Post by Lookout! Boxing on Apr 27, 2018 19:24:03 GMT -6
Minka Kelly vs Kaya Scodelario
(Lioness Club of America vs Girls Friday)
(45-21-1, 41 KO vs 15-5, 15 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago
BEFORE: The signing of Nina Dobrev marks the end of Minka Kelly's unofficial LCA bantamweight Alpha status but the Irish-American veteran is still more than capable of spoiling an elite run of several promising upstarts. Enter Kaya Scodelario. The BBU crossover hopeful has been making a lot of buzz around FCBA in the recent months and together with Bonzo's Kira Kosarin serves as the hottest prospect in town. "Let's make no mistake, I have a lot of respect for Minka!", she tells Erin Andrews, "but truth is, Nina Dobrev is the better option. I feel like once I'm done with Minka tonight, Nina will become unavoidable going forward. But I enjoy the challenge! The past couple of years have been great and I'm in the best shape of my career!"
Minka works with Eva Mendes now and it's gonna be interesting to see how the cougar tandem bounces back from a string of defeats that ultimately led to the California brunette riding shotgun in wake of the Dobrev signing. Scodelario is just another of these elite prospects whom Minka couldn't handle recently and Erin Andrews believes she's simply too much for the former bantamweight champion at this stage.
Minka Kelly wears a light green bikini top, brown hotpants and brown gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Kaya Scodelario wears a red bikini set and black gloves. Long dark brown hair wrapped in a loose bun at the back of her head. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.
Round 1:
Minka's usually a slow starter and bides her time before truly having a go at her opponents but maybe the Dobrev signing sparked a new offensive life into the sultry cougar who gallops straight up the middle to stun Kaya off her guard. A wild hooking swing nails the younger brunette on the temple and wobbles her to the side before a repeated jabbing assault to the body reels her onto the ropes come the one minute mark. Minka works the high-tempo offense like rarely seen before at this stage of the fight and keeps Kaya trapped on the ropes; the British girl tries to clinch her rival in order to tame the onslaught but gets picked off from point-blank range instead and remains shut down for remainder of the round. Kelly lacks the big punch to finish the prospect off but nobody seriously considered such an early breakthrough given Scodelario's overall status anyway.
Round 2:
Girls Friday coach Lauren Berlingeri orders a swift change of pace and Kaya proves quicker in execution by default. Allthough Minka's bendiness remains elite, she can't quite dominate a girl twelve years her junior and gets outworked in close range when Kaya begins to land her punches over the top. Minka's unorthodox approach gave her a clear advantage in the opening round but now that Scodelario has adjusted her gear, she's able to stagger the older brunette and rally through her guts come the final minute to thump her into full-scale retreat thereafter. Minka swings a couple of promising hooks to stall Kaya's progress but the British tourist seems genuinely amused by the overall half-hearted nature of her rival's response.
Round 3:
Kelly works southpaw drill to annoy Scodelario's high guard early in the third and the close range tangle enables her to dig more juice into the younger girl's body. Kaya misses a couple of uppercut attempts and gets caught out by a harpoon to the liver area while Minka cranks it up and delivers an uppercut menace of her own. Suddenly there's little room for Scodelario to adjust her feet and she eats a thunder of a left hook on the chin followed by a nasty shot on the liver that folds her into immediate spasms. She tries to clinch the American but gets bumped off in jug-to-jug contact before Minka riffles a left cross on the nose which SENDS THE BRITISH WOMAN DOWN ON THE CANVAS!!! That was unexpected as Kaya truly misjudged her approach and got badly exposed despite being a runaway favorite on the cards. Minka's offensive mindset suddenly looms like the best tactical choice ever and Erin Andrews wonders whether Eva Mendes has learned this old dog some new tricks after all? However the Lioness roar is short-lived since Kata gets up to her feet at five and vows to punish the older woman now. Guess you can forget about that respectful attitude but the age difference plays into Kaya's hands and allows her to escape a late jabbing rush with Minka wasting precious time in a fruitless pursuit. The round was lost for Scodelario anyway so she didn't bother with unneccessary gimmicks.
Round 4:
Scodelario was decked for the count but that fuels her recovery rather than allows Kelly to carry on with her momentum. Shades of Kira Kosarin deja vu plagues the Irish southpaw who gets outworked in close range when Kaya clips her jugs and intends to drill the solar plexus right through. Both women haul in several single punches in a feisty tangle where Minka refuses to back off and use the superior mobility into her advantage. She wants to sink Scodelario right now but just doesn't have the neccessary strenght available as the younger brunette eventually drains her into a clinching stalemate and Erin Andrews reckons that was a missed opportunity for the Lioness crew even though Kaya looked hardly bothered by the knockdown in the third to begin with.
Round 5:
Scodelario's recovery continues as she clips more Kelly jug before belting her deep into the soft tummy. Minka groans in pain but still channels the uppercut drill to squeeze her opponent into a quick retreat however she misfires over the top and eats a counter-punch on the eye that leaves her exposed thereafter. Kaya leaps into a nasty hooking drill that rocks the American's head back and we resume the phone booth-like stance where Kelly's guard simply can't keep up with the high-octane English offense. Kaya's head-hunting assault dissects the Irish guard and wobbles Minka into quiet spasms before an uppercut combo spins her onto the ropes. Ugh! Minka suddenly looks like a worn out 37 year old she actually is to some degree and gets pummelled into stupor as Kaya rallies late to get even with her. She buries the veteran underneath a wild onslaught that eventually FORCES THE EX-CHAMPION ONTO HER KNEES in the dying seconds of the round!!! Minka crumbled south when she couldn't take the body assault anymore but several of Scodelario's punches left bruises on her face and new Lioness coach Mendes will have her hands full to regain the cougar mojo. Minka gets saved by the bell but she walks gingerly back to her corner while the Girls Friday entourage hits the high-five mode instead.
Round 6:
The momentum has shifted into Scodelario's favor now and the British prowl leaves Minka riding bendy escape for majority of the sixth. Kaya's execution remains stout and repeated hooks that drill the brow ridge result in visible swelling around Kelly's eye that further slows her movements. The former champion simply leaks too much blows right now and all the developments in the recent months have truly forced her into a full-scale tailspin similar to the likes of Jessica Biel or Jaime Pressly who fell from the cliff without a genuine warning before. Kaya makes Minka look old here in the sixth and Erin Andrews reckons she merely toys with the California stunner. She eventually traps her in the corner and bashes away in fury to add more pain to the aching ribcage before the bell halts her charge. Minka spits out her gumshield in frustration and slumps on the stool with eyes closed while Eva Mendes channel the street fighting Hail Mary attempt.
Round 7:
Nothing can save Minka's pride anymore as the junior brunette tackles her to the body and staggers in the center of the ring before an uppercut switch splits the mitts and leaves her at the British mercy. Kaya delivers more uppercut menace and has Kelly fish-tailing onto her heels so she fires one thumping combo on the wounded brow ridge extra and it's a major collapse here in the making as Minka has truly had enough here and only stops the Scodelario's flurry of quick leather with her face. Uh-oh! There's no blood on display but the Lioness woman is literally pounded into a semi-conscious daze WHICH FORCES THE REF TO STOP THE BEATING!!! Minka was one or two combinations away from getting rendered into a textbook punchbag dummy mode and coach Mendes doesn't argue the stoppage which actually prevented the ex-champion from suffering a serious injury. TKO7 Kaya Scodelario!!!
AFTER: Minka still needs an icepack service to treat the swollen brow ridge and remains seated on her stool while Kaya parades around the ring and dwells on the crowd's ovations. The British winner gives the fellow brunette a long stare, winks at her and waves goodbye which leaves Eva Mendes a little bemused but that's still as civilized as it gets around these walls. The close Lioness/Girls Friday relationship which dates back to BBU prevents any ugly post-fight scenes but Nina Dobrev is ready to take revenge as Minka's former Lookout Boxing stablemate. If Kaya believes she's got the Lionesses all figured out then she needs to think again according to Erin Andrews.
Meanwhile there's always time to ask serious questions about Minka's nose-diving stock even though she scored a knockdown against a true elite contender tonight. The former champion has secured ugly wins before but this turned out to be an ugly loss with Minka being reduced to a ghost in the shell status come the seventh round. However this is what you can expect from her now as she seems unable to keep pace with the wave of new talent several years her junior anymore. The only way is down?
Final result: Kaya Scodelario def. Minka Kelly TKO7.
