Boxing fight based on the real-life tennis match between Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova in the third round of the WTA event in Rome held on 17th May 2012.

Venue: Foro Italico Sports Complex.
Location: Rome, Lazio Region, Italy.

It's been four years since Maria Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic in the Australian Open final and in May 2012 the time has come for the Serbian to avenge that painful loss. Both girls tested their skills against Daniela Hantuchova recently and while Ivanovic lost through a split decision, Sharapova knocked Hantuchova out in convincing fashion.

"That scoreline means nothing!", confident Ivanovic states before the fight, "Sharapova had the luxury of watching my fight with Hantuchova and learned all the lessons neccessary to come out on top against here. Daniela hasn't fought before I accepted her challenge, so I was thrown in the dark and still almost pulled off a win! There won't by any copycat tactics tonight though! I plan to humiliate that Russian skank and show her that the Australian Open result was a pure fluke!"

However Maria Sharapova remains equally confident of success "If there's anyone doing some copycat ramblings, it's Ivanovic. She mocked my Sports Illustrated deal to begin with and the only thing she hasn't done so far to ride my coat-tails is dying her hair blonde! She's disgusting enough as a brunette and I plan to simply punch the stuffing out of her and back up my win from four years ago. I understand she's forgotten about that one already and she thinks she can handle me now, but that won't happen. I will crush her and I know it!"

Ana Ivanovic wearing an orange bikini top, bright green mini-skirt and black gloves. Maria Sharapova wearing a red bikini top, black mini-skirt and black gloves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Ivanovic comes firing out of the blocks, jabbing at the blonde's midsection, catching her in the jaw with a precise half-uppercut and pushing her back to the ropes easily. Sharapova takes a while before responding, unloads wide slaps to the arms, very chaotic in the early execution and Ivanovic cracks her in the cheek with a left hook, much quicker with the mitts action, follows up with a right jab to the face and the Russian must cover up, leans on the ropes, takes more punishment to the guts as Ana barks with every shot attempt, clearly enjoying her early advantage. Sharapova's puzzled by this barrage, offers single strikes to the body, far too weak to make any impression and the brunette just keeps driving forward, lays more leather on the blonde's chest and stomach instead. Ana's too eager to finish her rival off and literally jumps on her while Maria's pinned to the ropes and the Russian catches some break by clinching the exuberrant Ivanovic late in the round. That hardly changes the overall reception, it's all about the Serbian after three minutes of action.

Round 2:
Sharapova tries to steal the momentum away from Ivanovic and throws an early combo to the midsection, but misses a follow-up uppercut and Ana counters her immediately, nailing the blonde in the ribcage and smacking her in the mouth with a cross-hook. Sharapova wobbles, but refuses to step back, fires a jab to the chest and has the brunette moaning for a fraction, but the response is also a quick one, Ivanovic with a jabbing sequence to the ribs, Maria's arms too slow to cover that one and a big uppercut cleans her on the jaw moments later. Russian's on soft legs now, wobbles to the side, Ivanovic with a huge left hook over the gloves and it catches the cumbersome blonde on the cheek again! Ana pours in with more jabs to the guts, Sharapova just completely blown away by her foe's aggression, stumbles as she tries to jump away, left hook from Ana... Bang on the cheek again... Ivanovic leaps forwards... right hook on the mouth... DOWN GOES SHARAPOVA landing hard on her backside, long legs shoot up in the air as she falls down on her back just unable to move herself forward... Feeling dizzy much? Ivanovic waves her glove in delight but the Russian isn't exactly done just yet... Maria shakes her head and pushes herself up with both arms at seven... Her face's quite swollen already.. few big hits from the brunette landed clean on the mouth and cheeks but the eyes spark thunders and Sharapova gives her rival a really long look just before the ref restores ther action. Ana looks happy with the damage she's inflicted so far, doesn't rush things after the command and allows the Russian to jump back to the ropes and bide her time until the bell. It's all Ivanovic so far, but will she regret backing away so soon?

Round 3:
Ivanovic doesn't waste any time at the start of the third, comes jabbing after the blonde, laces her in midsection early, looks for another uppercut to the chin, but gets blocked and quickly Sharapova finds some response, nails the Serbian in the stomach with a low wrencher, throws a jabbing combo to the head and forces the brunette back. Ivanovic begins to circle around, smacks herself in the face with top of the glove but Sharapova opens up, drives low to the stomach, has Ana weaving back and forth. Maria squares up to her with more vicious blows to the chest, Ivanovic stuck behind her guard, shows little signs of feeling the pressure and the blonde frustrates herself to the bone with a harmless attack. Ivanovic throws a left hook over the gloves, Maria's weaved to the side herself, but a right follow-up comes immediately after and lands below the elbow, Ana's on the move again as both girls crash off each other in the center of the ring. Wild slaps on hand, girls are smacking themselves with ferocious intenstity, Ivanovic works on the blonde's face, peppers her guard repeatedly, Maria tries to make full use of her longer reach by firing straight jabs to the head, can't direct them quick enough though and cuts the air as Ana splits her mitts and whacks in the mouth! Blonde's head snaps back and Maria moans in pain, just was the doctor ordered for the brunette, more jabs to the midsection follow and Ana regains the upperhand, forces the Russian back and pins her along the ropes with another jabbing sequence. Sharapova covers up in despair again, just unable to tame the Serbian firecracker and is relieved to hear the bell which halts Ivanovic's antics briefly.

Round 4:
Red mist mode fully on for Ivanovic, she once again barks with every punch, but the intensity doesn't match the effects anymore in the fourth. Sharapova's happy to stay in mid-range, takes few shots on the arms and counters with a hooking response to the head. Ivanovic gets laced seriously for the first time, couple of jabs crash off her cheeks but she keeps coming forward, jabbing with even higher intensity, but failing to connect with the Russian's flesh. Maria opens up, whacks a couple of hooks to the ribcage and snaps the brunette's head with a left hook on the eye. Ivanovic winces loudly, jumps back to the ropes, but doesn't catch any respite as Sharapova's after her with a quick leap forwards. Methodical effort from the blonde who peppers the suddenly motionless rival in the chest, skims off her mouth with a short hook, throws more jabs to the midsection. Ivanovic's overwhelmed by the best Sharapova charge to date and looks to clinch, big right hand nails her in the ear and the Serbian falls on the ropes, ducks away from a mammoth left piledriver and whacks her head against the blonde's breasts with a desperate leap forward. Maria with a couple of laces with the top of the glove to the kidneys. Naughty! Ref drags her away but the Russian hellcat looks furious now and Ana just sinks on her knees in the corner. More wild slaps from both flanks keep her pinned in danger zone, but the bell sounds and this time it's the brunette looking relieved.

Round 5:
More aggression from Sharapova, she steps up quickly and meets Ana in the center of the ring. Ivanovic still looks poised to inflict some damage, reckons the previous round was just a brief letdown as she throws a vicious combo to the midsection. Russian's elbows protect her well; Maria counter to the head, huge right hook exposes Ana's defence, that left arm was mighty slow getting up. Another loud moan from the Serbian, Sharapova keeps firing away, backs the stunned rival to the ropes with some jabs to the chest. Ana ducks to the side, looks to escape some menacing blows as Maria ups the tempo, lands another hook on the head, follows up with a wrencher to the stomach. Ivanovic bends forward, seeks another clinch but the blonde cross-hooks her to the ropes, Ana's head snapping back and forth under a tremendous barrage as Maria screams in anger now. Left/right combo knocks some sense out of the brunette and she sinks on her knees again. Maria with more shots to the guts; Ana all covered up, unable to find anything going now, just waiting for the Russian's fatigue to catch up with her. No chance of that happenning soon though as more well-placed jabs keep the Serbian buried in the ropes, moaning in a mix of pain and disbelief. At the bell it's Ivanovic's face reddened and beginning to swell. Sharapova wants to put back some hair behind her ear, must rely on the cornermen helping her out and she keeps eyeballing the Serbian foe in the opposite corner.

Round 6:
Ivanovic's slow from her stool, feeling the effects of Sharapova's repeated attacks in the previous couple of rounds, but the Russian looks to be struggling out there as well. Mutual respect from both girls as they look for more holes in each other's defence. They both had their chances and Ivanovic still has that knockdown to help her cause. Maria's the first to blink, walks forward slowly, narrows the gap for Ana to manouver around the ring. Eye-to-eye contact all the way through, no gloves dropped, no teasing nor fooling around. Girls mean business and still want to knock each other out! Hooking action from Maria, catches the arms but Ana's response is slow, she misses a shot to the jugs and Sharapova whacks her in the guts, but skims off as Ivanovic's backed herself against the ropes in avoidance. Rushed follow-up from the blonde, chaotic jab that was destined to go nowhere misses the brunette's head by a mile and Ivanovic nails her rival in the side of the breasts with a right hook, cracks a left to the face and the Russian's head snaps to the side. Ivanovic with a jabbing sequence to the head and chest, finds some agility with her feet and throws more shots from the side as Maria wobbles back to the ropes herself. Ana drives forward but crashes off the guard and can only clinch with the slow-moving blonde. Both girls throw some quick shots while locked in the stalemate, ref tries to separate them but they tangle with each other's arms and an almighty struggle occurs near the corner post. Finally the bell comes to the rescue after a lenghty altercation but the girls refuse to let go anyway! People from both corners look set to enter the ring and help the ref out, but after a heated words exchange, girls acknowledge the round is over and turn away from each other. Ref wipes off some sweat from his forehead, that was a close one...

Round 7:
Two swollen-faced beauties go at it straight off the bell in the seventh, seemingly eager to dwarf each other mentally now. Ivanovic with left/right shots to the chest, flicks an uppercut, but gets blocked. All power from Sharapova, throwing big hooks to the head, forcing the brunette to cover up, but swaying her head in the proccess. Ana's gets the taste of her own leather as Maria pushes her gloves against the nose; more wincing from the Serbian. Sharapova keeps the intensity high, peppers the brunette in the middle of the ring while Ana's response starts to dwindle. Big right hook bends her down halfway through the rounds and Maria unloads a couple of belly shots, further sinking her rival. Ivanovic tries to clinch, dives with her head under the elbow, but the Russian is light on her feet, shoves the aching Ana away and whacks her in the temple with a right hook. Ivanovic's on soft legs now, Maria pounces on the wounded prey and throws a flurry of jabs to the chest and arms as Ana covers up. She's rooted to the spot though and wild slaps keep her rocking from side to side. Footwork's all gone for the brunette and Sharapova just punishes her without any resistance whatsoever. Big hooks dismantle Ana's defence and she jumps back to the ropes, almost stumbles over and bends down moments later as Maria keeps firing away at her with ease. Exceptional fitness level from the Russian, showing no signs of major fatigue. At the bell she's strictly business, struts back to her corner while Ivanovic remains glued to the ropes, staring at the canvas and shaking her head. She then slowly makes her way back to her corner. Her early advantage is all gone and she faces a huge task to overcome the prancing blonde.

Round 8:
Sharapova doesn't give the wounded brunette any respite; Ivanovic's very slow across the ring, cannot keep her rival at distance and Maria makes her longer reach work now, laces her in the ribcage, flicks a couple of jabs around the chest, threatens some hooks to the chin. Ivanovic's too slow to avoid all those efforts, has more steam taken out of her and Sharapova steps in with a flurry of shots to the chest; Ivanovic's pinned to the ropes in a flush, big hits from both flanks to the temple.. right one covered... left one... NOT.... Ivanovic gets cleaned with a mammoth hook AND DOWN GOES THE BRUNETTE in the corner... she leans over the ropes, head falls between the ropes as she struggles to find her breath. The mighty Russian gloats over her in disdain and has to be dragged away by the referee. Ana shows intentions of getting up, scrambles herself with the help of the ropes at six but her eyes look misty and not so venomous as before. She nods her nead in approval to ref's commands. She's good to go! Sharapova hardly amused with this story, squares up to her in no time, looks to land another big punch to the head, crashes off the guard instead though as Ana leans against the corner post expecting more punishment. Sharapova gives it to her... lands a combo to the ribcage, works some uppercuts to the chin, but can't split the mitts anymore. Angry shouts from the blonde.. she's going for the kill and Ivanovic's at her mercy.... Left/right combo to the head... Ana's unable to defend herself... Ref looks on.... Single shots from the Russian, almost surprised that the brunette hangs on... Ana moans with every punch... but there's the bell stopping Sharapova from cleaning out the brunette for good! Lucky break for the Serbian, but she's barely able to walk to her corner now... and she's on the verge of breaking down as the visibly concerned cornermen embrace her.

Round 9:
Ivanovic's very game to make it off her stool for the penultimate round, but backs away to the ropes facing Maria's first approach. Sharapova steps up on her moments later, laces in the ribcage, throws one more uppercut to the mouth and the brunette's mitts crack down... Left/right combo to the head and Ana's moans are painful to listen let alone experience the pain inflicted on her by the ruthless blonde. Maria just whacks her without any resistance and Ivanovic crumbles against the corner post. Piledriver to the mouth cuts the brunette's lips and she sinks on her knees. Another hook from the right and Ivanovic gets nailed on the temple. Left to the breasts, another jab to the mouth... Ana's swallowing her own blood and she can't take it anymore as SHE SLIDES DOWN along the post looking battered out of her senses. Maria gives her a customary death stare and walks away to her corner while the ref starts the count. Ivanovic shows little signs of getting up at first, wipes off the blood from her mouth at four and tries to scramble herself back upright by wrapping her arms around the ropes. She turns on the side and lifts one knee up at five, moans in pain as she grabs the corner post, desperate effort from the Serbian... Sharapova looks on with little emotion on her face... At eight Ivanovic's on her feet with her back turned against the ref and she leans face-first on the ropes. Her long black hair cover her face and allthough she's been able to stand up, the ref meets little response to his commands. He waves it off as the Serbian appears to break down in tears behind that curtain of hair... TKO R9 Maria Sharapova!!!

Post-fight:
Both gloves are raised in the air as the Russian blonde finally flashes a smile that would make any PR guy scrambling for an appointement with her in no time. Ivanovic's cornermen immediately make their way onto the ring and console their girl and Ana keeps her head down, ignores looking over at the joyful rival. Sharapova eyeballs her all the way through the post-fight celebrations before finally accepting the manner of her victory and putting away the Serbian challenge to bed. Ivanovic's beside herself, wants to vanish from the arena as soon as possible and just seconds after the official verdict is announced, she disappears into the locker room with her cornermen shoving away all the journalists looking to stick up a mic in her face.

Meanwhile it's all smiles for the blonde back in the ring "I destroyed her mentally in the end. I mean, check the scorecards, I landed twice as many punches on her face, sure, she had a good start, but I knew she won't be able to maintain that... What second round knockdown? I barely recall that. I was all over her since the fourth and smashed her to bits! Once I cut her lip, she was gone for good. She couldn't damage me the way I could damage her and she just couldn't live with it. Four years on and I'm STILL the better fighter. Both she and everyone else got the ultimate proof tonight. She won't be coming back for another rematch for a very long time..."

Final result: Maria Sharapova def. Ana Ivanovic TKO9.