| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

30 March 2015 Evangeline Lilly vs Minka Kelly

Page history last edited by Vassago 8 years, 10 months ago

 

OFFICIAL SSB PPV

 

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on March 30, 2015, 10:51 am

 

Evangeline Lilly versus Minka Kelly

Floydian vs Lookout! Boxing
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)


BEFORE:

Two girls who had things to prove at one point, but all the questions have now been answered. For Lilly, those questions were of recent vintage...was she still elite after inactivity and some tough losses? Well, take Danes overtime, put together a classic with Dushku, then beat Munn, the number one contender, and questions like that fade away. "This isn't personal with Minka," Lilly says, pre-fight. "It's about getting my belts back. Beating Munn was the first step. When I add Minka's scalp, I'm going to have as good a claim as anyone."

For Kelly, the questions have been career-long. She's always been in the background. Behind Cuthbert. Behind VanCamp. Always the bridesmaid. The question. Is she good...or is she special? Those questions have pretty much been answered as well, but there's still one piece missing, a piece Cuthbert and VanCamp have...the belts. "I've said it all along," Minka says with eyes shining. "I'm the best bantam at Lookout!. Better than Emily. Better than that bytch Elisha. And I'm better than Lilly, too. Tonight, I'll prove it."
 
ROUND ONE:

Two girls who often fight a similar style...but, not tonight they don't. Minka known to work forward behind the jab, much like Evangeline, but, while Lilly wants to do that tonight, Kelly wants space. She sets square and jabs, sticking out the left to create the range, tapping Lilly's forehead much like a wrestler who wants to maintain distance. Lilly initially surprised by this and thrown off kilter. Minka's jab accurate, keeping Lilly at bay, setting her up for good right hand follows. Evangeline adjusts, slowly, gets the head moving, gets her own jab on target, but Kelly's pesky offense keeps her from getting rolling. She can't get forward, can't put punches together, can't get to the spots where she wants to be. Instead, it's Minka who's controlling things with that jab, and, when the bell sounds, Kelly's won the round and taken the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Kelly back to that jab. Ping. Ping. Ping. Lilly being kept at range, right where Minka wants her. But, Evangeline not having it. She begins finding holes in the Kelly defense, creating them with excellent head, hand, and foot movement, and stepping in. Minka gives ground, turns, works in counter. She scores that way, but it's still a problem. Because this is what Lilly wants. Minka on her back foot, reacting instead of acting, allowing the former champion to get her offense going. Oh, it's two-way stuff. Minka has her moments and lands in counter, but Evangeline calls the tune. She's getting her terms, and Lilly fighting on her own terms is bad news for just about anyone. Kelly game, countering at every opportunity, but it's not enough. It's Lilly who, books the points, grabs the round, and ties things up at 19.

ROUND THREE:
 
Lilly train beginning to roll, and, like all trains, when it gets rolling, anything caught in front of it is going to come out second best in a big way. And, in front of Evangeline is the lovely Minka Kelly, who, all of a sudden, finds herself being driven before the former champion's determined power and offense. Lilly's jab and power are the key, she uses the former as a screen to advance behind and the latter, in the form of her right hand follows, to back Minka up, get her out of her stance, force her to retreat and reset again and again. This kind of thing disrupts, and disrupting leads to openings, which lead to more opportunities to disrupt and create further openings, so that, like a train going downhill, it picks up speed, and, soon, all Kelly can do is try to get out of the way before...DOWN GOES MINKA! It's a right of course, timed perfectly, catching Kelly as she tries to reset yet again. It drops her to hands and knees, where she stays, shaking her head, trying to clear it, as the referee counts. At eight, she pushes to her feet, unsteady, but, in the opinion of the referee, capable of continuing. Lilly feeds more coal into the furnace. She's all over Minka, who's quickly against the ropes taking heavy shell. Fortunately for Kelly, there's not much time left in the round, and she lasts it out. But, she's clearly scuffed as she makes her way, unsteadily, back to her corner with Lilly now up 29-27.

ROUND FOUR:

Cue Johnny Cash. "I hear the train a-comin'. It's rollin' round the bend..." And rolling right over a game Minka. Kelly's in retreat from the opening second as Lilly performs no less than a full three-minute clean up. She batters Minka around the ring, putting heavy shot to just about every legal spot on her body. She thumps body, bangs the head, forces Kelly to cover up again and again, trapping her repeatedly against the ropes and savaging her. Kelly spends the latter half of the round leaning back in the ropes in a high guard, taking a body beating so vicious that the referee seems poised to leap in and stop the punishment, as she plays for time, and, she hopes, allows Lilly to burn some energy. But, as brutal as the punishment is, Minka won't lower the guard. She hangs in, hangs on, and lasts out the three-minute bludgeoning. Despite the heroics, however, it's Lilly's round wide and Evangeline's lead is now 39-36.

ROUND FIVE:

Kelly's got to get out of the way of this train, and she can think of only one way to do so, grab hold of the thing and hang on for dear life, and, so, she does. Every time Lilly comes forward, Minka clinches. She wraps. She grapples. She ties. She tosses in the odd headlock. The only thing she's missing is an ankle pick or a fireman's carry. Lilly quickly frustrated. She tries to punch free or shove off, and, on occasion, she manages to do both, but the result, some space and freedom to punch, is short-lived. Minka quickly ties her up again, pulling down on her neck, pinning an arm, or, when she can, both. And, the tactics get her the results she wants. Evangeline stops coming forward about two thirds of the way through the round. Instead, she stays at range, jabbing for the space to punch. Now, Minka can respond in kind, and the last 60 seconds of the round are contested on the same terms as the first three minutes of the fight. And, again, Minka is able to use her disruptive jab to get the better of things on said terms. The point totals are close, but Kelly's final minute earns her the fifth and cuts the Lilly lead to 48-46.

ROUND SIX:

Evangeline back to the forward aspect. She's not going to allow Minka to dictate. So, Kelly goes back to her wrestling tactics. Because, she's not going to allow the train to get back rolling. The result is as ugly a round as two fighters this beautiful and this talented can put together. It's a bunch of clinches, shoves, and short hooks to the body with any hand that happens to be free. The referee spends the entire three minutes trying to push between the women and shove them apart. Not that he should be complaining, mind. There are few clean punches landed, and even fewer meaningful ones. But both women keep working, keep trying to free themselves enough to land something. They mostly fail, but Evangeline succeeds a little more often than Minka does, and she claims the round as a result, extending her lead back to three points, 58-55.

ROUND SEVEN:

Minka knows she's behind, and, as a result, she knows she can't keep wrestling and trading rounds with Lilly. She has to get some offense going, and that starts with the jab. She comes out snapping it and moving laterally behind it, angling up on Evangeline to stay off center on the former champion, making her move her feet in an effort to barrel up. And, if Lilly's moving laterally, she can't be on full forward. But, a train, though, can hurt you even if it just hits you a glancing blow. So, while Lilly isn't able to square up Minka as often, she's still able to get solid leather home and back Kelly up when she does so. The result is that Evangeline is able to gain some canvas and bring more of her offense to bear, forcing Minka back to the back foot and back to the counter. And, while it's another close, competitive round, Lilly is the one who gets it, putting Kelly squarely behind the eight ball, trailing 68-64.

ROUND EIGHT:

Hear the whistle? It's rolling again. The Lilly Express is coming downhill. Evangeline's locating with the jab now, walking in behind it, walking Minka down. Kelly resisting bitterly, fighting hard for every scrap of canvas. But she can't hold it. Lilly just too strong, her punches packing too much power. So Minka is forced back. Back. Back before the heavy shell. Back before the thumping power. Back toward the ropes, where she's been savaged before. Back...DOWN GOES LILLY??? It's the sweetest laser right hand, driving over Lilly's left jab and sending Evangeline to her rump. Lilly stunned, both by the punch and by the complete reversal of fortunes. Stunned, but far from finished. She's up at seven, and Minka's on her like a pack of crazed dogs. Kelly's all in, winging with both hands, sending the former champion staggering backward, trapping her against the ropes and battering her for over a minute. The referee watches closely, but Lilly's legs hold, and she sends enough back to keep him at bay. She takes a pasting, however, and, when the round ends, Minka's back in the fight, both physically and on the cards, which now read 76-74 for Lilly.

ROUND NINE:

Trains go backward, too. And the Lilly Express is in full retreat. Evangeline clearly still buzzed from the beating last round, and Minka takes full advantage. She empties the magazines, fires everything including the kitchen, bathroom, and powder room sinks at her rival in an effort to take her out of there. It's the reverse of the fourth round, because now it's Evangeline who's trapped repeatedly against the ropes and worked over, both head and body. Minka lathers Lilly's flanks, tenderizes her midsection, pummels her ribs. But, most of the work takes place upstairs, where Kelly leather cuffs her rival to the side of the head, splits her guard, and, three times, wobbles her legs with right hands. Again, the referee finds himself looking closely, but, again, Lilly's sturdy legs hold and the smart veteran is able to do enough to survive. But, that's all she can do. Survive. When the bell sounds, she's still standing, but, she's been shut out and out-pointed so badly that one of the rarities of boxing, a 10-8 round without a knockdown, is entered on the cards. Going to the tenth, it's 84 all. And anyone's fight.

ROUND TEN:

Both women told by their corners that they have to have the final round. Kelly quickly forward behind her jab and EATS a right hand from Lilly. Evangeline follows with a solid flurry and backs Minka up. Just when things looked darkest for the former champ, she's scraped up some reserves and tossed them into the battle. And, amazingly, turned the tide once again. Lilly is forward behind her left, throwing Minka to the defensive. Kelly backing, circling, then popping forward to land a heavy salvo of her own! Lilly returns fire and here we go! Reserve Pier Six because we've got a brawl on our hands! Both women are all in, tossing everything they have into the fight, damning the proverbial torpedoes in a last, desperate effort to pull out a victory. Leather flies from everywhere as the niceties of defense and foot movement are tossed out the window. They're face to face, toe to toe, firing away. And then, slowly, Minka begins to advance. Lilly can't hold her canvas! The last two rounds have taken a toll, and Kelly has more left. Evangeline conducts a fighting retreat, but, retreat she does. And, with every backward step she takes, Minka pours in more fire. In the waning seconds, Lilly's mostly covering up as Minka forces her to the defensive, piling up crucial points. When the bell rings, the reactions are telling. Minka finds the energy to raise her hands while Lilly simply turns and walks back to her corner. Despite the closeness of the fight, both competitors clearly suspect what the cards will say, and they are not wrong. By the slimmest of margins, 94-93, your winner by UD10, in comeback fashion, is Minka Kelly!

AFTER:

Kelly both exhausted and exultant. "Never count me out," she says, with a huge smile. "If I'm still standing, I can find a way to pull it out! I told you all coming in that I was the best bantam at Lookout!, better than Emily, better than Elisha...and better than Lilly. I told you all I'd prove that, and that's just what I did. And, I've also gone McAdams-Wilde-Lilly. So, I think it's about time I get another shot at those belts. I mean, it doesn't have to be right away. Just no later than the next pay-per-view!" 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.