Post by Lookout! Boxing on Apr 27, 2018 19:22:46 GMT -6
Amber Heard vs. Zendaya Coleman
(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!)
BEFORE:
Amber Heard's FCBA story may not be completely unique, but it's uniquely hers. The blonde Texan, armed with looks that scream "poster" and plenty of potential showed enough in early indie outings to get signed at age 26, just as she was entering her prime. From there, she impressed on both sides of the Atlantic...until it all went sideways after a heartbreaking one-point loss to former champ Jessica Alba. From there, Heard began a downward spiral that saw her stopped three consecutive times before losing management and then apparently sinking off the reef with a KO loss to Mischa Barton. A funny thing happened on the way to palookaville, however. Heard was able to revive her career thanks to her inclusion on VIXENS-sponsored cards. Four-straight impressive wins saw her get management back at age 31, with all arrows now pointing up. Fast forward to tonight, when all arrows also point AT a girl who, back during those dark days, accelerated the speed of that downward spiral, former stablemate Zendaya Coleman.
"Things have changed," says a hard-eyed Amber. "I'm back on the rails and headed up the lightweight rankings. And, that journey's going to end right at the top, with me wearing the belts."
"I think it's cute," says Zendaya with a grin. "I mean, I was 19 years old when I whipped her a**, and she thinks she can beat me now? Not gonna happen, Amber. Not gonna happen."
ROUND ONE:
Heard on a mission. She's after Zendaya immediately, stepping to, backing up the younger woman, making her take weight of shot. Coleman firing back, trying to punch for respect, but the blonde isn't giving her any. Instead, Amber walks right through the younger woman's punches, backs her up again and again with hard shot. Coleman's corner shouting for her to get moving, but the brunette stubbornly stays right in front of the blonde and trades with her. And continues to come out second best. Heard clearly the harder hitter, and she's got Zendaya lined up perfectly for the entirety of the round. Result is an absolute BEATING for the brunette, who, eventually, finds herself on the ropes, covering up, taking shots to head and body, leather seemingly coming from everywhere. When the bell, mercifully, rings, Amber's taken the round wide and the lead 10-9.
ROUND TWO:
Zendaya gets an earful between rounds as her corner DEMANDS that she MOVE. Brunette listens. She starts the round on her horse, circling, jabbing, staying at range, making Amber work to line her up. Blonde not surprised by any of this, nor is she taken aback by it. Instead, she stays patient, working the feet, looking to cut the ring and bring her rival to battle. At times, she's able to do it, and, when she does, we get a repeat of the first round, hard exchanges in which Amber comes out much the best. But, at other times, Coleman's in open ocean popping out that long, limber left jab, banging it in the blonde's face, holding her at bay and setting her up for follow on rights. And, before Amber can fire off a rejoinder, Zendaya's gone, circling away behind that left. Result is a close, two-way round that's in doubt until the final seconds when Coleman, showing wisdom beyond her years, stops and throws a series of quick combinations that give her the points to grab the round close and even the fight at 19.
ROUND THREE:
Zendaya on the move. She's here, there, everywhere, and it's all behind that long left. No question the brunette has something with this, because the combination of the athleticism and the length is tough to deal with, and not just for Amber Heard, for just about anyone in the division. The blonde, though, has some skills of her own. She's got good feet, and she uses them to play the geometry pretty well, cutting the ring in spots and forcing heavy exchanges, and, just like in the second, when this happens, it's Amber who's piling up points. But, during those times when Coleman can run free, Zendaya's scoring, offsetting what Amber is able to do, and, for the second straight round, it's close as a result. Down the stretch, Heard's ready for the younger fighter to try turning it on to steal the points, but Coleman doesn't, instead circling and jabbing the round away and still claiming it close to take the lead 29-28.
ROUND FOUR:
Heard turning up the heat a bit. She's getting forward more aggressively, getting Zendaya brought to heel more often, and taking full advantage when she does. Coleman keeps working the fight plan, though. She doesn't get caught up in banging with her rival. She keeps the exchanges as short as possible and gets back to open canvas as quickly as she can. Still, Amber's getting better results this stanza. She's not running away with the thing, but, she's slowly taking control, bringing that power to bear, and, that's not good news for Team Zendaya. As the round goes on, Amber's able to assert even more control. She's not able to completely corral Coleman at any point, but she's able to force enough battle to pull away on points, and, just as importantly, and just as concerningly for the younger woman's corner, she gets some attrition done in addition to evening the fight at 38.
ROUND FIVE:
Coleman on the move, but she's busier with the jab this time, doubling and tripling up on it as she circles widely, using all that length to great advantage. Again, Amber patient, working the feet, looking to cut the ring, but Zendaya's jab is now winning the day. She's jamming it in the blonde's face again and again. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Holding Heard on the outside, and, on occasion, stopping to let the hands go for a quick, accurate flurry. Brunette getting into a rhythm now, beginning to take control of the fight, and it's all down to that left hand. Pop. Pop. Pop. Over and over again. And Amber doesn't have an answer for it. She can't get by it and can't bring the younger woman to battle because of it. Instead, she's peppered with it for three straight minutes, and, when the bell finally rings, it's Coleman wide to go back on the lead 48-47.
ROUND SIX:
Heard adjusts. She's forward behind her own left, walking through Zendaya, cutting her off, walking her down, making use of her greater weight of shot. Coleman willing to give ground for space, but she's running out of the former and, as a result, can't get the latter. Heard getting Zendaya square and letting the hands go, thumping her to head and body. Younger woman covering up, retreating, definitely getting the worst of things. BOOM! A right hand counter from Coleman and AMBER IS HURT! That came out of nowhere and the blonde is reeling! Zendaya stepping to now, letting the hands go, throwing blizzard after blizzard of leather at the lovely Ms. Heard and DOWN GOES AMBER! Blonde dropped to her back and Coleman bounces to a neutral corner. Amber struggles to her belly, pushes up to hands and knees, tries to rise, stumbles back to all fours and THE COUNT PASSES HER BY. It's OVER! And your winner by KO6 is Zendaya Coleman!
AFTER
Heard absolutely bereft. Momentum blunted by an old rival she was confident she was going to handle. Instead, one well-placed punch spelled her doom, and, rather than continue her march up the rankings, she's now going to be tasked with making she this isn't the start of another spiral. For Zendaya's part, it's a solid win that has to impress. "Like I said," says Coleman with a shake of the head, "I beat this girl before I was able to take a legal drink. She's not beating me now. She's not beating me EVER."
(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!)
BEFORE:
Amber Heard's FCBA story may not be completely unique, but it's uniquely hers. The blonde Texan, armed with looks that scream "poster" and plenty of potential showed enough in early indie outings to get signed at age 26, just as she was entering her prime. From there, she impressed on both sides of the Atlantic...until it all went sideways after a heartbreaking one-point loss to former champ Jessica Alba. From there, Heard began a downward spiral that saw her stopped three consecutive times before losing management and then apparently sinking off the reef with a KO loss to Mischa Barton. A funny thing happened on the way to palookaville, however. Heard was able to revive her career thanks to her inclusion on VIXENS-sponsored cards. Four-straight impressive wins saw her get management back at age 31, with all arrows now pointing up. Fast forward to tonight, when all arrows also point AT a girl who, back during those dark days, accelerated the speed of that downward spiral, former stablemate Zendaya Coleman.
"Things have changed," says a hard-eyed Amber. "I'm back on the rails and headed up the lightweight rankings. And, that journey's going to end right at the top, with me wearing the belts."
"I think it's cute," says Zendaya with a grin. "I mean, I was 19 years old when I whipped her a**, and she thinks she can beat me now? Not gonna happen, Amber. Not gonna happen."
ROUND ONE:
Heard on a mission. She's after Zendaya immediately, stepping to, backing up the younger woman, making her take weight of shot. Coleman firing back, trying to punch for respect, but the blonde isn't giving her any. Instead, Amber walks right through the younger woman's punches, backs her up again and again with hard shot. Coleman's corner shouting for her to get moving, but the brunette stubbornly stays right in front of the blonde and trades with her. And continues to come out second best. Heard clearly the harder hitter, and she's got Zendaya lined up perfectly for the entirety of the round. Result is an absolute BEATING for the brunette, who, eventually, finds herself on the ropes, covering up, taking shots to head and body, leather seemingly coming from everywhere. When the bell, mercifully, rings, Amber's taken the round wide and the lead 10-9.
ROUND TWO:
Zendaya gets an earful between rounds as her corner DEMANDS that she MOVE. Brunette listens. She starts the round on her horse, circling, jabbing, staying at range, making Amber work to line her up. Blonde not surprised by any of this, nor is she taken aback by it. Instead, she stays patient, working the feet, looking to cut the ring and bring her rival to battle. At times, she's able to do it, and, when she does, we get a repeat of the first round, hard exchanges in which Amber comes out much the best. But, at other times, Coleman's in open ocean popping out that long, limber left jab, banging it in the blonde's face, holding her at bay and setting her up for follow on rights. And, before Amber can fire off a rejoinder, Zendaya's gone, circling away behind that left. Result is a close, two-way round that's in doubt until the final seconds when Coleman, showing wisdom beyond her years, stops and throws a series of quick combinations that give her the points to grab the round close and even the fight at 19.
ROUND THREE:
Zendaya on the move. She's here, there, everywhere, and it's all behind that long left. No question the brunette has something with this, because the combination of the athleticism and the length is tough to deal with, and not just for Amber Heard, for just about anyone in the division. The blonde, though, has some skills of her own. She's got good feet, and she uses them to play the geometry pretty well, cutting the ring in spots and forcing heavy exchanges, and, just like in the second, when this happens, it's Amber who's piling up points. But, during those times when Coleman can run free, Zendaya's scoring, offsetting what Amber is able to do, and, for the second straight round, it's close as a result. Down the stretch, Heard's ready for the younger fighter to try turning it on to steal the points, but Coleman doesn't, instead circling and jabbing the round away and still claiming it close to take the lead 29-28.
ROUND FOUR:
Heard turning up the heat a bit. She's getting forward more aggressively, getting Zendaya brought to heel more often, and taking full advantage when she does. Coleman keeps working the fight plan, though. She doesn't get caught up in banging with her rival. She keeps the exchanges as short as possible and gets back to open canvas as quickly as she can. Still, Amber's getting better results this stanza. She's not running away with the thing, but, she's slowly taking control, bringing that power to bear, and, that's not good news for Team Zendaya. As the round goes on, Amber's able to assert even more control. She's not able to completely corral Coleman at any point, but she's able to force enough battle to pull away on points, and, just as importantly, and just as concerningly for the younger woman's corner, she gets some attrition done in addition to evening the fight at 38.
ROUND FIVE:
Coleman on the move, but she's busier with the jab this time, doubling and tripling up on it as she circles widely, using all that length to great advantage. Again, Amber patient, working the feet, looking to cut the ring, but Zendaya's jab is now winning the day. She's jamming it in the blonde's face again and again. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Holding Heard on the outside, and, on occasion, stopping to let the hands go for a quick, accurate flurry. Brunette getting into a rhythm now, beginning to take control of the fight, and it's all down to that left hand. Pop. Pop. Pop. Over and over again. And Amber doesn't have an answer for it. She can't get by it and can't bring the younger woman to battle because of it. Instead, she's peppered with it for three straight minutes, and, when the bell finally rings, it's Coleman wide to go back on the lead 48-47.
ROUND SIX:
Heard adjusts. She's forward behind her own left, walking through Zendaya, cutting her off, walking her down, making use of her greater weight of shot. Coleman willing to give ground for space, but she's running out of the former and, as a result, can't get the latter. Heard getting Zendaya square and letting the hands go, thumping her to head and body. Younger woman covering up, retreating, definitely getting the worst of things. BOOM! A right hand counter from Coleman and AMBER IS HURT! That came out of nowhere and the blonde is reeling! Zendaya stepping to now, letting the hands go, throwing blizzard after blizzard of leather at the lovely Ms. Heard and DOWN GOES AMBER! Blonde dropped to her back and Coleman bounces to a neutral corner. Amber struggles to her belly, pushes up to hands and knees, tries to rise, stumbles back to all fours and THE COUNT PASSES HER BY. It's OVER! And your winner by KO6 is Zendaya Coleman!
AFTER
Heard absolutely bereft. Momentum blunted by an old rival she was confident she was going to handle. Instead, one well-placed punch spelled her doom, and, rather than continue her march up the rankings, she's now going to be tasked with making she this isn't the start of another spiral. For Zendaya's part, it's a solid win that has to impress. "Like I said," says Coleman with a shake of the head, "I beat this girl before I was able to take a legal drink. She's not beating me now. She's not beating me EVER."