slugfest

1. (baseball, slang) A baseball game in which many runs are scored, especially by home runs.Examples: "The game turned into a 15-9 slugfest."; "In a World Series that has come to be defined by the unpredictable and unexpected, it was only fitting that one night, after a lights-out pitchers’ duel between the heretofore unremarkable Alex Wood and Charlie Morton, a slugfest would unfold that sent the Cy Young Award winners Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel to early exits."slang

2. (sports, slang) A game or match in which heavy blows are exchanged.Examples: "The championship bout was a slugfest; both boxers were bloodied."; "But while Roger Federer and Serena Williams were bludgeoning their opponents off the main court in a combined 126 minutes, the fans looking for a fantastic match stuffed into Armstrong Stadium next door to watch a mesmerizing slugfest between seventh-seeded Gaël Monfils of France and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain."; "Nadal is supposedly the alpha male in any slugfest. But Rosol's forehand shots were being sent towards the Majorcan at 93mph plus, and his was the fastest serve at 134mph."slang

3. (sports or figurative, slang) A tough, heated contest.Examples: "Lakers win slugfest over Clippers"; "There isn’t much reason to be optimistic about thoughtful dialogue in this general election. Both sides are girded for a negative, no-holds-barred slugfest."; "The race descended into a brutal slugfest as the leading candidates, the author-turned-venture capitalist J.D. Vance, the former state treasurer Josh Mandel and a self-funded businessman, Mike Gibbons, entered the final weekend before Tuesday’s primaries accusing one another of being insufficiently right-wing or disloyal to the man in Mar-a-Lago."figurativelyslang