Cicilia De'Reignhardt vs. Suzy Q - Punching Up

”God damn, she’s strong, she is so fucking strong!”

”Hey, focus!”

Suzy came back to their corner in shambles, barely able to get it together after the hammering they’d taken in the first round. It shouldn’t have been that surprising, really - you didn’t get a name like ‘the Juggernaut’ from being a pushover. But even Carmen hadn’t imagined it would go this badly, this fast.

She took a moment to look her figher over, head to toe, taking note of her face. Some deformation around the eyes, swelling. Nothing good, especially for a first round, but it wasn’t beyond hope, either. She’d done a good job of hanging in there, despite those heavy shots, but Cicilia wasn’t going to let up - if anything, she’d come into the next round hungry and hunting. Suzy had to be ready for an onslaught.

”Okay, listen.” She put her hands on Suzy’s shoulders, drawing her focus. ”Cicilia is going to try to put you down in the next round. I want you to use that against her, make her work for it. Stay out of range, use your speed to keep the distance. If she closes in, clinch. Use your jab to keep her off, but don’t try anything big unless you know it can hit, unless there’s a good, solid window. Do. Not. Go toe-to-toe with her, no matter what. That’s her game, and we’re not playing it. Clear?”

Suzy nodded along, blinking doing her best to process all of that. She seemed out of it for a moment, but soon enough, she came back to reality and nodded. ”Crystal.”

”SECONDS OUT!”

Carmen put the mouthpiece back in for Suzy and gave her a push in the back, a little nudge into the ring. Calm but cautious, she made her way in, keeping her eyes locked on Cicilia, not sure how she would be kicking this off.

An astute observation, if an obvious one. The German's strategy was always to end a fight faster than the one she'd fought before, to bring her opponents to her knees in continuous record-setting time. Her momentum would only continue to build as the rounds progressed, the boxer's aggression and control of the ring expanding with every moment Suzy couldn't push through. The German Juggernaut was a dominating force in the ring, bullying her opponents into retreat and snatching up their land as they fled with their tails between their legs. From beginning to end, she was the one in control... a beast within it's own territory.

Suzy made her distress no secret, PROCLAIMING her exasperation with the boxer's strength at such a volume... it was likely those in the first few rows of the audience could hear it! Such a comment invoked a smile upon Cicilia's face, her lips curling into the tiniest... perhaps even smugly satisfied grin... But that grin went away just as fast as the German analyzed her speech, determining just what it could mean for future rounds. Suzy was shaken now, aware of the battle she was fighting. She wouldn't be able to compete in a slug-fest and her remark didn't carry the confidence of someone who was gonna dive back in.

...Suzy was gonna run. Just like all the others, she was gonna try and pick this up from a distance and wear the Slugger out with out-boxer tactics...

...This was why Cicilia wanted to end fights as soon as possible. She made it her MISSION to crush her foes (or at least maim them) in the first round because this was what they inevitably resorted too: Making the fight a game of cat and mouse. It was a smart strategy, one worthy of employment for sure... and it made the Juggernaut's life a living HELL in the ring. She was forced to lunge after them, dealing with quicker reflexes, trying to predict and evade 100 different jabs, constantly watching herself and managing her stamina...

The Boxer assumed she was gonna hide away behind her defense and buy as much time as possible for their fatigue-ratios to reach comparable levels once again... What a pain.

Cicilia would step out of her corner with a bold, frustrated frown, a dichotomy to the calm, but cautious blankness that Suzy wore on her face. It gave nothing more away, simply an indication of knowledge as to what she was now battling. Cicilia raised her gloved fists, her sanguine eyes locked FIRMLY into Suzy's almost like a bear trying to paralyze it's prey with it's glare...

DING!

Like before and every match before this one, the German CHARGED right on IN, her arms raised in a loose defense to free up her arms for MAXIMUM punishment! Coming in hot, the Juggernaut would lash out with a DECAPITATING hook right at Suzy's jaw, aiming to drop her INSTANTLY with one mighty blow!

Suzy came out of the corner with deep breaths, sucking in all the oxygen she could, doing her best to refill the reserves. It wasn’t an easy thing, trying to force some calm back into her body, but somehow she managed to pull it all together and get her brain working again. About as much as she could hope for, in a fight like this. Enough to take stock of things.

Carmen was right - as much as she didn’t like holding back, that was the only real way forward. She still had stamina, could still fight, but that wouldn’t be the case if she took two or three more good hits. Being more defensive wouldn’t make her any more new fans, but neither would spending the bulk of this round staring at the canvas. There was more to boxing than just swinging your fists around.

She looked over and saw Cicilia, saw that look on her face - pissed, drive, determined. There was no question how she’d be coming - just because she was predictable didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous. Predicting a hurricane didn’t mean it couldn’t kill you, after all. But if you took the right steps…

The bell rang, and sure enough, Cicilia came storming forward, charging towards Suzy with all the subtlety of a runaway freight train. You could almost feel the air rush around her fist as she pulled it back, clenched tight, preparing to throw out a blow that would’ve had just about any woman in the AFW laid out in an instant, a crushing headrocker.

Nope.

Instead of backing away, Suzy leaped forward with open arms and took Cicilia in a clinch once more, smothering the hold and keeping her foe wrapped up tight.

Something new... Something the German didn't expect... and utterly despised... CLINCHES!

The bane of her boxing career... FUCKING CLINCHES!

The only thing more cowardly than running away from danger was CLINGING to it for dear life, hoping to god you could restrain the danger before it ripped you to pieces! This was what Suzy decided to do... To hide from the battle... but just in another way! In a way, though, Cicilia couldn't blame her... Suzy, in the boxer's view, had NO chance against her, physically incapable with competing with her onslaught! This really was the best she could do, to try and prolong the inevitable and stunt the German's momentum before it could REALLY get rolling!

...But event though Cicilia understood her, that didn't mean she wasn't FRUSTRATED that her onslaught was ground to a halt!

With how Suzy DUCKED under Cicilia's punch, the German's arm now hung limply over Suzy's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around the German's sides, one LOCKING round the Slugger's arm, pinning it there, the other slipping UNDER the arm that rested over her shoulder, pinning it up! Cicilia's eyes shot wide as she found herself thoroughly pinned, one arm struggling to retract, the other struggling to extend!

"Grrr... Get off me....!" She DEMANDED, PULLING and pushing against the grip that restrained her! She tried desperately to overpower the grip that had her locked firmly in place, to snap the chains that bound her... but she would make little notable progress... Whatever had possessed Suzy had made her into a stronger, more tactical force... inspiring this level of control!

Curse it... She won't be able to keep me back for long! Cicilia thought, glancing over at the Ref, she who was already on her way over! And when I'm free... I'll end this!

From the sidelines, Carmen breathed a sigh of relief as Suzy seemed to stick to their plan for the time being. A small sigh of relief, but a real one. After the battering she’d taken in the last round, she’d worried that her student might get too eager, go looking to even the score with Cicilia. There might’ve been time for that later, after she’d been properly worn down, but that wasn’t the case right now - now was the time to heal, to rest, to wait.

”There you go, Suzy!” Carmen gave the canvas a good slap and called out towards her fighter. ”Stick to her!”

On Suzy’s end, that was practically the last thing she needed to be told. As much as this sort of dancing left a bad taste in her mouth, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the taste of blood would’ve been. Even now, as she clamped on to the woman, she could feel the power in her every move, feel the raw strength as the two of them stepped about the ring. The gap was clear, but she tried not to let it overwhelm. She was still standing. She was in this. Strong boxers lost matches all the time.

The referee moved in to separate them, spreading her arms between them and giving them distance. Cicilia didn’t fight it too hard. Instead, she stepped back with a tightened guard and began to bob and weave, moving from side to side as she kept outside of Cicilia’s range. Mindful of the woman in front of her, she’d back away as the bruiser approach, circle out of her way as she neared, looking out for a sudden rush. The exact last thing she wanted to do was get cornered.

Deep breaths, nice and slow, stay patient. No rushing, here.

By order of the referee, Suzy would eventually be forced apart from the German but that wouldn't stop her from being an annoying PEST! The moment they were apart, Cicilia bore witness to the bouncy, bumble-bee-like bouncing that the smaller girl was doing, bobbing and weaving all OVER the place in an effort to keep her head (and to a lesser extent: her body) out of the line of viable targets. As smart as it was... it was also sad, in a way... After all, this fight would've been over a lot quicker and MUCH less painfully for everyone if she simply decided to stand there like a dummy.

Nevertheless, phase 2 had begun. It was time for the pace of the match to change.

Once the Ref allowed the match to continue, Cicilia approached Suzy again, this time her eyes fixed firmly on that stomach below. That was going to be her next target, a larger, less mobile target.... They say body-blows were worse for someone in some circumstances, that they could cause some MAJOR issues in the immediate future if it wasn't properly defended. All that hopping and slipping would have to wear out on Suzy at some point and when it did...? Her defenses wouldn't be able to hold up to the onslaught.

Needing to start somewhere, Cicilia moved in on the attack, throwing quick, lighter hooks at Suzy's sides, aiming to test the true speed of her opponent's evasiveness a bit. Just to get an idea of how much power she should be investing into each of her punches. Whether or not they connected, the boxer would slowly follow into a 2-by-2 combination, going low... then high, then low again, intent on making Lucy feel... almost comfortable with the rhythm of targets. A few punches up high... a few down low... repeat. The Juggernaut would attempt to push in on Suzy, pressure her backwards, force her to give up positions of strength in favor of her own protection...

Cicilia intended to take Suzy down piece by piece if she wasn't going to stand here and lose herself all at once.

Carmen looked on with no small sense of pride, glad to see that her time drilling Suzy on her bobbing and weaving wasn’t wasted. It was hard to tell what stuck with the little woman at times, but it seemed like this was something she’d taken to heart. Even with the not-inconsiderable amount of damage she’d taken from the bruiser, she was still able to move into a good pattern of dodging, staying out of her opponent’s firing range. Good stuff.

The only question was whether it would last, and if it would be enough to pull a win, but those were questions that would have to wait. For now, the main objective was just to thrive and stay alive, and Suzy was doing that much well enough.

She looked on as Cicilia started to move in again, not going quite as aggressive as before, but still pressing the offense. Suzy did a decent job staying ahead, though it wasn’t perfect. She took a shot in the side here, had to block a blow to the face there, but she was holding on, and they were infrequent enough that she didn’t have to worry too much about the followup. Still, Carmen couldn’t help but find it troubling. It was almost as if the Juggernaut was holding back a bit, saving up her power for a special occasion.

”Doing good, but be careful!” Carmen threw a quick glance to the clock before she refocused. ”Keep it moving!”

Despite not going in as hard as before, Cicilia was easily keeping Suzy contained behind a wall of fists, her punches RIPPING at the woman's face as she slipped around them artfully. Even Cicilia had to admit, this girl was something of a respectable defender, not running around the ring like some sort of rabbit anymore... rather, standing her ground as best she could, slipping about the Boxer's punches and keeping close enough to take a shot... that was if she could ever find an opening. Cicilia's unrelenting bulldozing tactic kept the woman at bay, however, swarming her with lighter but still heavy blows that CUT the air in front of her to ribbons, CRASHING into her opponent's arms at some points... Other points landing glancing-blows... Most of them touching nothing but air as Suzy deftly slipped around them...

Time ticked down on the clock, little by little coming to the end of this round as Cicilia pursued her defensive foe, her punches gradually growing slower, heavier.... almost as if she was becoming labored all of a sudden!

...No...

For someone as elite and perceptive as Carmen, she'd be able to see that Cicilia hadn't yet even broken a sweat, that there was a small but sharp smirk spreading across the German's lips! A wicked aura would surround the Juggernaut as her upper body began to BULK, power storing in those muscles as she brought back her right arm down by her side... CHARGING it up for a massive blow! The warning Carmen would cry... it would be muted to Cicilia, a RUSH of exhilaration BLOWING through her as she focused a GREAT portion of her over-all power into this next move, her fist ROCKETING OUT in a MASSIVE straight, the air around her arm warping and twisting in a visible corkscrew as she brought it around, the speed of it coming out... almost making a loud noise of it's own!



Trainwrecker Punch!

Things were going well, especially considering the poor way this match had started. It wasn’t perfect, no, but it was looking as if Suzy found her rhythm, was in a pace that let her control this match, and that she had a good idea of what Cicilia was capable of. She had faith in her student, knew she could pull something like this off if she was patient and persevered. Matches had been won with far worse starts, and the Juggernaut wasn’t invincible, despite the reputation she’d built up. Enough punches, enough time, and she would go down just like anyone else.

So what was this ominous feeling in her gut? Why did she sense that something bad was coming her way?

She watched Cicilia close, taking note of the way she moved. She seemed tired, but the keyword was ‘seemed’. It was only the second round, and there was no way a woman with cardio that poor could ever build up the pedigree that she’d earned. No, it was more like she was waiting, biding her time, storing up even as the seconds ticked away…

Carmen opened her mouth for the warning, prepared to shout, but the trap was sprung. Cicilia bulldozed her way in with a single, mighty motion. Suzy raised up her arms in defense, put on a guard, but it might as well have been a paper blocking a bullet. The blow crushed through her arms, blew them apart, and crashed against her face, deforming it with the impact before the rest of her body followed suit. Suzy was knocked away, hit the ropes, and crumbled to the mat, landing on her chest in a heap as the audience roared around them.

Cicilia's fist was practically smoking by the time Suzy hit the ground, her pathetic defenses doing very little to defend her from the overwhelming power if the Juggernaut's signature punch! For only a moment, however, did Cicilia have time to revel in it's impact as a sharp TWINGE of agony shot through her punching-arm, the muscles strained to the point of aching! Cicilia was strong... and she was tough... But there was a reason why trainers told you never to go 100% all at once... let alone channeling that 100% into one move! The body simply wasn't designed to take that kind of punishment, not even if the person conjuring that much pressure was the one taking it as well!

That small smirk on the German's face twisted downwards into a pained growl, Cicilia bringing her unwounded arm up to her shoulder, her glove cradling it as she stared down at the laid-out Suzy... The crowd may have been roaring in triumph, assured that someone as small, frail and weak at Suzy Q couldn't get up after an attack like that... But the German remained silent, returning to her corner as the Ref instructed, watching the girl with almost... regret...? The way her body contorted upon impact, the way she crumbled under the pressure of her attack...

...It was like running over a rat with a car.... Did she really need to be so cruel in order to solve this problem...?

Cicilia's expression only darkened further as she found herself questioning this entire fight, an almost worried glint flashing across her sanguine eyes as she speculated what kind of DAMAGE did she DO to Suzy! She didn't even hold back either! That woman got all of her Train-Wrecker punch! It would be a miracle if her jaw was still in one piece! Cicilia, between her arm and her heart... she was in some pain... She had no damn restraint! When her hits connected, she practically killed... is that what she wanted her legacy to be...? Did she want to end up like her sister, known for her victims left with crippling brain-damage!?

"..."