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27 February 2015 Katy Perry vs Bridget Regan

Page history last edited by Vassago 9 years ago

OFFICIAL SSB PPV

(NON-TITLE BOUT)

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on February 27, 2015, 9:22 am

Katy Perry vs. Bridget Regan
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

The usual Bazz/Front Street respect gone one better. Clear there's no animosity here, not even an early Bird/Magic kind of rivalry. This is more late Bird/Magic "I kind of hope he beats everyone but us" stuff. "Obviously, she's a girl to measure yourself against," says Katy with a nod. "Bridget's been among the elite of the elite at welter for some time. On a given day, she can beat any fighter in the FCBA. Any. There aren't many girls who can say that. But Bridget can."

"Katy hits as hard as anyone in the FCBA," says Bridget. "I knew, sooner or later, she'd put the rest of the pieces together, and, when she did, look out. Well, she has, and she's wearing gold. She's going to be a challenge, and a big one. And I look forward to it.

ROUND ONE:

Nothing fancy going on here. Oh, both girls can get fancy if they so desire. Both are athletic. Both can box. And both have done on several occasions. But, tonight, in the first at least, it seems to be about hitting the other girl with bigger and bigger hammers until she falls down. There are some jabs thrown. But not many. There are some punches dodged or blocked. But not many. There are plenty of bombs thrown, and most land. And both girls ship them and keep on coming. Until Regan lands a brutal right hand that staggers Perry and nearly sends her to the canvas. Is the battle of champions going to end inside of two minutes? It just might. Regan throws caution to the winds and gets after Perry in a big way. Katy's quickly backed to the ropes with shell detonating from all directions. Bridgy getting off lusty and the referee isn't going to allow much more of it. Perry finally stabilizes and none too soon, jabbing back and getting herself some space. Regan dominates the rest of the round, however, and takes the first wide, but still leads only 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

Regan right back at Perry. She wants to consolidate the gains of last round and keep the lightweight champion on her heels. Perry retreats, still, apparently not completely sure of the sturdy legs. Regan now dictating terms, using the long left and her reach advantage to good effect. She's setting up blistering rights with good jabs. Perry's all on defense, covering up, not doing much...until she sends Regan reeling with a right hand! Katy's walked the welterweight champion right into a vicious straight right and now it's Bridget's legs that turn rubber. And, we now see a replay of the last round with the roles reversed. Regan is in full retreat and Perry is attacking from everywhere, banging home thumping leather with both hands. Regan's on the ropes, both literally and figuratively and Katy's dishing out the same level of punishment she took in round one. Bridget, however, isn't going to let the referee even think about it. She's trying to counter at every opportunity, and, while the punches don't do much, they do keep the referee at bay, and Regan's legs manage to hold her up until the final bell. But, it's a wide win for Katy and an already action-packed fight is now even at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Bridget decides to settle this thing down. She gets to work with the left jab, trying to create space and make Katy work to penetrate. Bridget's reach can be a problem, especially considering how quick she is and how much power she has. But, Katy's the girl who dealt with this same problem against Strahovski and found enough solutions to claim the lightweight gold. She finds them here, as well. It's about head and shoulder movement and footwork. As Peter Falk once memorably shouted, "Serpentine!" Nothing's a straight line. It's about the bob and the weave and not being where the jab can find you...and, if you are, having your hands in position to pick the sucker off. The third isn't as crowd pleasing as the first and second were. Fewer punches are thrown. No big bombs land. But, if you like boxing, and you enjoy two talented, athletic fighters working to create terms they like, the third is the round for you. Both women have success. Both score points. And the result is a closely-fought three minutes that Regan pulls out to take the 29-28 lead.

ROUND FOUR:

More of what we saw in the third. Bridget wants to work at range and go all gun-platform. Perry wants to work at middle distances, and, as the minutes go on, she's slowly solving Bridget's defenses and penetrating them. Of course, that's not exactly a magic formula for victory, because, when you get where you want to be, it's still Bridget Freaking Regan in front of you. She can fight you at any distance you like. But, Bridget does prefer to extend, and Katy's not allowing it. She's inside Regan's perimeter, and, when she's in there, she can and does do damage. Neither girl has worked much body to this point, but that changes. Perry begins to invest there, working her way up and backing Regan up a couple of times with solid right hands to the head off body shots. The longer the round goes, the more Perry controls it. At the bell, Katy's in rhythm and has evened things at 38 with an easy, breezy win.

ROUND FIVE:

The tone is set in the first ten seconds. Regan lands an absolute bomb that backs Katy up a step. Bridget steps forward and is sent back by a right hand that snaps her head back. And, here come the hammers. We're right back to where we were in the first, with the two fighters going hard after one another, winging bombs with both hands. It's not sloppy, mind, but it's far from subtle. It's not mindlessly brutal. But, it's plenty brutal. It's not a Pier Six brawl, but you could excuse the audience for mistaking it for one, because more power punches land inside the three minutes of round five than land in a lot of ten round fights. It's one leather-clad explosion after another, with both women getting just about everything they have into the punches and both taking them and coming back with more. It's, in three-minute form, exactly what a battle of champions ought to be. And the fans are on their feet loving it. When the bell rings the two fighters exchange looks...and then smiles. Gloves are tapped before they turn and go back to their corners. It's another close one. Very close. Regan squeaks it out and leads 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

More for the fans to love. Aggression rules the day as the two hard-hitting champions get after one another again. Again, huge punches are traded, punches that would have ended the nights of most lights and even most welters by now, but Perry and Regan take them and keep firing back. About a minute in, however, Katy catches Bridgy with a straight right and Regan is GOBSMACKED! The welterweight champ stumbles backward and Perry come after her with everything in the arsenal. Bridget's quickly back on the ropes and Perry's going all in for a finish. The crowd is on its feet as Katy lights up Big Red with both hands. Regan's head snaps back, sweat flies and DOWN GOES PERRY! Out of nowhere comes a right-hand counter and Perry's blown to her back. Regan, legs barely responsive, almost doesn't make it to a neutral corner, but she does. By the time that happens, Katy's rolled to her belly and begins pushing to her hands and knees. She's shanking it off as the count continues. At eight, Katy gets to her feet then STUMBLES BACK TO HER KNEES and the referee WAIVES IT OFF, not giving Perry another chance to rise. It's OVER! And your winner by TKO6 in back-against-the-ropes fashion is Bridget Regan!

AFTER:

Plenty of respect in the post-fight as well. Perry's to her feet almost immediately and the two champions sort of check on one another in the center of the ring, both waiving off help from their corners before exchanging a McCarthy-busting hug. Regan still out of breath and woozy when the microphone gets to her. "Wow! That was some fight! Like I said prefight, she hits as hard as anyone in the FCBA and you saw that tonight. She had me in trouble a couple of times, and I had her in trouble a couple of times. I think we both figured a fight like this was going to come down to who landed the big punch. Fortunately, it was me."