Sophie Mudd versus Emily Bett Rickards

BEFORE:

Blonde/brunette tilt sees the athletic Rickards, who's been up and down the past few years, squaring off against the busty Mudd, who's been on a roll both in traditional bouts and at JMD. But, if Emily's worried about any of that, well, it's not apparent pre-fight. "She's clearly the real deal," says the blonde beauty, "But, the fact is, I'm a better fighter than her, and I'm going to prove it."

"She's no one to take lightly," the brunette admits. "But. I AM going to go in there and take her out. And, you can count on that."


ROUND ONE:

Mudd forward behind the left jab, wants to get physical early here, and, surprisingly, Emily ready to play this game. She gets right into the phone booth with Sophie and bangs back and WE'VE GOT A FIREFIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RI...BOOM! Right hand, MUDD and Rickards is HURT! Less than a minute in, Sophie wobbles the blonde's knees and the brunette is ALL IN. Mudd winging away with both hands, battering Emily back into the ropes and then SAVAGING her to the body. Blonde's put it on sale with her high, tight guard, and the brunette is buying in bulk. Mudd bunching Rickards up with NASTY shot to the ribs and tummy, but Emily hanging on in that earmuff, running clock, clinching when she can. She's getting a licking, but, when the bell rings, she's still ticking. Mudd's taken the opener wide, though, and leads 10-9.


ROUND TWO:

Sophie pressing the advantage. Emily's legs still plenty iffy, meaning the brunette can line her up with that left, bang away with follow on right hands. Slowly, the blonde is walked down, despite her efforts at a fighting retreat. Soon enough, she's right back on the ropes taking punishment to both head and body. Rickards able to counter in spots, but that's about the extent of her offense for the first couple of minutes of the round. Late, the blonde's legs seem to come around. She's able to work off the ropes and get some space, though Mudd is still getting the better of the exchanges. Final seconds see a pair of sharp trades in which Emily lands her best punches of the fight, but it's far too little, far too late. Sophie takes her second straight round wide and extends her lead to 20-18.


ROUND THREE:

NOW Rickards starts doing what we expected the blonde to do. Emily's legs are back and she's using them, moving, staying off square, making the brunette work to find. But, it's more than that. This is the excellent "boxing in motion" that Rickards is so good at. She's getting to spots, getting off in combination, slipping rejoinders and getting back in motion, not allowing the brunette to find the range or line her up for any of those power shots Sophie was able to land in the first two rounds. It's great stuff from Emily, as the Canadian uses all her skill, speed, and athleticism to take complete control of this thing. Mudd's game, but she can't get anything going as the blonde dominates from bell to bell, taking the third wide and cutting the brunette's lead to 29-28.


ROUND FOUR:

More excellent stuff from Rickards. She's out-boxing Sophie in a big way here, as Mudd continues to try to get back to the terms the fight was on in the first two rounds with absolutely no success. She's not able to get the jab on target often enough to walk in behind it and force Emily onto the defensive. Instead, Rickards is the one calling the tune, using her quickness and excellent feet to be here, there and everywhere, landing combinations again and again as Sophie struggles to get any offense going. Emily's, once again, in firm control throughout, piling up both points and punishment all while frustrating the younger woman almost completely. When the bell rings, Rickards fairly BOUNCES back to her corner, having taken a second consecutive round wide and evened things at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Mudd making some adjustments. She's not looking to walk forward now, but to match footwork, square up, get the jab on and build combinations off it. It works. To a point. Sophie's getting more done than she has the last couple of rounds, making this a two-way affair, but Emily's still able to get terms to her liking and get plenty of work done on them. Result is plenty of fan-friendly action with neither fighter able to gain much of an adv...BOOM! Right hand, SOPHIE and EMILY IS HURT! Mudd a BLISTERING right that sends Rickards reeling. Sophie stepping to, letting the hands go...BLONDE GIRL DOWN! A combination drops Emily to her back! Sophie quickly to a neutral corner. Rickards rolling to her belly, pushing to hands and knees, grabbing for the middle rope, hanging on to it, trying to pull herself up...but the legs aren't cooperating! Rickards can't get off the deck and your winner by KO5 is Sophie Mudd!

AFTER:

Mudd a little scuffed but clearly pleased with yet another winning performance against a talented opponent. "She can really make things difficult in there," Sophie admits. "But, I found the answers, because, that's what I do. JMD, beach, bantam? Doesn't matter. I can find answers, and I can beat girls. And, that's just what I'm going to continue to do."