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26 June 2015 Title Ch Anna Silk vs Allison Mack

Page history last edited by Archer844 8 years, 8 months ago

Anna Silk 02.jpg Allison Mack 08.jpg

Posted by Lookout! Boxing on June 26, 2015, 4:58 pm

(Bantamweight Championship )
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

"It's been a long time", says Allison almost wistfully. "Eight years, two months, twenty-seven days since I've worn the belts. Eight years, one month, fourteen days since I fought in a title fight. Lot of water under the bridge. Lost management. Had to make my way as an indie. Finally caught on with Front Street at what was the lowest point of my career, and, then, just work. Hard work for almost five years in Philly. And, finally. Here I am. And, no disrespect to Anna Silk, but I didn't come all this way to lose."

"You know," says Anna smiling, "I'm ok that the storyline leading up to this fight has been all about her and her 'long struggle' to get back to the top of this division. I get it. It's inspiring and all that. And, like I said, I'm OK with it. Because, tonight, the story's going to be about me, the girl who ruined the comeback story and knocked out Allison Mack on the doorstep. Sure, I'll get cast as the villain, but, this villain's getting her hand raised."

ROUND ONE:

No stylistic questions in this one. Absolutely none. Both girls want to fight the same way, in close, working body, banging, grinding, wearing their respective rivals down before putting them away. The good news for both is, there's no problem getting terms they want. The bad news is, of course, that the other fighter gets the terms she wants as well. A couple of minor differences in style do become apparent early. Anna fights more straight up, while Allison likes the slight crouch, keeping the hands up and the head tucked, creating a more difficult target for the brunette champion. And, that's the difference in the first. Mack's picking off and slipping a lot more of Silk's stuff than Anna can manage of Allison's. Both girls are busy. Nobody's hurt. But, at the bell, Mack's claimed the round and the 10-9 advantage.

ROUND TWO:

Mack continues to give Silk problems early, but, Anna's a champion, and champions adjust. Silk begins to find the right angles and makes the geometry work for her, changing the levels of her punches slightly and solving Mack's tricky defenses. Allison remains effective, banging more body in the second, as both fighters bang away in close. There's a bit of range adjustment at times, with exchanges taking place at mid-ranges for brief periods, but, it's mostly phone booth stuff, body and head being worked by both blonde and brunette, with both fighters landing effectively despite their respective rival's solid defenses. It's grinding stuff of the kind both fighters like, three minutes of leather exchanges, and Silk's adjustment proves the difference. Anna takes the round and evens the fight at 19.

ROUND THREE:

The fighters waste no time getting back in tight immediately. More body work on both sides is the storyline in the early going. Ribs are thumped. Bellies are banged. Flanks are flayed. And, of course, neither fighter ignores the head, either. It's good, back and forth stuff for a minute or so, until Silk times a left hook that ROCKS Mack and sends her stumbling backward. Everything changes at that minute as the champion calls in the big guns and gets to work at her specialty, bringing the pain. Silk backs a game but buzzed Allison up steadily, eventually trapping her on the ropes and having at her. Mack counters in spots, but she spends most of the final minute covering up and taking heavy fire from the brunette. Anna can't find the "off" switch, but she takes the points wide and grabs the lead at 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Anna looking to consolidate in a big way. She's walking forward now, backing Allison up with heavy right hands. Mack still showing effects from the previous round and the champion taking full advantage. It's a fighting retreat for the blonde, but a retreat nonetheless. She's not holding canvas as Anna gets big and bangs away heavy. About half way through, Allison begins to firm up her front and is able to stop the brunette offensive. At that point, we get back into the trenches with hand-to-hand stuff, both girls working a lot of body in close as they fight shoulder to shoulder, digging away at one another, using mostly hooks and uppercuts. Both are landing solid shot, again, despite the excellent defensive movement of head, hands, and feet by their respective opponents. At the bell, we're back on even terms, but Anna's early work plays and Silk extends her lead to 39-37.

ROUND FIVE:

Back to the meat grinder. Mack adjusting levels again, crouching a bit more now, working a lot of body out of what's now a half crouch. She's got the gloves in ear muff, the chin tucked, not leaving a lot for the champion to hit. But, Anna finds ways to get leather home, and the result is another grueling two-way round with the body becoming more and more of the focus as things proceed. Mack's intent on working to the midsection and ribs, Silk, meanwhile, concentrating on the flanks, the area least protected by Mack's defenses. The tenderizing of various pieces of meat reaches its peak just before the bell, with both women getting a load of power into punches and the thump of leather hitting flesh audible in the top rows of the arena. In the end, it's close, but Mack claims the points and cuts Anna's lead in half, 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

And, we're back in the booth. The efforts at attrition get underway quickly, and both women begin pouring reserves into the fight. It's all about will now, will and breaking the will of the other girl. It's about pain now. Inflicting it and enduring it. And, it's mostly about the body, the place both fighters have chosen to make their efforts to break down their respective rivals. It's grim, even stuff for a minute or so. Then, it becomes grimmer for the champion when she ducks a left hook right into a short right that unhinges her knees. Silk's HURT and seriously so. She wobbles backward and covers up and Mack lets loose barrage after barrage, ignoring body now and going all out to the head. Silk is driven to the ropes, where she's rocked again by a straight right hand. Mack's all about the finish now and the brunette looks ready to go. But. Silk's a champion with sturdy legs and she will not die easily. She hangs on. She clinches. She keeps up a high, tight guard that sends Allison back to the body, and she keeps that guard up even as Mack hammers away at her. She runs clock. And she does enough offensively to keep the referee from stopping it. She takes a licking, but, when the bell rings, she's still ticking. And the fight is now even at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Now, it's Mack who wants to consolidate, but it quickly becomes evident that's not going to happen. Anna's got her legs back and she holds ground immediately, leading to one of the most vicious fire fights of the night in the middle of the ring. Both women are quickly throwing absolute bombs at one another, Allison to back the champion up and Silk to stop the blonde's offensive and settle her down. For a minute and a half, it's absolute mayhem. And, then we settle back into the grind, as the two fighters, unable to back the other up despite the heavy fire, seem to come to some unexpressed agreement to get back to work. And work bodies. The war of attrition begins again, and, both women get back to it with gusto, digging hard to bellies, flanks, and ribs that have already taken plenty of punishment. Both women have already pinked up, and both are now wincing and grimacing with each body punch landed by her respective opponent. But. Neither will back up. And neither will back down. At the bell, they're still digging at the end of yet another closely fought round, this one to Silk, who's back on top 67-66.

ROUND EIGHT:

How much longer the two fighters can continue this brutal body work is anyone's guess, but both are determined to break the other down and have decided to make a final push to do just that as we move into the championship rounds. The women fight shoulder to shoulder, both using those strong shoulders to bump and leverage, opening their respective opponent's bodies up for leather, which quickly arrives at any opening in the defenses. They work upstairs just enough to keep things honest, doubling down on the investment in the bodies. It's all about the will. Until it isn't. Because, in one instant, it becomes about skill, a superbly, skillfully placed short right hand that goes over a left hook and crashes into a chin, swiveling the head and DOWN GOES SILK! The starch just leaves Anna's body and she crumples, face first, to the mat after what might well be the most crunchingly brutal punch of the evening! Silk's in a puddle as the referee begins to count and she stays there well past the count of ten. It's OVER! In dramatic one-punch fashion, your winner and the NEW Unified Bantamweight Champion of the world is Allison "Mack The Knife" Mack!

AFTER:

Mack shows respect to the fallen champion in the aftermath, going over to the corner to check on the brunette, who's being brought around in stages. After that, the blonde's head-shaking and grinning ear-to-ear in the middle of the ring, almost unwilling to believe it's finally happened after all this time. "Just keep grinding," she says with a smile. "That what they kept telling me in the corner. Keep working. Don't slow down. Don't back off. Keep grinding and you'll get her. It wasn't easy, because she's very good, and she's very tough. But, I'm the best bantamweight in the world, and I finally got another chance to prove it. And, like I said pre-fight, I wasn't coming all this way to lose."