Alicia Vikander vs. Cristina Scabbia
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Two European brunettes with identical FCBA records, 0-1. But, the similarities end there. Italian Cristina Scabbia is a BBU veteran, whereas Swede Alicia Vikander has only the one FCBA fight in any of the bigs. Both girls plenty confident coming in. "I know what she'll do," says Scabbia. "She'll try to get aggressive with me like she did against Dobrev. And, it won't work."

"I think she will try to stand in front of me," says Alicia with a nod. "And, if she does, she will be making a mistake."

ROUND ONE:

Both fighters are right. Vikander does, indeed, want to get physical with Scabbia. She's showing that straight up style she used against Dobrev, working the left jab and trying to walk forward behind it. Scabbia, giving up a couple of inches of height and reach, makes up for that with some slick angle work. She is, indeed, standing in front of Vikander, but she's not getting squared up doing it. Instead, she's moving the feet well, slipping punches, fouling the sights, and getting to spots where she can land nice flurries of her own. Alicia, meanwhile, unable to get the forward movement going, but she absolutely can get leather on in spots. Game of cat and mouse develops as the round goes on, with each fighter moving the head, shoulders, and feet, looking to slip and score on the counter. Both have some success doing it, and the round is nip and tuck all the way, with Vikander claiming the points narrowly to lead 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

Exhibition of boxing continues. Little adjustments being made by each fighter as the round goes on. It's all about getting to a spot and getting some leather on target, and, just like in the last round, more time is spent doing the pre-work than actually scoring with punches. Still, it's entertaining stuff for true boxing fans, because there's a lot of inside baseball going on here. And, in Vikander's case in particular, that's pretty impressive, considering her entire experience in the Majors prior to this evening amounted to fewer than 18 minutes. The phrases "cat and mouse" and "nip and tuck" again apply to what's going on in there. Neither fighter really gains an advantage at any time. Neither looks like getting control or pulling away to grab the round. Instead, it's dead close right to the bell for a second stanza in a row. This time, though, it's the Italian who claims the points, and, after two, we're even at 19.

ROUND THREE:

And, then someone DOES begin to take control, and it's Alicia. Vikander starts to find the range with that left jab, and everything gets to work from there. With the jab getting on target consistently, the Swede can come forward behind it, drop hard right hands onto Scabbia, and get her moving backward. And, that changes everything. Now Alicia begins to assert herself. She begins to get physical with Scabbia. And do so effectively. Cristina's not hurt, but she's getting backed up and touched up and, before long, she's covering up. She's thrown to the defensive and reduced to the odd counter. Vikander's getting in rhythm and working the older woman over in a big way. By the late stages of the round, the Italian is on the ropes taking heavy fire. Again, she's not hurt, but she's definitely taking a licking and she does so right to the bell. When it rings, Alicia has the round wide and she's back in the lead 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Scabbia adjusts. She does something counter-intuitive, and it works. What do you do with a girl who wants to come forward? Come forward yourself. Cristina begins stepping in, inside the jab of Alicia, closing distance and working body. And preventing the younger brunette from extending on the jab and forcing the Italian backward with follow on rights. Height now works to Cristina's advantage, as she's able to get lower pad level and cause all sorts of mischief inside. Vikander's quickly made grumpy by the nasty body work, but, to her credit, the Swede slowly adjusts. She begins working back in kind, hooking ribs, banging belly and grinding inside with the physical Italian. As much as Alicia is able to do so, however, Cristina's the one who's getting the better of things. Not by a huge margin, mind, but, she's doing so nonetheless. And, as a result, she claims the points and evens the fight again, this time at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Scabbia right back to stepping inside on Alicia. She's keeping the gloves high and the head tucked, slipping past the younger woman's guard, stopping any advances before they start. And, then, it's back to the grind. Back to thumping the body inside, working hooks and uppies, going upstairs just enough to keep the younger woman honest. Vikander a quick study, though. She's getting the hang of this stuff, holding her own in there, even though it's clear she'd much prefer different terms. But. As Mick Jagger once sang, "You can't always get what you want. But. If you try sometimes. You get what you NEED." RIGHT. HAND. ALICIA! It's a short hook, timed about as well as you can time one. It staggers Cristina, nearly sending her to the canvas. Scabbia stays upright, but Vikander is on her, sending her wobbling backward with a barrage of punches until, finally, the weight of all of it becomes too much and the Italian simply noses in at Alicia's feet! Vikander doesn't wait around to admire her handiwork. She's quickly to a neutral corner where she watches and waits as the count passes an unmoving Cristina by. It's over! And your winner by KO5 in maiden-breaking fashion is Alicia Vikander!

AFTER:

Vikander as excited as you'd expect a fighter who's just claimed her first FCBA win to be. "I KNEW she'd try to stand in front of me," Alicia says with a grin. "And, like I told you, bad decision. I knew if she did that, I'd get her. And, I GOT her. And, this is just the beginning for me. Ultimate knows what he's doing. He knows how to make champions. And, that's exactly what I'm going to be."