHT SIDE! Blonde girl DOWN! Fans going crazy. Winstead to a neutral corner. Count moving along quickly. But, Vonnie gets to hands and knees. Makes it to her feet. Winstead all over her as soon as the referee completes the mandatory. Thirty seconds of pure hell for the Aussie. But. Again. Determination and skill. She lasts out the round. But, after two, Yvonne is both reduced and down 20-17.

ROUND THREE:

Here's yet another reason Strahovski's tough to beat. She's smart. To begin the third, with her legs shaky, she immediately takes the fight to the ropes, playing defense and working the counter. This is dangerous ground for Winstead, but the brunette is plenty smart, too. She's not going to get too aggressive or sloppy here. Instead, she slows the pace. This, of course, plays into Strahovski's hands...to a point. But, it doesn't play completely in. Instead, rather than Yvonne stinging the brunette with counter after counter as Mary opens herself up, we get good, solid, sound stuff from both fighters. Winstead works hard, sets up punches, probes for weaknesses. Straho counters at every opportunity, and makes no mistake when she does so. It's back and forth stuff from the first second to the last, and, as you might expect, at the bell, it's close. But, once again, it's Winstead, who now leads, 30-26. 

ROUND FOUR:

Strahovski's legs are back after the forced respite from the hot pace, and now the blonde's back moving. And, Mary's right back to the constant pressure. She's not going to stay out on the end of Vonnie's jab, not going to allow Strahovski to call the match. She's working forward, banging body, getting physical, and GOING DOWN! A vicious right hook from Strahovski staggers Winstead and a follow up straight right sends her crashing to her back! The crowd's going NUTS as the blonde, who's taken a beating in the early going, turns the tide with a single stroke. Winstead, though, able to beat the count. She's back on her feet at eight and the referee waives Vonnie forward after the mandatory. And Straho is as all-in as you can possibly be. She wants this over and she wants it over NOW. The blonde blasts the brunette with flurry after flurry, driving her into a corner and savaging her with everything in the arsenal. It's not enough. Mary hangs on, and, while she's plenty shabby, she's standing at the bell. Vonnie, though, has halved the lead and the cards now read 38-36.

ROUND FIVE:

Straho has cleaned up, and now it's time to consolidate. Now, the blonde is the one moving forward, doing it, of course, behind that great jab. She's backing Winnie up with hard follow on rights. Mary game in the retreat, but getting the worst of things in a big way. She's countering where she can, but she's getting touched up and worked over and ROCKED AGAIN! This time it's a straight right from Vonnie and the brunette stumbles back into the ropes and nearly goes down. And, again, Straho is ALL IN. Again, she's blitzing the brunette in an effort to finish a fight she was well behind in just a few minutes ago. She trapped Winnie on the cables and POUNDS her with both hands. She works some body, but concentrates on the head, looking for the one big punch that will shut off the power while piling up points and piling on the hurt. And, again. It's not enough. Again. Somehow, Winstead hangs on. At the bell, she's barely standing, but, she IS standing. Straho's won it big, but, despite the two huge rounds, she still trails on the cards 47-46.

ROUND SIX:

Now, it's Winstead who needs the respite, and she uses different tactics to get it. As Vonnie comes forward behind the jab, Mary steps inside it and ties up. Strahovski shoves off for space, but Winstead is resolute, turning the sixth into a wrestling match as she plays for time to get her legs back underneath her. Vonnie has the better of things most of the way. With her own legs in much better shape, she's able to shove Mary around pretty well, but Winstead is slick and determined and continues to tie up and slow down the blonde's offense. Strahovski is clearly a bit frustrated by the final minute, shoving Mary hard a couple of times in the chest and earning herself a talking to from the referee, but, she mostly stays sound and works with what she has, thumping some body, always trying to punch free, looking to at least build up some points. At the end of a round that ends up looking far from pretty, Vonnie's grabbed it close, and, after six, we're even at 56.

ROUND SEVEN:

Vonnie determined to impose will now. She's coming forward like an Aussie freight train, putting punches together, backing up Winstead, not giving her a chance to tie up. But. Giving her plenty of room to counter. BOOM! A right hand counter that beats Yvonne's left back into position and Straho is ROCKED! And, the momentum in this one pivots AGAIN! All of a sudden its the brunette armies on the offensive with the blonde's in full retreat. A wobbly Aussie is trapped on the cables again, but, this time, Mary throws caution to the wind. She's going for it in a big way, firing every siege weapon she has at her disposal, emptying the magazines in a lengthy, brutal beatdown that has Strahovski's forces on the verge of collapse. The referee clearly doesn't like what he's seeing from Vonnie, who's almost all defense, but she's doing just enough to avoid a stoppage. Just. Because, as time winds down, he seems ready to pounce. But, before he makes the decision, the bell rings. Mercifully. It's Winstead via shutout, and the brunette is back up 66-65 in what's turning into an instant classic.

ROUND EIGHT:

Desperate times for Straho, who, again, takes the fight immediately to the ropes. This time, like in the third, she's got her wits about her and can mount an effective defend-and-counter strategy. Winstead opens up early and pays for it as Yvonne begins scoring sharply on the counter. Reluctantly, the brunette dials back the offensive and we return to the terms we saw in that third round, a physical chess game in which both fighters use punches to create openings for other punches. It's good, back and forth stuff, with both fighters trying to find that one opportunity for the big punch that will turn the momentum again. But, neither are able to find it in this stanza. Instead, we see good boxing from both fighters and excellent defense as well as punches are slipped, rolled with, blocked. It's a near thing most of the way, but, by the bell, Yvonne's early advantage has held up, and she's claimed the round close to even things again, this time at 75.

ROUND NINE:

Fight definitely in the balance in the final six minutes. The fight, and so much more. Because, the winner of this is certainly going to be in pole position for a title shot. But, neither fighter cares about that. Because, the winner of this is also going to grab the lead in the rivalry 6-5, and, if you're watching this, you know that's far more important to both. And, so it is that the war of movement returns. Both fighters, though scuffed and somewhat reduced, digging deep into their reserves for the final effort, the final push to victory. And, its the blonde's forces who land a decisive blow. It's a right hand follow off a perfect left jab that sends Winstead crumpling to her back. WINNIE DOWN! And the crowd UP. On its feet. As the tired Aussie heads to a neutral corner. A bereft Mary stares up at the referee as he counts. And. Somehow. Rolls to hands and knees and pushes back to her feet. Strahovski with an unconscious shake of the head in her corner. It's not over. Not yet. But, the blonde plans to remedy that little problem, and right now. The referee waives Vonnie forward and she's after Mary with everything she has left. Every last man thrown into the fight. Every last gun now being fired. The ammo dumps will be flat before she's finished, and, the blonde is determined that Winstead will be as well. Mary takes a beating. She's driven to the ropes and worked over. She looks, like Yvonne did in the seventh, to be on the verge of collapse. Until she DROPS STRAHO WITH A RIGHT HAND COUNTER! ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME? A minute and a half after Strahovski looked to have won this thing, the blonde beauty is flat on her back, staring up at Mary's rump as the brunette turns to a neutral corner. And, now it's Vonnie's turn. Somehow she wobbles to her feet in time to beat the count, and, during the mandatory, gives the referee a "don't even THINK about it stare". He doesn't. He waives Mary forward and Winstead spends the next thirty seconds battering Yvonne in a vain effort to finish this. At the bell, both fighters are standing. And the cards can show nothing but a drawn round. Meaning it's 85-85 heading into the tenth. Are. You. Kidding. Me?

ROUND TEN:

Everything in these three minutes. Everything. The fight. The pole position. And. Most importantly. The lead in this two-way battle for dominance, this contest between smooth, tactical blonde and tough, physical brunette that has taken the FCBA by storm and, surely, after tonight, will rank number one on everyone's list of the federation's best rivalries. Three minutes. And, neither fighter looks capable of lasting that long. The pace, one crisp, has now slowed. The fighters are much reduced. They're still working hard, but are mostly slapping punches and falling into clinches. Everything's in slow motion. Leaving one final question. Who has a little left? Who can still make a play? Who can do something, anything, that will win this fight? The answer comes after nearly two minutes. It comes in the form of a left hook to the jaw that sends one of the fighters stumbling and a follow on straight right that sends her crashing to her back. The answer comes from the fists of Mary Elizabeth Winstead. BLONDE. GIRL. DOWN! Winstead, exhausted, all but shattered, stumbles to a neutral corner and watches. Watches, stunned, as, again, Vonnie pushes to hands and knees and gets to her feet. The blonde will not stay down. But, the brunette is determined to finish. She finds just a bit more in the tank and charges across the ring, battering a stunned, nearly helpless Strahovski into a corner. Yvonne covers up, hangs on, but, IT'S OVER! The referee has seen enough! He leaps between the fighters and bundles the blonde to safety! And, your winner by TKO10 is Mary Elizabeth Winstead!

AFTER:

Winstead groggy and breathless in the post-fight interview. Backed by chants of "FOY! FOY! FOY!" from the appreciative crowd. "I knew it would take everything I had," the brunette says with a tired smile. "She's never EASY. But, Mary Elizabeth Winstead doesn't DO easy. I'm all about the competition. And, there's no better competition than the girl everybody has at 1A in the pound-for-pound discussion. But. In case you haven't noticed, SHE'S not the one ahead in this rivalry. Because, when it comes down to it, Vonnie's very good. But, Winnie's just a little better."