The reluctant boxer

A story by Ellen

How did I get into this? I’m 47 years old, a wrestler (at least I was in my youth, I’ve only recently made a comeback) and, until a few weeks ago, I’d never boxed at all. Now I find myself in a topless boxing tournament with seven former club champions, three of which I will fight in the next three days.

I blame myself, my big ego and my empty bank account. I’d made a poor start to the second senior wresting tournament, being knocked out in both of the first two qualifying rounds. At the same time business was quiet and I was running low on funds. Fighting at CLAWS was an easy, if somewhat painful, way for a girl to make a bit of cash. Erica was staging a senior boxing tournament and was one fighter short. With offers of prize money and training she convinced me I could be a contender. So far things hadn’t gone well. I’d been beaten up in training by one of the other tournament contenders, Erica’s cousin Gabi, and lost my only proper fight by a single point. Now it was time to do this for real.

Day 1 – the knockout stages

There were eight women contesting the senior boxing title. Seven former league champions and Ellen – who had only fought one match, a week earlier, and had lost it on points.

Of the eight contenders four, including Ellen, were also fighting in the senior wrestling tournament. For the first round of the tournament the girls were split into two groups of four. Group A consisted of the brunettes and redheads (Christine, Loraine, Nancy and Suzi) while group B was made up of the four blondes (Claire, Ellen, Emma and Gabi). The winners of the two group matches would face each other in the second round and the winners of those fights would face each other for the title.

Erica greeted her protégé as she arrived at the club for the first day of the tournament:

“You’ll be fighting in the blue corner today, your dressing room companions will be Gabi, Lorraine and Suzi. Emily and I will be your seconds. The good news is that you’ve drawn Claire in the first round.”

“Is that good? I’d rather be facing Nancy.”

“Nonsense, Claire is the least experienced apart from yourself. Nancy may be older but she’s a lot better, I expect to see her in the final four. Against Claire you have a real chance of doing that as well.”

With her trainer’s optimistic words ringing in her ears Ellen made her way to join three of the other fighters in the blue corner dressing room. As she changed, she made small talk with Suzi, who introduced her to Lorraine. Gabi came over and apologized to her for an incident that had occurred in training a few days earlier – the last time Ellen had seen the club owner.

“Ellen, I’m so sorry for the other day. I guess I just lost my cool. I hope I didn’t hurt you too much.”

Ellen remembered the big blonde knocking her down and then raining punches on her as she lay against the ropes. Ellen was not one to hold a grudge:

“That’s OK, it was good training for me. Who knows, I may get to return the favour in the next few days.”

Ellen undressed and slipped into her polka dot panties before donning her robe. Erica and Emily came back into the dressing room and taped all four girls’ hands and laced their gloves on before leading them out into the ring room – it was show time.

Around 60 women were sat in the stands as the four took their places in the front row at the blue corner end, their opponents taking a similar position at the other side of the room.

Lorraine was first into the ring in a fast-paced encounter against redhead Christine. Both women had been active in the boxing league at the same time but had met only once – when Lorraine relieved the redhead of her title. Referee Jay introduced the two women giving their stats and league records. Christine had fought 20 league matches with 13 wins and 7 loses, including 4 title wind. Lorraine had fought 10 more league matches and had a track record of 16 wins and 14 loses including 3 title wins.

At the bell Christine came out on the attack and caught Lorraine off guard putting her down with a right hook in the first 30 seconds. Lorraine recovered well but Christine dominated the first two rounds and was ahead by 12 points to 2 going into the third round. That lead didn’t last long as Lorraine put her down twice in quick succession and they came out for the fourth on 12 points each but with Lorraine looking in much better shape. She put Christine down almost immediately with a left hook and the redhead only just beat the count. One minute and two more knockdowns later she didn’t and Lorraine was through to the semi-finals.

Next up was Nancy against Suzi in a very close fought match. Nancy, a stocky 50-year-old redhead was giving away 8 years and a good 20lbs to the buxom brunette fighter who, with 21 title wins under her belt, was also the club’s most successful league boxer. That didn’t deter the older woman though and the bout looked set to go the distance as they went into the final round on 20 points each. With just two minutes remaining Nancy upped her game, putting Suzi down twice in less than a minute and then pushing the defenceless brunette into a corner to win by a TKO as Jay stopped the fight with just 45 seconds left on the clock.

After that it was Ellen’s turn. She entered the ring, slipped off her robe and walked to the centre of the ring where Jay introduced the two fighters.

“In the red corner, aged 42, standing 5 feet 6 inches tall, measuring 36C-28-38 and weighing 140lbs, Claire Barnes. Claire has a league record of 10 wins, including two title wins and 12 loses. She retired 6 years ago.”

Ellen to a good look at her opponent, a fit looking woman with shoulder length blonde hair dressed in pale blue bikini briefs, a butterfly tattoo just visible on the inside of her right thigh by her panty line.

“And in the blue corner, aged 47, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, measuring 38C-29-42 and weighing 155lbs, Ellen Shaw. Ellen is our wildcard in this tournament and has never boxed in our league.

‘Or anywhere else’ thought Ellen as she walked back to her corner to prepare for the fight.

At the bell both women came out cautiously and spent the round circling tentatively, feeling each other out with jabs. After three minutes neither woman had landed a solid punch and, at the sound of the bell, both retreated to their corners unscathed.

Erica was quick to encourage her fighter, reassuring her that she was doing well but needed to start mixing it up a bit in the next round. The judges awarded both women 3 points each and the scores were tied at the start of the second round.

The pace picked up a bit in round two with both women throwing out punches but rarely connecting. The honours were even until, about two minutes into the round a vicious right hook from Claire connected with Ellen’s jaw and she went down in a heap. For a moment it looked like things could be over in the as the older woman tried to collect her wits. Erica looked on anxiously as Ellen struggled back to her feet. She made it up as the count reached 9. Jay checked her over and waved Claire back in. The round continued for another minute but Claire was unable to capitalise on the knock down and by the end of the round Ellen seemed to have recovered her composure.

Although Ellen received two points from the judges, the knockdown meant that Claire took the lead by 9 points to 5 after two rounds.

Ellen came out fast for the third round and initially seemed to have the upper hand. Claire was back pedalling around the ring but managed to drive a solid left into the older woman’s solar plexus. Ellen’s guard came down to protect her boobs. An upper cut connected with her chin and Ellen found herself on her back again. Once again, she took her time to get to her feet but, once up, the action continued with the pair evenly match and, towards the end of the round, Ellen was on the attack again. Claire narrowly missed taking a standing count as Ellen trapped her in the blue corner as the round ended.

Both women were now sweating profusely and breathing hard as they rested between rounds. Once again, the judges scored the round 4-2 to the younger woman and Claire’s lead extended to 15 points to 7.

The fourth round showed the pair continuing to be evenly matched. Ellen’s frustration was clearly growing and a moment of carelessness as she attacked in the closing minute of the round left her exposed. Against the run of play right hook from Claire spun the older woman into the ropes. Jay stepped in quickly to administer a standing count. Claire was clearly tiring and needed the break more than Ellen did but the count meant she had another point under her belt. When the action resumed Ellen stepped up her assault but failed to make a break through and the round ended without further incident.

This time, despite the standing count, the judges scored the round 4-2 to Ellen but Claire held on to her lead at 18 points to 11.

Five rounds in and it seemed the pair were still evenly matched, trading punches in equal measure. Only the two knockdowns separated them and put Ellen on the losing side. Eventually a right hook from the older woman broke the deadlock. Finally, Ellen had managed to land a solid punch, catching the younger woman on the temple and sending her spinning to the mat. Claire made it up at 7 but was shaky and only just managed to hold the older woman off for the remainder of the round.

Again, the judges scored the round 4-2 to the older woman and the knockdown added two more to help close the gap. Ellen was back in the match at 20 points to 17 but she still had a mountain to climb in the final round.

To her credit Ellen dominated the last round from start to finish, pushing the younger woman around the ring. It was clear Claire was a spent force but she wasn’t about to lie down and fought back with equal determination. As the seconds ticked by, it looked like she might just scrape a win. Then, with a minute to go, Ellen glimpsed an opening and delivered a right cross to Claire’s jaw with all the power she could muster. Her reward was to watch her opponent crumple to the mat.

Unfortunately for her, Claire just beat the count and the battle continued. But Claire was exhausted. Again, Ellen called on all her reserves of strength and again she struck gold as her uppercut snapped Claire’s head back and she staggered backward into a corner. Unfortunately for Ellen, the final bell sounded before Jay could begin a standing count.

An exhausted Ellen flopped onto her stool in the blue corner and wondered if she’d done enough. The score board showed the points from the rounds so far, Ellen had clawed back at least 2 points with the knockdown but Claire was still a point ahead. It would be decided by the judges.

Jay called the girls to the centre of the ring to announce the winner. “Your winner, by 26 points to 20, Ellen!”

Ellen was shocked and elated; the judges had given her all 6 points in the final round – she was through to the semi-finals.

She turned and hugged the disappointed Claire and whispered “Sorry.”

“That’s OK” Claire replied, “When you got up the first time you deserved to win – that was my best punch and you survived it.”

As Claire made her way back to the dressing room, Ellen pulled on her robe and took a seat in the front row to see who her second round opponent would be. She didn’t have to wait long.

Gabi was completely out classed by Emma. She went down twice in the first round and three times more before she was counted out two minutes into the second round.

Ellen was relieved and shocked at the same time, what had happened to the Gabi who had knocked her senseless in training just 10 days earlier? OK, Emma has 13 years on her side but Gabi was an experienced boxer and she’d collapsed like a house of cards. Tomorrow it would be Ellen’s turn, how would she get on?

Day 2 – the semi-finals

Ellen arrived earlier at the club for day two of the senior boxing tournament but a crowd was already gathering and she was greeted by several well-wishers on her way to the blue corner dressing room.

To many peoples’ surprise the rookie had made it through to the semi-finals while some legends had fallen by the way side. It had been a tough match against Claire but today would be much tougher.

In the dressing room she found Lorraine already changed and warming up. Suzi came in a few minutes later and finally Gabi joined them. As she walked in Gabi addressed Ellen directly: “Good luck against Emma, you’re going to need it.”

“She certainly got the better of you yesterday – are you OK?”

“She just caught me off guard but she hits hard so be warned. I’m fine now and looking forward to making a better job of dealing with that little blonde than you did.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

Soon it was showtime and the girls took up their places in the front row near the blue corner as Jay made the initial announcements. As Suzi headed to the ring to take on Christine, Ellen looked around at the audience. It was larger than the day before and Ellen noticed that there were more men than usual. She was used to seeing Larry Foxton and Dave (Suzi’s beau) in the audience, along with a couple of other men who had the privilege of being allowed to attend these, otherwise, women only events but today there were several unfamiliar faces. As Jay introduced Suzi and Christine, Ellen nudged Lorraine, who was sitting next to her, and said: “There’s a few more men than usual tonight.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Not particularly but I’d like to know who they are.”

“Partners mainly – that’s Bob, Nancy’s husband, over there and just to his right is Steve – Emma’s fella. Just up behind us is my Phil…”

“Who’s the big guy in the suit?”

“That’s Howard – he’s putting up the purse for this event. He’s a big boxing fan and loves Emma and Christine in particular.”

Preliminaries over, Suzi and Christine faced off. As she’d done against Lorraine the previous day, Christine came out guns blazing and laid into the buxom brunette. Suzi covered up and rode out the assault. Although she stayed on her feet for the first two rounds she was completely dominated and going into the third round Christine was leading by 12 points to nil. Suzi knew she had to do something and started pushing out a few punches of her own but, in doing so, left herself open to a right hook from the redhead that put her down for a count of 8. Back on her feet, Suzi took the fight to the redhead and was rewarded when a left hook of her own put Christine on the deck. The older woman made it up at 9 but was soon on the back foot again as Suzi waded in, hitting her with a rain of punches. Christine staggered under the assault, turning away from the brunette, making a grab for the ropes but missing and dropping to her knees. She made it up at 8 and managed to hold Suzi off for the remaining few seconds of the round. Two knock downs had put Suzi on the scoreboard but she was still trailing Christine by 16 points to 8 as they came out for the 4th round. Round four was invariably make or break for Christine. Her habit of starting fast and hard meant that by the 4th round she either had her opponent on the ropes or was punched out herself. On this occasion it turned out to be the latter. She went down to a right hook from Suzi just 30 seconds into the round. She made it up at 9 but immediately went down again as the brunette drove an upper cut between her breasts to connect with her jaw. Flat on her back Christine made no attempt to get up as she was counted out.

When Gabi climbed into the ring to face Claire it was clear that she wasn’t going to let the 12-year age difference with her opponent hold her back. Still stinging from her comprehensive defeat by Emma the day before, she attacked from the opening bell. Using her height and reach to keep the younger woman on the back foot, Gabi dominated the action. Although there were no dramatic moments in the first round, she went out for the second with a solid 5-1 lead over Claire. The second round followed the same pattern as Gabi attacked and Claire retreated. Mid-way through the round a left hook connected with Claire’s temple and put her down for the first time. Back on her feet at 8 she was quickly backed into a corner by the taller woman and took a standing count of 9. A further knock down occurred seconds later thanks to a clubbing right hook from Gabi. Again, Claire made it up at 9 but before the round ended, she took another standing count for holding on. Claire came out for the 3rd round trailing by 17 points to 1 but quickly upped her game, catching the older woman off guard with a right hook that put her down for a count of 7. Back on her feet Gabi obviously shaken and it wasn’t long before she went down again. For a moment it looked like the tide may have turned but seconds later a left hook from Gabi connected with Claire’s jaw and she dropped face down on the mat to be counted out just over 2 minutes into the round.

Lorraine was next into the ring to face Nancy. Despite giving away 7 years as well as height and reach to her opponent, red headed Nancy made a spirited effort, dominating the first round. She put Lorraine down twice and went into the second round leading by 10 points to nil. Despite taking a beating in the first round, Lorraine took the fight to the redhead in the second round and the tables were turned with Nancy tasting the canvas three times in the three-minute round. At the start of the 3rd round Lorraine was leading by 12 points to 10 and it looked like the fight could go either way. One minute into the round a right hook to the temple put Nancy down for a fourth time. Getting to her feet at 9 she was put down again almost immediately as Lorraine’s left cross connected with her jaw. Again, Nancy made it up at 9 but a few seconds later a solid right connected with her left breast and her knees buckled. As she went down, clutch her chest, a left hook caught her temple and she keeled over, landing on her left side. That was clearly enough for her. She lay on her back cradling her left boob and made no attempt to get up as Jay counted to 10.

Finally, it was Ellen’s turn. Come what may she would be fighting again tomorrow and today’s match would be her biggest challenge to date. As she climbed into the ring Erica’s words rang in her head:

“Emma is the tournament favourite. She’s the youngest fighter and the most successful. Realistically you’ve got zero chance of beating her and whatever happens you’ll have to fight someone else tomorrow. I’m not saying throw the match, just don’t waste your energy. If you feel you’re getting beaten accept it and stay down.”

But it wasn’t in Ellen’s nature to quit and she was determined to go out fighting. Even so she shuddered as she looked across the ring and the fit, tanned 40-year-old she was about to take on. Just yesterday she’d watched Emma demolish Gabi in less than 300 seconds of combat, much of which had seen the big blonde picking herself up from the mat.

She joined Emma and Jay in the centre of the ring for the introductions:

“In the red corner, aged 40, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, measuring 38C-28-42 and weighing 155lbs, Emma Cummings! And in the blue corner, aged 47, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, measuring 38C-29-42 and also weighing 155lbs, Ellen Shaw!”

The two women we very similar in size. Emma was wearing a yellow string thong that showed off her shapely backside. While Ellen’s briefs we more modest they also exposed enough of her butt to show her sexy shape.

Preliminaries over both women sashayed back to their respective corners. A few moments later the bell rang for the start of round 1.

Emma attacked from the start and Ellen was soon back pedalling around the ring under the youngster’s assault but just two minutes into the first round came a major upset. A haymaking right cross from the older woman connected with Emma’s temple and sent her sprawling. Although she was back on her feet at 6 a badly shaken Emma took the full 9 count before continuing. Sensing the chance of an early victory Ellen attempted to press home the advantage and peppered her opponent with punches that had her staggering around the ring. A straight right to the heart flattened the youngster’s left breast and dropped her to one knee and gain another 9 seconds of respite. It was a tactical move but didn’t alter the fact that after 3 minutes the big blonde was ahead by 10 points to nil.

Ellen was grinning like the Cheshire cat as she returned to her corner at the end of the 1st but Erica was less than impressed.

“Hey, I’m whipping her ass.”

“You just caught her by surprise, she’ll be pissed and out to get you in the second so watch it.”

True enough Emma has composed herself during the break and spent most of the first half of the round stalking her opponent. But the pair were evenly matched and it was the older woman who, once again, surprised everyone when she side stepped an attack and turned the youngster into a corner where she took a standing count 30 seconds from the end of the round.

Against the odds Ellen had extended her lead in the second round and her grin was wider than ever as she went out for the third. But it couldn’t last and she knew it, she was already tiring and was soon on the defensive as the younger woman upped the pace.

Halfway through the round the tide turned as Emma delivered a series of hard blows to Ellen’s chest that bought the larger woman’s guard down and followed up with a right uppercut that sent the big blonde crashing down on her back. Ellen rolled over and spent several seconds on her hands and knees, shaking her head before pushing herself up at 8 in time to beat the count.

The fight continued but the older woman had slowed visibly and was firmly on the defensive. When she went down again from a left hook 30 seconds later, Erica threw in the towel to avoid her suffering further punishment. But Jay kicked it out and waited while the big blonde regained her feet. The count stopped at 9 and Ellen gamely held off the youngster for the remaining 20 seconds of the round before returning to her corner looking much less confident than she had 3 minutes earlier.

“What’s going on?” she asked Emily, who had taken over seconding duties while Erica and Jay had words. Ellen hadn’t seen the towel come in and was blissfully unaware of her trainer’s attempt to stop the fight. Jay, on the other hand was livid and made that very clear to Erica:

“Don’t you ever try doing that again. This is shaping up to be a great fight. Ellen’s really showing skill here and there’s no way I’m stopping the fight when she’s still ahead. This match continues until there’s a knockout or time runs out – is that understood?”

“But she’s bound to lose and she’s got another match tomorrow – give her a chance…”

“Bound to lose? She’s ahead right now. You can’t stop the fight when she’s winning.”

With that Jay signalled to the timekeeper that, despite the knockdowns, she was awarding both her points to the older woman. The scores flashed up as Ellen 16, Emma 11. She may have been knocked down twice but Ellen was still leading as she went out for the 4th. She was also tiring and Emma was now in the ascendant.

Early in the round Emma went on the attack and left/right combination to the breasts followed by a left uppercut deposited Ellen on the mat for a 3rd time. She made it up at 8 but a flurry of punches from the younger woman pushed her into a corner where she took a standing count of 9.

It looked like Ellen was finished when, a few moments later, a right uppercut put her back in her backside in the blue corner. “Stay down!” Erica was screaming, “Ellen! You’re beaten, save your strength for Nancy!”

But Ellen wasn’t giving up without a fight. She grabbed hold of the top rope and pulled herself up again. Jay stopped the count at 9 and allowed Ellen to get clear of the corner before waving Emma back in. Ellen tried her best but she was a spent force. Her half-hearted attempt at a guard was no match for someone with Emma’s experience and a right hook crashed into her jaw. Ellen’s knees buckled and she went down like a felled oak. She landed on her right side but rolled over, ending up on her back with her left arm outstretched. This time she made no effort to move as Jay counted her out.

Erica was in the ring as soon as the count reached 10, cradling Ellen’s head in her arms and applying a combination of smelling salts and slaps to the face to bring her round. After what seemed like an age but was probably only 10- or 15-seconds Ellen’s eyes fluttered open and grin of recognition crossed her face.

A minute later she was back on her feet for the result as Jay announced: “The winner and your second finalist! In 2 minutes and 10 seconds of round 4! By a knockout! Emma!” Jay paused for a moment while the applause abated. “And your courageous loser, Ellen!”

Was it Ellen’s imagination, or was the applause louder for her? Ellen drank it in and could just hear the video royalties rolling in. She knew this had been the best match of the contest so far. Erica knew it too but she didn’t show it. “I don’t know what you’re grinning for, you lost. And that means you’ve got to get your act together before you take on Nancy tomorrow if you want a share of the prize money.”

The reality hit home and Ellen suddenly felt weak at the knees. “Let’s go back to the dressing room.” She whispered to Erica. “Help me out of the ring, I’m suddenly feeling faint.”

“Shit! Don’t give up on me now.” But Ellen had recovered herself and, grinning at her young mentor, strode out of the ring unaided.

Back in the dressing room she took a deep breath, she ached all over. After a quick shower she took stock. She was alone in the dressing room wrapped only in a big fluffy towel. ‘Rest’ she told herself, ‘stay in the zone but ignore the pain’. That was easier said than done, Emma had done some major damage. Her head was clear now but it ached, so did her jaw, her ribs, her breasts and arms. There wasn’t much of her upper body that didn’t hurt. And she was tired, very tired, exhausted even. She lay down on a bench and closed her eyes.

Day 3 – fighting for third place

Ellen didn’t exactly feel great when she turned up at the club for day three of the senior boxing tournament. She’d taken quite a beating at the hands of Emma the day before and she wasn’t used to fighting three days in a row. None the less she was in with a chance of taking third place in the tournament and a £500 purse to add to the £300 she was getting for the three fights and that was enough to spur her on.

Her opponent today would be Nancy, a woman three years her senior who had won the boxing title eight times. Ellen had met Nancy when she first joined the club but, as she only wrestled and Nancy only boxed, they never got in the ring together. Nancy had been one of the ‘gang of four’ boxers who fought in the late 80s. For much of Ellen’s time at the club Nancy had been absent, giving birth to her two children, but after seven years she returned as spent another three years at the club before retiring as undefeated boxing champion. Ellen was under no illusion, today would be another tough match.

There was a change to group in the blue corner dressing room today. As Gabi and Suzi would be facing off for 4th and 5th places Gabi was in the red corner and Claire had moved to the blue corner group. When she walked in, she treated Ellen as a long-lost friend, congratulating her on her success so far.

“You’ve done well for a rookie Ellen, you put up a good show against Emma – I think you’ve got a good chance today.”

“I wish I shared your confidence. How do you think you’re going to do against Christine?”

“I don’t know, we met four times in the league, I won two and lost two. I’m feeling good today so it depends on how tired she is.”

Soon it was showtime again and the four girls walked out and took their places by the blue corner.

First into the ring was Claire, facing Christine. As usual the redhead came out of the red corner all guns blazing and, for the first two rounds, completely overwhelmed Claire. Although the blonde avoided any knock downs, she finished the second round trailing by 11 points to 1. Early in the third round Christine seemed to tire and Claire went on the attack. Against the run of play the blonde put the older woman down one minute into the round. Christine was back on her feet and 7 and took the fight to the hapless Claire again, who went down twice before the round ended. Coming out for the fourth round Christine had a commanding 19-5 lead but was clearly running out of steam. Needing to wrap thing up quickly she went on the attack but left herself exposed. A clubbing right hook from Claire put her down just one minute into the round. Although she made it up at 9 Christine was unsteady on her feet. She did her best to hold the younger woman off but a second right hook put her down just before the two-minute mark and, this time, she stayed down for the 10 count.

Next up was Suzi against Gabi. The pair were old rivals and had met seven times in the league and twice since Gabi ‘retired’. Suzi’s record again the club’s owner was not good, she had won only one of their nine encounters and been heavily beaten in the last one just two years ago. Their rivalry wasn’t limited to direct combat either. After retiring from the league Gabi initially trained Lorraine, who fought Suzi six times and took the tile from her once, before going on to train Erica and Stacey while Suzi trained Emily and Lucy – the four meeting each other many times in the league.
As the pair squared off for round one Gabi showed that, once again, she wasn’t deterred by the age difference between her and her opponent. Suzi was on the back foot from the opening bell as Gabi pushed her around the ring, using her height and reach to full effect. It took the big blonde just over minute to find a way through the younger woman’s defences and a right hook put her down for the first time. Suzi was on her feet and 7 and did her best to recover and fight back but Gabi was landing two punches to every one of the younger woman’s and, seconds before the end of the round, she went down again in the blue corner. Clearly shaken by the beating she’d taken from the older woman and trailing by 10 points; Suzi came out hesitantly for the second round and was soon on the back foot again as Gabi continued to take the fight to her. A further two knock downs followed in the second round as the blonde extended her lead, dominating the younger brunette. But a spirited fight back by Suzi in the closing seconds of the round saw her take her first point of the match. None the less she came out for the third round trailing by 19 points to 1. Gabi was clearly starting to fade in the third and Suzi took the fight to her, finally being rewarded when a right hook put the blonde down for the first time around the two-minute mark. Gabi hit the mat again a few seconds later courtesy of an upper cut to the jaw but as Suzi tried to press home her attack, she fell victim to Gabi’s left hook again. She went down with seconds of the round remaining and was still on her hands and knees when the bell sounded with the count at 6. Although Suzi took 8 points from the round, she was still trailing by 23-9 as she came out for the fourth. Gabi was clearly running out of steam and moved to finish the match by launching a blistering attack on the younger woman with her remaining energy. It was a risky strategy as she clearly couldn’t keep the pace up for more than a couple of minutes. As it was things came to an abrupt end mid-way through the fourth round when a left cross from the southpaw connected with Suzi’s jaw and she went down for a sixth and final time. At 53 Gabi had managed to beat two women more than 10 years her junior to secure fifth place over all but one look at her as she stood in the centre of the ring for the announcement told you that victory had come at a high price and it would take a while for her to recover.

Ellen was nervous as she climbed into the ring to face Nancy. It was make or break time and she had a real sense that her luck might be about to run out as Jay made the announcements:

“In the red corner, aged 50, standing 5 feet 5 inches tall, measuring 38B-28-39 and weighing 145lbs, Nancy Holder!”

Nancy slipped off her robe to reveal her curvaceous but solid figure. At 50 she was both still attractive and clearly fighting fit.

“And in the blue corner, aged 47, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, measuring 38C-29-42 and weighing 155lbs, Ellen Shaw!”

Ellen had the height and weight advantage, as well as being three years younger, but Nancy was more experienced and her victory over Suzi showed that age and size counted for very little where she was concerned.

The bell sounded for round one and the girls advanced on each other. They spent much of the first round feeling each other out with long jabs, keeping their distance but in the last minute of the round Nancy upped the pace and Ellen was forced onto the back foot. Ellen suddenly found herself retreating and defending herself around the ring. With a few seconds remaining Nancy trapped her in a corner but the bell went before the referee could intervene. Ellen was grateful for the break but, although she avoided a standing count, the judges awarded the round to the red head by 4 points to 2 and she came out for the second round trailing by two points.

Initially the pair traded blows fairly evenly but one minute into the round it looked like things could be over. A right hook from Nancy connected with Ellen’s jaw and she went down hard on her back, apparently out cold. After a tense few seconds Ellen rolled over, shook the cobwebs out and got slowly to her feet as the count reached 9. She recovered her poise and things settled down. Although she managed to hold the red head off for the rest of the round, Ellen failed to make any headway herself and Nancy extended her lead to 10 points to 4 after two rounds.

Early in the third round Ellen was in trouble again as she was backed into a corner and took a standing count of 8 but when the action resumed, she went on the offensive and was rewarded when a hay making left hook connected with Nancy’s temple and put the red head down for a count of 9. Nancy was clearly groggy following the knock down but, although she dominated the rest of the round, Ellen was unable to knock her down again and at the mid-way point in the fight the red head was still leading by 13 points to 10.

The pair still seemed to be evenly matched in the fourth round but both were tiring and the fighting began to get a bit ragged as the round wore on. One minute into the round Nancy’s right hook found its mark again and Ellen went down for another 9 count. A minute late Ellen returned the compliment when a straight right to the jaw put the red head on the deck for a second time. Towards the end of the round the exhausted pair locked up in a clinch. Unable to decide who initiated the move, Jay separated the pair and awarded a standing count of 9 to both fighters. The round ended without further incident. Both women looked exhausted and were clearly grateful when the bell sounded for the end of the round.

It was no surprise that the judges awarded the round evenly with 6 points going to each fighter. Ellen was still trailing by 3 points and the pace was starting to tell.

“I don’t think I can last another two rounds.” She confided to Erica during the break.

Erica replied: “She’s just as tired as you are. Use your reach and put her down. Let’s finish it in this round!”

The bell sounded for round 5 and a determined Ellen went out on the attack but she was pulled up short and forced into a clinch by a flurry of punches from the red head. This time Jay was in no doubt who initiated the clinch. It was Ellen who took the count and Nancy who got the point. When the fight resumed Ellen followed her trainer’s advice, standing back from the smaller woman and using her long jab to frustrate Nancy’s efforts to attack her. After a minute of this Nancy was getting annoyed and ducked under Ellen’s jabbing right launching a right of her own which caught Ellen under the left breast. Ellen doubled up but as she did so she launched a right upper cut which connected squarely with Nancy’s jaw. Nancy sat down hard on her backside with a vacant look on her face before collapsing onto her back. Ellen retreated to a neutral corner as Jay bent over Nancy and started to count but she needn’t have bothered. At 6 the redhead pushed herself up onto her elbows but the dazed look stayed in her eyes and she made no attempt to get up as the count reached 10. Ellen had finished in style, taking third place in the tournament with a knockout!

After a few more seconds Nancy got to her feet and, after a brief rest in their corners, Jay called both fighters to the centre of the ring and announced: “Ladies and gentlemen. After one minute and forty seconds of round five. Your winner, by a knockout, Ellen!”

Against the odds, the rookie boxer had finished third overall and would pocket the £500 prize.

Jay raised Ellen’s arm and she drank in the applause before announcing: “And your gallant loser, Nancy!”

As Jay raised her arm, Nancy turned to Ellen and said: “You got lucky this time. How about a rematch?”

Ellen didn’t respond but the seed was planted in her mind as she returned to her corner and prepared to leave the ring to watch Lorraine and Emma battle it out for the title.

I won’t reveal the winner of the final as I might post it another time. Suffice to say it was a great fight, it went the distance and the best woman won.