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28 November 2014 Brenda Song vs Sarah Shahi

Page history last edited by Archer844 9 years, 3 months ago

Brenda Song 06.jpg Sarah Shahi 03.jpg

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on November 28, 2014, 10:58 am

Brenda Song (Bazz Fight Club) vs. Sarah Shahi (Odds & Ends Fight Studio)
Flyweight Tournament Round 1
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

"They're doing it again," says Brenda, shaking her head. "They're all overlooking me. They've got me seeded down at the bottom of this tournament, and nobody thinks I have a chance. It's all about Hayden, and Natalie, and Shahi. Well, I'm about to crash their little party in a big way and bring the flyweight title to Bazz for the first time."

"It's funny," says Sarah, "How quickly people forget. I mean, I've lost one fight in forever, and, before that, everyone was talking about how I was the dominant flyweight. Then, I lose the belts, and, all of a sudden, I'm not special anymore. I'm not even the top seed in this thing, despite the fact that the girl who beat me isn't even IN it. People forget. So, tonight, I'll give them a little reminder."

ROUND ONE:

Song's unorthodox style quickly on display, but Sarah not at all bothered by it. Instead, it's Shahi on the move, lithe, quick, snapping jabs, finding Brenda and touching her up, then slipping the counters and showing up somewhere else. Song a bit troubled by all the motion and the quickness. Can't get to spots or get off like she wants to. She's busy early, but not effective. Sarah handles her odd angles, anticipates her punches, and avoids the majority of the leather while landing plenty of her own. Shahi is so SMOOTH, so athletic, so confident. As the round goes on, she takes control firmly, and, by the time it ends, Brenda's spending most of her time covering up. Easy, breezy Shahi for a 10-9 lead after one.

ROUND TWO:

Song getting used to the speed, keeping the hands higher and using more footwork. She's picking off a lot of Sarah's punches now, as she has that extra instant to get them, and she's finding ways to get off on the older woman, angling up, crowding, slipping and sliding. Shahi still doing some scoring of her own. The speed guarantees that. But Brenda's giving as good as she gets as she whacks the flanks with hooks, extends exchanges, and surprises the former champ with those punches from odd angles she's so dangerous with. The initiative slowly changes hands, and, in the closing seconds it all belongs to Song. She has Sarah covering up and countering, taking shell to both head and body. At the bell, we've had two different rounds, one pretty, the other not so much. And the result is a 19-19 tie after two.

ROUND THREE:

Shahi wants to stick and move and she's got the "move" part down. The "stick", however, has become difficult. Brenda's got those gloves high and she's all about angles, slipping and sliding, working those feet. Sarah finds the target at times, but she can't often put anything together. Song just isn't where she's supposed to be very often, and, when she is, she doesn't stay there long. And the leather. It comes from places you wouldn't expect, fouling the former champion's rhythm. Sarah handles it some, but it chips away at her in two ways. One, it slows her offense, as she's hesitant, waiting for punches that never come, and, two, when they do come, they land, scoring points and frustrating her. Shahi presses on, looking to get back into that first-round rhythm, but it never happens. At the bell, it's Brenda again, and Song is now on the lead 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Sometimes the complexion of a fight changes slowly. A prime example occurred in round two of this one, with Brenda slowly taking the initiative from Sarah. And, sometimes, the complexion of a fight changes quickly. And a prime example of that occurs in this round. Oh, it starts innocently enough, with both women back to using the tactics they've used the last couple of rounds. Brenda with the high hands, all angles and unorthodoxy. Sarah smooth, slick, wants to move and stick. And then, it all changes in an instant. Just one snake-like right hand from Shahi all that's necessary to do the trick. It comes off a left jab and it lands almost perfectly. Song immediately stumbles and nearly goes down. And that's all Sarah needs to see. She's all over Brenda in an instant, battering her back into the ropes and having at it with both hands. Song shell shocked. Covering up, trying to weather the storm. But. Shahi keeps coming. Keeps banging away. Keeps testing Brenda's legs. Song is shaken repeatedly, but refuses to go. The referee nearly makes the decision for her in the closing seconds, but, somehow, she survives. At the bell, though, Sarah's now in firm control despite the fact that the scorecards read 38-38.

ROUND FIVE:

Shahi, like a champion does, presses her advantage. Brenda still unsteady as the round begins, and Sarah moves in for the kill. Song game, but in deep trouble from the outset. She's suppressed, then besieged, and finally, battered. Still, Brenda won't go. She hangs in desperately, countering in spots, doing just enough to keep the referee at bay. But, oh, the punishment she's taking. Sarah reefing right hands to the head and plowing hooks to the body. Brenda's putting the latter on sale as she covers up, and Sarah's buying in bulk. She's breaking the Bazz girl down, but unable to break her will. Song holds on, clinches, clutches, grabs, covers up, does everything she can to remain on her feet and remain in this fight. And, again, when all is said and done, she manages to do so. Just. Despite again being wobbled several times, Song ends the round on her feet. Sarah ends it with a 48-47 lead and an opponent that looks just about finished.

ROUND SIX:

"Cue Song comeback" would be far too strong a phrase. How about "cue Song stabilizing front"? Not nearly as dramatic, but a far more apt description of what occurs from the early moments of this round. Sarah starts it going after Brenda, but immediately realizes that the younger woman's legs are back. Song showing that movement and those angles again, and, in doing so, creating a situation far too dangerous for Shahi to wing away in. Instead, Sarah goes back to the box-and-move tactics she used prior to that right hand that changed everything, and they're more effective in this round than they were in the second and third, partially, perhaps, as a result of the fact that Song's legs, while recovered, are still somewhat degraded. What is not degraded is the Bazz girl's want-to. Oh, no, that's in fine, fine shape, and it's that trait she leans on as she works hard through three minutes, finding places to punch from, finding ways to counter Sarah's quick flurries, finding ways to score from places she shouldn't be able to score from. The round is close from the beginning, and, when it comes to an end, it's Brenda who's done just enough and evened this thing up again at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Boxing can be the cruelest of sports. Witness the lovely Brenda Song. Put in loads of work to wrest control of this fight from a former champion, only to have it taken away by one, perfectly-placed punch. Took two rounds of vicious punishment and then put in some more grim work to get back into the fight. But, now, as the seventh round begins, it all starts to catch up to her. She's drawn back even with Shahi, but used a lot of horse to do that. And now Sarah slowly begins to pull away. The gorgeous former champ quickly gets into rhythm, a rhythm like the one we saw in the first round, and begins peppering Brenda with blows from everywhere. Song counters in spots, but it's all she can do. She's apparently been slowed just enough by all the punishment to make her unable to respond effectively most of the time. It doesn't take long for Sarah to see it, or take advantage of it. Shahi's boxing lead from the beginning, and, as the round reaches its midpoint, she's allowing less and less response from Song. Then, BOOM. It's absolutely lovely. Absolutely perfectly timed. And absolutely devastating. A short right-hook counter from Song that rocks Shahi's world. That quickly, it all changes again. Shahi is in full retreat and Song goes all in. She has a chance now, and she's going to take it. Whatever's left in the beast under her saddle, she's going to use it. And use it she does. Brenda isn't sloppy. She's clinical. She hammers away at the head and body with both hands, heedless of any counter attempts from the stunned Shahi. She turns the "punishment" knob up to eleven and keeps it there. Shahi is game and desperate. She tries to clinch, tries to cover up, but nothing works. Instead, she just ships the shell until the bell rings. And, when it does, it's a different fight again. The girl who looked all but finished now has the lead 67-66.

ROUND EIGHT:

Grim, my friends. The word is "grim". What we had seven rounds ago were two talented, gorgeous fighters in fantastic shape. Now, we have what's left of those two fighters after seven brutal rounds, two puffy, tired, hurt gladiators, who, despite all the punishment, begin digging deep to find a little something more, a little something each can use to finally defeat the other. And after a minute and a half of mostly desultory fighting, with neither woman able to do much of anything save stay on her feet, one of them finds it, down deep somewhere, in a corner where she, perhaps, has never been driven to look before. She may not even have realized that corner existed. But it does. And she finds what she needs there. It all starts with a left jab and a follow on right hook. She eats the jab, takes the hook to the midsection, and then ducks the third punch, a left hook before launching herself into a right uppercut that blasts into her opponent's chin, snapping back her head, locking up her legs, and sending her crashing to the mat. Brenda Song stumbles forward, nearly tripping over the prone body of Sarah Shahi. She manages to work her way to a neutral corner and stands there, holding onto the ropes with both hands for support, stands there watching the referee count, stands there as he stops counting and calls for the bell, then tiredly walks to her corner to accept the cheers and hugs from the Bazz team. Somehow, despite it all, she's done it. Your winner by KO8 and the possessor of yet another win over an elite fly, Brenda Song!

AFTER:

"I told you all," Brenda says, tiredly. "Nobody gave me a chance, because they've all forgotten about the girls I've beaten, Hayden, Tisdale, Hudgens, Williams, Bell, Chabert, Kreuk. It's an all-star team! Now, add Shahi to the list, because there's not a girl in this division I can't beat! Not one! Not one!"