Saturday!
The day seemed to drag on giving me every second to think about and imagine what this evening had in store for me. My stomach was churning even though I hadn’t eaten anything for 12 hours. I even wretched a couple of times in the late afternoon. Should I declare myself sick?

Finally it was time for me to go to the dressing room. I went through my normal routine of having a massage, stretching exercises, have my hands taped, dress, have my gloves laced, shadow box and spar with my trainer just before going to the ring. I had requested a green bikini. It was pale green and brief with the top covering about ¾ of my breasts and the bottom scarcely covering my womanhood. There was absolutely no room for any protective gear under this bikini.

The day was hot so the fight had been delayed until after sunset. We take a short golf cart ride from the dressing room to the ring entrance. I can feel my nipples stiffen in the cool evening breeze. My second lifts my robe off as is required before I enter the ring and my nipples turn into bullets. I’m in a daze from the lights flashing and the noise of the crowd as I walk across the ring to my corner. I see that Chantel is in the ring and looks ready to fight. The introductions are made. Montpellier and I are in a stare down as the referee goes over the final instructions. We bang gloves without breaking our stare, then turn and go to our corners. The cool breeze blowing across the outdoor ring is like an aphrodisiac as it strikes my body. My nipples look like two bullets as they push out the green fabric of my bra.

The bell rings and I move toward the center of the ring. Montpellier charges me driving me back into my corner. Her punches are flying and I am trying to cover up. She scores with a right into the top of my bikini that hurts me. I double forward and Montpellier catches me with a left upper cut under my chin. My mouth guard flies from my mouth. I can taste blood. She has cut the inside of my mouth. I attempt to tie her up as I don’t want to get hit in the face without a mouth guard. The referee pulls us apart and calls for us to box. He has no intention of letting me get a new mouth guard. I fight defensively for the remainder of the round with Montpellier working me over with some brutal punches to my breasts and tummy.

I had protected my jaw and mouth from further damage but my breasts and tummy had paid for it and I’d lost the round. My trainer is livid with the referee who states that he would only stop the fight if one of us was seriously injured. The inside of my mouth has a nasty cut that continued to bleed throughout the fight. Montpellier had won the round, 10-9

I go out aggressively for the second round but can’t back Montpellier up. This is going to be a crowd pleasing fight with one of us KOed or TKOed. I snap the French lady’s head back with a right uppercut and I think she is going down but she is able to wrap her arms around me to remain on her feet. The ref pries us apart and admonishes her for holding. She recuperates quickly and hurts me with a left that lands below my belly button. The punch is too low but the ref doesn’t do anything. I am momentarily paralyzed and Montpellier rocks me with a huge right to the left side of my head. I stumble backward into the corner with Montpellier on top of me, delivering another left well down into my bikini. The bell ends the round and saves me from a certain knockout as I was unable to defend myself. I struggle up and my second enters the ring to carry me to our corner.

The judges could see that she had rendered me defenseless at the end of the round which puts her up 20-18. My corner works feverishly on me with ice and water but a minute to recuperate isn’t much time. I described the hard body shots that really hurt me but I had taken about 10 in the round which tend to have a cumulative effect. I am still swallowing blood which isn’t doing my stomach any good.

In round 3, I come out offensively to either hurt her or be hurt. She is up to the challenge and we trade some heavy punches for about 30 seconds. I am able to stagger the French lady twice. She now has a mouse forming under her left eye and a substantial swelling around the eye but Ms. Montpellier keeps up her attack. She goes back to my body and breasts until I lower my guard and then scores with a big right hook to my left eye. I cry out as the pain shoots through my face. She has opened up a nasty gash on my left eyebrow and the blood is running into my eye obscuring my vision. Next, I’m on my back as if in a dream looking up at the stars and I can hear noise echoing like in a vacant room, 4 . . . . 5 . . . . 6 . . . . I roll over and get to my knees. There’s a small puddle of blood on the mat. 7 . . . . 8 . . . . I pull myself up using the ropes. I can barely stand as the referee cleans my gloves and asks if I want to continue. I nod “yes” He calls out “let’s box” I’m still dazed as Montpellier hits me. I’m on my back again. The hollow noise is deafening but again I hear the counting. 6 . . . . 7 . . . . 8 . . . My legs seem numb but I’m on them. The referee is holding me and steering me to my corner. Is the fight over?

Montpellier had dropped me with a right hook that I never saw, then when I got up I couldn’t defend myself and she floored me again. My corner was in frenzy, not knowing for sure whether to repair me or throw the towel in. My left eye was a mess, almost swollen completely shut now with a gruesome cut along my eyebrow and a whopper of a mouse below the eye. I stagger as I stand for round 4

It is 30-26 for Ms. Montpellier as she had knocked me down twice in the third. Round 4 is about to begin, a sudden rain shower moves through the area delaying the fight. I get a 10 minute rest because of the rain. We both get the rest but I need it more. We are soaked and despite efforts to dry the ring canvas, it remains slippery. We are toe to toe exchanging punches when Montpellier slips. I am able to score a big right to her head before we both go to the canvas. Chantel is under me and I think got hurt in the fall although she tries not to show it. The cut on my eyebrow has opened up and with blood trickling into my eye I can’t see Montpellier’s right hand coming and she takes full advantage with some firm shots to my breasts and head.

I walk back to my corner with blood trickling down the left side of my face and I am still swallowing blood from the cut inside my mouth. The French lady has won all 4 rounds probably with a score of 40-35. The left side of Montpellier’s face is now badly swollen but she hasn’t been cut. I actually feel like boxing now, the cut bothers me but I am coping with it.

You think to yourself as you come out for Round 5 that there are only 8 more minutes to go. It’s at times like this when 2 minutes turns into what seems like half an hour. We both begin very aggressively and she opens up the cut on my eyebrow early. I am fighting half blind as I bury my left into her solar plexus. Montpellier didn’t see the punch coming and the result is devastating for her. Ms. Montpellier is totally defenseless for the first time in the fight. I drive my right up under her chin snapping her head back, then a left under her right breast and a final right into the left side of the French lady’s face. Chantel Montpellier crumples to the canvas out cold. The French lady lies stretched out on her back as the referee administers the full count before allowing her trainer to come to her aid. My final right hook had split her left cheek open about an inch below her eye. Her trainer/husband and the ring doctor work on her for about 5 minutes before carrying her to her corner.

I had won but I was certainly batter and bruised. It would be about 60 days before I’d heal enough to continue in the tournament. I knew the organizers had planned to complete the tournament in three weekends.

I returned to my dressing room where I lie on the trainer’s table packed in ice waiting for the doctor to suture my eyebrow. It was past mid night by the time the doctor arrived. He wanted to sedate me as the cut was deep and it would take 12-15 sutures to close it.

I wasn’t conscious of anything until Sunday about noon when I realized that I was so sore that I could barely get out of bed. My left eye was swollen completely shut, my breasts were bruised and my ribs were so tender that I could hardly breathe. I wanted to go back to bed but I also wanted to see today’s match.

It was sunny and about 80 degrees by 1:30 which was half an hour before fight time. Alexandra Witherspoon entered the ring first, and then about 3 minutes later Tekina Tavares made her entrance. Tekina was definitely the crowd favorite. The referee gave the ladies last minute instructions and the fight was on.

Witherspoon took the fight to Tekina. These ladies were very close in size and weight. Round 1 was more or less a feeling out process with no visible damage inflicted but Witherspoon had taken some heavy body shots. Round 2 begins with the ladies going at it in a toe to toe exchange. Witherspoon goes down from a looping right thrown by Tekina. Witherspoon makes it to her feet by the count of 8 but is wobbly. She tells the ref that she’ll continue. The words “let’s box” are called out by the referee. Tekina moves in backing Witherspoon to the corner with body punches. Alexandra’s hands drop and Tekina unloads a combination to the Brit’s head. Witherspoon is out cold. The referee waves off the count. Witherspoon’s trainer and the doctor rush to her aid. It’s a devastating 2nd round knockout by the Jamaican, Tekina Tavares.

This leaves three unbeaten fighters, Jitka Zabrzova of the Czech Republic, Tekina Tavares of Jamaica and Jillian Russell of the USA. We wait anxiously to see who will get the by and I wonder what the organizers will do about my injury.

The announcement is made. There will be no by. It is decided that Danielle Coulthard of Australia will fill a wildcard spot and have two semi final fights. The names are drawn from a hat. It will be Danielle Coulthard against Jitka Zabrzova and I will fight Tekina Tavares. Both fights will take place here, mine on the Friday nite and Zabrzova and Coulthard will meet on the Saturday nite exactly two months from this weekend.

Friday Evening

Jillian Russell – USA
173 cm (5’ 8”)
63 kg (139lbs)
93d-73-91 (37d-29-36)
vs
Tekina Tavares – Jamaica
175 cm (5’ 7”)
60 kg (132lbs)
90c-70-95 (35c-28-37)

Saturday Evening

Jitka Zabrzova - Czech Republic
181 cm (5’ 9”)
63 kg (138lbs)
91c-63-91 (36c-25-36)
vs
Danielle Coulthard - Australia
178 cm (5’ 10”)
64 kg (140lbs)
86b-71-79 (34b-28-31)

Tekina Tavares had fought less than three minutes and had come away with two destructive knock outs. Both of Tavares’ opponents had spent a nite in the hospital, both were ok but the knock outs were brutal.

Will I be ready to face Tekina Tavares in 60 days?

Watch for Part 3