Anya Taylor-Joy versus Sophia Thomalla (Empress of the Body
Jan 26, 2024 22:20:44 GMT -6
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Post by Lookout! Boxing on Jan 26, 2024 22:20:44 GMT -6
Anya Taylor-Joy vs Sophia Thomalla
(Writing: LMW / Results: Lookout!)
Empress of the Body Saddle Title
Anya Taylor-Joy (Empress)
(27, 5’7, 28-7 FCBA, League of Mighty Women)
Sophia Thomalla
(34, 5’7, 17-0 BBU, Black Eagle Boxing)
Pre-Fight: League of Mighty Women’s Anya Taylor-Joy will be making her third defense of the Empress of the Body Saddle Title against Black Eagle Boxing’s Sophia Thomalla. Anya has won six in a row and successfully defended her title against two Hall of Famers to end the year on a high note. She will be looking to pick things up in the new year from where she left off to keep her title. Sophia is a new face in the FCBA as she makes her debut in a title fight, but she is no stranger to these occasions as she is the current BBU Bantamweight champion with an impressive eight title defense record. She is also undefeated, so she will be looking to keep her perfect record intact and win a title in her FCBA debut.
The Empress kicks things off at the pre-fight press conference. “As you can see, I’m tired of riding old Hall of Famers, so I am looking for a new kind of steed, a current champion. It will be a fun ride! She might be bullying competition over at BBU, but I will make sure to break her before riding her, so that she knows her place!” Anya finishes her words with a confident smirk on her face.
Sophia shrugs as if to brush off Anya’s comments before starting her own address. “It is true that I have dominated the bantam division in BBU and I will show that I’m a force to be reckoned with here in FCBA too. Anya is just a brat who likes bytching about her opponents, but I have dealt with my fair share of brats, especially early in my career, so I know how to handle them. They all crumbled against my power, the result will be the same here.” Sophia’s remarks wipe the smirk off Anya’s face and they both stand up to engage in an ice cold stare down. With neither of them backing down, both teams end up having to pull their fighters back and escort them backstage to end the press conference.
It is fight night and the Empress makes her entrance first, trailed by her coach Gillian Anderson and LMW’s head coach Ali Landry, who carries the Empress’ body saddle, which is black with a gold crown on one side and ‘Empress Anya’ written in pink on the other side. Ali is replacing Ana (de Armas) in this role as Ana had a fight earlier tonight. Anya greets her fans with a royal wave as they cheer for her on her way to the ring.
She is wearing a black sports bra, matching trunks, pink gloves and boots with her hair tied in a ponytail.
Next up, Sophia enters the arena followed by BEB’s owner and head coach Gina Wild. Sophia gets a warm welcome from the FCBA fans as they clearly appreciate her achievements over at BBU and are excited to see her debut. Sophia reacts by waving at them with a big smile as they cheer loudly for her. Her smile turns into a cold stare as she enters the ring and focuses on the task at hand.
She is wearing a red bikini top, black micro denim shorts, golden gloves and boots with her hair tied in a sleek ponytail.
Both fighters come to the center of the ring to listen to the referee’s final instructions and then they go for a stiff touch of gloves as they seem intent on hurting each other. The referee urges them to step back and we are now ready for 10 rounds of action for the Empress of the Body Saddle Title!
Fight: Round 1: Both fighters are known to be able to adapt to different styles depending on their opponent, but they are sticking with what comes natural to them to start things off in this title fight. Sophia is on the attack to give an early taste of her power to her opponent, while Anya uses a defensive stance as she looks for counter attacking opportunities to punish her opponent’s openings. Sophia sets the pace early on as she tests Anya’s defenses with one-two combinations. She occasionally slips past the guard and scores with some shots, but nothing big yet that could hurt her opponent. Anya answers with a few single counterpunches, but she seems content with not letting Sophia find her rhythm for now. Sophia ends up winning the opening round, but it is clear that she wanted to put more pressure and do some damage as she discusses ways to surpass Anya’s defenses with her coach during the break.
Round 2: Sophia ups her aggression at the start of the second round as she wants to pull Anya into a slugfest, but the Empress keeps her cool and stays on the defense to avoid being pulled into a trap. Anya’s forearms ends up getting the first taste of Sophia’s power though, as the German fighter takes out her frustration by blasting Anya’s guard with strong combinations. By the halfway point of the round, Anya is forced to reconsider her defensive strategy as she starts to use her footwork and head movement to avoid more punches rather than blocking them. Sophia reacts to it by trying to put more pressure by going for bigger punches. It backfires as Anya dodges a wild swing by Sophia and then counters with an uppercut to the German’s chin. Then she quickly lands a left hook to the ribs and a right hook to the chin that forces a surprised Sophia to back away. Sophia still tries to launch some big punches from the back foot, but Anya dodges them and keeps tagging her opponent with one-two combos to the face until the bell. Anya takes the round wide and ties up the score with her big push in the second half of this round. In between the rounds, Gina tells Sophia to be more patient with her offense and not give openings like that anymore.
Round 3: Things slow down at the beginning of the third round as Sophia looks a bit more cautious and lets Anya initiate the exchanges. The Empress keeps her attacks short and controlled to avoid getting tangled in a brawl like exchange with her opponent. Anya makes sure that she changes targets often between the body and the head to keep Sophia guessing and to find more openings. She lands some clean punches as a result, but nothing that troubles Sophia, who scores with a few good shots of her own as she shows that she can be patient and play the counterattacking game as well. In the final minute of the round, Sophia blocks a one-two attempt by Anya and then before she can go for another jab, the German quickly counters with a right cross that lands hard. It gives the opening for Sophia to shift to an attacking approach again as she lands a couple of short combinations in the remainder of the round that snap Anya’s head back and give her a true taste of Sophia’s power. The late flurry is enough for Sophia to steal the round and go ahead once again on the scorecards.
Round 4: Sophia is on the attack again at the beginning of the fourth round after finding success with it in the previous one, but she is keeping her coach’s advice in mind as she seems more controlled and avoids swinging wildly. Anya on the defense, utilizing her footwork to keep the engagements to a minimum for now. Sophia hasn’t found the head-snapping punches in this round yet, but she seems content with tagging her opponent and keeping control of the fight at the moment. They keep a steady pace through the round, but the action is limited as they get caught up in this routine with both sides playing it safe, which works in Sophia’s favor as she racks up the points. Turns out that it was a false sense of security as Anya suddenly blasts Sophia’s ribs with a massive right hook, making the German wince in pain. The Empress follows it up with a couple of shovel hooks to the abs and then an uppercut to the chin that drives Sophia back. She doesn’t realize that she is too close to the ropes until her back touches them as she tries to avoid a one-two combo. With Sophia on the ropes, Anya launches a barrage of body shots that forces her opponent to turtle up. Sophia blocks a good number of these punches, but some of them still land hard, so the sound of the bell comes as a relief. She looks frustrated though as she walks over to her corner as she got burnt twice now, first for being too aggressive and then for being too cautious. A wide win for Anya to tie up the score again.
Round 5: After a dominant round, Anya seems more eager to go on the attack at the start of the fifth round. Sophia is not backing down either, hoping that she can force longer exchanges as her opponent opens up more. Anya focuses her attacks on the body again and gets the better of the exchanges early in the round, but Sophia keeps them close as she lands some solid punches to the head as well. Surprisingly, Sophia starts to slow down as the body shots start to accumulate and she starts to miss more often with her attempts to fire back. From the halfway point, Anya takes complete control of the action as she keeps blasting her opponent’s ribs. Towards the end, Anya traps her opponent in the BEB corner and bullies her there with a relentless attack to the body. Sophia gets saved by the bell in the end, but she also gets mocked by the Empress. “Oh no, my new steed is already kaput! Don’t worry though, this will all end soon!” Anya then walks back to her corner with a smirk on her face, having won another round wide, while Sophia is left fuming as she is not in a position to talk back.
During the break, ice packs are applied to Sophia’s reddened body, while Gina tries to motivate her fighter. “Are you gonna let that brat talk to you like that?! I know what you are capable of and this is not it! So show me, show that little brat and show the rest of the FCBA what you are really capable of!”
Round 6: Anya starts the round looking confident after dominating the previous two rounds, but she seems a bit surprised by Sophia’s resilience as the German comes forward to attack with a renewed vigor, instead of falling back to a defensive style. Anya lands a few jabs to slow down her opponent, but Sophia doesn’t seem to care about adapting her style anymore and asserts her own attacking style as she lands a couple of stiff combinations that snap the Empress’ head back. In an attempt to regain control of the action, Anya goes back to the body with a hook to the rib that makes Sophia wince, but that doesn’t stop her either as she comes back with a double jab-straight combo up top that lands precisely.
There is no stopping the German in this round as she keeps coming forward to engage and she starts to overpower her opponent, forcing Anya to give up control of the action and back away. Anya must be regretting angering her opponent as she keeps getting punished with stiff shots. After another stiff one-two combination, Sophia lands a big right hook to the chin that rocks Anya, who takes a couple of unsteady steps back. Sophia steps in with a straight right that lands hard and square on Anya’s face and it drops the Empress on her back with a bloody nose! Sophia goes over to the neutral corner with a satisfied look on her face as she just showcased her impressive power to the FCBA. The referee begins the count. 1…2…3… Anya on her back, blinking repeatedly as she tries to process what just happened, she also checks her nose with her glove, which smears blood all over her face 4…5… she rolls over and slowly gets on to all fours 6…7…8… she plants her feet, musters her strength and gets up to her feet in time to show the referee that she can continue. After a quick check, the referee wipes Anya’s gloves and restarts the action.
Sophia increases the pressure in the final minute to finish what she started, but Anya uses her footwork to stay away. That is until she gets caught by a wild swing and ends up trapped in the corner. Sophia unloads on Anya’s guard and with little left on the clock, she is able to break her defenses. The bell rings just as Sophia starts dismantling the Empress. It could have been the end if there were 10 more seconds on the clock. It is LMW corner team’s turn to hurry during the break as they wipe the blood off Anya’s face and stop the bleeding, while Gillian reminds her to respect her opponent’s power, use her footwork and ring awareness to avoid getting caught up like that again.
Round 7: Sophia on the attack again in the seventh round as she tries to find the punch that will make Anya quit. Anya defends well and avoids getting caught by any fight ending punch as it is her turn to show her resilience. Around this time last year, she might have folded under these circumstances, but she made good progress on her toughness in that time and it is helping her stay in the fight right now. Sophia throws double jabs, shorts combinations and some wild swings at Anya, but only a few lands cleanly and they are not enough to trouble her opponent. In the final minute, Sophia starts to slow down a bit as all the energy she used in the final two rounds as well as the damage she received to the body earlier in the fight starts to catch up with her. Only then, Anya starts firing back with some counterpunches to get back into the fight. It ends up being a quiet round after the drama of the previous one, but Sophia still wins it narrowly to take back the lead on the scorecards.
Round 8: As the eight round begins, it is clear that both Anya and Sophia suffered through a lot of punishment with marks all over to show for it and they are pushing through the pain to find that reserve energy to win this fight. They are still searching for it early in the round though as they only engage in short exchanges that are initiated by Sophia, who gets the better of them, but nothing major lands for either side. Her success in these exchanges gives her the motivation and she is the first to find that second wind it seems like as she starts to push to pace again. After putting the pressure on Anya’s defense again, Sophia finally slips a strong straight through her opponent’s guard and snaps her head back. Blood starts to trickle down again from the Empress’ nose. It seems to have given Anya the sense of urgency though as she also finds her second wind and starts to fire back more with counters. She finds the perfect counterpunch with thirty-seconds left on the clock as she ducks under a straight and lands a big overhand that hurts Sophia. Anya takes control of the action and puts the pressure on the challenger with short combinations until the bell. It was enough for her to steal the round narrowly and she needed it to tie the score with only two more rounds to go.
Round 9: With the score tied, instead of playing it safe and letting the judges decide, both fighters are going for it to get a finish before the fight ends. Their combinations are not as crisp as they were in earlier rounds, but their defenses are not as solid either, so they stand and trade with both sides doing some damage. Both sides are feeling the effects of this grueling contest as Anya’s nose starts to bleed again and Sophia winces whenever her opponent scores with a good body shot. Sophia is finally getting the slugfest she wanted but she might be regretting it as Anya returns the favor and gives her a bloodied nose with a stiff right cross. The German is looking hurt and unsteady on her feet after that shot. Anya lands a couple of hooks to her opponent’s bruised ribs to open up her defenses, then she goes for a lead uppercut to the chin. With Sophia standing there stunned, Anya hits her with a massive right hook to the chin and down goes Sophia! Anya walks over to the neutral corner, wiping her own bleeding nose, while the referee begins the count. 1…2…3… Sophia on her back with one hand over her face and the other holding her bruised ribs 4…5…6… she slowly rolls over and crawls to the nearby ropes 7…8… she holds on to the ropes and tries to pull herself up 9…10! Sophia can only get up on one knee as the count passes her by! It is all over!
Official Result: Winner via KO in round 9 and still the Empress of the Body Saddle, Anya Taylor-Joy!
Post-Fight: Anya lets out a sigh of relief as she earns this hard-fought victory and raises her fists in the air wearily. Gillian and Ali enter the ring to hug their fighter and celebrate her win. Before they go over to start making preparations for the body saddle, Anya whispers something in Gillian's ear. While waiting, Anya sits on her corner stool and rests a bit as her team wipes the blood off her face and stops the nosebleed again. On the other side, Gina helps her fighter to her feet and then they go over to their corner, so that Sophia can sit down on her stool and get checked by the medical team. They clean up her face and stop her nosebleed as well, then they confirm that she is not seriously hurt. This means that she is ready for the next part though as Gillian and Ali come over with the body saddle. They start preparing Sophia for the ride as they strap body saddle on her back, but they are taking their time with it this time and clearly it is not just to give more time to her to recover before the ride, but more so to give their own fighter the time to get cleaned up and gather herself for the ride. That must have been what Anya whispered to Gilian.
Finally, Sophia is ready for the ride and Anya has gathered herself in the meantime, so she comes over in a regal manner and mounts her ride. Sophia starts moving as soon as Anya mounts her, but the Empress just goes along with it and starts doing her royal wave to the fans with a smirk on her face. Sophia winces from time to time as the body saddle causes her battered body discomfort in certain movements, but she pushes through the pain and completes the lap at a steady pace. She is about to start another lap, but Anya gives a little tug to her ponytail and tells her “That’s enough, actually. Good horsie! That’s it, know your place!” She says that last part as she dismounts and walks away, clearly wanting to avoid any confrontation after that grueling fight as she has been much nicer during the rest of the ride compared to her previous body saddle rides. With Anya making a quick exit, Sophia lets it go as well, especially since she is tired and wants to go backstage as quickly as possible. The LMW team helps her take off the body saddle and they leave the ring and then Sophia leaves as well with help from her coach Gina.
A good start to the year for Anya as she remains as the Empress after hard-fought victory. She is putting together a good run of results and keeps improving in that time to cement her place among the elite in the bantam division. As for Sophia, she experienced defeat for the first time in her boxing career, but she also showed that she can become a menace in the FCBA with that power of hers. It is yet to be seen if she will make more appearances this side of the Atlantic, but FCBA fans are surely excited about that possibility after this showing.
(Writing: LMW / Results: Lookout!)
Empress of the Body Saddle Title
Anya Taylor-Joy (Empress)
(27, 5’7, 28-7 FCBA, League of Mighty Women)
Sophia Thomalla
(34, 5’7, 17-0 BBU, Black Eagle Boxing)
Pre-Fight: League of Mighty Women’s Anya Taylor-Joy will be making her third defense of the Empress of the Body Saddle Title against Black Eagle Boxing’s Sophia Thomalla. Anya has won six in a row and successfully defended her title against two Hall of Famers to end the year on a high note. She will be looking to pick things up in the new year from where she left off to keep her title. Sophia is a new face in the FCBA as she makes her debut in a title fight, but she is no stranger to these occasions as she is the current BBU Bantamweight champion with an impressive eight title defense record. She is also undefeated, so she will be looking to keep her perfect record intact and win a title in her FCBA debut.
The Empress kicks things off at the pre-fight press conference. “As you can see, I’m tired of riding old Hall of Famers, so I am looking for a new kind of steed, a current champion. It will be a fun ride! She might be bullying competition over at BBU, but I will make sure to break her before riding her, so that she knows her place!” Anya finishes her words with a confident smirk on her face.
Sophia shrugs as if to brush off Anya’s comments before starting her own address. “It is true that I have dominated the bantam division in BBU and I will show that I’m a force to be reckoned with here in FCBA too. Anya is just a brat who likes bytching about her opponents, but I have dealt with my fair share of brats, especially early in my career, so I know how to handle them. They all crumbled against my power, the result will be the same here.” Sophia’s remarks wipe the smirk off Anya’s face and they both stand up to engage in an ice cold stare down. With neither of them backing down, both teams end up having to pull their fighters back and escort them backstage to end the press conference.
It is fight night and the Empress makes her entrance first, trailed by her coach Gillian Anderson and LMW’s head coach Ali Landry, who carries the Empress’ body saddle, which is black with a gold crown on one side and ‘Empress Anya’ written in pink on the other side. Ali is replacing Ana (de Armas) in this role as Ana had a fight earlier tonight. Anya greets her fans with a royal wave as they cheer for her on her way to the ring.
She is wearing a black sports bra, matching trunks, pink gloves and boots with her hair tied in a ponytail.
Next up, Sophia enters the arena followed by BEB’s owner and head coach Gina Wild. Sophia gets a warm welcome from the FCBA fans as they clearly appreciate her achievements over at BBU and are excited to see her debut. Sophia reacts by waving at them with a big smile as they cheer loudly for her. Her smile turns into a cold stare as she enters the ring and focuses on the task at hand.
She is wearing a red bikini top, black micro denim shorts, golden gloves and boots with her hair tied in a sleek ponytail.
Both fighters come to the center of the ring to listen to the referee’s final instructions and then they go for a stiff touch of gloves as they seem intent on hurting each other. The referee urges them to step back and we are now ready for 10 rounds of action for the Empress of the Body Saddle Title!
Fight: Round 1: Both fighters are known to be able to adapt to different styles depending on their opponent, but they are sticking with what comes natural to them to start things off in this title fight. Sophia is on the attack to give an early taste of her power to her opponent, while Anya uses a defensive stance as she looks for counter attacking opportunities to punish her opponent’s openings. Sophia sets the pace early on as she tests Anya’s defenses with one-two combinations. She occasionally slips past the guard and scores with some shots, but nothing big yet that could hurt her opponent. Anya answers with a few single counterpunches, but she seems content with not letting Sophia find her rhythm for now. Sophia ends up winning the opening round, but it is clear that she wanted to put more pressure and do some damage as she discusses ways to surpass Anya’s defenses with her coach during the break.
Round 2: Sophia ups her aggression at the start of the second round as she wants to pull Anya into a slugfest, but the Empress keeps her cool and stays on the defense to avoid being pulled into a trap. Anya’s forearms ends up getting the first taste of Sophia’s power though, as the German fighter takes out her frustration by blasting Anya’s guard with strong combinations. By the halfway point of the round, Anya is forced to reconsider her defensive strategy as she starts to use her footwork and head movement to avoid more punches rather than blocking them. Sophia reacts to it by trying to put more pressure by going for bigger punches. It backfires as Anya dodges a wild swing by Sophia and then counters with an uppercut to the German’s chin. Then she quickly lands a left hook to the ribs and a right hook to the chin that forces a surprised Sophia to back away. Sophia still tries to launch some big punches from the back foot, but Anya dodges them and keeps tagging her opponent with one-two combos to the face until the bell. Anya takes the round wide and ties up the score with her big push in the second half of this round. In between the rounds, Gina tells Sophia to be more patient with her offense and not give openings like that anymore.
Round 3: Things slow down at the beginning of the third round as Sophia looks a bit more cautious and lets Anya initiate the exchanges. The Empress keeps her attacks short and controlled to avoid getting tangled in a brawl like exchange with her opponent. Anya makes sure that she changes targets often between the body and the head to keep Sophia guessing and to find more openings. She lands some clean punches as a result, but nothing that troubles Sophia, who scores with a few good shots of her own as she shows that she can be patient and play the counterattacking game as well. In the final minute of the round, Sophia blocks a one-two attempt by Anya and then before she can go for another jab, the German quickly counters with a right cross that lands hard. It gives the opening for Sophia to shift to an attacking approach again as she lands a couple of short combinations in the remainder of the round that snap Anya’s head back and give her a true taste of Sophia’s power. The late flurry is enough for Sophia to steal the round and go ahead once again on the scorecards.
Round 4: Sophia is on the attack again at the beginning of the fourth round after finding success with it in the previous one, but she is keeping her coach’s advice in mind as she seems more controlled and avoids swinging wildly. Anya on the defense, utilizing her footwork to keep the engagements to a minimum for now. Sophia hasn’t found the head-snapping punches in this round yet, but she seems content with tagging her opponent and keeping control of the fight at the moment. They keep a steady pace through the round, but the action is limited as they get caught up in this routine with both sides playing it safe, which works in Sophia’s favor as she racks up the points. Turns out that it was a false sense of security as Anya suddenly blasts Sophia’s ribs with a massive right hook, making the German wince in pain. The Empress follows it up with a couple of shovel hooks to the abs and then an uppercut to the chin that drives Sophia back. She doesn’t realize that she is too close to the ropes until her back touches them as she tries to avoid a one-two combo. With Sophia on the ropes, Anya launches a barrage of body shots that forces her opponent to turtle up. Sophia blocks a good number of these punches, but some of them still land hard, so the sound of the bell comes as a relief. She looks frustrated though as she walks over to her corner as she got burnt twice now, first for being too aggressive and then for being too cautious. A wide win for Anya to tie up the score again.
Round 5: After a dominant round, Anya seems more eager to go on the attack at the start of the fifth round. Sophia is not backing down either, hoping that she can force longer exchanges as her opponent opens up more. Anya focuses her attacks on the body again and gets the better of the exchanges early in the round, but Sophia keeps them close as she lands some solid punches to the head as well. Surprisingly, Sophia starts to slow down as the body shots start to accumulate and she starts to miss more often with her attempts to fire back. From the halfway point, Anya takes complete control of the action as she keeps blasting her opponent’s ribs. Towards the end, Anya traps her opponent in the BEB corner and bullies her there with a relentless attack to the body. Sophia gets saved by the bell in the end, but she also gets mocked by the Empress. “Oh no, my new steed is already kaput! Don’t worry though, this will all end soon!” Anya then walks back to her corner with a smirk on her face, having won another round wide, while Sophia is left fuming as she is not in a position to talk back.
During the break, ice packs are applied to Sophia’s reddened body, while Gina tries to motivate her fighter. “Are you gonna let that brat talk to you like that?! I know what you are capable of and this is not it! So show me, show that little brat and show the rest of the FCBA what you are really capable of!”
Round 6: Anya starts the round looking confident after dominating the previous two rounds, but she seems a bit surprised by Sophia’s resilience as the German comes forward to attack with a renewed vigor, instead of falling back to a defensive style. Anya lands a few jabs to slow down her opponent, but Sophia doesn’t seem to care about adapting her style anymore and asserts her own attacking style as she lands a couple of stiff combinations that snap the Empress’ head back. In an attempt to regain control of the action, Anya goes back to the body with a hook to the rib that makes Sophia wince, but that doesn’t stop her either as she comes back with a double jab-straight combo up top that lands precisely.
There is no stopping the German in this round as she keeps coming forward to engage and she starts to overpower her opponent, forcing Anya to give up control of the action and back away. Anya must be regretting angering her opponent as she keeps getting punished with stiff shots. After another stiff one-two combination, Sophia lands a big right hook to the chin that rocks Anya, who takes a couple of unsteady steps back. Sophia steps in with a straight right that lands hard and square on Anya’s face and it drops the Empress on her back with a bloody nose! Sophia goes over to the neutral corner with a satisfied look on her face as she just showcased her impressive power to the FCBA. The referee begins the count. 1…2…3… Anya on her back, blinking repeatedly as she tries to process what just happened, she also checks her nose with her glove, which smears blood all over her face 4…5… she rolls over and slowly gets on to all fours 6…7…8… she plants her feet, musters her strength and gets up to her feet in time to show the referee that she can continue. After a quick check, the referee wipes Anya’s gloves and restarts the action.
Sophia increases the pressure in the final minute to finish what she started, but Anya uses her footwork to stay away. That is until she gets caught by a wild swing and ends up trapped in the corner. Sophia unloads on Anya’s guard and with little left on the clock, she is able to break her defenses. The bell rings just as Sophia starts dismantling the Empress. It could have been the end if there were 10 more seconds on the clock. It is LMW corner team’s turn to hurry during the break as they wipe the blood off Anya’s face and stop the bleeding, while Gillian reminds her to respect her opponent’s power, use her footwork and ring awareness to avoid getting caught up like that again.
Round 7: Sophia on the attack again in the seventh round as she tries to find the punch that will make Anya quit. Anya defends well and avoids getting caught by any fight ending punch as it is her turn to show her resilience. Around this time last year, she might have folded under these circumstances, but she made good progress on her toughness in that time and it is helping her stay in the fight right now. Sophia throws double jabs, shorts combinations and some wild swings at Anya, but only a few lands cleanly and they are not enough to trouble her opponent. In the final minute, Sophia starts to slow down a bit as all the energy she used in the final two rounds as well as the damage she received to the body earlier in the fight starts to catch up with her. Only then, Anya starts firing back with some counterpunches to get back into the fight. It ends up being a quiet round after the drama of the previous one, but Sophia still wins it narrowly to take back the lead on the scorecards.
Round 8: As the eight round begins, it is clear that both Anya and Sophia suffered through a lot of punishment with marks all over to show for it and they are pushing through the pain to find that reserve energy to win this fight. They are still searching for it early in the round though as they only engage in short exchanges that are initiated by Sophia, who gets the better of them, but nothing major lands for either side. Her success in these exchanges gives her the motivation and she is the first to find that second wind it seems like as she starts to push to pace again. After putting the pressure on Anya’s defense again, Sophia finally slips a strong straight through her opponent’s guard and snaps her head back. Blood starts to trickle down again from the Empress’ nose. It seems to have given Anya the sense of urgency though as she also finds her second wind and starts to fire back more with counters. She finds the perfect counterpunch with thirty-seconds left on the clock as she ducks under a straight and lands a big overhand that hurts Sophia. Anya takes control of the action and puts the pressure on the challenger with short combinations until the bell. It was enough for her to steal the round narrowly and she needed it to tie the score with only two more rounds to go.
Round 9: With the score tied, instead of playing it safe and letting the judges decide, both fighters are going for it to get a finish before the fight ends. Their combinations are not as crisp as they were in earlier rounds, but their defenses are not as solid either, so they stand and trade with both sides doing some damage. Both sides are feeling the effects of this grueling contest as Anya’s nose starts to bleed again and Sophia winces whenever her opponent scores with a good body shot. Sophia is finally getting the slugfest she wanted but she might be regretting it as Anya returns the favor and gives her a bloodied nose with a stiff right cross. The German is looking hurt and unsteady on her feet after that shot. Anya lands a couple of hooks to her opponent’s bruised ribs to open up her defenses, then she goes for a lead uppercut to the chin. With Sophia standing there stunned, Anya hits her with a massive right hook to the chin and down goes Sophia! Anya walks over to the neutral corner, wiping her own bleeding nose, while the referee begins the count. 1…2…3… Sophia on her back with one hand over her face and the other holding her bruised ribs 4…5…6… she slowly rolls over and crawls to the nearby ropes 7…8… she holds on to the ropes and tries to pull herself up 9…10! Sophia can only get up on one knee as the count passes her by! It is all over!
Official Result: Winner via KO in round 9 and still the Empress of the Body Saddle, Anya Taylor-Joy!
Post-Fight: Anya lets out a sigh of relief as she earns this hard-fought victory and raises her fists in the air wearily. Gillian and Ali enter the ring to hug their fighter and celebrate her win. Before they go over to start making preparations for the body saddle, Anya whispers something in Gillian's ear. While waiting, Anya sits on her corner stool and rests a bit as her team wipes the blood off her face and stops the nosebleed again. On the other side, Gina helps her fighter to her feet and then they go over to their corner, so that Sophia can sit down on her stool and get checked by the medical team. They clean up her face and stop her nosebleed as well, then they confirm that she is not seriously hurt. This means that she is ready for the next part though as Gillian and Ali come over with the body saddle. They start preparing Sophia for the ride as they strap body saddle on her back, but they are taking their time with it this time and clearly it is not just to give more time to her to recover before the ride, but more so to give their own fighter the time to get cleaned up and gather herself for the ride. That must have been what Anya whispered to Gilian.
Finally, Sophia is ready for the ride and Anya has gathered herself in the meantime, so she comes over in a regal manner and mounts her ride. Sophia starts moving as soon as Anya mounts her, but the Empress just goes along with it and starts doing her royal wave to the fans with a smirk on her face. Sophia winces from time to time as the body saddle causes her battered body discomfort in certain movements, but she pushes through the pain and completes the lap at a steady pace. She is about to start another lap, but Anya gives a little tug to her ponytail and tells her “That’s enough, actually. Good horsie! That’s it, know your place!” She says that last part as she dismounts and walks away, clearly wanting to avoid any confrontation after that grueling fight as she has been much nicer during the rest of the ride compared to her previous body saddle rides. With Anya making a quick exit, Sophia lets it go as well, especially since she is tired and wants to go backstage as quickly as possible. The LMW team helps her take off the body saddle and they leave the ring and then Sophia leaves as well with help from her coach Gina.
A good start to the year for Anya as she remains as the Empress after hard-fought victory. She is putting together a good run of results and keeps improving in that time to cement her place among the elite in the bantam division. As for Sophia, she experienced defeat for the first time in her boxing career, but she also showed that she can become a menace in the FCBA with that power of hers. It is yet to be seen if she will make more appearances this side of the Atlantic, but FCBA fans are surely excited about that possibility after this showing.
