Nicky Gunnery vs Madison Kelly

What day was it today?

Nicky didn't want to leave the comfort of her bed. It was soft, cozy, and every argument against waking up at 6 am in the morning just to get some training in. What was the harm in sleeping in every once in awhile? Her head hurt something fierce, and the early morning drowsiness was especially strong today, so maybe she should just disappear under the covers and drift off till noon. She had a match tomorrow, after all, so there was no point going to it if she was going to feel like that. She knew nothing about her opponent, only that she was Australian with a loss in Momentum. Not the most terrifying of records for her nameless opponent-

But she did have a name

Madison.

Madison.

"...4...5-"

Like a swimmer who had held their breath for too long, Nicky fully stirred, her head lifting up in a panic as if she was afraid she had went over the count. The lights were too bright, too dazzling, and the screams of the crowd assaulted her ears. A zebra was waving something in her hands. A zebra that very quickly coalesced into a referee-shaped silhouette as she pushed herself up with her gloves. Instinctively, she put her gloves up, ready to fight, looking around for Madison, before one of her corner team led the still-confused Nicky back to her corner.

On the way there, she passed the similarly disorientated Madison, their shoulders bumping roughly. Nicky didn't acknowledge it, nor even registered that she had done so. She simply growled irritably and said, "watch it." as she was led back to her stool. Her mouthguard was removed, ice was applied to her head and back, and the interlude between rounds began.

Nicky stared up at the lights, wondering why she had gotten out of bed, as her mind ever so slowly returned to her.

Hopefully within the next minute.

"You looked good in there until the end. Keep moving like that and she is going to punch herself out."

Her cornerman tonight was no replacement for her real coach, restating the obvious without any real feedback or advice as if she was some bum off the street. Madison snickered softly as she sucked down water being fed her way, biting down on the straw as a cold compress was pushed up against her chin to numb the pain and keep swelling to a minimum. Now that he had a moment to sit the rest came back fairly quickly which she had been thankful for, opting not to mention the brief lapse in memory in case this new temporary team in her corner might jump the gun and throw in the towel for her. She just needed to be more aware of those setup combinations. She had avoided at least one of them earlier, it was safe to assume she hadn't been as lucky as the other go around.

The official urged both women back. She took her last sip of water, bit down on her guard when it was offered back to her mouth, and helped herself up off her stool with a groan. She could feel the early onset of burning in her legs, a good workout for only three minutes but Nicky had been relentless and every second of that round had practically been nonstop motion. Playing on the outside would work, but that was fine. She knew that hunger that the blond had, that ceaseless charge was how she fought normally as well, sticking to her opponent like glue. Slugging it out wouldn't do but skirmish fighting would. The chase made Nicky dangerous but it also made her predictable.

Each step closer to the center of the ring became lighter with more bounce as she slipped back into her comfortable headspace, staring across at Nicky. The gloves came up as she waited patiently for the referee to motion the start to the round, eager to get in there and make up for her defensive first round by throwing some real hands now. She tilted her chin, grinning across the way to the blond to blow her a kiss to see if she was easily baited to pay her back for it. She had a good hook waiting for her if she bit.

Nicky wasn't listening to anything her corner had to say. She paid them little mind as they attended to her, only grunting slightly as wiped her off, cooled her off, shoved a straw into her mouth, splashed her with water, and only doing the bare non-verbal minimum to respond to their questions. The lights, the sounds, and the murky whirling in her head was slowly receding, and the dazed look in her eyes gave way to focus the minute near its end. She went down at the end of the bell, but so did Madison, and while she didn't really like adjusting her fighting style, she was beginning to suspect that she might need a more strategic application of her volume. She would never the flurry; she was a swarmer to her fighter's core, but rushing face-first into something like that Haymaker again was no longer an option. You didn't need to be a slugger to put someone out with that kind of recklessness.

Her mouthguard popped in and she was ready to go. She stepped up from her stool, punched her gloves together, and met Madison in the middle of the ring. The staredown began and Nicky brought her gloves up. Right as the referee brought her arm down to signal the round, Madison blew her a kiss.

Okay?

Nicky didn't blink or bother with a reaction. She wasn't a master of mental warfare like some of her contemporaries were, but she had fought many girls across her time in the amateur leagues. Some girls were the mental equivalent of swarmers; mean, relentless, always shit-talking, throwing around low-grade barbs to get under your skin, seeking a mental vulnerability they could exploit that would translate to weakened performance in the ring.

Madison, whatever her professional irritation with her at the moment, was not one of those girls. There was no real malice behind her gesture, which meant-

She wanted her to rush in.

The referee's hand went down, the bell rang, and Nicky gave Madison exactly what she wanted, she came in hard and fast, jabbing left raised and ready to punish the lips that had sent that kiss-

Only for her to dart low at the last moment, sending a pair of vicious swipes at Madison's belly. Then, as if wanting to anticipate a counter, she would wildly swing back up, replicating Madison's haymaker at the end of the next round, trying to catch her at the top.

The cheekily blown kiss wasn't paid any mind at all. Nicky just stared at her stoically, unblinking… she had expected at least a quirked eyebrow. Madison couldn't help but cringe a bit, feeling slightly foolish at her attempt to get a rise out of her woman falling so flat. Maybe it just spoke to how simple it was to annoy herself that had the tables been turned she might have been the one taking offense. She snorted softly, cheeks graced by a faint rosy hue in embarrassment. It appeared as though her plan was dead on arrival.

No matter. She had gotten enough out of the first round to have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Nicky. Punches. Lots of punches. The key was going to be figuring out which ones were safe to weather and which ones were going to spiral into knockdown combinations… easier said than done really. Her best option was to stick with what she knew best, counter punching and landing as many precise hits as she could manage.

With her plans thoroughly dashed after failing to get a reaction from Nicky, when the bell sounded she wasted no time in darting in, meeting the other woman head-on with the intention of seeing just how well she could dance within that storm of punches. The moment a jab came her way, she snapped off from the charge, getting ready to throw a hook of her own… Nicky's jab had been a feint. She tucked her arms in at the last minute, leaning her head back, guarding her body as she took two hard shots to her guard that rattled her arms. As the woman lunged for a large haymaker, Madison went low, slipping underneath the heavy blow, cocking her arm as shd rose up on the outside of Nicky's flank. She wasted no time firing off a hard punishing cross, looking to nail the other woman right over her own shoulder while her big punch went wide. If she managed to stagger the woman she would step in to hammer her body with a quick left-right combo.

Madison's cross struck home and Nicky found herself reeling so early in the 2nd round, giving up distance as she took a few steps back. It wasn't on the level of the hard punch that had sent her to the mat for a few seconds, but it wasn't fun either, and Nicky found herself steadying her guard up as Madison battered away at it, gloves coming left and right, left and right. Pain surged through her arms, her walls rattled, and she threw a retaliatory jab in between Madison's comboes, one she didn't intend really intend to actually land.

it was the pretext to get her guard up so she could slip her hands around her waist for the clinch.

Nicky was frustrated, no doubt. Volume didn't seem to be working, and her momentum had been stymied. She was looking to land and she was beginning to suspect she would exhaust herself long before put Madison down... and so it was time to switch things up a bit. If the clinch was successful, Madison would use her right hand to plow, plow, plow her glove into Madison's side, as she tried to walk her back, aiming to plant her in a position closer to the ropes and closest turnbuckle, trying to limit the space she could run once the ref broke them up.

Fights were a marathon, not a race. That was something Arlon always tried to drill into her head. The irony of it was while he was in her corner that advice had gone mostly unfollowed, it was only now that he was gone that Madison found herself following his grand plan. It was paying off, so far as the Momentum roomie was looking in top form tonight with a clean offense to go with her solid defensive out fighting in the first round. All she had needed was that one solid punch to unsteady Nicky and she was on her, pounding away guard or not, sneaking in those heavy strikes while she had the upper hand to make every blow count.

When a jab came her way she snapped back, leaning her chin away, a gloved hand coming up to block the blow to slight success. Nicky's gloved slipped past, enough to graze her face but not enough reach to open her up with a solid impact. That had been the invitation to dive back in, ready and willing to teach the blond how dangerous throwing out punches against her could be. Cocking and arm back she stepped in, throwing a hook to the blond's body that whiffed as her opponent shuffled in and clinched up against her closing that gap she had been using for distancing.

Madison let out a huff, annoyed by the sudden arrest of her forward momentum, but respecting the other woman's need to get her footing back. Until a punch split her side anyway. The surprise and pain were painted all over her face when the first blow hit her, leaning herself instinctively to the side as her figure bent against the blow in protest. Biting down on her mouthguard she let out a muffled growl, tucking her arm down to take a punch on her elbow and forearm… Then another. She shot a glare back to the referee who seemed content to let them punch the clinch out, even as Nicky was pushing them towards the corner.

She twisted, shoving with her guarding side to roughly push Nicky back, trying to strafe herself out of the clinch by moving in the direction Nicky was punching from and jot grappling with her. If she managed to break away she would shuffle back, throwing out a wide left hook to try and catch Nicky if she pursued or ward her off from coming in if she wisely took the clean break.

Nicky expected the referee to step in to break up the clinch. She did not. She was not deeply familiar with how the general Momentum rules differed from European boxing rules, but it seemed either the Japanese promotion didn't care for some grappling in their boxing or this referee was being lenient.

Either way suited her. Without interference, she had every intention to take Madison fully to the ropes and have her way with her.

So here they were for the scant few seconds the clinch lasted: sweaty bodies pressing and muscling in opposition, chests mashing and slipping against each other, her cheek glazing the taller girl's chin. Her punches pounded against Madison's side, plugging into flesh first, then finding the parts of her arm that Madison had chosen to guard in lieu of pounded body. She could hear her own breath, Madison's breath, smell the musk of her sweat, and in turned be smelled. The clinch exposure her to the full awareness of Madison's shapely, toned body, and Madison was undeniably an attractive woman and for the briefest of seconds, Nicky zoned out, her thoughts drifting to something a little less professional-

Later. She could fantasize about it later once she laid Madison out.

She felt the shift in Madison's body as it happened and she reacted accordingly. When Madison shoved her off, Nicky did too, relinquishing her grip on the other woman's body and pushing off such that Madison would find herself dangerously close to the turnbuckle. A warding jab or hook would follow, no doubt, the evasive fighter's game to arrest momentum, and for one of the few times in the fight, Nicky was the one answering in counter. She ducked low, knees bent and head lowered, letting the hook glaze her head claim air, and sent a vicious haymaker into Madison's belly.

A blow intended to be her final push to the turnbuckle.

It was understandable that the mashing of bodies so close and the hot exhales from each woman rolling down one another's sweaty sheen bodies might have been enticing for more than just the onlookers. Anything beyond the competition however never entered her mind. It wasn't because Nicky wasn't an attractive woman so much as it was Nicky's aggressive attempt to drill her in the side when the two were locked up against each other. A few good slugs, even taken on her arms, were enough of a wake-up call to keep her from drifting to the thoughts of sweeter things.

When she had finally pushed back, Nicky came away easily, too easy in fact that it had Madison stumbling forward when she took her wide punch to tell the blond to back off with actions rather than words. Instead of dipping away though, Nicky slipped under. Madison's bright green eyes followed the movement but her body was in motion, still swinging when her opponent drew her fist back.

The meaty thwack of Nicky's glove pounded Madison dead center into her stomach, her body briefly deforming around the impact as the blond followed through, throwing her weight into the heavy blow. Madison's cheeks swelled before blurting out an involuntary cough, with a thin trail of spittle sent dancing through the air, almost knocking out her mouthguard. The force of the blow shook her core as she was sent reeling into the corner, her backpedal arrested by the jostle of her back against the ropes as she caught herself from falling.

But Nicky had no intention to let up.

After what amounted to 5 or so minutes of frustrating cat-and-mouse hunting, she finally had her quarry where she needed to be. As loathed as Nicky was to admit it, Madison probably had her beat in sheer speed, but even the fastest mouse in the world couldn't do nothing without the space to run. Nicky had her dead to rights in this small area of the ring; cornered, stunned, ripe for the taking.

And so she went to work. Nicky was all over Madison, wading in strong with an intensified punching volume yet unseen in the match. She came in with a one-two jab-jab aimed to sting the chest, intended to both further stun and force Madison's instinctual guard to focus upwards... before she let loose on her tummy, sending vicious alternating double-hooks into the exact same spot that Madison was struck earlier. Which body part she aimed to punish was clear as rain, but she had attention to spare for Madison's entire toned body. She went up again, seeking to send a stunner right into Madison's face, then shifted down and targeted her opponent's sides with double hooks, poked her chest with more jabs, feinted an uppercut on the chin before her hands went back down to the tum tum, before going right back to a hard smack straight in the face.

Nicky's punching output was methodical, vicious, and without mercy. She continued to chug her elbows in and out, in and out, finding every legal part of Madison's body she could punish, determined to make break Madison's body in half and wilt to the canvas once and for all.

Madison was reeling, wheezing as her frame pushed against the ropes. There had been no time to do anything but try to balance herself for when Nicky came in swinging. Dipping her head down, her arms came up in a shell defense, compact and full, using her forearm to shield her chest from the two stiff jabs while hiding her face behind her gloves. She could weather a storm like this, small enough in body that her elbows provided some coverage to her midsection should hooks not slip around, but she knew the volume of blows the blond was capable of putting out. She could rely on her opponent gassing out before doing serious damage, she needed to give Nicky a reason to back off.

She surged back from behind her guard with a snappy jab, thrown blindly towards Nicky as soon as her second jab had been blocked. Its path was surprisingly accurate towards the other woman's face, speaking to just how great Madison's instinctual awareness was in regards to her opponent's position. The counterattack was a short-lived success however as two heavy blows drilled her in the stomach, buckling her legs and loosening her guard. She was caught cleanly with a blow to the face, snapping her head back, the ropes creaking as her body always forced back into them. She was vaguely aware of shouting from her corner, calling out what she should be doing but either they were misleading her or her body was unable to keep up as Nicky relentlessly hammered her in the corner while she seemed incapable of putting up a solid defense fast enough to respond.

The final thunderous punch cracked her in the side of the head, throwing her weight into the ropes, fumbling steps taking her out of the corner as she toppled to the side. Gracelessly she fell to the canvas face first with a dull thud, one of her arms caught on the bottom rope as she lay motionless on the mat. The referee moved over, starting the count as they gestured Nicky back.

"One!"

"Two!"