Boxing fight based on a real-life tennis match in the final of the China Open held on October 7th, 2012 in Beijing.

Exactly a month after their epic clash during US Open in New York the two highest-ranked tennis players in the world square off in the boxing ring again, this time in the Far East landscape of Beijing. World #1 Victoria Azarenka seems surprised by the challenge but never refuses to confirm her authority over a hatred rival: 'Quite frankly I don't understand why Maria wants to fight me again so soon after I beat the crap out of her in New York. Guess she loves the experience of losing, cause let's be serious, I'm unstoppable right now no matter how much money and endorsements she gets. The reality is, I'm number one and she's only number two!'

Despite somewhat bleak prospects in wake of the US Open loss Maria Sharapova shares her opinion on why the rematch is neccessary for both women: 'Victoria is a fine player and boxer, but the truth is, I never lose twice against the same person. She really needs to have some sense knocked into her and I will get my revenge tonight. I hope she's ready to get her ass handed to her!"

Victoria Azarenka wearing a black one-piece swimsuit with golden laces and golden gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a braid. Maria Sharapova wearing a red one-piece swimsuit with white stripes and black gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Both women are well known for their aggressive approach and punching strenght, so it's no surprise that they waste little time in throwing leather straight from the bell with Sharapova immediately swinging the mitts around her foe's head, trying to lay an early mark. Azarenka leaps around in mid-range but works the straight jabs to the chest, ducks under couple of hooks and whips a left on the eye that catches Sharapova by surprise. Maria responds with a flurry of shots to the ribcage but Azarenka stuns her with another big jab over the top, cleans out the left cheek and forces the Russian to cover albeit not retreat. Sharapova holds her ground, blocks a series of jabs to the head, unloads a hooking response herself but crashes off the guard as well and Victoria whips another left on the chest, follows up with a right on the temple and wobbles the stubborn Russian. Azarenka leans on her and whacks several jabs on the ribs, ducks underneath more swinging hooks from Sharapova and straight jabs on the mouth, breaks through the mitts, snaps the Russian's head back and finally forces her to step away. Maria begins to circle around her opponent as Victoria keeps her busy on her feet with menacing jabs around the head but doesn't close the distance before the bell anymore.

Round 2:
Aggressive leap from the Russian who bangs a couple of hooks on Azarenka's cheeks but the world #1 refuses to buckle, counters with a straight jab on the mouth and nails the raging Maria again, briefly halting her progress. Sharapova misses a double hooking combo to the head and gets whacked between the arms as Azarenka peppers her with another spirited sequence, flicks a surprise uppercut on the chin and snaps her foe's head back as Maria starts to eat more leather, getting pounded on the ribcage in close distance. Azarenka pushes her back with more swings around the head; Sharapova lacklustre in execition, crashes off the gloves and forearms, misses another big hook on the temple and exposes her midsection, almost too easy for Victoria to pounce on the opportunity and she has the Russian moaning in wake of another quick and vicious jabbing series. Maria steps back again but can't catch any respite as Azarenka works the single strikes over the top, threatens to unload a bug haymaker from the blue and Sharapova leans back on the ropes, gets laced around the elbows a couple of times before she can finally clinch in the dying seconds of the round. Victoria shrieks with anger, looks determined to inflict serious damage as she peppers Sharapova's ribs, blocking her arms instead and Maria doesn't look all that happy while she walks back to her corner.

Round 3:
Sharapova wants to break her rival's momentum but she's only comfortable in attack, so she squares up to Azarenka again only to get nailed with a big left hook on the eye as Victoria showed exceptional speed and caught her nemesis by surprise again. Couple of big hooks from the other side follow and Maria's head gets rocked to the side; she bends forward and suddenly Azarenka pours in with a series of half-uppercuts to the chest, forces the Russian to moan in pain, but the onslaught continues with more jabs to the ribcage. Crowd begins to wonder what's louder, Victoria's shrieks or Maria's moans but the world #1 gets the upperhand for good, just bashing her rival's tummy and finding another uppercut to the chin, exposing Sharapova's defence to the limits. Left hook on the eye nails Maria again and she's pushed back to the ropes against her will, struggling to tame the barrage. Few weaks shots on the body make no impression on the raging Belarussian and Azarenka whacks her rival between the arms again, targets the head and laces Maria on the temple before the Russian can cover up and try to clinch herself out of trouble. Victoria has other ideas though, she shoves the clinching efforts, leaps around her aching rival, avoids couple of wayward punches and finds a big right on the mouth that sinks Sharapova on her knees before another left hook shatters her guard and allows Azarenka to snap her head back and forth with no sympathy whatsoever. Azarenka in rampant mode in the final minute, bashes the Russian's ribs as Maria finally managed to get her arms in tact only to take punishment down low and it's really getting one-sided now with Azarenka's intensity breaking new grounds and totally dwarfing an otherwise demanding rival. Maria is relieved just to hear the bell and checks her face during the interval, but it's bad news for her as some lumps have appeared under the left eye with Azarenka staring at her from the opposite side. 'That's right, ugly face. Count those lumps carefully!' Victoria grins in delight looking at her foe's worried and bruised face before she can pick up where she left off.

Round 4:
Almost a suicidal tactic from Maria but she just refuses to step back and keeps going after her rival. Azarenka just waits for the Russian to make her move and blocks the early jabbing effort to the head, uses her footwork to step around Maria and counter her from the side. First left hook only catches the glove but there's another to the ribs and one more on the temple which finally breaks through as Sharapova continues to struggle with the high intensity of Victoria's execution. Right hook on the mouth and Maria wobbles back, loses her footing and gets exposed to another jabbing series to the head. Azarenka pours in with more hooks, bangs one the temple, another on the cheek and Sharapova sinks on her knees. She tries to step back but loses her balance and must help herself by rolling the windows to prevent from landing on the backside. Victoria doesn't need a second chance though; whips a cross hook on the nose and it's too much for the Russian who goes down hard on the canvas and looks stunned by the whole situation. Azarenka punches the air in delight, but more work is required as a swollen-faced Maria launches herself upright at eight. Victoria is a woman possesed now; she immediately finds a right jab on the mouth as Sharapova truly looks lost out there and can't prevent her rival from shattering her guard with another double hooking combo. She leaps back to the ropes but is soon trapped there by the raging Belarussian who whacks another successful combo on the temples, flicks a half-uppercut between the arms, nails the Russian on the chin and sends her leaning against the ropes. Maria only tries to cover herself up, but Azarenka pounds her to the ribcage, bends her forward and unleashes another crisp uppercut on the jaw. DOWN GOES SHARAPOVA ON HER KNEES!!! The proud Russian just crumbled under the barrage and sheer power from her fellow blonde rival. She fights back the tears while slowly getting up at eight, but the eyes are gloomy and her face won't be gracing the covers of any magazines soon, just one swollen mess for Sharapova. And no, ref waives it off as Maria fails to raise her arms and looks like she really had enough here. Victoria shakes her glove at her but turns away and climbs the ropes to celebrate her second consecutive win over world number two. TKO R4 Victoria Azarenka!!!

Post-fight:
That was just too much aggression for Maria Sharapova to handle and she does suffer a repeat loss to Victoria Azarenka who confirms her number one status towards the end of 2012. Perhaps a change of tactics would have helped the fallen Russian, but no one can tell that for sure now and Maria always likes to dictate the fights with her own skills rather than wait for her opponents. However she had nothing for Azarenka tonight just like she struggles to find anything for her on the tennis court lately, the sole exception being the Stuttgart indoor event. Glamour and endorsements aside, 2012 is the year of Victoria Azarenka albeit with Serena Williams riding the part-time schedule to the extreme and securing Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic scalps. She refuses to step in the ring with both Azarenka and Sharapova citing 'peasant factor' as the reason. However Azarenka keeps knocking on her door and with the double destruction of Maria Sharapova, she's got nobody in the WTA left to prove her skills but for the American veteran. With the Year End Championships still left on the calendar, Williams might be forced to step to the fore in Istanbul in two weeks time after all.

Final result: Victoria Azarenka def. Maria Sharapova TKO4.