Boxing on Oct 28, 2016 at 1:02 am

Kate Upton versus Gigi Hadid(Welterweight Championship)

(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Pretty rarefied air for Gigi Hadid. With only a handful of FCBA fights to her credit, the tall beauty finds herself not only facing one of the FCBA's very biggest stars in Kate Upton, but doing so on its biggest stage and for the Unified Welterweight title. Of course, Ms. Hadid's resume may be a little light for a shot at the straps, but a recent victory over top contender Bianca Kajlich shows she can compete at a high level. The question, though, as it always is in a fighter's first time in a situation like this, will be "Is it too big for her?" For Gigi's part, she's confident she knows the answer. "It's true that I don't have a lot of FCBA experience," she says with a shake of the head. "But, I'm a model. And, models box all the time. I've logged more rounds than a lot of women who've been in the FCBA for years. As for Kate, she's a model, too. She came up the same way I did, the same way Decker and Lima and Swan and Bundchen did...all girls who've won titles here. And, I'm going to win titles, too. Might as well start tonight."

"A lot of people," says Kate with a nod, "Are talking about her being a star of the future around here. And, I think those people may be right. Thing is, I'm not A star, I'm THE star, and not of the future, of the PRESENT. Gigi may win titles some day. But not against me. And certainly not tonight."


ROUND ONE

Hadid cautious early. No surprise. She's giving away both weight and power to Kate The Great, so she's not trying to get into early firefights. Upton content to play the patient game, too. Because, while Hadid isn't the hitter she is, Gigi HAS proven that she can hit at this level, and the last thing the champ wants to do is get in trouble early. Result is a lot of long jabs. A lot of footwork. A lot of movement. A lot of probing. This is tactical stuff writ large, as the fighters try to figure out what they'll be able to do this evening and what the other girl wants to do. There's action, mind. Punches are thrown. Punches land. Some are slipped. Some are blocked. Some are short. But some land and a few do so with authority. But, no one's hurt and no one really gets her offense going. Instead, there are fits and starts and flurries, and, when the bell rings, it's close, but it's Upton with the early 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Caution still the name of the game for Hadid. For Upton? Not so much. Kate applying pressure now. Wants to bring her power advantage to bear. She's stepping in now, committing on punches, backing up Gigi. Hadid forced to give ground. She's trying to show some angles here, stay off true, but Kate moving the feet well, getting Gigi barreled up and landing some hard shot. Until Hadid catches her. It's a nasty right hand counter that staggers Upton and forces her to grab Hadid to stay on her feet! And, while Gigi may not have a ton of FCBA experience, she knows how big this opportunity is, and she takes advantage of it. She has over two and a half minutes to try to finish Upton off and pull a massive upset and she goes all in to do just that. Hadid is all OVER the champion, hammering away with both hands, staggering Kate repeatedly. Only those awesome gams hold the champion up. And, even they seem about to give at any moment. By the end, Hadid has Kate in a corner, just hammering her. Mercifully, the bell sounds, but not before Gigi's pitched a shutout and evened the fight at 19.

ROUND THREE:

And, here's where the inexperience shows up. Hadid did a great job last round, but, now she's determined to clean up. Upton knows what's coming and knows her legs are nowhere close to back. So, she goes to the ropes early and plays peek-a-boo. This isn't something Kate's done much, and, frankly, she doesn't do it all that well. But, she does it well enough against a challenger who's keyed up and getting sloppy. Upton keeps the guard high, puts her awesome body on sale. Gigi won't buy. Instead, she head hunts the entire round, missing punches, having them blocked, banging them off Upton's guard. Kate, meanwhile, gets the time she needs to slowly begin recovering. Hadid, despite her low connect rate, wins the first two minutes easily, as Upton's doing almost nothing. But, by the final minute, Kate's counters begin having their effect, and the champion is actually getting the better of things by the bell. It's Gig's round close and she now leads 29-28, but a big chance may have passed her by.

ROUND FOUR:

Hadid may be inexperienced, but she learns quickly. She can see Upton's moving better in this round, but still not as well as she usually does. So, Hadid gets on her bike. The rangy, lanky beauty begins circling behind her long jab, forcing Kate to use those legs to try to close and cut. And, Upton's having trouble doing it. Gigi  bouncing, circling, popping that jab. She's not stopping to put punches together. She's content with just the left. Because, the whole plan is to make Kate move. Upton's gamely trying to close down the ring, but she can't do it. And the challenger's strategy is looking better and better as the round goes on. She circles, pivots, circles, pivots, always wide, always working that left hand. Upton getting a little frustrated as the round goes on. Can't get where she needs to be to get much done. And, it's not much solace that Gigi isn't getting a ton done either, because Hadid is doing more, and, as a result, she grabs her third straight round to take a 39-37 lead.

ROUND FIVE:

Upton's heard it in the corner. "GET. AFTER. HER." So, Kate does. Problem is, Gigi's not easy to get after. The combination of her length and athleticism makes it a neat trick. But. A minute in, Kate turns it. BOOM! It's a thunderous right hand that blows Hadid directly to her back! The champion raises her hands in victory as she heads back to her corner to watch. And, then, can only shake her head as the challenger, improbably, actually gets back to her feet after that! Let's just say a lot of welters would have been on the mat well past ten, but, not Gigi. Hadid is up at nine, and, while she's plenty shaky, the referee waives Upton forward. And, if you want video to demonstrate a clean up, just run the last two minutes of this round. Because, Kate cleans Hadid up so well she puts Alice's work at the Brady house to shame. Upton is all over Gigi from the moment she rises to the final bell, giving her a thorough beating. But, somehow, the challenger hangs on and makes it to the end of the round. It's Upton 10-8, though, and we're now even at 47.

ROUND SIX:

Kate's got that apron on. She's picking up Greg's jacket and hanging it in the closet. Bobby and Cindy left their Legos out again. Clean them up and put them away. Got to get that laundry hung. Done. Now, time to spruce up the kitchen before the kids get home from school and want a snack. Clean. Clean. Clean. With the towel over her shoulder. Time to run the vacuum in Mike's den. This place is going to be spotless. Unlike the body and face of Gigi Hadid. Because, that is covered with spots. Kate's thumping ribs and midsection, bruising up the challenger. She's landing heavy leather to the head and face, has Gigi's lips puffing and her left eye beginning to swell. Upton's just cleaning away, waiting for Hadid to finally collapse. But, she doesn't. She's shipping enough punishment to sink about 80 percent of the welterweight division. But, it's still not enough. The challenger's looking pretty wrecked by the bell, but she's still standing. It's Kate wide, though, and Upton reclaims the lead 57-56.

ROUND SEVEN:

Upton rolling now. This is a "nice fight, kid, but..." situation. Kate's lining up Gigi, backing her up, getting heavy shell on target. Champ's advantage in weight and power showing up big, as she getting very physical with Hadid, Gigi game, but unable to stop a slow, steady Upton advance, and, without the legs she had before the shelling of the last couple of rounds, she's unable to avoid the punishment the champion's dishing out. It's grim stuff for the challenger. She's hanging in as best she can, but it's all Upton. Until GIGI DROPS HER WITH A RIGHT HAND! For the second time tonight, Hadid lands a perfectly-timed counter, getting her feet set and the punch on target just in time and the champion wobbles and drops to her knees! Place going crazy as Hadid hurries to a neutral corner, hoping against hope. But, Kate's not staying down. Champ back to her feet and ON COMES GIGI! Challenger winging away with everything she has with 45 seconds to go in the round. Upset so close she can taste it. Kate rope bound, taking a beating. But, she takes it and is still standing at the bell. 10-8, Hadid. And Gigi on top 66-65 with three to go.

ROUND EIGHT:

Hadid in firm control now. Kate wobbly, and Gigi's been here before this evening. This time, nothing sloppy. This time, she's working soundly and giving the busty blonde champion a beating. Hadid not winging punches. She's setting up hard right hands with good lefts. She's working to break down Kate's defenses, then filling the holes with power punches. Upton keeping the guard high, trying to counter in spots, but she's hurt and in major trouble. Challenger calling the tune and it's got to be sounding a lot like Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor' to the champion. Gigi working head, body, back to the head. Kate taking heavy shell, but those sturdy legs holding her up. She's scoring some on the counter as the round goes along, but Hadid is in firm control from the first second to the last. When the bell finally rings, it's Gigi wide. And, don't look now, but the challenger leads 76-74 with two rounds to go.

ROUND NINE:

Hadid has the lead and knows it. And, she begins acting like it. Her legs are back and she starts using them. Challenger is on her bicycle to start the ninth, circling and jabbing again. Kate's behind and she knows it. And, she's acting like it. Legs are still somewhat heavy, but she's willing herself forward, working hard to cut the ring, trying to bring Hadid to battle so she can bring her power to bear. Gigi not playing that. The challenger is all leg and jab now, circling wide, reversing, making Kate chase. Upton stalking intently, looking for every opportunity to corner her rival, but she's not finding many. Hadid playing this out like the fourth. She's not getting a lot done, but she's doing enough. And, she's running clock. And, that's what this is all about. Doing enough and running clock. And, that's exactly what Gigi does. At the bell, she's claimed the round close and she now has a commanding 86-83 lead with just one round to go.

ROUND TEN:

Upton doesn't need something big now, she needs something huge. And, again, Gigi knows it. The challenger needs nothing. Nothing but the bell. Because, when that rings, she's going to be Unified Welterweight Champion and have made the quickest rise to the title in FCBA history. She just needs the bell. So Gigi's back on her bicycle. She's dancing and circling and snapping out jabs. She's not quite running, but she's not far from it. Upton stalking, throwing caution to the wind. Get knocked out or lose on the cards. What does it matter? It's still a loss and the belt will still be gone. So. All in. Charging after Gigi. Opening herself up to big shots. But, Hadid not interested in those. It's all about the clock for the challenger. One minute gone. Then, two minutes gone. Kate desperate, charging after Gigi, winging punches, and DROPPING HER WITH A RIGHT HAND! Upton lands an overhand  right with 30 seconds to go and DOWN GOES GIGI! Are. You. Kidding. Me??? Kate completely spent, gets to a neutral corner and watches, chest heaving. Hadid down on her back as the referee counts. Gigi rolls over at five. If she can get to her feet, the title is hers. SHE. CAN'T! Gigi lying face down in tears as the count passes her by. So close, but not quite. It's over! And your winner by KO10 and STILL Unified Welterweight Champion is Kate Upton!

AFTER:

Upton still breathing hard in the post-fight interview. Face puffy. Chest heaving. "I knew I had to do something in that last round," she says with a shake of the head. "I was down big. Had to get her out of there. She was running away from me. I knew I was running out of time, but, I figured I'd go down swinging. Well. I was swinging. And, SHE'S the one who went down."