Post by Lookout! Boxing on May 26, 2017 19:04:20 GMT -6
Demi Lovato vs. Hailee Steinfeld
(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!)
BEFORE:
Catchweight action between two brunettes who are no stranger to the screen or the charts. Lovato has size and power for bantam, but, tonight she's in against a girl who's 5'8" and walks around above 130, meaning Demi's giving up five inches and a few pounds as well. Still, the bantam appears anything but intimidated by the bigger Steinfeld. "Yeah, I'm giving up some weight here," Lovato says with a nod. "But, that's OK. I hit above my weight. As Hailee's about to find out."
"Look," says Steinfeld, "I've been in against girls who can hit. Pieterse and Benoist aren't exactly powder puff punchers. I could handle them. And, I can handle Lovato."
ROUND ONE:
No question what Demi's plan is. It's what it has to be. When you're giving up the kind of reach she's giving up, you have to close and work inside. And, that's exactly what Lovato does. She works past the taller girl's defenses, gets in close, and begins to tenderize body. Hailee, however, handles this pretty well. She bangs back with hooks, giving nearly as good as she gets. And, better still, she ties up early and often, forcing the referee to break the pair apart, which sends Demi back to the outside where she has to work her way forward again. This, obviously, gives Steinfeld a chance to CATCH her coming in, and, while Hailee doesn't manage that, she does do some scoring on those terms, pretty much offsetting the advantage Demi has inside. Thus, the first stanza is close throughout, and, when the bell rings, there's not much in it. Lovato, however, claims the points by the slimmest of margins.
ROUND TWO:
More of the same. Demi working forward, moving the head and feet, keeping the guard up, getting past Hailee's defenses and then banging inside. Steinfeld banging back some, then tying up to limit the damage. Goes that way for a minute and three quarters. And, then, Hailee DOES catch Demi coming forward. Splits the gloves with a left jab and follows on with a straight right and DOWN GOES LOVATO! Demi dropped to her back in the center of the ring! Younger woman steps over her rival's body to get to the neutral corner, where she watches as Lovato struggles to her feet at eight. Demi plenty wobbly during the mandatory, but the referee lets it continue. On comes Hailee! Steinfeld sensing victory now, going all in to batter the shorter woman back into the ropes. Demi hanging on in a high guard as her rival gets off lusty. Seems like the bell will never ring, but, it does and Lovato's still standing. But, Hailee's won it 10-8 and now leads 19-18.
ROUND THREE:
All Steinfeld. From the first second to the last, Hailee's in control. Demi's legs are wonky and her mind is muzzy and nothing's working the way she wants it to. And, the younger woman takes full advantage. To her credit, Hailee doesn't get sloppy. She sets up her punches, using good left jabs to create openings for hard right hand follows. She's trying to finish, but she's being smart about it. And, it works to her advantage. Demi's on her back foot the entire round and spends the first two minutes pretty much doing nothing but retreating and covering up. In the final minute, Lovato begins to shake off the damage and land some solid counters, but, even then, Steinfeld's still having the better of things, still fighting lead, still calling the tune. At the bell, there's no question that Hailee's taken the round wide and extended her lead to 29-27.
ROUND FOUR:
Looking more and more like Lovato's management has made a mistake. Appears Demi is simply giving up too much size and height here as Steinfeld continues her offensive, walking forward behind the jab, backing Lovato up, taking as much canvas as she wants. Something happens, though, after a minute or so. Demi digs in and bangs back and things get hot and heavy with some serious exchanges. Both fighters land some heavy shot in those, but neither is willing to give ground or go to the defensive. Instead, they struggle for initiative on even terms until, in the last thirty seconds or so, Lovato begins to get the edge, landing some big right hands that force Hailee to back and cover. By the bell, Demi's made up Steinfeld's early edge, but done no more that that. It's a dead even round and that means the cards still show a two-point lead for Hailee, 39-37.
ROUND FIVE:
Hot tossing commences immediately. Demi wants to build on the offensive she got rolling late in the fourth, while Hailee's determined to stamp it out before it can get going. Result is some serious firefights that extend well past the middle of the round. Neither fighter gaining much of an advantage as a result. Both giving just about as good as they're getting. Things take a slight turn, though, when Demi changes levels. She's into a slight crouch and working body, and this creates geometric problems for the taller Hailee. Steinfeld having problems getting leather on target in this configuration, and Lovato's taking advantage. Shorter girl begins gaining some ground late in the round, and it's precious ground indeed. She gets clear of what looked to be another even round and does enough to claim it, albeit in a narrow fashion and cut Steinfeld's lead to 48-47 at the half.
ROUND SIX:
Steinfeld does a little early problem solving. She adjusts to the level change and begins getting leather on target again. She's stopping Demi in her tracks with hard, straight jabs as Lovato tries to close, then following on with solid right hands. Shorter girl unable to get anything going as she can't get to her spots. Slowly, though, Demi makes an adjustment of her own. She begins to find her way past the younger woman's defenses and get inside to work body again. Like the first round, Steinfeld bangs back a little, then ties up to force a break. It's a good strategy. But, one thing you have to be careful of is to not ANTICIPATE the break. You've got to make sure the referee is actually stepping in before you let up because, if not...BOOM! DOWN GOES HAILEE! Steinfeld relaxes for just a second and Lovato LAYS HER OUT with a right uppercut. And, the rest is formality. Hailee actually bounces once before coming to rest on the canvas, out like a light. The referee counts, but the taller girl never moves as the numbers rise and reach ten. It's OVER! And your winner by KO6 is Demi Lovato!
AFTER:
Lovato scuffed but smiling. "I told you, it's not a big deal giving up a little height and weight for a girl like me. A light-hitting bantam? Now, she'd be in trouble against Hailee. But, if you can hit above your weight, things are different. And, I can. Which is why she ended up flat on her back."
(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!)
BEFORE:
Catchweight action between two brunettes who are no stranger to the screen or the charts. Lovato has size and power for bantam, but, tonight she's in against a girl who's 5'8" and walks around above 130, meaning Demi's giving up five inches and a few pounds as well. Still, the bantam appears anything but intimidated by the bigger Steinfeld. "Yeah, I'm giving up some weight here," Lovato says with a nod. "But, that's OK. I hit above my weight. As Hailee's about to find out."
"Look," says Steinfeld, "I've been in against girls who can hit. Pieterse and Benoist aren't exactly powder puff punchers. I could handle them. And, I can handle Lovato."
ROUND ONE:
No question what Demi's plan is. It's what it has to be. When you're giving up the kind of reach she's giving up, you have to close and work inside. And, that's exactly what Lovato does. She works past the taller girl's defenses, gets in close, and begins to tenderize body. Hailee, however, handles this pretty well. She bangs back with hooks, giving nearly as good as she gets. And, better still, she ties up early and often, forcing the referee to break the pair apart, which sends Demi back to the outside where she has to work her way forward again. This, obviously, gives Steinfeld a chance to CATCH her coming in, and, while Hailee doesn't manage that, she does do some scoring on those terms, pretty much offsetting the advantage Demi has inside. Thus, the first stanza is close throughout, and, when the bell rings, there's not much in it. Lovato, however, claims the points by the slimmest of margins.
ROUND TWO:
More of the same. Demi working forward, moving the head and feet, keeping the guard up, getting past Hailee's defenses and then banging inside. Steinfeld banging back some, then tying up to limit the damage. Goes that way for a minute and three quarters. And, then, Hailee DOES catch Demi coming forward. Splits the gloves with a left jab and follows on with a straight right and DOWN GOES LOVATO! Demi dropped to her back in the center of the ring! Younger woman steps over her rival's body to get to the neutral corner, where she watches as Lovato struggles to her feet at eight. Demi plenty wobbly during the mandatory, but the referee lets it continue. On comes Hailee! Steinfeld sensing victory now, going all in to batter the shorter woman back into the ropes. Demi hanging on in a high guard as her rival gets off lusty. Seems like the bell will never ring, but, it does and Lovato's still standing. But, Hailee's won it 10-8 and now leads 19-18.
ROUND THREE:
All Steinfeld. From the first second to the last, Hailee's in control. Demi's legs are wonky and her mind is muzzy and nothing's working the way she wants it to. And, the younger woman takes full advantage. To her credit, Hailee doesn't get sloppy. She sets up her punches, using good left jabs to create openings for hard right hand follows. She's trying to finish, but she's being smart about it. And, it works to her advantage. Demi's on her back foot the entire round and spends the first two minutes pretty much doing nothing but retreating and covering up. In the final minute, Lovato begins to shake off the damage and land some solid counters, but, even then, Steinfeld's still having the better of things, still fighting lead, still calling the tune. At the bell, there's no question that Hailee's taken the round wide and extended her lead to 29-27.
ROUND FOUR:
Looking more and more like Lovato's management has made a mistake. Appears Demi is simply giving up too much size and height here as Steinfeld continues her offensive, walking forward behind the jab, backing Lovato up, taking as much canvas as she wants. Something happens, though, after a minute or so. Demi digs in and bangs back and things get hot and heavy with some serious exchanges. Both fighters land some heavy shot in those, but neither is willing to give ground or go to the defensive. Instead, they struggle for initiative on even terms until, in the last thirty seconds or so, Lovato begins to get the edge, landing some big right hands that force Hailee to back and cover. By the bell, Demi's made up Steinfeld's early edge, but done no more that that. It's a dead even round and that means the cards still show a two-point lead for Hailee, 39-37.
ROUND FIVE:
Hot tossing commences immediately. Demi wants to build on the offensive she got rolling late in the fourth, while Hailee's determined to stamp it out before it can get going. Result is some serious firefights that extend well past the middle of the round. Neither fighter gaining much of an advantage as a result. Both giving just about as good as they're getting. Things take a slight turn, though, when Demi changes levels. She's into a slight crouch and working body, and this creates geometric problems for the taller Hailee. Steinfeld having problems getting leather on target in this configuration, and Lovato's taking advantage. Shorter girl begins gaining some ground late in the round, and it's precious ground indeed. She gets clear of what looked to be another even round and does enough to claim it, albeit in a narrow fashion and cut Steinfeld's lead to 48-47 at the half.
ROUND SIX:
Steinfeld does a little early problem solving. She adjusts to the level change and begins getting leather on target again. She's stopping Demi in her tracks with hard, straight jabs as Lovato tries to close, then following on with solid right hands. Shorter girl unable to get anything going as she can't get to her spots. Slowly, though, Demi makes an adjustment of her own. She begins to find her way past the younger woman's defenses and get inside to work body again. Like the first round, Steinfeld bangs back a little, then ties up to force a break. It's a good strategy. But, one thing you have to be careful of is to not ANTICIPATE the break. You've got to make sure the referee is actually stepping in before you let up because, if not...BOOM! DOWN GOES HAILEE! Steinfeld relaxes for just a second and Lovato LAYS HER OUT with a right uppercut. And, the rest is formality. Hailee actually bounces once before coming to rest on the canvas, out like a light. The referee counts, but the taller girl never moves as the numbers rise and reach ten. It's OVER! And your winner by KO6 is Demi Lovato!
AFTER:
Lovato scuffed but smiling. "I told you, it's not a big deal giving up a little height and weight for a girl like me. A light-hitting bantam? Now, she'd be in trouble against Hailee. But, if you can hit above your weight, things are different. And, I can. Which is why she ended up flat on her back."