This is the story of my third boxing match with Nancy. We had both competed in the second senior boxing tournament but while I made it to the final Nancy fared less well. Once again there were eight of us in a knockout style tournament, divided into two groups, and the matches went as follows:
In the first round Lorraine beat Nancy, Emma beat Lucy, Christine beat Claire and I beat Suzi.
In the second round Lorraine beat Emma, Lucy beat Nancy, I beat Christine and Suzi beat Claire. That put me in the final against Lorraine.
In the third round Claire beat Nancy, Lucy beat Suzi, Emma beat Christine and Lorraine beat me. So, over all, Lorraine was champion, I came second, Emma was third and Nancy came last.
(If you want to read about any of those fights let me know.)
Of course, Nancy was unhappy about my success and her coming last and pointed out that we’d both lost to the same woman. She said we should fight again to settle who was best. I’d like to say I agreed reluctantly but I welcomed the challenge and was confident I could beat her a second time. It turned out to be my toughest boxing match so far...
The rivalry between senior boxers Ellen and Nancy started during the first senior boxing tournament. Nancy was a veteran of the boxing league and former champion while Ellen was a complete novice, the only person in the tournament who hadn’t been a champion in former years. So, it was something of a shock upset when the rookie, in only her 4th match and trailing throughout the first four rounds, succeeded in knocking out the veteran in the 5th round to secure 3rd place in the tournament.
Nancy always maintained that the big blonde had got lucky in their first encounter and was really no match for her. When, a year later, she finally got her rematch Nancy proved emphatically that she was the better woman. By Ellen’s own admission Nancy knocked her out three times in that match to level things at one win a piece.
Fast forward another year and both women competed in the second senior boxing tournament. Nancy went out in the qualifying round, ultimately finishing last, while Ellen made it to the final before losing to the same woman who had dashed Nancy’s hopes. Did that make Ellen the better boxer? Nancy thought not and pointed out that they had both been beaten by the same opponent and that Nancy had gone the distance while Ellen had been knocked out. Ellen countered that argument by saying she had fought two hard matches, both knockout wins, before losing the final. The stage was set for a final show down between the two to decide who was best.
The match was added to the card for the August league supreme championship fight and was refereed by another veteran fighter, Suzi Lomax. The two fighters entered the ring and Suzi announced them:
“Ladies and gentlemen, our next bout is a senior boxing challenge match between. In the red corner, 53 years old, standing 5 feet 5 inches tall, measuring 38B-28-39 and weighing 145lbs, Nancy Holder!”
The redhead slipped off her robe to the applause of the crowd. She was wearing her usual cream sports briefs and her pert breasts defied her age.
“And in the blue corner, 50 years old, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, measuring 38C-29-42 and weighing 155lbs, Ellen Shaw!”
Ellen did likewise to similar applause, revealing her black knickers with the polka dots and a slightly fuller pair of breasts, as Suzi continued:
“These ladies have met twice before and the honours are even – tonight we will learn who is best.”
She then called the fighters together for a brief discussion of the rules. They would fight under standard club rules. Six rounds of three minutes with one-minute rests between each round. The winner would be decided by a 10 count knock out or on points if it went the distance. As usual 2 points would be awarded for a knock down and 1 point for a standing count with a further 6 points per round being shared based on the judges’ views of the round.
With the briefing over the fighters returned to their corners and, a minute later, Suzi called seconds out and the bell rang for the start of the first round.
At the sound of the bell the pair came together in the centre of the ring and squared off with very determined looks on their faces as they began feeling each other out. The pace was slow and measured for the first half of the round with both women jabbing and defending in equal measure. Then it seemed that Ellen stepped up the pace and started to go on the attack. With a minute of the round remaining a flurry of blows from the blonde stopped Nancy in her tracks and pushed her back into a neutral corner. Referee Suzi stepped in and administered a standing count of 8 to the redhead.
First blood to Ellen and, as the action resumed, she remained on the offensive. Nancy back pedalled around the ring, covering up as Ellen pushed home her attack. Eventually the blonde was rewarded when an uppercut connected with Nancy’s jaw and put her down on her back. She made it up at 7 and held her opponent off for the remaining few seconds of the round but it was clear where the honours lay.
After their previous encounters it must have been particularly gratifying for Ellen to find herself in a clear 8-1 lead at the end of the first round.
Keen to build on her early success Ellen went on the attack at the start of the second round. But Nancy had recovered her composure during the break and quickly shut the blonde down with a few well-placed jabs. The round settled into a steady pace with both girls attacking and defending in equal measure. Ellen’s attacks seemed to be concentrated on Nancy’s left side with lots of right jabs landing on the red head’s face. Nancy, meanwhile, seemed to be seeking and attacking every opening she could find in the blonde’s defences.
Eventually, with about 30 seconds of the round remaining, Nancy found a way through Ellen’s guard and rocked the larger woman with a series of hard punches to the ribs and breast – her first solid blows of the bout. The blonde lowered her arms to protect her chest and was caught by a right cross to the jaw. Momentarily stunned, she staggered and dropped to one knee, receiving a count of 5 before regaining her feet. The damage seemed light but it had cost Ellen two points. The round concluded without further incident.
With the exception of the knockdown the pair had been evenly matched throughout the round so it must have been disappointing for Ellen to see the gap close to just 3 points as the judges awarded 4 match points to Nancy along with the two for the knockdown bringing the score to 10-7.
Going into round 3 both women still seemed fresh and evenly matched but all that was about to change. Less than a minute into the round a straight right from the redhead caught Ellen square on the nose and she clutched at her face with both gloved hands. Nancy delivered a solid one-two into Ellen’s boobs and the blonde sank to her knees still clutching her gloves to her face.
As Suzi began the count, Ellen moved her gloves from her face to reveal a steady stream of blood pouring from her left nostril and dripping off her chin. Clearly shocked and in pain Ellen got slowly to her feet at 8 and nodded her willingness to continue to Suzi before resuming her guard, protecting her face as far as possible.
Nancy needed no second invitation to go on the attack and pummelled the blonde’s breasts and ribs relentlessly for the next minute or so as a clearly troubled Ellen sought to cover up and back pedal out of trouble. Eventually Ellen was forced to lower her arms to protect her torso and received another punch to her nose, a right hook that put her face down on the mat.
She made it up at 9 but was soon retreating again and was pushed into her own corner where she took a standing count of 8. The pair were soon toe to toe again but it was clear the blonde was taking three hits to every one she landed on the red head. Desperate for some respite Ellen wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, resting her head on Nancy’s left shoulder and allowing the blood from her nose to trickle down her opponent’s back. Suzi broke up the clinch and administered another standing count to Ellen.
Not long after this Ellen went down for a third time. This time a right hook from the redhead connected with her temple and deposited the blonde on her backside. It looked like Suzi might stop the fight but the blonde convinced her otherwise and was allowed to continue. The round was virtually over and Ellen avoided any further punishment before the bell bought her welcome respite.
Erica worked frantically during the break to stem the flow of blood and clean up her fighter. As Ellen stood for the start of the 4th round she was no longer bleeding and seemed to have recovered her composure. But the 3rd had been a disastrous round for the blonde as she conceded all 14 points to leave the scores at 10-21 going into the 4th.
After the excitement of the 3rd round things returned to normal for the early part of the 4th with both women trading blows in equal measure. It was clear early on that Nancy wasn’t going to be able to capitalize on her achievements in the previous round and, if anything, it was Ellen who was dominating the action.
About mid-way through the round Ellen landed a right to Nancy’s left temple and the red head turned away suddenly lifting her gloved hand to her forehead. Suzi stopped the action to examine her and administer a standing count. Ellen had been concentrating on Nancy’s left eye for much of the match and it appeared her persistence had paid off as a cut had opened up above the red head’s eye.
A steady stream of blood now flowed from a cut above Nancy’s left eyebrow into her swollen and partially closed left eye. She was effectively blind to attacks from her left side and that’s where Ellen now redoubled her efforts, delivering a series of swinging right hooks that caught the red head on the ear, temple and jaw – putting her down for a count of 9.
When the action resumed Nancy was effectively fighting one handed, using her left hand and forearm to protect the left side of her face. The tables had decidedly turned and it was now Ellen’s turn to dominate the action, pushing the smaller woman around the ring and landing blow after blow. But, much to her frustration, Ellen couldn’t seem to stop her opponent completely. Eventually a left hook to the boobs bought Nancy’s guard down and a right uppercut put her flat on her back. It looked like the fight might be over as she struggled to push herself up at a count of 5 but then the bell sounded for the end of the round.
Nancy’s second, Donna, was quickly into the ring, helping her fighter to her feet and back to her corner. Once again Ellen took 5 of the 6 match points as well as 4 points for the two knockdowns and one for the standing count. Amazingly she had turned things around and was now back in touch at 20-22. Meanwhile Donna, in the red corner, was doing her best to reduce the bleeding and swelling around the red head’s eye. As Suzi called for the start of the fifth round it looked like Donna had succeeded. While not exactly fresh, Nancy was cleaned up and the bleeding had stopped.
Going into the fifth round both women were clearly tiring. Both had taken a beating but both were as determined as ever and it still looked like it could be anyone’s match. They were soon toe-to-toe again, Ellen still looking to capitalize by attacking Nancy’s left side but often leaving herself open to Nancy’s savage right hook in the process while Nancy continued to look for openings in Ellen’s guard.
After a minute or so and sensing she was getting nowhere, the blonde seemed to change tack, pushing out more lefts and attacking Nancy’s “good” side. The redhead took advantage of the shift as she was able to see and block more of Ellen’s blows. Ellen found herself retreating again. About 90 seconds into the round Nancy’s right moved inside Ellen’s left, deflecting the blonde’s blow and connecting squarely with her chin.
Ellen spun through 90 degrees as her legs buckled and she went face down on the mat. For a moment it looked like the match was over but Ellen managed to get to her hands and knees, crawl to the ropes and pull herself up at a count of 9. The two squared off again but Ellen was clearly in trouble as Nancy pressed home another attack on the blonde’s 38Cs, bringing her guard down. A right uppercut from the redhead connected with Ellen’s chin, snapping her head back and she went down on her backside, her head against her own corner post. Blood began tricking from her nose again as the dazed blonde struggled to pull herself up on the ropes but it was clear she was finished and, as Suzi’s count reached 10, she sank back to the mat defeated.
Erica was quickly in the ring to aid her fallen fighter but it was the best part of a minute before Ellen was able to get to her feet and a further minute before she joined Suzi and Nancy in the centre of the ring where, raising Nancy’s hand, Suzi announced:
“Ladies and gentleman, your winner, by a knockout in 1 minute and 55 seconds of round 5, Nancy!”
So Nancy beat me again and it was 2-1 to her but I was determined it wouldn’t stay that way and I was already planning my revenge.
