Post by Lookout! Boxing on Dec 30, 2022 22:17:23 GMT -6
Michelle Williams vs. Isabela Merced (Results: Lookout. Words: Wiz)
BEFORE:
Interesting matchup in a lot of ways, one being GBS's thinking on this one. Because, while Merced's proven herself to be a top-level fly, she's had a desultory year, going 1-3 and dropping out of the Top Twenty in the flyweight rankings. It would seem that one of the LAST fighters you'd want to step up to in that situation would be Mishy, but that's exactly what Merced's doing, and the Latina lovely is plenty confident. "Everyone knows what I can do, and anyone who knows boxing knows I'll win tonight. Michelle is too old and too slow to stay with me."
"This kid," says Michelle, "Has been overrated since the beginning. She had one nice run and made a rep. But, she's nothing special. And, I'm about to prove it."
ROUND ONE:
Merced all about movement early. Problem is, there are few flyweights or fighters in general better at dealing with the jab-and-circle routine than Mishy. Williams simply cuts the ring and creates herself a boxing match. And, that does not go well for Isabela. Michelle has the reach, and, by bottling up the brunette, the blonde's able to use that and her basically unmatched boxing skills to give the younger woman an absolute POUNDING. Isabela, despite her best efforts, can't get off. Instead, she's forced to the defensive, covering up again and again as Michelle suppresses her with heavy fire. Williams is loading and reloading almost instantly. Flurry. Flurry. Flurry. And, while the brunette's never hurt, she's also never in the round. At the bell, Mishy has it wide to take the 10-9 lead.
ROUND TWO:
Merced on the move, but now she's slippin' and dippin', reversing field, moving in and out, doing everything she can to foul the blonde's aim and stay off square and in open ocean. And, it works. It's excellent stuff from the brunette, who's got everything going all of a sudden. Michelle can't find with the jab, can't cut the ring, and, thus, can't bring her rival to battle. Instead, it's Isabela ranging around the ring with Michelle pursuing and, at times, as a result of frustration, CHASING. None of that goes well for the older woman. She keeps getting faces full of leather as the younger woman piles up points while putting on a dance show. In the final seconds Merced stops, lands a three punch combination, ducks a rejoinder, and actually sticks out her tongue while dancing away. At the bell, it's Isabela and wide and we're even at 19.
ROUND THREE:
More of the same. Isabela's got something going now, and it's all about exactly what she said in the pre-fight. She's using her speed and quickness perfectly, frustrating Michelle over and over again. Williams a bit less aggressive in this stanza after hearing it in the corner between rounds. She's not chasing now, just stalking, looking to cut, to bring her rival to battle, but Merced's not having any. The Latina's determined to stay in open ocean, off the ropes, where she can jab and move. And the brunette remains very, very effective on her terms. Just like in the second, she slowly builds a lead, as a frustrated Michelle again can't get much going offensively, and, when the bell rings, there's no doubt about the winner. It's Isabela wide and Merced pulls into a 29-28 lead.
ROUND FOUR:
Same yet again. Merced is doing exactly what she said she was going to do before the fight started. And Michelle can't do anything about it. Tactically, Williams is doing the right things. She's trying to cut her rival off and bring her to battle. It's just that she can't do it. Isabela is just too quick and too slick. And, every time it looks like Mishy has her cornered, Merced slips away and gets right back to dancing across the canvas, snapping that jab in front of her, stopping to put together a quick, hard flurry of leather, then slipping away before Williams can get anything done. Final seconds of the round sees Merced double down, RIPPING into Williams with a series of combinations that force the blonde to cover up to the bell. When it rings, Isabela's got another one wide and leads 39-37.
ROUND FIVE:
Tactical change from Mishy. Blonde not walking forward now trying to cut. Instead, she's staying in the center of the ring and turning with. As Merced circles, Williams turns, working the jab, and, when she can, snapping it OUTSIDE Merced's head. That stops the brunette's motion and allows Williams to square and get off. The opportunities are brief, because Isabela gets right back moving, but Michelle takes full advantage of each, scoring points by throwing punches in bunches. Meanwhile, Merced is still effective when she's on the move, offsetting Mishy's work with some excellent boxing of her own. Add it all up, and there's not much in it. It's close all the way and, when the bell rings, it's the blonde who takes the points narrowly to cut Isabela's lead to 48-47.
ROUND SIX:
Second half begins the way the first half ended, with Isabela circling and Mishy staying in the center and turning with, snapping that jab outside her rival's head to stop her, then getting off in combination before Merced can get back moving. About a minute in, Mishy stops Merced, steps forward and GUTS her with a vicious right hook to the belly. Isabela freezes on the spot and Michelle goes all in ROCKING the shorter woman with a hard right hand. Merced is HURT! Isabela stumbling backward as Williams steps forward, brings a gasp with another nasty hook to the belly and then DROPS THE LATINA WITH A RIGHT HAND! Merced blown to her back with a BOOMING right hand. Michelle to a neutral corner to watch and wait. Isabela staring up at the referee as the numbers get higher. She tries to sit up, moans, puts a glove to her belly and rolls into a ball and it's OVER! Merced can't get up and it's OVER and your winner by KO6 is Michelle Williams!
AFTER:
Michelle matter of fact in the post-fight. "I TOLD you this girl is overrated," the blonde says with a shake of the head. "It took a minute for me to get her timing down, but, once I did that? It was just a matter of time before HER time ran out."
BEFORE:
Interesting matchup in a lot of ways, one being GBS's thinking on this one. Because, while Merced's proven herself to be a top-level fly, she's had a desultory year, going 1-3 and dropping out of the Top Twenty in the flyweight rankings. It would seem that one of the LAST fighters you'd want to step up to in that situation would be Mishy, but that's exactly what Merced's doing, and the Latina lovely is plenty confident. "Everyone knows what I can do, and anyone who knows boxing knows I'll win tonight. Michelle is too old and too slow to stay with me."
"This kid," says Michelle, "Has been overrated since the beginning. She had one nice run and made a rep. But, she's nothing special. And, I'm about to prove it."
ROUND ONE:
Merced all about movement early. Problem is, there are few flyweights or fighters in general better at dealing with the jab-and-circle routine than Mishy. Williams simply cuts the ring and creates herself a boxing match. And, that does not go well for Isabela. Michelle has the reach, and, by bottling up the brunette, the blonde's able to use that and her basically unmatched boxing skills to give the younger woman an absolute POUNDING. Isabela, despite her best efforts, can't get off. Instead, she's forced to the defensive, covering up again and again as Michelle suppresses her with heavy fire. Williams is loading and reloading almost instantly. Flurry. Flurry. Flurry. And, while the brunette's never hurt, she's also never in the round. At the bell, Mishy has it wide to take the 10-9 lead.
ROUND TWO:
Merced on the move, but now she's slippin' and dippin', reversing field, moving in and out, doing everything she can to foul the blonde's aim and stay off square and in open ocean. And, it works. It's excellent stuff from the brunette, who's got everything going all of a sudden. Michelle can't find with the jab, can't cut the ring, and, thus, can't bring her rival to battle. Instead, it's Isabela ranging around the ring with Michelle pursuing and, at times, as a result of frustration, CHASING. None of that goes well for the older woman. She keeps getting faces full of leather as the younger woman piles up points while putting on a dance show. In the final seconds Merced stops, lands a three punch combination, ducks a rejoinder, and actually sticks out her tongue while dancing away. At the bell, it's Isabela and wide and we're even at 19.
ROUND THREE:
More of the same. Isabela's got something going now, and it's all about exactly what she said in the pre-fight. She's using her speed and quickness perfectly, frustrating Michelle over and over again. Williams a bit less aggressive in this stanza after hearing it in the corner between rounds. She's not chasing now, just stalking, looking to cut, to bring her rival to battle, but Merced's not having any. The Latina's determined to stay in open ocean, off the ropes, where she can jab and move. And the brunette remains very, very effective on her terms. Just like in the second, she slowly builds a lead, as a frustrated Michelle again can't get much going offensively, and, when the bell rings, there's no doubt about the winner. It's Isabela wide and Merced pulls into a 29-28 lead.
ROUND FOUR:
Same yet again. Merced is doing exactly what she said she was going to do before the fight started. And Michelle can't do anything about it. Tactically, Williams is doing the right things. She's trying to cut her rival off and bring her to battle. It's just that she can't do it. Isabela is just too quick and too slick. And, every time it looks like Mishy has her cornered, Merced slips away and gets right back to dancing across the canvas, snapping that jab in front of her, stopping to put together a quick, hard flurry of leather, then slipping away before Williams can get anything done. Final seconds of the round sees Merced double down, RIPPING into Williams with a series of combinations that force the blonde to cover up to the bell. When it rings, Isabela's got another one wide and leads 39-37.
ROUND FIVE:
Tactical change from Mishy. Blonde not walking forward now trying to cut. Instead, she's staying in the center of the ring and turning with. As Merced circles, Williams turns, working the jab, and, when she can, snapping it OUTSIDE Merced's head. That stops the brunette's motion and allows Williams to square and get off. The opportunities are brief, because Isabela gets right back moving, but Michelle takes full advantage of each, scoring points by throwing punches in bunches. Meanwhile, Merced is still effective when she's on the move, offsetting Mishy's work with some excellent boxing of her own. Add it all up, and there's not much in it. It's close all the way and, when the bell rings, it's the blonde who takes the points narrowly to cut Isabela's lead to 48-47.
ROUND SIX:
Second half begins the way the first half ended, with Isabela circling and Mishy staying in the center and turning with, snapping that jab outside her rival's head to stop her, then getting off in combination before Merced can get back moving. About a minute in, Mishy stops Merced, steps forward and GUTS her with a vicious right hook to the belly. Isabela freezes on the spot and Michelle goes all in ROCKING the shorter woman with a hard right hand. Merced is HURT! Isabela stumbling backward as Williams steps forward, brings a gasp with another nasty hook to the belly and then DROPS THE LATINA WITH A RIGHT HAND! Merced blown to her back with a BOOMING right hand. Michelle to a neutral corner to watch and wait. Isabela staring up at the referee as the numbers get higher. She tries to sit up, moans, puts a glove to her belly and rolls into a ball and it's OVER! Merced can't get up and it's OVER and your winner by KO6 is Michelle Williams!
AFTER:
Michelle matter of fact in the post-fight. "I TOLD you this girl is overrated," the blonde says with a shake of the head. "It took a minute for me to get her timing down, but, once I did that? It was just a matter of time before HER time ran out."