Brooklyn Decker vs Jennifer Lawrence (Welterweight Title)
Sept 25, 2020 18:14:06 GMT -6
Vassago likes this
Post by Lookout! Boxing on Sept 25, 2020 18:14:06 GMT -6
Brooklyn Decker* vs Jennifer Lawrence - FCBA Welter Title (result:Lookout/fight:simgrrl)
*Welter Champ. Fighters rankings - BW#1/Tractorpull#2; Lawrence - BW#5.
Brooklyn "Double-D" Decker: (33yo, 5'9", 132#, 53-17-0 w/40KOs in FCBA)
Jennifer "J-Law" Lawrence: (30yo, 5'8", 134#, 36-25-1 w/33KOs in FCBA)
Before: Decker's basking in the glow of the success she's had in the ring since regaining much of the weight she lost after the birth of her daughter in 2018. She's hit the gym hard and gotten on a new diet. "My body was like a limp noodle," she lamented a year and a half ago. "I knew if I didn't get back to work I'd never get that body back." Clearly, the hard work paid off.
Brook won 6 of 7 after her April 26, 2019 loss to welter champ Amanda Righetti, then she ripped off 6 in a row in 2020! Included in her wins was the Welterweight title on April 26, 2020...a year to the day after her heart-breaking loss in her previous title challenge. Her victims have included Robin Lawley (one of the biggest women in the FCBA at 6'2" and a reported 180 lbs); Charlize Theron (the G.O.A.T.); former Lightweight champion Kendall Jenner; current French & former BBU Lightweight champion Malika Menard; Hannah Ferguson (two-time Welter champion and former JMDD titleholder); Tahnee Atkinson (former Welter champion and two-time JMDD titlist). Her other victims included well-known fighters Katrina Law, Kelly Brook and Torrie Wilson. Her only loss in more than a year was to Courtney Tailor in a JMDD rules bout.
Lawrence earned this title fight by winning six of her last eight - the only losses to Welter champion Amanda Righetti (six months after she KOed Decker) and Courtney Tailor who beat Decker three months before she stopped Lawrence. Jen also had beat Courtney Tailor (Nov 2019) so she and Decker are both 1-1 versus Tailor.
This will be J-Law's 5th title try. She lost twice for the lightweight title (to Strahovski and Yustman) and twice again challenging for the welter belts (to Upton and Righetti). She's only recently gotten comfortable with Chimera, after she was forced to work her way up in weight; starting as a 20 yo bantam, then moving to lightweight before finally settling in at welter. Along the way, she was thrown into several fights by her stable she had no business in - most notoriously against a 50 pound heavier Robin Lawley in 2015! Jen's had to shuffle back-and-forth in weight; light to welter, back to light; and back up to welter. She's also been thrust into JMDD fights for which, she admits, "I'm not really built for."
She's also had well-documented, and highly publicized, unsanctioned fights. Most famously, a bar brawl with Jenny McCarthy in June 2015 and a post-PPV in-ring set-to with Tess Valmore. There was also the brawl in a road house with Amanda Righetti a week after J-Law lost a title fight to "the Big Rig" in August 2017! There's no doubt Lawrence is willing to trade with anyone, any time, anywhere with any (or no!) rules. It's been said her brawling style is well-suited for a stylist like Decker. And if there's one truism about Decker it's that she, "...seems to have a knack for making enemies just by wearing a bikini and being Brooklyn."
Tonight, Lawrence has her mentor, Charlize "The G.O.A.T." Theron in her corner. Charlize faced Decker in a memorable fight in February 2011 in which Theron - at the physical peak of her long career - easily dismissed the buxom young blonde model...a fight memorable only for the postfight brawl that involved the members of both Front St. and Ginny's Academy stables. Their next meeting, 9 years later, was anti-climatic as then-champion Decker easily handled the G.O.A.T.. That fight had rumors she'd only offered Theron the title fight because she knew it would likely be her last chance to humiliate the blonde Hall-of-Fame blonde in the ring. It had the added advantage of showing up Tess Valmore who was helping to "manage" Theron's fast-fading fight career. Charlize is now training Lawrence to be (hopefully) her replacement at the top of the welter rankings and she's given Jennifer as many tips as possible on how to handle Decker. Sofia Vergara may be J-Law's trainer of record, but everyone knows Charlize is the one pulling the strings. It's worked before.
In January 2019, Lawrence KOed Brooklyn in the 7th to set off fireworks in the aftermath when Brook's Lioness stablemates objected to Chimera's taking the groggy Decker on a humiliating Walk of Shame. "Tonight's going to be different," Lioness Head Trainer Claudia Schiffer promised Lioness Club fans before the fight. Her words were seconded by Eva Mendes, the Assistant Trainer, who stood at her bosses shoulder as Claudia read prepared remarks. Cassidy Freeman and Odette Yustman flank Brooklyn as they head to the ring behind Schiffer and Mendes who march with heads proudly high, their jaws tightly clenched, jutting forward.
Inside the ring, Jennifer Lawrence paced anxiously, having been kept waiting as the champion and her retinue took their time, letting J-Law grow more and more nervous before allowing themselves to finally be introduced. The crowd on their feet with a roar as the blond champion strides confidently down the aisle to mount the steps and climb into the ring.
While Freeman and Yustman slipped Brooklyn's robe from her shoulders, Mendes hugged Decker as she reached around her waist to remove the champions belt, then handed it to the referee who held it high and showed it to the crowd. The fans full-throat roar increased with each passing second as the ref gave the two fighters their instructions and sent them back to their corners.
During Rd1: BONG! Decker is quick off her stool, catching Jen on the Chimera side of middle ring with a booming right hand lead that stuns the surprised Oscar winner. A Lawrence jab lands, but the determined champion walks thru it to land a left hook and a second solid right hand. Jen's in TROUBLE! The fight's not even 30 seconds in and already the challenger's hurt!
Lawrence desperately clinching; her arms bear-hugging Decker's waist; her face buried in DoubleD's chest as they grapple belly-to-belly. J-Law beating Decker's flanks with her fists as Brook struggles to shove her back, gaining room to punch. Brooklyn drives Jen back across the ring as Lawrence earmuffs her gloves, crouching but not punching back. Crowd on their feet screaming, Freeman and Yustman in the Lionesses corner leading the fans as they chant DECK-HER! DECK-HER! DECK-HER!
But the sturdy young Chimera fighter refuses to buckle after her back hits the ropes; her legs firm and she starts slugging back! Decker digs in, concentrating her attack on J-Law's body when she realizes Lawrence isn't yet weakened enough to go down; there's still two minutes left in the round.
They trade punches as J-Law fights her way off the ropes, pressing forward as she forces Decker to retreat to center ring. There, Decker lands a crisp left hook and Lawrence is hurt again. She's forced to clinch, exposing her body while protecting her chin. Brooklyn slamming right hands to the belly, sending fleshy ripples up through Lawrence's torso with every thudding impact!
Perhaps the longest two minutes of Lawrence's life as Decker applies unrelenting pressure the rest of the round, pushing Jennifer back into, then along the ropes until the Chimera fighter is trapped in her own corner; her head bobbing and twisting side-to-side as she tries to avoid Decker's bludgeoning blows. Brooklyn working Jen's paunch, then coming up with jarring jug wallops to take her breath away before head-hunting the final seconds in hopes of a late knockdown, or knockout. But J-Law keeps upright to the bell and after the referee jumps in to separate them, Lawrence sags back to sit down on the middle turnbuckle while Decker dances away with her fists raised.
Decker greeted by a joyous Mendes and uproarious approval by her fans; with Claudia Schiffer the only voice of reason, reminding her fighter, "It's too soon for a parade; this isn't over yet." across the ring Charlize Theron elbows Vergara aside to grab Lawrence and give her a finger-wagging talking to as her corner goes to work while the scorekeepers give Decker the first round wide.
Rd2: Decker on her feet before the bell, eager to get back to work. Lawrence taking her time, stands just as the echo of the bell is fading. Both step quickly to center ring where Decker's opening gambit is a reprise of her first round salvo, a left hook-right cross combination...but unlike the first round, this one backfires! Her left hook glances harmlessly off J-Law's raised right biceps as Jen moves inside the right to drill Brook flush on the chin with her own short right. Decker's knees buckle and now she's the one whose forced to clinch with her arms wrapped around Jen's neck. Lawrence chup-chup-chups a staccato tattoo to Decker's belly, then a sweeping big uppercut launched from thigh-high. The uppercut might have taken off Decker's head if it hadn't gotten caught in Brook's heavy-hanging hooters. Decker groaned as she rocked back, adjusted her bikini top, then threw a big right at Jen's chest...it missed.
The two red-faced blondes trade right hands until a left hook from Lawrence again rattles Decker as "Double D" backs off, shaking her head to clear it. Lawrence pouncing from long range, flashes an overhand right to Brook's temple, keeping her reeling backward in disarray. J-Law with the bit in her teeth, unleashing as she closes in, battering the champions body with a flurry of lefts and rights to put Decker's butt in the ropes.
Brooklyn, behind her peek-a-boo gloves, taking a walloping, unable to establish any offense other than the occasional jab, trying unsuccessfully to upset Lawrence's timing and, perhaps, land something she can build on to fight her way off the ropes. But Jen refuses to let herself be deterred and takes a few punches in the face in exchange for the opportunity to ravage Decker's proud body.
The final minute is all Lawrence as she puts her weight on Brooklyn, refusing to let her off the ropes as the puts it to her body until the bell when the referee has to wrap his arms around J-Law and physically drag her off of Decker. Big comeback gives Jen the 2nd round wide to even the score after two.
Rd3: Both women on their feet before the bell. Decker initiating the action with Lawrence content to counter-punch for the most part. After feeling the others power early, both taking it down a notch, neither willing to expose herself by taking risks. Each content to slow the pace, settling in for what looks might be a long fight. Decker pushing forward; Lawrence in orderly withdrawal, giving Decker no openings, but letting the champ set the pace. Neither hurt, or even hard hit, but at the bell, two of the three judges give Decker a slight edge on their cards, her offense being more favorably considered than Lawrence's solid, but not flashy, defense. It's 28-27 Decker after 3.
Rd4: More of the same to open the 4th; Decker coming forward behind a straight left jab, throwing in a right whenever Lawrence gives her the rare opportunity. Lawrence countering Brook's steady diet of jabs chopping rights over, or below, it. Most of her body shots land with audible impact, but Decker's head is rarely in danger. Jennifer's left hooks, however, land often and at the end of the round, Decker's right side is bright red.
The biggest excitement in the round arrives late. Decker doubles up on her jab, then lands a right and left hook combo. LAWRENCE SPRAWLS ON HER BUTT at the ropes! Decker stands over the stunned Jen, fists clenched at her hips, her lips moving as if talking to J-Law, but with the crowd in an uproar, it's impossible - even for those at ringside - to hear what, if anything, she said!
The referee takes Decker's arm and steers her away toward a neutral corner before turning to Lawrence to pick up the count. Jennifer, clearly hurt, fumbles with her right hand trying to grab the ropes before she's finally able to grasp them and pull herself to her feet at "EIGHT!"
Quickly checking J-Law's gloves, the ref waves to Brooklyn who closes in. Lawrence falls back into the ropes as Brooklyn drives a left hook to the body. Jen rebounds off to bearhug Decker and they both stumble and almost fall. They stagger briefly, but before they can do further damage to one another, the bell ends the round...which Decker, with the knockdown, widens her lead to 38-35.
Rd5: Lawrence shakes off any after effects of the knockdown, bouncing on her toes before the bell. Decker is slamming her gloves together in her corner. Both out go right at the other. Trading jabs, they circle; Decker's right cocked at her jaw, shooting it straight out. J-Law's pawing her right in Brooklyn's face, using it as a distraction for a cracking crisp left hook she's using to abuse Double D's right side ribs, mixing it up with one to the head just enough to keep Brook wary of it.
Brooklyn Decker no longer pressing forward; circling left away from J-Law's left hook body attack. Jen maintaining pressure, getting roughed up a little by Decker's jabbing her nose and eyes, but never hesitating to throw the hook to Deck's body. Not much in the way of exciting, or rousing, action this round, but the knowledgeable crowd gives both a cheer for a good, technical round with both women committing to their pre-fight strategy after going a little "off script" early. Round to Lawrence close. It keeps her in the fight, but the champ still leads 47-45 after 5 hard-fought rounds.
Rd6: Lawrence opening up a little early this round, using her right more - and better. Her right reaches Brooklyn's face in the first minute, but while Decker's throwing her own right less often, she's now getting to Lawrence's body with left hooks, doubling up on them regularly.
Midway, Decker with a slippery duck under and move inside, lands a short uppercut that hurts J-Law who again tries to clinch. Decker forearms her in the chest to back her off, then rocks the young blonde with an overhand right. Legs rubbery, Jennifer stutter-steps back, her hands dropping. Brooklyn steps in to apply steady pressure, hammering Lawrence's body with both hands. Jen desperately hanging on as the champ bludgeons her flanks and front with both fists, working her up and down as Lawrence's hands are clutching Decker's biceps, shoulders or neck.
Lawrence struggling to fight her way off the ropes, but Decker keeps one foot, or knee, wedged between Jennifer's legs and a shoulder jammed under Jen's chin as she continues to pump punches to the blonde's paunch with a breath-stealing steady drumbeat...beating her tummy like a tom-tom! At the bell, Decker has stretched her lead to 57-52 after 6.
Rd7: Lawrence getting last second advice from Theron who leans between the ropes, grabs Jen's top between the cups and shakes a finger in her flushed face. Vergara watches in silence. Lawrence looks hesitant as she tip-toes out of her corner and circles away from Decker's left. J-Law pumping her jab in Brooklyn's face, trying to muffle her right under an unrelenting barrage of leather.
Decker, rebuffed trying to force her way ahead, backs out and circles around Lawrence to her right, unlimbering her left and landing a couple of JMDD-worthy smashes to J-Law's "pride & joys", pancaking them and bringing tears to the young actresses eyes. Blinking back tears, Jennifer leans into a big right to Decker's forehead, then another to her left ear. Following as Brooklyn circles away from her right, Jennifer whistles a left hook to Decker's 'double D' rack as payback!
Last minute of the round, Lawrence on the offense, forcing the champion backward around the ring with a steady pounding. The round ends with Jen Lawrence narrowing Decker's lead to 66-62.
Rd8: Lawrence on her feet before the bell; Theron leaning over the top rope with last-second Decker-busting tips. Jen, smirking and nodding, playfully pushes her glove in Charlize's face as Vergara put J-Law's mouthpiece in to keep her from talking. By comparison, Decker is still on her stool at the warning buzzer...unlike the previous rounds when she was eager to "go out and play." But Decker throws, and lands, the first punch-and the next! Her surprise right lead hits Lawrence in mid-stride and knocks her off balance. She stumbles back into the Chimera corner with Brooklyn following.
Jennifer, with her back on the turnbuckles, hooks Decker's body, then throws a right flush to Deck's chin and Brooklyn falls forward into J-Law's clutches. Lawrence spins her around and stuffs her butt in
the corner right above Theron. Sweat from Decker's damp, matted hair, flies back in Charlize's face. As she wipes it, her smile widens at the sight of Decker's butt cheeks jumping; rippling with the impact of Lawrence's fists as they pummel the front of Brooklyn's body!
Decker wraps her arms around Jen's shoulders, trying to clinch to force the referee to break them and give her time to recover. Brooklyn finally manages to muffle Lawrence's hands which had punished the older blondes belly until the referee stepped in. Decker had a brief respite catch her breath, but then J-Law sprang back once she was released and landed a left-right combo that buckled Decker's knees and rocked her against the turnbuckles again.
The crowd roared...one half beseeching Decker to fight her way off the ropes; the other half encouraging Jennifer to finish her off. The referee moved in to watch intently as Decker rocked side-to-side as she wrestled in vain to capture and control Lawrence's arms and flashing fists. Twice Brooklyn pushed Lawrence back, but each time Jen pushed her back into the corner and resumed beating her body. At the bell, Jen slumped forward, her arms draped over Brooklyn's shoulders, forcing the wilting older blonde to carry her weight until the referee pried them apart. J-Law leaned on the ropes near her corner and glared at Decker, their eyes meeting briefly as Brooklyn pushed herself out of the Chimera corner and staggered across the ring. She was met halfway by Eva Mendes who supported her with an arm around her waist back to the Lionesses corner where Decker flopped on her stool and Schiffer went to work. Lawrence's shutout cut Decker's lead to a single point 73-72.
Rd9: Claudia Schiffer and Eva Mendes perform a near-miracle; getting Decker up and ready for the 9th after the shellacking she'd taken in the 8th. Lawrence looked up at the warning buzzer to see Decker already upright. Jen's surprise gave Brooklyn an opening and she took it!
The champion hurried across the ring, catching with a straight jab and a sweeping right hand, but J-Law leaned away to slip the right and landed a left hook of her own that took Decker flush on right ear. Brooklyn stumbled back shaking her head. Jen ran her down and landed a right and then a left, driving Decker back with her butt in the ropes. Lawrence bellied up to Brooklyn and started punching.
Brooklyn swung her shoulders side-to-side as she cuffed Lawrence upside the head as their sweaty bodies slipped and slithered against each other. Decker landed several punches to Jen's head while Lawrence blasted away at Brooklyn's belly, slowly breaking down her abs. As her body absorbed damage, Decker's punches lost power and she began to grab and hold Jennifer's arms rather than hit back. The referee moved in to slap down Decker's gloves and warned her not to hold.
Lawrence moved back a step, then unleashed a huge right hand that swept over Decker's left shoulder to smash into the left side of her jaw. Brooklyn's head swiveled to her right as her knees unhinged. Jen sank a left hook into Decker's belly, knocking all the wind out of the fast-fading champ! As Brooklyn slumped forward, her hands dropping, Lawrence brought a right uppercut up between them; the impact snapping Brook's head back, her back arching; shoulders leaning out above the top rope.
Even as Decker started to slide down the ropes, the referee was already moving forward waving his hands over his head stopping the fight. But it was already over. Decker's limp body slid down as she sat on the canvas, then fell backward over the bottom rope; her head and shoulders slowly bouncing up and down inches above the ring apron...
The crowd leapt up at the sudden end of the fight while Charlize Theron leaned in to cup her hands under Brooklyn's head to keep it from bouncing on the apron. Schiffer and Mendes scrambled into the ring and rushed to Decker's side just as Sofia Vergara climbed the steps to also check on Brooklyn's condition. While the (now) ex-champion was being brought around, the announcer declared J-Law the new champion as the referee raised her hand briefly. Then Jen rushed to check on Decker who had been taken to her stool where she was sitting bent over with her elbows on her knees.
* * *
Afterward: Jennifer Lawrence upset the champ with a KO9 to become the NEW FCBA Welterweight Champion! In a stunning reversal after Decker dominated 3 of the first 4 rounds with her big right hand, Lawrence gamely battled back to dominate 4 of the last 5 on her way to wresting the belt from the champion.
The fight looked like it was all but over when DECKER knocked down Lawrence in the 4th round, but just when it seemed Brooklyn was going to put and end to J-Law's challenge, she rallied. The knockdown seemed to shock Lawrence out of whatever malaise she'd been in and once she got off the canvas, she came fighting back. After settling down in the fifth, J-Law put down a finally rally by Decker, regained control in the sixth and dominated the action for the last three rounds of the fight!
But all that was for another day. At the moment, the only thoughts in Theron and Lawrence's minds were their concern for Brooklyn Decker. Fortunately, she recovered fast enough to congratulate the new champion before they left the ring.
During Lawrence's postfight interviews, she made a point of giving "a lot of the credit my mentor and trainer, Charlize Theron" in her remarks. Charlize smiled and (later) when asked about how she felt having the welter champion as her stablemate, Charlize said, "It's great to have the welter champ as my stablemate, of course. I just wish I'd gotten there first when I had my own shot at Decker." Then she smiled and added, "Maybe I can talk Jen into giving me her first defense...I can always use another title belt in my trophy case."
*Welter Champ. Fighters rankings - BW#1/Tractorpull#2; Lawrence - BW#5.
Brooklyn "Double-D" Decker: (33yo, 5'9", 132#, 53-17-0 w/40KOs in FCBA)
Jennifer "J-Law" Lawrence: (30yo, 5'8", 134#, 36-25-1 w/33KOs in FCBA)
Before: Decker's basking in the glow of the success she's had in the ring since regaining much of the weight she lost after the birth of her daughter in 2018. She's hit the gym hard and gotten on a new diet. "My body was like a limp noodle," she lamented a year and a half ago. "I knew if I didn't get back to work I'd never get that body back." Clearly, the hard work paid off.
Brook won 6 of 7 after her April 26, 2019 loss to welter champ Amanda Righetti, then she ripped off 6 in a row in 2020! Included in her wins was the Welterweight title on April 26, 2020...a year to the day after her heart-breaking loss in her previous title challenge. Her victims have included Robin Lawley (one of the biggest women in the FCBA at 6'2" and a reported 180 lbs); Charlize Theron (the G.O.A.T.); former Lightweight champion Kendall Jenner; current French & former BBU Lightweight champion Malika Menard; Hannah Ferguson (two-time Welter champion and former JMDD titleholder); Tahnee Atkinson (former Welter champion and two-time JMDD titlist). Her other victims included well-known fighters Katrina Law, Kelly Brook and Torrie Wilson. Her only loss in more than a year was to Courtney Tailor in a JMDD rules bout.
Lawrence earned this title fight by winning six of her last eight - the only losses to Welter champion Amanda Righetti (six months after she KOed Decker) and Courtney Tailor who beat Decker three months before she stopped Lawrence. Jen also had beat Courtney Tailor (Nov 2019) so she and Decker are both 1-1 versus Tailor.
This will be J-Law's 5th title try. She lost twice for the lightweight title (to Strahovski and Yustman) and twice again challenging for the welter belts (to Upton and Righetti). She's only recently gotten comfortable with Chimera, after she was forced to work her way up in weight; starting as a 20 yo bantam, then moving to lightweight before finally settling in at welter. Along the way, she was thrown into several fights by her stable she had no business in - most notoriously against a 50 pound heavier Robin Lawley in 2015! Jen's had to shuffle back-and-forth in weight; light to welter, back to light; and back up to welter. She's also been thrust into JMDD fights for which, she admits, "I'm not really built for."
She's also had well-documented, and highly publicized, unsanctioned fights. Most famously, a bar brawl with Jenny McCarthy in June 2015 and a post-PPV in-ring set-to with Tess Valmore. There was also the brawl in a road house with Amanda Righetti a week after J-Law lost a title fight to "the Big Rig" in August 2017! There's no doubt Lawrence is willing to trade with anyone, any time, anywhere with any (or no!) rules. It's been said her brawling style is well-suited for a stylist like Decker. And if there's one truism about Decker it's that she, "...seems to have a knack for making enemies just by wearing a bikini and being Brooklyn."
Tonight, Lawrence has her mentor, Charlize "The G.O.A.T." Theron in her corner. Charlize faced Decker in a memorable fight in February 2011 in which Theron - at the physical peak of her long career - easily dismissed the buxom young blonde model...a fight memorable only for the postfight brawl that involved the members of both Front St. and Ginny's Academy stables. Their next meeting, 9 years later, was anti-climatic as then-champion Decker easily handled the G.O.A.T.. That fight had rumors she'd only offered Theron the title fight because she knew it would likely be her last chance to humiliate the blonde Hall-of-Fame blonde in the ring. It had the added advantage of showing up Tess Valmore who was helping to "manage" Theron's fast-fading fight career. Charlize is now training Lawrence to be (hopefully) her replacement at the top of the welter rankings and she's given Jennifer as many tips as possible on how to handle Decker. Sofia Vergara may be J-Law's trainer of record, but everyone knows Charlize is the one pulling the strings. It's worked before.
In January 2019, Lawrence KOed Brooklyn in the 7th to set off fireworks in the aftermath when Brook's Lioness stablemates objected to Chimera's taking the groggy Decker on a humiliating Walk of Shame. "Tonight's going to be different," Lioness Head Trainer Claudia Schiffer promised Lioness Club fans before the fight. Her words were seconded by Eva Mendes, the Assistant Trainer, who stood at her bosses shoulder as Claudia read prepared remarks. Cassidy Freeman and Odette Yustman flank Brooklyn as they head to the ring behind Schiffer and Mendes who march with heads proudly high, their jaws tightly clenched, jutting forward.
Inside the ring, Jennifer Lawrence paced anxiously, having been kept waiting as the champion and her retinue took their time, letting J-Law grow more and more nervous before allowing themselves to finally be introduced. The crowd on their feet with a roar as the blond champion strides confidently down the aisle to mount the steps and climb into the ring.
While Freeman and Yustman slipped Brooklyn's robe from her shoulders, Mendes hugged Decker as she reached around her waist to remove the champions belt, then handed it to the referee who held it high and showed it to the crowd. The fans full-throat roar increased with each passing second as the ref gave the two fighters their instructions and sent them back to their corners.
During Rd1: BONG! Decker is quick off her stool, catching Jen on the Chimera side of middle ring with a booming right hand lead that stuns the surprised Oscar winner. A Lawrence jab lands, but the determined champion walks thru it to land a left hook and a second solid right hand. Jen's in TROUBLE! The fight's not even 30 seconds in and already the challenger's hurt!
Lawrence desperately clinching; her arms bear-hugging Decker's waist; her face buried in DoubleD's chest as they grapple belly-to-belly. J-Law beating Decker's flanks with her fists as Brook struggles to shove her back, gaining room to punch. Brooklyn drives Jen back across the ring as Lawrence earmuffs her gloves, crouching but not punching back. Crowd on their feet screaming, Freeman and Yustman in the Lionesses corner leading the fans as they chant DECK-HER! DECK-HER! DECK-HER!
But the sturdy young Chimera fighter refuses to buckle after her back hits the ropes; her legs firm and she starts slugging back! Decker digs in, concentrating her attack on J-Law's body when she realizes Lawrence isn't yet weakened enough to go down; there's still two minutes left in the round.
They trade punches as J-Law fights her way off the ropes, pressing forward as she forces Decker to retreat to center ring. There, Decker lands a crisp left hook and Lawrence is hurt again. She's forced to clinch, exposing her body while protecting her chin. Brooklyn slamming right hands to the belly, sending fleshy ripples up through Lawrence's torso with every thudding impact!
Perhaps the longest two minutes of Lawrence's life as Decker applies unrelenting pressure the rest of the round, pushing Jennifer back into, then along the ropes until the Chimera fighter is trapped in her own corner; her head bobbing and twisting side-to-side as she tries to avoid Decker's bludgeoning blows. Brooklyn working Jen's paunch, then coming up with jarring jug wallops to take her breath away before head-hunting the final seconds in hopes of a late knockdown, or knockout. But J-Law keeps upright to the bell and after the referee jumps in to separate them, Lawrence sags back to sit down on the middle turnbuckle while Decker dances away with her fists raised.
Decker greeted by a joyous Mendes and uproarious approval by her fans; with Claudia Schiffer the only voice of reason, reminding her fighter, "It's too soon for a parade; this isn't over yet." across the ring Charlize Theron elbows Vergara aside to grab Lawrence and give her a finger-wagging talking to as her corner goes to work while the scorekeepers give Decker the first round wide.
Rd2: Decker on her feet before the bell, eager to get back to work. Lawrence taking her time, stands just as the echo of the bell is fading. Both step quickly to center ring where Decker's opening gambit is a reprise of her first round salvo, a left hook-right cross combination...but unlike the first round, this one backfires! Her left hook glances harmlessly off J-Law's raised right biceps as Jen moves inside the right to drill Brook flush on the chin with her own short right. Decker's knees buckle and now she's the one whose forced to clinch with her arms wrapped around Jen's neck. Lawrence chup-chup-chups a staccato tattoo to Decker's belly, then a sweeping big uppercut launched from thigh-high. The uppercut might have taken off Decker's head if it hadn't gotten caught in Brook's heavy-hanging hooters. Decker groaned as she rocked back, adjusted her bikini top, then threw a big right at Jen's chest...it missed.
The two red-faced blondes trade right hands until a left hook from Lawrence again rattles Decker as "Double D" backs off, shaking her head to clear it. Lawrence pouncing from long range, flashes an overhand right to Brook's temple, keeping her reeling backward in disarray. J-Law with the bit in her teeth, unleashing as she closes in, battering the champions body with a flurry of lefts and rights to put Decker's butt in the ropes.
Brooklyn, behind her peek-a-boo gloves, taking a walloping, unable to establish any offense other than the occasional jab, trying unsuccessfully to upset Lawrence's timing and, perhaps, land something she can build on to fight her way off the ropes. But Jen refuses to let herself be deterred and takes a few punches in the face in exchange for the opportunity to ravage Decker's proud body.
The final minute is all Lawrence as she puts her weight on Brooklyn, refusing to let her off the ropes as the puts it to her body until the bell when the referee has to wrap his arms around J-Law and physically drag her off of Decker. Big comeback gives Jen the 2nd round wide to even the score after two.
Rd3: Both women on their feet before the bell. Decker initiating the action with Lawrence content to counter-punch for the most part. After feeling the others power early, both taking it down a notch, neither willing to expose herself by taking risks. Each content to slow the pace, settling in for what looks might be a long fight. Decker pushing forward; Lawrence in orderly withdrawal, giving Decker no openings, but letting the champ set the pace. Neither hurt, or even hard hit, but at the bell, two of the three judges give Decker a slight edge on their cards, her offense being more favorably considered than Lawrence's solid, but not flashy, defense. It's 28-27 Decker after 3.
Rd4: More of the same to open the 4th; Decker coming forward behind a straight left jab, throwing in a right whenever Lawrence gives her the rare opportunity. Lawrence countering Brook's steady diet of jabs chopping rights over, or below, it. Most of her body shots land with audible impact, but Decker's head is rarely in danger. Jennifer's left hooks, however, land often and at the end of the round, Decker's right side is bright red.
The biggest excitement in the round arrives late. Decker doubles up on her jab, then lands a right and left hook combo. LAWRENCE SPRAWLS ON HER BUTT at the ropes! Decker stands over the stunned Jen, fists clenched at her hips, her lips moving as if talking to J-Law, but with the crowd in an uproar, it's impossible - even for those at ringside - to hear what, if anything, she said!
The referee takes Decker's arm and steers her away toward a neutral corner before turning to Lawrence to pick up the count. Jennifer, clearly hurt, fumbles with her right hand trying to grab the ropes before she's finally able to grasp them and pull herself to her feet at "EIGHT!"
Quickly checking J-Law's gloves, the ref waves to Brooklyn who closes in. Lawrence falls back into the ropes as Brooklyn drives a left hook to the body. Jen rebounds off to bearhug Decker and they both stumble and almost fall. They stagger briefly, but before they can do further damage to one another, the bell ends the round...which Decker, with the knockdown, widens her lead to 38-35.
Rd5: Lawrence shakes off any after effects of the knockdown, bouncing on her toes before the bell. Decker is slamming her gloves together in her corner. Both out go right at the other. Trading jabs, they circle; Decker's right cocked at her jaw, shooting it straight out. J-Law's pawing her right in Brooklyn's face, using it as a distraction for a cracking crisp left hook she's using to abuse Double D's right side ribs, mixing it up with one to the head just enough to keep Brook wary of it.
Brooklyn Decker no longer pressing forward; circling left away from J-Law's left hook body attack. Jen maintaining pressure, getting roughed up a little by Decker's jabbing her nose and eyes, but never hesitating to throw the hook to Deck's body. Not much in the way of exciting, or rousing, action this round, but the knowledgeable crowd gives both a cheer for a good, technical round with both women committing to their pre-fight strategy after going a little "off script" early. Round to Lawrence close. It keeps her in the fight, but the champ still leads 47-45 after 5 hard-fought rounds.
Rd6: Lawrence opening up a little early this round, using her right more - and better. Her right reaches Brooklyn's face in the first minute, but while Decker's throwing her own right less often, she's now getting to Lawrence's body with left hooks, doubling up on them regularly.
Midway, Decker with a slippery duck under and move inside, lands a short uppercut that hurts J-Law who again tries to clinch. Decker forearms her in the chest to back her off, then rocks the young blonde with an overhand right. Legs rubbery, Jennifer stutter-steps back, her hands dropping. Brooklyn steps in to apply steady pressure, hammering Lawrence's body with both hands. Jen desperately hanging on as the champ bludgeons her flanks and front with both fists, working her up and down as Lawrence's hands are clutching Decker's biceps, shoulders or neck.
Lawrence struggling to fight her way off the ropes, but Decker keeps one foot, or knee, wedged between Jennifer's legs and a shoulder jammed under Jen's chin as she continues to pump punches to the blonde's paunch with a breath-stealing steady drumbeat...beating her tummy like a tom-tom! At the bell, Decker has stretched her lead to 57-52 after 6.
Rd7: Lawrence getting last second advice from Theron who leans between the ropes, grabs Jen's top between the cups and shakes a finger in her flushed face. Vergara watches in silence. Lawrence looks hesitant as she tip-toes out of her corner and circles away from Decker's left. J-Law pumping her jab in Brooklyn's face, trying to muffle her right under an unrelenting barrage of leather.
Decker, rebuffed trying to force her way ahead, backs out and circles around Lawrence to her right, unlimbering her left and landing a couple of JMDD-worthy smashes to J-Law's "pride & joys", pancaking them and bringing tears to the young actresses eyes. Blinking back tears, Jennifer leans into a big right to Decker's forehead, then another to her left ear. Following as Brooklyn circles away from her right, Jennifer whistles a left hook to Decker's 'double D' rack as payback!
Last minute of the round, Lawrence on the offense, forcing the champion backward around the ring with a steady pounding. The round ends with Jen Lawrence narrowing Decker's lead to 66-62.
Rd8: Lawrence on her feet before the bell; Theron leaning over the top rope with last-second Decker-busting tips. Jen, smirking and nodding, playfully pushes her glove in Charlize's face as Vergara put J-Law's mouthpiece in to keep her from talking. By comparison, Decker is still on her stool at the warning buzzer...unlike the previous rounds when she was eager to "go out and play." But Decker throws, and lands, the first punch-and the next! Her surprise right lead hits Lawrence in mid-stride and knocks her off balance. She stumbles back into the Chimera corner with Brooklyn following.
Jennifer, with her back on the turnbuckles, hooks Decker's body, then throws a right flush to Deck's chin and Brooklyn falls forward into J-Law's clutches. Lawrence spins her around and stuffs her butt in
the corner right above Theron. Sweat from Decker's damp, matted hair, flies back in Charlize's face. As she wipes it, her smile widens at the sight of Decker's butt cheeks jumping; rippling with the impact of Lawrence's fists as they pummel the front of Brooklyn's body!
Decker wraps her arms around Jen's shoulders, trying to clinch to force the referee to break them and give her time to recover. Brooklyn finally manages to muffle Lawrence's hands which had punished the older blondes belly until the referee stepped in. Decker had a brief respite catch her breath, but then J-Law sprang back once she was released and landed a left-right combo that buckled Decker's knees and rocked her against the turnbuckles again.
The crowd roared...one half beseeching Decker to fight her way off the ropes; the other half encouraging Jennifer to finish her off. The referee moved in to watch intently as Decker rocked side-to-side as she wrestled in vain to capture and control Lawrence's arms and flashing fists. Twice Brooklyn pushed Lawrence back, but each time Jen pushed her back into the corner and resumed beating her body. At the bell, Jen slumped forward, her arms draped over Brooklyn's shoulders, forcing the wilting older blonde to carry her weight until the referee pried them apart. J-Law leaned on the ropes near her corner and glared at Decker, their eyes meeting briefly as Brooklyn pushed herself out of the Chimera corner and staggered across the ring. She was met halfway by Eva Mendes who supported her with an arm around her waist back to the Lionesses corner where Decker flopped on her stool and Schiffer went to work. Lawrence's shutout cut Decker's lead to a single point 73-72.
Rd9: Claudia Schiffer and Eva Mendes perform a near-miracle; getting Decker up and ready for the 9th after the shellacking she'd taken in the 8th. Lawrence looked up at the warning buzzer to see Decker already upright. Jen's surprise gave Brooklyn an opening and she took it!
The champion hurried across the ring, catching with a straight jab and a sweeping right hand, but J-Law leaned away to slip the right and landed a left hook of her own that took Decker flush on right ear. Brooklyn stumbled back shaking her head. Jen ran her down and landed a right and then a left, driving Decker back with her butt in the ropes. Lawrence bellied up to Brooklyn and started punching.
Brooklyn swung her shoulders side-to-side as she cuffed Lawrence upside the head as their sweaty bodies slipped and slithered against each other. Decker landed several punches to Jen's head while Lawrence blasted away at Brooklyn's belly, slowly breaking down her abs. As her body absorbed damage, Decker's punches lost power and she began to grab and hold Jennifer's arms rather than hit back. The referee moved in to slap down Decker's gloves and warned her not to hold.
Lawrence moved back a step, then unleashed a huge right hand that swept over Decker's left shoulder to smash into the left side of her jaw. Brooklyn's head swiveled to her right as her knees unhinged. Jen sank a left hook into Decker's belly, knocking all the wind out of the fast-fading champ! As Brooklyn slumped forward, her hands dropping, Lawrence brought a right uppercut up between them; the impact snapping Brook's head back, her back arching; shoulders leaning out above the top rope.
Even as Decker started to slide down the ropes, the referee was already moving forward waving his hands over his head stopping the fight. But it was already over. Decker's limp body slid down as she sat on the canvas, then fell backward over the bottom rope; her head and shoulders slowly bouncing up and down inches above the ring apron...
The crowd leapt up at the sudden end of the fight while Charlize Theron leaned in to cup her hands under Brooklyn's head to keep it from bouncing on the apron. Schiffer and Mendes scrambled into the ring and rushed to Decker's side just as Sofia Vergara climbed the steps to also check on Brooklyn's condition. While the (now) ex-champion was being brought around, the announcer declared J-Law the new champion as the referee raised her hand briefly. Then Jen rushed to check on Decker who had been taken to her stool where she was sitting bent over with her elbows on her knees.
* * *
Afterward: Jennifer Lawrence upset the champ with a KO9 to become the NEW FCBA Welterweight Champion! In a stunning reversal after Decker dominated 3 of the first 4 rounds with her big right hand, Lawrence gamely battled back to dominate 4 of the last 5 on her way to wresting the belt from the champion.
The fight looked like it was all but over when DECKER knocked down Lawrence in the 4th round, but just when it seemed Brooklyn was going to put and end to J-Law's challenge, she rallied. The knockdown seemed to shock Lawrence out of whatever malaise she'd been in and once she got off the canvas, she came fighting back. After settling down in the fifth, J-Law put down a finally rally by Decker, regained control in the sixth and dominated the action for the last three rounds of the fight!
But all that was for another day. At the moment, the only thoughts in Theron and Lawrence's minds were their concern for Brooklyn Decker. Fortunately, she recovered fast enough to congratulate the new champion before they left the ring.
During Lawrence's postfight interviews, she made a point of giving "a lot of the credit my mentor and trainer, Charlize Theron" in her remarks. Charlize smiled and (later) when asked about how she felt having the welter champion as her stablemate, Charlize said, "It's great to have the welter champ as my stablemate, of course. I just wish I'd gotten there first when I had my own shot at Decker." Then she smiled and added, "Maybe I can talk Jen into giving me her first defense...I can always use another title belt in my trophy case."
