Vs
(Written by Girls Friday/Results by Lookout!)(Free Agent vs Free Agent)Intro:The next bout sees the first two New Blood bantamweight tournament winners fight it out, Saoirse Ronan fights Anya Taylor-Joy on Muscle Beach.
Saoirse is 24 years old; standing 5'6 and holding a record of 3 wins, all by knockout and 1 defeat.
Anya is 22 years old; she stands 5'7 holds a record of 2 wins, both by knockout and 1 defeat.
Both fighters were interviewed at their gym, with Saoirse training at the Foxfire Atlantic Boxing gym, where she has worked as a cut woman in the past.
She finishes her workout and takes the time to talk to the assembled press, she tells them "I want to say thank you to Kate Winslet first, she has always taken care of me and I am blessed to be able to work with truly world class trainers"
She then changes the subject "me and Anya both have won the New Blood tournament before, so I know she is a good fighter, but I have the skills to beat her and continue my journey in the FCBA"
Anya meanwhile finishes up doing weight training; then heads to talk to the journalists in the gym, with a smile on her face.
"It's funny; if you told me I'd enjoy lifting weights a year ago, I would think you were full of it, I love the training and getting in that ring now to test myself, which Soairse will do" says Anya looking excited.
"These are the fights I crave when I joined the New Blood program, I will win this fight if I use all my talents, so Soairse better bring her best" adds Anya as she nods to the press and heads back to training.
Fighting time; the ring posts are set directly into the sand, with bleachers surrounding the ring for the sold out crowd to watch the fights.
Out comes Soairse first, she is all smiles as she waves to the crowd, she is wearing an emerald bikini and coloured gloves, her hair is up in a ponytail.
Stepping into the ring; Soairse bows to the fans before she gets to her corner, nodding at her coach as she uses their palms for punch pads.
Anya now comes out up with coach by her side, she looks excited as she heads to the ring wearing a baby blue bikini with matching gloves, her hair is also in a ponytail too.
Climbing into the ring; Anya waves to the fans as she heads to her corner, a big smile on her face as she chats away with her coach while warming up.
The fighters come to the centre and smile at each other as they hold no malice yet with each other, when they are asked to touch gloves, they respectfully do as told and nod at each other.
Once they are back in their corners and have their gumshields put in, the referee nodding at the timekeeper to ring the bell to begin 10 rounds of bantamweight action.
Round 1:The early action between the fighters sees them both look respectful of their opponent, circling each other and using their jabs to look for holes in the others defence.
Anya seems to be the first to try something different, feinting with her jab and landing a right to the body of Soairse.
When Soairse tries to counter with a right cross, she misses as Anya leans back and lands another straight, before Anya moves back out at range.
Anya looks to have found her tactic quicker then her opponent, using her speed to come inside to attack with either a double jab to the face or a left and right to the body, then she moves back to a safe distance.
Soairse catches her coming inside though with a left across the top of her head, forcing Anya to take a step back; with the Irish lass stepping inside to bang away to the body.
Both fighters have their heads down as they go toe to toe, working the others body as they look to put their mark on their opponent.
Just before the bell rings; Anya steps back and lands a right hook across the cheek of Soairse, the round ends with both women nodding their respect before they pass each other to go to their corners.
Where Anya's coach looks much more the happier of the two coaches, telling her to keep out boxing Soairse and show the world why she is the true New Blood champ.
Round 2:Anya comes out the quicker and gets her skirmish style attacks to land several punches and getting out before she gets hit by more then clipping return punches from her opponent.
But a mistimed attack by Anya leads to her straight being parried and one slamming into her lips, Soairse quick to come inside and bang away with Taylor-Joy.
Soairse dips under a right cross and lands a right to the body of Anya, follows with an overhand right that cracks onto the bigger fighters cheek.
That allows the older woman to bully Anya back onto the ropes as she lands to the body, forcing Anya to have to try to fight her way off them.
Both women slugging it out as the action becomes scruffy, Soairse soon dips under a left and comes back with an uppercut that puts Anya's head back.
Soairse finishing the round strong as she has Anya pinned behind her guard, the bell ringing to end the round with Soairse grinning as she heads back to her corner, knowing she has tied things up.
To her credit; Anya still has her own smile, not too worried by a bad round as she chats with her coach on what she needs to do differently.
Round 3:Both women seem to be fully warmed up now; they are moving up on their toes around the ring and trading more combos now.
Soairse slips under a straight and counters with a right to the abs of Anya, just missing with an overhand left as Anya moves out the way.
Leading to Soairse trying to chase after Anya, she ends up getting sidestepped and countered with a left across her cheek.
Anya getting control of the action as she keeps Soairse at bay, using her movement and straight punches finding gaps in the Irish fighters guard.
But Soairse parries a straight and lands a right cross that allows her to get in close, with both letting their hands go as they work away.
With late in the round Soairse nudging Anya back with her left and landing a right across the cheek of her opponent, forcing her back a step and following with another two to the body.
The bell rings to end the round with both women starting to look more serious, their smiles disappearing as they both seem to realise that they need to be all business to win this fight.
Both fighters cheeks are reddening up as they sit on their stools, their coaches telling them what they need to do to win this as they are cancelling each other out.
Round 4:Both come out hard; Soairse managed to get in close early and force Anya to trade in tight, with them nearly touching heads as they work away others body.
Anya stepping back and landing a left and right to the top of her opponent's head, allowing her to get back to fighting on the outside.
Till Soairse feints and when Anya steps one way, Soairse landing a right hook that turns Anya's head and opens her up to more punches across her face.
Now Anya finds herself on the back foot, Soairse landing to the face of the American, who has to clinch up with Ronan to stop the assault.
The referee separates them and Anya tries to get back control of the round, but Soairse looks like she doesn't want to relinquish control so easily, she keeps in close range and bullies Anya around the ring.
With the bell ringing to end a dominant round from Soairse, she jogs to her corner with a big smile on her face as her coach nods back at her.
Anya feels her lip as she heads back to her corner, her bottom lip looks fat from the punishment from Soairse, with her coach not looking pleased with her.
Round 5:Anya looks to get back at Soairse, landing several punches to the face of the smaller girl, till Soairse slips under a straight and lands a right to the body.
Both women rub heads as they work; Soairse using her left shoulder to bump Anya back, WITH AN UPPERCUT CATCHING ANYA ON HER CHIN TO PUT HER ON HER BACKSIDE!
Anya shakes her head to clear cobwebs as she looks shocked to be down, 1...2...3...4 getting to her knees, Anya punches the sand below her in frustration, 5....6...7...8 before she pushes her way up to beat the count.
The referee checks Anya and let's her continue, with Soairse looking to keep the pressure on her, Anya forced to fight in close as Soairse gets in her face.
With Anya needing to clinch up when a right opens up her bottom lip, the referee breaking the fighters apart and allowing Anya to get into space.
Soairse keeping on the attack, forcing Anya to stay on the defensive as Anya uses her jab to try and keep Soairse back.
The round ends with Anya being knocked to the ropes with a straight on her lips, she looks grateful for the bell as she heads back to her corner to get a moment to breath and get patched up.
While Soairse looks ready to get back at Anya, banging her gloves together as her coach washes her down, telling her to keep calm and focus on finishing the job off.
Round 6:Soairse comes out looking for the finish; stalking Anya around the ring with her punches slamming off the gloves of her opponent.
Who is trying to use her footwork and head movement to keep Soairse from landing a power punch, leading to both trading single stiff punches.
Till Soairse lands a right to the body; coming inside to work the body of Anya to try and open her up, but Anya slams a straight into her head to force her back to the outside.
Soairse slips under a straight and lands an overhand right that knocks Anya onto her heels, with punches slamming into the bloody lips of Taylor-Joy to make her cry out.
Leading to Anya needing to grab onto Soairse and pulls her into a clinch, Soairse looking to break out her grip, needing the referee to help her out.
Once apart; Anya keeps on the move as Soairse tries to hunt her down, leading to Ronan getting caught to the face with counter punches after she misses.
Not long left in the round; Soairse misses with a right hook and gets countered with a right that lands across her nose, blood starts to trickle from her nose now as Anya lands another two punches onto it to make her cry out.
The round ends with both fighters looking each other over to see the damage they've done, Soairse still looking the more confident as she has a big lead to hold onto.
But her coach doesn't look too happy with her getting sloppy, getting her bloody nose patched up as Soairse admits she needs to keep her head.
In the opposite corner, Anya gets her lips cleaned up, her coach telling her to get her ass in gear to pull this fight back.
Round 7:As the round starts, both women are catching the other on their wounds, so neither is able to push on leading to an early stalemate.
Soairse slips under a right and a slams in several shots to the body to make Anya groan out, the Irish fighter uses that to force Anya back onto her heels.
Anya forced to cover up as Soairse drives forwards, most of the punches landing on the forearms and gloves of the younger fighter.
The ones that get through though makes Anya cry out as her nose starts to trickle blood too, making her look a mess as she has to clinch up with her opponent.
Once they are separated; Soairse tries to step forwards, missing with a left cross and taking two punches in the side of her face.
Anya ducks under a right and surprises Soairse with an uppercut that makes Ronan step back, Taylor-Joy following up quickly with two hooks to the ribs as she tries to get back into this fight.
Late in the round; Anya dips under a right hook and uses her left shoulder to bump Soairse back, with an overhand right slugging Soairse in the side of her head to rock her back.
The bell rings with both women breathing harder, happy to get back to their corners to get a breather and patched up.
Soairse's coach seems to be urging her to focus more on finishing the fight as she has a good lead on the scoreboards in their minds, hard to argue that right now.
Anya getting a pep talk by her coach, they don't want to give up even as things look dire, Anya banging her gloves together as she tells herself to fight harder.
Round 8:The crowd look surprised early on as Soairse looks to fight on the move now, not taking as many risks now and forcing Anya to come hunt her down.
The bigger fighter trying to find a hole in Soairse's guard, not finding many as of now as Soairse instead parries a straight and lands two shots across the face of Anya.
Who as Soairse looks to power forwards, Anya pushes her back in desperation and moves away, Soairse can be seen with a little grin as she waves Anya to come try again.
The fighters moving around each other; trading stiff shots as they wait for a real chance to do more, though Roman's coach reminds her to stick to the plan.
Anya on the other hand has to be smart, she feints more as she knows Soairse is holding back, with Soairse moving back, she doesn't notice she is near the ropes till Anya strikes her with a straight to the top of her head.
Soairse finds herself getting blitzed by an angry Anya, Anya's fans will her on as Soairse tries to cover up, punches though find a home on the older fighters face to open her up for more punches.
When Soairse goes to clinch up with Anya; SHE GETS CLOCKED WITH AN UPPERCUT AND DOWN TO ALL FOURS TUMBLES SOAIRSE!
The crowd look as stunned as Soairse's coach, 1...2...3 Soairse wipes her bloody nose as it drips into the sand 4...5...6, she pushes herself up to her knees and holds the ropes with her right glove, 7....8....9 Soairse just about gets to her feet in time with a little wobble.
The referee checks over Soairse, who says she is OK, the referee let's them continue, with Anya rushing to try to end this.
Both women go toe to toe, Anya clearly winning the exchange as she seems to have her second win, bashing Soairse back onto the ropes.
The bell rings to the relief of Soairse's coach, who comes out to help her to her corner, where she is washed down of blood and they attempt to clear her head as she looks rocked still.
Across the ring; Anya doesn't look anyway better, both beautiful women look a mess after a hell of a brawl, with only two rounds left to decide this fight.
Round 9:Soairse shows her toughness to come out and continue, with both landing stiff jabs as they meet near the ring center and circle.
Anya manages to parry a jab and comes inside to force the action, with Soairse clinching up with her in clear desperation.
Once they are pulled apart; Soairse looks to keep the distance safe for herself so she can recover, but Anya isn't letting her get far.
A feint with her left allows Anya to land a right around the guard of Soairse to the side of her face, OPENING HER UP FOR A FOUR PUNCH COMBO STRAIGHT INTO SOAIRSE'S FACE TO SEND HER TO HER BACK!
Anya slowly heads to a neutral corner, clearly willing Soairse to stay down this time, 1...2...3 Soairse can be heard groaning as she turns to her side, 4...5...6...7 then she spits her gumshield out as her eyes shut and 8...9...10 she is counted out!
Winner Anya Taylor-Joy KO Round 9After:Both women gave their all tonight and it shows as Anya simply slides to her backside in the corner she was standing in, too tired to even celebrate right now.
Her coach rushes out to help her to her feet and act as a clutch to help her back to her corner so she can be cleaned and patched up.
While Soairse is helped to sit up by her coach, her blood stained face is washed as she looks dejected, her coach admitting to her that they made a tactical error.
But Soairse replies "she was simply better today" with her coach nodding as they help her up and take her to her corner.
It takes time for both women to be deemed fit enough to come to the ring centre, where Anya gets her hand raised by the referee to make the result official.
Soairse shows her class by congratulating Anya, both embracing as cameras catch the moment, both women sharing a smile as they discuss the fight and how it could have turned at different times one way or the other.
Both stand side by side with an arm on the others shoulder and a fist up towards the cameras taking photos, both smiling as they try to hide how much they are hurting right now.
Joking about maybe doing a rematch in a couple of years when a title is on the line, they wish each other luck as they embrace once more.
Soairse leaves the ring looking disappointed but taking heart that the result could have easily been her getting her hand raised.
While Anya keeps her celebrations minimal, just waving and bowing kisses to the fans as she turns on the spot in the center of the ring.
Soon leaving the ring with help from her coach, with Anya and Soairse just wanting an ice bath and to sleep for a week to recover from this fight.