Post by Lookout! Boxing on Oct 28, 2016 at 2:21am

Elodie Frege vs. Eva Mendes

(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:
 
"I know all about Frege," says Eva with a smile. "She beat Olsen and Alba and Pressly. Well, two of them are shot and the other just got fired, so, that tells you all you need to know."

"I'm not surprised she doesn't respect me," says Elodie with fire in the eyes. "This is how it is for me, because my FCBA career got off to such a rough start. Many girls don't respect me before we fight. But, they all respect me after."

ROUND ONE:
 
Round one sees not pocket Elodie but leggy Elodie. A good strategy, considering that, while she's obviously still in great shape, Eva Mendes has 42-year-old legs. And the French beauty has plans to test them out. The test doesn't go all that well. Frege is limber and bouncy and moving in and out, side to side, circling, making Eva chase. And, Mendes doesn't look like catching her. In fact, the LCA beauty looks a little heavy-legged and grumpy at having to try to find Frege. And, the key word there is "try". Because, while she makes the effort, she doesn't do it. Mendes isn't landing much of anything, while Elodie's snapping jabs, putting together quick flurries, piling up points and frustrating the older woman in the process. It ain't pretty for Eva. It ain't pretty at all. Frege has her way from the opening seconds to the final bell, taking the first wide and grabbing the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Mendes determined to bring Frege to battle in the second frame. Eva getting a good sweat going, seeming to loosen up. She's moving better now, working the feet to cut the ring and force exchanges. Elodie holds her own in these, giving just about as good as she gets, but, no longer able to command the ring with movement, the Frenchwoman loses control of the fight. It's no longer all Elodie. Instead, it's good, two-way stuff from two good bantams. Eva's looking like the harder hitter, while Frege's a bit quicker and a bit slicker. Add it all up, and it's pretty close to even, as long as they remain on these terms. And, Eva keeps them there. Frege has moments when she's in open ocean, popping the jab and moving, but they're fleeting. Mendes continues working and cutting, forcing her terms on Elodie, and, near the end of the round, showing a bit of her own strategy by going heavy to the body. At the bell, it's close, but it's Eva, and we're all even at 19.

ROUND THREE: 

Frege making herself scarce. Eva adjusted in round two, and now Elodie adjusts to the adjustment in round three. Frege's dancing, circling, reversing, going wide, and, when Eva tries to cut the ring, changing direction to find open canvas. It's pretty stuff, and it's also effective stuff. Again, the French beauty is making the older woman chase, and it's all about making her work those 42-year-old legs. For Eva's part, though, she's much more effective than she was in the first. She's not looking a step slow now. She's forcing elodie to work hard to remain in open ocean, and, when she does close her down, she gets hard leather on target. It's a second consecutive good, two-way round, with both fighters effective and neither getting everything she wants. In the final 30 seconds, Frege stops and nails Mendes with a hard flurry, circles, stops, does it again, then legs out the round, pulling away right late to grab the points and the 29-28 lead.

ROUND FOUR:

Frege on her bicycle. Mendes stalking. Eva working the feet well, looking to cutting the ring down, bringing Elodie to battle. Yet another subtle adjustment made between rounds, and it's effective, as Mendes is getting the better of things early, creating firefights in which her heavier guns are winning the day. Frege working hard to keep them short, and mostly succeeding, but Mendes creating way too many of them and FREGE IS HURT! It's a straight right hand that wobbles Elodie and nearly sends her to the mat. And NOW Eva has the Frenchwoman where she wants her. Mendes is all in, reefing punches at a shaky Frege, looking to take her out of there. She has over 90 seconds to do it in, and a referee who's watching closely as Eva pours on the punishment. Elodie game as always, but in desperate trouble as Eva's battering her around the ring befoe finally pinning her to the ropes and going to work on her body. Frege keeps the guard high and hangs on, but she's all but wrecked on the way back to her corner. Mendes, meanwhile, has won the round wide and evened things at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Mendes looking to finish now. She doesn't want to let Frege survive this and end up spending the last half of the fight chasing her. It's got to be NOW, and Eva knows it. Elodie's into the pocket, not out of desire now, but out of necessity. She doesn't have her legs and needs to play for time. And, the French beauty is plenty slick along the ropes. She's moving the head, hands and shoulders, rolling with punches, making Eva work to find space for anything clean. Mendes burning gas and throwing in all the reserves, taking hard counters as she commits on abolutely everything, really doing everything you should NOT be doing against a pocket fighter. But, again, it has to be now. And it IS. Mendes finds room for a BLISTERING right hand and Elodie is frozen. A quick three-punch follow up snaps back the Frenchwoman's head three times and she crumples forward, crashing past Mendes' left shoulder to land, face first on the canvas! Eva throws up her hands in victory, walking away without ever looking back. She doesn't need to. The count begins and ends without any movement from Elodie. She's down and out and the winner by KO5 is Eva Mendes!

AFTER:

Eva feeling pretty good in the post-fight. "I can still fight for an 'old lady', can't I?", she asks with a smile. "See, it's all about being in great shape. These legs may not be 25 anymore, but they can still go ten rounds if need be. Of course, tonight, they didn't need to. And, that's just fine with me."