Ashley Tisdale vs. Kristin Kreuk
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

A pair of veterans and former flyweight champions who've traveled much different roads over much of the last decade. Ashley is on her third stable since 2008, and that doesn't include two runs totaling four years as an indie. Krissy, meanwhile, always seems to be on the edge of being pushed out the door in crackerland, but, she's been at HISC for nearly nine years. And, as you might imagine, two fighters who've shared a division for a decade have a little history. But, not a ton of it. Just two fights. The first, in 2008, Ashley's second time in an FCBA ring, saw Tisdale stopped in two rounds. Over four years later, Tisdale got her revenge with a tenth round TKO. And, it's clear that, on this evening, both fighters remember those bouts and the 2012 Kreuk ambush on Tisdale preceding the latter, very well.

"I got her back that night," says Ashley. "For everything she did to me. But, dumb girls like Krissy don't learn easily. That's OK, though. I'm more than happy to teach her the HARD way."

"She got LUCKY," says Kreuk, with a shake of the head. "I had her. I was all up in her head, and she got lucky. Well. Tonight. Her luck has run out."

ROUND ONE:

Tisdale aggressive early. She wants to crowd Krissy, bang with her, get physical. Kreuk not going to play that game. Kristin nothing if not a slick boxer, and those are the terms she wants to fight on. Unfortunately, Ashley's just as determined as she is to enforce terms to her own liking. Result is a back-and-forth, two-way round where both fighters get some of what they want, but neither gets enough for her own liking. There are times when Kreuk's able to create space, jab, work the follow on right hands, score points boxing. There are other times when Tisdale is all up in her grill banging away to both head and body. Each fighter, of course, has the better of things when she's getting what she wants, so neither is able to build up any kind of lead or any kind of momentum. It's almost dead even going into the final 30 seconds, when Tisdale manages to get Krissy on the ropes and work her over pretty well for about 20 seconds. Kreuk escapes, gets back to boxing, but that's enough to put the blonde over the top. Tisdale claims the round close and leads 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

More aggression from Tisdale early. She's able to close on Kreuk now, get where she wants to, get physical. Krissy, getting squared up, backed up, forced into a strict counter-puncher role. Kreuk able to score some that way, but Ashley's work rate is such that she's spending too much time covering up and not enough punching. Then, things get worse. A short right hook from the blonde and KRISSY'S HURT! Kreuk's knees to a shimmy and now Tisdale's all in! Ashley hammering away with both hands, driving Kreuk to the ropes and then absolutely ABUSING her body. Ashley almost ignoring the head as she works to break down Kreuk with shots to the midsection and ribs. And, remembering that first fight, a couple to the kidneys as well. Those earn her a warning from the referee and some gasps from her brunette rival. In the final seconds of the round, Kreuk's hanging on, figuratively and literally, taking hard shot to the body and short hooks and uppies to the head. But, Ashley can't finish, and, at the bell, Kristin's still standing, but down 20-18.

ROUND THREE:

And, here's a demonstration about why Kristin Kreuk is Kristin Kreuk. She's far from the most physically gifted flyweight, far from the strongest, far from the hardest-hitting. But, the brunette knows how to fight. And, she knows how to fight when she's in trouble. Tisdale's after her from the outset. Kreuk gives ground, goes to the ropes, plays defense and punches on the counter. Ashley has the better of things for awhile, but she's not cleaning up or even following up. Krissy feels more confident in the legs about half way through, gets to open canvas, and stays on the counter. Kreuk's picking off punches, slipping others, landing solid shot in return. Ashley getting a bit too aggressive and the brunette making her pay each and every time she does so. In the final minute, Kreuk's gaining ground, and, eventually, right before the bell, she passes Tisdale to grab the round close and cut her deficit to 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Tisdale hears it in the corner, so she slows down a bit. She's still pressuring, getting in Kristin's face, but, she's sounder now, not trying to force anything. For her part, Kristin stays on the counter. It's not broken, so she's not going to fix it. She's holding her own despite Tisdale's pressure, landing sharp retorts as Ashley fights lead. Then, Kristin fixes it. All at once. She puts together a nasty flurry that gets Ashley's attention and forces her to cover up, before landing a perfectly-timed three-punch combination that staggers Tisdale! Ashley's hurt and now it's Krissy who's all in. That cruel streak on full display now, as Kreuk works Ashley over, drives her back to the ropes, and gives her a beating for the remainder of the round. Tisdale keeps the guard high, so Kreuk works body, then back to the head, looking to finish but unable to do so. At the bell, though, Kristin's in control. She's won the round wide and evened the fight at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Tisdale still looking buzzed as the fifth gets underway, and, let's just say Kruel Krissy's noticed. Kreuk's after the blonde in a big way, body, head, body, buzzing around her like a swarm of bees, sending in fire from all angles, forcing Ashley to back and cover again and again. Kreuk's moving the feet, angling, showing all her skills and experience, all in the service of finding holes and filling them with leather. About 45 seconds in, a blistering right hand from Kreuk wobbles Tisdale again. Ashley nearly goes down, but somehow stays on her feet. Not for long. Kreuk lets loose a barrage of punches and DOWN GOES ASHLEY, collapsing face first to the canvas, not from any one blow but from the accumulated damage of about fifteen that have landed solidly over the last 15 seconds or so. Kreuk skips away to a neutral corner and waits, smiling, as Ashley struggles to her hands and knees, but can get no further. She's still on all fours shaking her head when the count passes her by. It's over! And your winner by KO5 is Kristin Kreuk!

AFTER:

Plenty of folks from both Queens of the Mic and HISC in the ring quickly, the former to make sure that no liberties are taken, the latter to show force. Security's at the ready, but cooler heads prevail and eventually Ashley leaves the ring cordoned by her stablemates while Krissy does the post-fight. "She's lucky," says the cruel one, "That there's so much security down there. Because, her girls weren't going to be able to protect her. If we'd wanted to get to her, we'd have gotten to her. But, that's OK. Because I DID get to her in the ring. I hurt her and I finished her just like I said I would. She pushed her luck fighting me again. And, it ran out."