Here’s something a bit different for you, particularly if you like short fight stories. If you’ve read my profile details, you’ll know I’ve been writing stories for many years but it’s only in the past 5-10 years that they’ve developed into the complex, detailed tales that I’m probably best known for on this forum.
Before I got back into fighting and joined the senior circuit, I used to write my stories as match reports from the league events. CLAWS league events happen every month (usually on the 2nd Friday evening of the month) and alternated between wrestling on odd months and boxing on even months. These are some reports from the boxing cards in the 2006 season that were written around that time. I’ve only included a select few here as I didn’t finish them all and I’ve made a few minor corrections here and there but they are pretty much as I originally wrote them. Let me know if you like this and I’ll see about posting a few more similar ones.
Many of the characters will be familiar from my more recent stories (but bear in mind they were younger then) but there are a few that need introducing:
Lillian was a Korean kick boxer who joined CLAWS at the same time as the Hungarian Ildiko in 2004. Both women came from a kick boxing club that had closed down and occasionally fought kick boxing matches instead of regular boxing when matched against each other. Lillian was in the wrestling league for a bit over a year but failed to make much of an impression. She was more successful in the boxing league where she was active for 6 years, winning the title once in 2007.
Dutch blonde Connie joined the boxing league at the end of 2000 and won the title several times before retiring as undefeated champion in 2010. She briefly tried her hand at wrestling in 2008, making up numbers in the B league, but suffered four successive defeats and gave up.
Alma came to CLAWS from South Africa as a lithe, dusky skinned, 20-year-old student in 2006. Keen to both wrestle and box she was active in both leagues for nine years.
With jet black hair, pale skin and a curvaceous figure, and standing nearly 6ft tall, 23-year-old French girl Marie turned many heads when she debuted in late 2006 and remains active in both the wrestling and boxing leagues in 2022.
February – all four matches from the card
Match 1 - Mair vs. Ildiko (8th vs. 7th)
Mair’s star may have been rising in the wrestling ring but a series of encounters with hard hitting older opponents (first Connie, then Lucy and, most recently, Emma) had left her facing deselection at the hands of Ildiko. Ildiko’s own frustration at her loss to arch rival Lillian fuelled her determination and the hapless blonde giant had no real hope against her. Ildiko came out fighting from the opening bell and it was a mere 45 seconds before Mair was floored for the first time for a count of 8. Two more knockdowns followed in the next minute before a wild right hook from Mair put the brunette down herself. An enraged Ildiko was back on her feet at 6 and powered back into the blonde who went down for the fourth and final time with 15 seconds of the round remaining.
Match 2 - Emma vs. Connie (6th vs. 5th)
In her second bout since rejoining the rankings Emma took on Connie for the third time in her career. The pair had met twice in 2002, once in April when the Dutch newcomer scored an impressive 2nd round victory and again in October when Emma became the first person to knock her out. After a brief period out of the rankings in early 2003 Connie had gone on to take the title twice. All of that mattered little to the resurgent Emma who dominated this short bout sending Connie to the mat in two minutes of the 1st and scoring three more knockdowns before delivering the KO early in the 3rd. Connie never seemed to settle into the bout and succumbed to her third successive defeat having taken just 4 points from her opponent.
Match 3 - Lillian vs. Emily, former champion vs. rising star for a shot at the title
A determined Lillian took on former champ Emily for a shot at the title. The young oriental dominated the opening rounds but failed to score a knockdown and it was Emily who made the first breakthrough early in the 3rd when she caught her opponent with a right hook that sent her sprawling to the mat. The former champion scored a second knockdown two minutes later and two more in the 4th and 5th to take a commanding 24-14 lead going into the final round. Lillian fought back strongly against a tiring Emily and dominated the closing round, landing blows that left the former champ staggering drunkenly but remaining on her feet. With seconds of the round remaining Lillian finally delivered a left/right combination that finished the brunette off. Emily’s knees buckled and she collapsed to the mat clearly out cold but time wasn’t on Lillian’s side and the final bell rang with the count at 5. Lillian’s frustration boiled over and she burst into tears as Nancy announced that the still recovering Emily was the winner by 24 points to 22.
Match 4 - Erica vs. Lucy, title match
The last time Erica had taken on Lucy she seemed destined for defeat at the hands of the older woman until she raised her game in the 3rd and scored a classic knockout in the 4th. This time Lucy was looking for pay back and a spectacular bout ensued. Both girls came out fighting from the opening bell and it was first blood to Lucy when Erica went down for a count of 7 half way through the first. She recovered quickly and repaid the challenger with a knockdown just 5 seconds from the bell. The frantic pace continued into the 2nd with each girl giving as good as she got until a right cross from the champion caught Lucy square in the mouth and put her down for a count of 9 with two minutes gone. When she rose a trickle of blood could be seen at the left corner of Lucy’s mouth. Obviously shaken by the blow Lucy held Erica off for the remainder of the round but was extremely pleased to hear the bell. Erica sensed an early victory and came out hard in the 3rd and Lucy went on the defensive but half way through the round a straight right from the champion caught her full in the face and she went down again for another 9 count. This time when she regained her feet the trickle of blood from her mouth was joined by a steady stream from her nose. Referee Nancy confirmed that Lucy was willing to continue and battle was rejoined. The taste of blood seemed to fire Lucy up again and for the next minute or so she pushed the larger girl around the ring with a hail of blows until Erica eventually went down in her own corner for a count of 8. Seconds later and with just seconds of the round remaining Lucy put the champion on her back again. Erica was saved by the bell and during the interval the girls in the red corner managed to stem the bleeding from Lucy’s nose and clean her up a bit before she came out for the 4th. Both girls were clearly tiring but neither was about to give up and both managed to score knockdowns over the three minutes. The round ended with Erica pinned in a neutral corner taking a hail of blows from the smaller woman who once again seemed dominant. At the bell Erica supported herself on the ropes as she made her way back to the blue corner. When they came out for the 5th Erica looked weary while Lucy, despite her bloodied and dishevelled appearance still seemed relatively fresh. 30 seconds or so into the round a series of blows to Erica’s breasts stopped her in her tracks and she closed on Lucy for a clinch, driving her left shoulder into the smaller girl’s face in the process. When Nancy separated them, Lucy was bleeding from the nose again and Nancy checked the damage before administering a standing count to the breathless champion. At 9 Nancy waved Lucy back in and before Erica could form a guard she was on her back courtesy of a solid uppercut from the challenger. Erica made it up at 8 and walked straight into a right cross that sent her sprawling face down on the mat. In a scene reminiscent of her cousin Gabi’s memorable bout against Jenny 10 years before, Erica struggled to beat the count before being put down for a third and final time with another uppercut from the smaller woman. As Erica was counted out a bloodied but victorious Lucy raised her arm in triumph.
June - comeback queen Emma challenges Lucy for the title
Emma took on Lucy for the championship determined to beat the younger, smaller woman. Emma went to the offensive from the opening bell and was rewarded with a knockdown after just 2 minutes, the second time Lucy had been knocked down in the 1st round in 2 matches. A right cross 30 seconds into the 2nd put the champion down for the second time in what was to be a disastrous round. Although she made it up at 7 Lucy went down twice more before the bell and ended the round taking a standing count. Emma started the 3rd with an impressive 21-0 points lead but Lucy was far from finished and fought back well over the next two rounds, taking 2 knockdowns from the tiring older woman to bring the score to a more acceptable 21-16. By the start of the 5th the champion seemed comfortably in control and, despite still trailing on points, it seemed only a matter of time before Lucy would find an opening to deliver the knockout blow. By contrast Emma looked tired and desperate as she back-pedalled her way around the ring avoiding Lucy’s jabs but suddenly, she saw an opening and delivered a right upper-cut which connected with the champion’s jaw. Lucy pitched face forward to the mat and remained still for the count, three years after loosing the title to Suzi, Emma was back on top.
August - Emma defends her title against Emily
35-year-old Emma had come back from almost 2 years out of the rankings to regain the title for a 5th time, if she could successfully defend it against Emily she could retire undefeated as one of the true greats of the ring. Things did not start particularly well for the champ as the young brunette put her down for a count of 7 in the first but she fought back strongly to dominate the third taking two knockdowns and a standing count from her opponent. Emily staged a comeback of her own in the 5th and going into the final round only 1 point separated the pair. Emma pulled out all the stops in the 6th and was rewarded with another knockdown but Emily regained her feet and repaid the complement a few seconds later when the tiring champion’s wild swings left her exposed to a right hook from the challenger. At the bell Emma managed to hold on to her title by that single point and, clearly unsure she could win a re-match against Lucy, immediately announced her retirement.
October - Lucy vs. Emily for the vacant boxing title.
Emma retired as undefeated champion after a narrow points victory over Emily. The stage was now set for Lucy and Emily face each other for the second time in 6 months to contest the title. Emily had never beaten Lucy before and this was their 3rd title encounter – would it be 3rd time luck for her? Emily started strongly, attacking from the opening bell, and was rewarded after just 75 seconds when her trademark left/right combination put the blonde down of a count of 7. Lucy was on her back again within 30 seconds when a right uppercut connected with her jaw. This time she made it up at 9 but was soon in trouble again and was forced into a clinch to avoid going down for a third time. After a standing count of 8, battle was re-joined and Emily forced Lucy into a corner where she took another standing count before the round ended, leaving her trailing the brunette by 12 points to nil. During the break Lucy struggled to re-gain her composure and although she came out strongly at the start of the 2nd she was soon in trouble again, back pedalling around the ring under a hail of blows from Emily. She went down again mid-way through the round and the end came a few seconds later when a clubbing right cross from the brunette caught her square on the temple and put her out for the count. Emily’s first victory over her old nemesis was as convincing as it could be. She dominated the fight from start to finish and justly deserved the title.
December – all five matches from the card
Match 1 – Mair vs. Marie for ‘boxer in waiting’
Mair took on newcomer Marie in her third attempt to gain the position that would put her back into the rankings. The young French girl had impressed in the wrestling ring when she out pointed Alma in September but had not fought since and was an unknown quantity in the boxing ring. At least until half way through the second round of this contest when she delivered three precision blows to the blonde’s breasts, drawing her guard down before connecting with her jaw with a hay making right cross that literally knocked Mair off her feet and put her out for the count.
Match 2 – Stacey puts the gloves on
The card had this down as a re-run of the April encounter in which Connie narrowly beat Kirsty but Kirsty had suffered broken ribs in her fight against Ildiko and was out of action. Stacey had sportingly taken her place and she was in the blue corner in only her second boxing match. Initially the pair seemed well matched and very much up for the fight trading solid punches for the first two rounds before a right hook caught the newcomer off balance and she went down for a count of 8 mid-way through the fourth. This seemed to galvanise Connie and she went on the attack seeking to capitalise but, in her enthusiasm, she left herself open to an upper cut that snapped her head back and put her lights out for a good minute after the count ended. With one solid punch Stacey notched up her first boxing triumph and Connie was dropped from the rankings again.
Match 3 – Alma continues her climb up the rankings
Black beauty Alma followed up her successes against Mair and Connie with a third successive knockout victory. This time the girl on the receiving end was Ildiko who, after a strong opening round quickly ran out of steam. Having taken two standing counts from the new comer in a fast paced first round Ildiko walked into a left hook just 30 seconds into the second round that put her down for a count of 9. She never recovered and went down four more times before being counted out two minutes into the third.
Match 4 – Lucy vs. Lillian
After going out to an early KO in October tile bout against Emily, Lucy was again overwhelmed in the opening stages of a bout, this time by Lillian. The young Asian put the older woman on the deck in just 45 seconds and scored three more knock downs before the first round ended. That Lucy came out for the second at all was a testament to her determination but, on the day, she was no match for the youngster and went down twice more before Gabi stopped the fight with 30 seconds of the round remaining.
Match 5 – Erica challenges Emily for the title
One year on from their last encounter Erica squared up to Emily again, hoping for a repeat of her previous 1st round victory but Emily was more than a match for the blonde this time around and dominated the fight from the opening bell. A right hook delivered mid-way through the third round reduced Erica’s legs to jelly and she was counted out face down on the mat.
This last fight took place a year before the match described in my story ‘Through Emily’s eyes’.
