Taylor Cole versus Yvonne Strahovski

The Fighting Academy vs Lookout! Boxing
(Words: Vassago / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE: If a divisional title was on the line tonight nobody would complain about this match-up and perhaps it's one of the most anticipated lightweight fights ever between Yvonne Strahovski - who pretty much locked out the division in 2014 - and former lightweight of the year Taylor Cole whom many pundits regard as the most unheralded of the annual P4P elite members. These two have met once before in October 2010 when Strahovski shockingly stopped her opponent in the second round and many fans were desperate to witness a proper contest to finally set the pecking order in the classic blonde vs brunette duel.

Even though Taylor Cole lost both her fights last year she has campaigned at welter in her career which is exactly what caused Strahovski's demise from her lightweight throne towards the end of last year when Katy Perry relieved her of the coveted straps. As impressive as the Australian actress is among her peers, a girl with a welter background can always cause her big trouble and that's exactly why the odds ain't that stacked against the brunette tonight. Cole has a golden opportunity to elevate herself back into title picture as is everyone capable of sending Strahovski down for the count.

Taylor Cole wears a light blue bikini, white boots & gloves. Raven black hair straight. Yvonne Strahovski wears a red bikini, black boots & gloves. Blonde hair straight, tucked behind the ears. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Cole tries to jump the gun and is wrestled back by the ref however Yvonne gets off to a flier instead or the man in charge was simply caught napping and barely moved out of the way when the blonde clubbed the opening punch straight into the brunette's nose... Cole groans and turns her eyes to the ref however the FIGHT IS ON, baby and Yvonne somehow gets away with it and triggers instant facial punishment of the surprised American who reverts into deep cover midring and struggles to live with the heat; Strahovski stands tall and just wades in up high, slices the mitts down the stretch and snaps Taylor's head back causing a huge roar among the audience... Alpha Dog display from the blonde who simply pummels the brunette around and forces her into hectic avoidance; Cole never finds her stride for remainder of the round and sports a couple of nasty shiners at the bell already; she's absolutely LIVID with the way Yvonne nuked her at the start and demands some official action taken... to no frickin' avail as Strahovski eyeballs her throughout the interval and clearly indicates she's as mean as she gets sitting well on top of the elite P4P rankings...

Round 2:
The infrequent schedule seems to cost Taylor a lot early as she loses a feisty exchange and gets plastered by Yvonne's well places jabs and endures a proper neck crank down the stretch with the blonde riffling leather like a demon possessed; Cole has to duck low in avoidance as she can't escape on her feet at all and drops into close range dust up instead. Yvonne strikes over the top trying to knock the brunette's clean off but leaves the midriff exposed and Taylor fires in on the liver, harpoons a left hand around the elbows and rises up on her feet to blast a rocket of an uppercut that nails the raging Yvonne clean on the jaw... Ouch! Strahovski's long hair spins around her neck and she sinks briefly on her knees with her arms dropping low and unable to offer any protection... Cole clubs her on the nose moments later and adds a riffle of a hook herself, catches the blonde on the left brow ridge with a classic piledriver.... AAAAAND STRAHOVSKI GOES DOWN..... the Aussie's head snapped vividly and she just couldn't put the weight on her right leg at all and just collapsed to her side amid crazy whistles from the audience... shades of real welterweight power behind Cole's punches as she offers herself a cheeky smile staring down at Yvonne's shapely legs kicking out in utmost frustration... Strahovski rolls onto all fours and scampers back upright at seven but looks away from the brunette and just stares over at her entourage before finally turning her attention to Cole... the brunette tries to add more pressure on the blonde but struggles to slice the high guard again and gets blocked off low as well with Yvonne clinching her instead and breathing abusive remarks into her ear as the ref just can't separate them anymore before the bell.

Round 3:
Yvonne tries to swing right back into Taylor's face but misses the target and gets countered on the body again as Cole riffles her liver area and roots the Aussie to the spot before pumping aggressive leather into the solar plexus... Strahovski moans in discomfort but just can't escape the close range punishment as Cole clearly shows why she was chosen Lightweight Of The Year a couple of years ago and simply romps away to body causing heavy distress to the P4P top contender. Yvonne seeks escape route but is pounded back to the ropes as Taylor leans on her and ravages the midriff; she almost forces Strahovski over the ropes and beats her for a clubbing overhand that wrecks the left brow ridge and makes the Aussie scream in pain... she slumps into earmuff cover and allows Taylor to bash her way into a shutout glory, the black hair flies in front of Cole's eyes as she seeks another knockdown, has to settle for a royal ass whooping instead as Strahovski trembles on her feet at the bell and refuses an eye contact again... how many girls have EVER intimidated the blonde warrior like that?

Round 4:
Strahovski's shaken but not stirred... YET... she jumps at the brunette in a fast tempo approach which has Cole ready for it but fractionally slow in execution...  CLUBBING RIGHT HOOK tears the brunette's brow ridge and snaps her head back faster than short track circles... Yvonne wades in with a follow up between the arms and clips some jug; Cole reels on the back foot and struggles to find her rhythm again as Strahovski powers through on the cheeks once more and keeps sending the black hair around Taylor's neck... thump... thump.. thump... Yvonne works hectic leather from the front and has Cole ducking & weaving but still getting caught.. the response skims off the forearms before the blonde turns up the heat even further and pushes the brunette back to the ropes where she nails her on the breadbasket in a quick switch.... Taylor wraps her right arm around the blonde's waist and tries to wrestle her off but gets whacked on the chin by a piercing uppercut and sinks on her knees with eyes closed at the bell instead... Yvonne just holds her right hand back as she was so ready to nuke Taylor sky high but reminded herself about that questionable start of the fight and didn't want to risk a point deduction at this stage... ref just shoves her off and Cole takes a really deep breath while watching her rival walk back to the opposite corner.

Round 5:
Cole just refuses to take things easily despite looking slightly worse physically according to most of the viewers and she enforces another close range brawl clipping Strahovski's damaged left brow ridge a couple of times which makes the blonde realy cautious in the opening minute and not putting all her might behind the punches... peek-a-boo swing and miss, hassle & duck follows as both women circle away from each other, Yvonne begins to feel the swelling around the left eye while Taylor works the single hands and seems happy enough to tame the blonde's aggressive antics even if only for a brief period... the high tempo assault resumes in the final minute but as Yvonne blasts one on the brunette's temple she still gets caught by a similar reply and wobbles dangerously on her shapely pins, has to cover up when Taylor resumes her stance quicker and drills her gloves apart to make further connection with the slowly reddening face... more blonde hair flies seconds before the bell and even if Strahovski soaks up some unanswered punishment she holds her ground midring and prevents Cole from reeling her backwards in complete struggle.

Round 6:
More of the same in the sixth, the sheer strength behind Cole's punches has caused Strahovski's left brow ridge to swell really bad now and there are some signs the blonde's vision is partially affected at the very least with the brunette working the single right hand on the wounded area and trying to cut it wide open. The action slows down a bit with Yvonne lethargic through most of the round and dragging Cole back into a second gust of wind in her sails... either this or a blatant tease from the P4P powerhouse... Taylor's eyes are glued to the wounded brow ridge and she smacks more delightful leather straight on the money as Yvonne drops her left hand dangerously low... Cole tries to lean even further on the fellow actress but still fails to pin her against the ropes; Strahovski might be having a difficult time right now but she's still on top of the footwork game and wanders along, forcing her opponent into single jabbing. The pure strength is clearly on Cole's side based on the brow ridge injury but she just can't nail the blonde clean like she did in the second round again and has lost her versatile approach which could really send Strahovski into a puddle of heap in no time.

Round 7:
The last two rounds have made people wonder if Taylor got into Yvonne's mind with that brow ridge clubbing but there's a sudden change of pace in the seventh as the blonde powers away from her stool and sends a straight jab into the brunette's chin; Cole approached her foe with a great deal of carelessness and was served an eye opener as Yvonne follows up with more facial assault and whips the black hair around Taylor's neck again before cross hooking her mouth and sagging her in the middle of the ring with arms dangerously dropped low... Vicious left hook slams Cole on the temple moments later and spins her to the side, the ever so impressive brunette loses her footing and fails to raise her arms in time for a clubbing right hook that whacks her on the nose and spills first drops of blood on the canvas... Cole reels on the back foot and was almost certainly going down after taking a couple of steps back before finding the ropes as protection... STRAHOVSKI COMES CRASHING DOWN ON HER anyway and strikes over the top, she drills both cheeks and clips the nose again, poor Taylor can't find her guard at all in wake of the sudden onslaught and even ducking low and seeking midriff response doesn't cut it anymore... Strahovski pummels through on the face and enjoys a classic beatdown display in the final minute, she has Taylor all covered up neither capable of escape nor even clinching her and underlines her new found dominance by tearing the skin on the left cheek and adding more blood spill from the nose as Taylor sinks deep on her knees with steamy eyes and gurgles her discomfort at the bell looking totally shocked by what happened in that round.

Round 8:
Strahovski pulled herself right back into this fight via single round execution and that's exactly why she ruled the lightweights with an iron fist last year; Cole finds it personal that she allowed the blonde to punish her face like that and seek immediate revenge.. back to early days of this fight with both women clubbing vicious leather at each other from close range but as Taylor misses an uppercut and misplaces her weight altogether, Yvonne pierces her liver area and finds a hole where she sinks her mitts with mean consequences... Cole skims off the top of the forehead but bends forward moments later with a loud whimper as the Aussie actress drills her liver and almost scores the home run... just a couple of inches off... still Taylor tries to circle back but doesn't have the legs underneath her and is blasted on the jaw by a classic haymaker that has Yvonne bumping into her rack in a lightning quick follow up... another shriek from the brunette and she she fires away from the back foot, she misses the blonde's lips altogether and gets whacked on the liver proper this time... 'Argggghhhh....',  Taylor almost spits out her mouthguard right into Strahovski's face and turns to the left hugging her liver instantly... SHE CRUMBLES DOWN ON HER KNEES and bends her head against the canvas moments later as the pain proves too much to handle...  Yvonne glares down at her with an evil look in her eye... yeah, only the right eye since the left is swollen shut with the brow ridge covered behind a golf ball-sized lump.... Taylor can't beat the count and slips into embryonic position having taken a vicious hit to the liver any welterweight based girl wouldn't be able to withstand let alone a lightweight... IT IS OVER and the P4P #1 contender remains on top of her peers... KO8 Yvonne Strahovski!!!

AFTER: Yvonne remains glaring over the fallen brunette as to make sure Boxing World Magazine reporters take as many photos as possible... Taylor remains crippled on her side and can barely live through the pain for best part of a minute while the blonde receives a standing ovation... spare a thought, that's a standing ovation for both these warriors who put up a show any title fight would be proud of... Yvonne's tough as nails while having her gloves removed and totally ignoring the left eye being swollen shut... a quick glance at the brunette has a change of scenery available... Cole sits on her heels still hugging the aching guts and looks up on the ceiling, refuses eye contact with the blonde conqueror who the approaches her from behind and lifts by the wrists having caught the brunette off guard... another really long look into Taylor's eyes has Yvonne nodding in approval before shoving her into a series of spins and finally somehow tumbling onto her stool with a loud cry of defeat...

"What did you see there in Taylor's eyes, Vonnie?"

"That old familiar feeling everyone looks for in the opponent's eyes... FEAR... I know what some jealous people call me and say about me, but they always think better off it whenever I tear their faithful apart... I had to make sure nobody says me beating Cole back in 2010 was a mere fluke EVER again.. and I did just that here tonight! Sure, I can't see much through my left eye right now but I never said she can't throw a good punch! (...) Katy Perry? Next question please... you won't drag me down THAT road... Nessa making too much noise lately? The kid has all the tools to make all that noise count (laughs). Aren't we supposed to be the BEST stable around the place? You all agree? Yeah, I thought you will..."

Final result: Yvonne Strahovski def. Taylor Cole KO8.