CH TROIAN BELLISARIO VS DAISY RIDLEY
FCBA Bantamweight Title
Results: Lookout Writing: Archer
Troian: 31 YO, 5’7 (1.70 m), 19-15-0 since 2011, Pretty Little Punchers
Daisy: 24 YO, 5’7 (1.70), 8-0-0 since 2016, 2015, Alpha Boxing Club

Before: At the pre-fight press conference, challenger Daisy Ridley smiles nervously at the podium: “I hope you all don’t mind. I’m trying very hard not to feel intimidated, but here I am, I haven’t even had 10 fights and yet I am fighting for the Bantam Title. It rather takes your breath away when you think about too long—so I try not to—so far it’s not working very well.” (She smiles and a chuckle goes through the crowd). “Seriously, I recognize this is a great honour for me and it is one that I honestly feel I deserve. I have won 8 straight fights including wins over former bantam champions Eliza Dushku and Rachel McAdams. I think that would make anyone a serious contender and so it is not entirely a surprise to be here. I do recognize that Troian has much more hard-earned experience and I will have to the best I can be in order to defeat her. I promise my fans that I mean to do just that—to give this everything I have and seek to win the title belt. I must also thank Troian for giving me this opportunity. No matter how it turns out, I appreciate her giving me the title shot. It means a great deal to a young fighter to be given much respect. Thank you.”

Troian smiles gravely and nods at this, She then goes to the podium: “Let me say that I selected Daisy for my first defense because I believe her to be the hottest contender in the bantam division. She has fought her way to that position and I have to admit a certain amount of envy. I wish I could have won my first 8 fights in a row, but mine was a harder path. I don’t say that to put Daisy down. She won all 8 of her fights fair and square, but you do learn lessons from losses. It is my hope to teach Daisy the value of losing—though she may not appreciate that very much at the time. (She smiles. Daisy gives her smile back, but adds: “I would much prefer to teach you the lesson, Troian.”). “Well,” Troian says, “I guess we shall see who has the educational experience and who wears the title belt. In any case. I expecting to hold up my end of what should be a great title fight!”

“I shall, too!” Daisy calls out cheerfully and laughter again ripples through the crowd.

For fight night, Troian has selected a elegant white one piece with a thin black belt around the waist. She wears black gloves and boots with white laces. Her hair is pulled back and secured by a white ribbon. Daisy has gone with a black one piece with a thin white belt around the waist. She is wearing white gloves and boots with black laces. Her hair is pulled back with a white ribbon securing it. Fighters are poker-faced, but they move in place with a certain nervousness as instructions are given. Quick touch of the gloves and the fighters are back in their corners. The bell rings!

R1: Daisy quickly becomes the aggressor, she moves around Troian and sends solid punches into the champion’s body. Troian seems to be studying her opponent, firing back counters and keeping busy, but otherwise letting Daisy do the attacking. Daisy pushes in closer and runs into Troian’s jab, but she quickly becomes evasive and Troian taking more and more shots to the body. Troian starting to get more aggressive late, but promptly gets smacked across the chops by a quick Daisy Ridley right sweeping in over the champ’s guard. Troian looks stung and falls back as Daisy continues the advance. Troian throwing up the jab but getting smacked hard to the belly under her defenses as Daisy keeps up pressure. Round ends in a wide win for the challenger. Daisy can’t help smiling. Troian frowning as she walks back to her corner, clearly not pleased with how the opening stanza went.

R2: Troian more aggressive this round, but Daisy showing some very good footwork for a rookie as she keeps the champ off-balance and disrupting her punches. Daisy working Troian’s belt line with regularity but then Troian has better luck landing her counters. Daisy now feeling the impact of Troian’s leather, but she doesn’t seem to be backing off. Both fighters pushing in and driving punches hard to each other’s torso. Daisy then finds a weak point in the Bellisario defenses and clips the champ hard to the chin with a lightning left uppercut. Troian knocked back on her heels, but steadies and uses jab to slow the challenger down. Daisy taking some solid shots to the breasts and sternum. Daisy slowing down some, but not back off. They remain fighting in close right to the bell. Referee has to step in when the fighters don’t seem to notice the bell. Troian and Daisy exchange determined looks and then march to their corners. Judges give the round to Daisy, but Troian made it much closer.

R3: Daisy now trying to seize the momentum, attacks Troian to the head as the round gets started and she does rock the champ for a few moments. However Troian fights back as Daisy tries to exploit her opening surprise and the punches are flying in great sheets of leather. Remarkably, most of these punches are landing so that both fighters are absorbing a good deal of punishment. Troian is scoring against Daisy’s head as the challenger is pounding away at the champion’s body. Daisy finally able to crouch down enough to make Troian’s head hunting unproductive, but the champ finds plenty to hit on Daisy’s body. Daisy not willing to give an inch as she and Troian just fire away as the minutes tick away. Bell rings and again the referee has to jump in. Fighters again in a brief staredown. Daisy looking woozy, though still determined. Troian more poker faced, but seems to be trying a bit too hard as she walks back to her stool.

R4: Daisy seems a bit slow coming off her stool this round, It looks like she’s still feeling those head shots from the previous round. Troian moving in fast goes straight to the Ridley gut with hard driving hooks and then smacks Daisy’s breasts around. Daisy is hunched up and trying to present as small a target as possible, but Troian forcing her way in with overhand rights and lefts that smack hard into Daisy’s forehead even as her noggin is swatted with rights and lefts. Daisy not really fighting back as she allows herself to get backed into the ropes. Daisy now with a seat on the ropes as Troian is blazing away. Daisy shuddering under the avalanche of leather but seems to be using the ropes to keep herself up. Just goes on and on. Troian looking winded as the round ends and she backs off. Daisy peels herself off the strands and makes her shaky way back to her stool. Troian watching with a mixture of frustration and wonderment that the rookie is still standing after all she threw at her. Judges give the round to the champ in a shutout.

R5: Daisy comes out cautiously, guard up around her head as Troian comes in her. Troian circling, reversing course, keeping Daisy confused, but keeping a steady series of quick, hard strikes to Daisy’s body. Daisy not taking the bait, she keeps her high guard intact and allows Troian to strike at her body. However, about halfway through the round, Daisy suddenly puts her jab to work and smacks a startled Troian hard to the face. Troian more careful now, especially when Daisy’s seems to be getting less confused by her footwork. Troian then just moves in and hooks hard to the challenger’s body. Daisy using the jab to make Troian pay for her aggression with reddening lumps on her face, but the champion not retreating. Daisy backing away rather than continue close-in slugfest and Troian ends up finishing the round pursuing an increasingly elusive quarry. None the less the round goes to Troian wide.

R6: CUE THE DAISY RIDLEY COMEBACK! Just when it looked like Troian Bellisario was going to dominate the rest of the way in this fight, she gets a rude awakening from Daisy. Troian quickj across the ring to get back to hammering Daisy, but as she comes in, Daisy’s offensive skills suddenly come back to life! Vicious left hook sinks deep into Troian’s double sending the upper half of her torso bending forward! Daisy then blasts a right/left combination into both sides of Troian’s jaw AND THE CHAMP IS DOWN! Troian’s knees buckled and she crashes forward as Daisy skips back out of the way. Troian curled up on her side! Crowd is going wild at this sudden reversal of fortune! Daisy in neutral corner looking at Troian rolls to all fours and then with agonizing slowness (or so it seems to watchers) rises to break the count at “NINE!...” Troian trying to pull herself together as Daisy charges back in. She seems to be fighting on sheer instinct as she uses her jab to try to keep Daisy back. Daisy clearly anxious to finish the champ off, ends up eating a lot more Bellisario jab than she needed to and finally pulls back to regroup herself after taking some hard shots to the mouth, nose and eyes. Troian just trying to keep on her feet and remains defensive as Daisy;s follow up seems to be lose steam. Round ends with no doubt that Daisy has turned this fight around for herself. Daisy gives a shell-shocked looking Troian a grimly satisfied smile before turning away.

R7: PLP corner working hard on their shaken fighter during break and Troian does seem to come off her stool with a firmer step than might have been expected. Daisy doesn’t seem to have been expecting it as she walks to into a fierce counterattack from the champ. Troian striking hard at Daisy’s face, putting fresh lumps on it, but then going to the abs when Daisy gets her guard up to cover her head. Troian maintaining pressure, but then Daisy seems to rally and she is striking back with hard hitting body counterpunching of her own. Sound of leather on wet, straining bodies can be clearly heard at ringside despite the roar of the excited crowds. Daisy seems to be slowly pushing Troian back, but Troian digs in with hard grinding gut shots that bring Daisy up on her toes. Daisy drops back behind her jab. Troian not pursuing too closely, but she keeps a narrow edge to the bell to win a close round. At the break, Daisy looks at Troian with some wonderment that she came back, while Troian gives her the grim smile of satisfaction, Then they quietly turn away and go to their corners.

R8: Daisy trying to strike back as the round gets going and she tries to plow right through Troian’s defense, but the champion just knocks her back with solid jabbing. Daisy getting he face smacked up again and she is bleeding from a cut on her lip and a trickle of crimson from one nostril. Troian then goes back to the challenger’s body with sustained hooking that is sending tremors down Daisy’s legs. Daisy conducts a fighting retreat as she backs out of there, but Troian not allowing her any recovery time. Troi seems intent in getting Daisy on the ropes, but the challenger is able to keep away from them. Daisy fighting resolutely to the bell, but those body shots are draining her and she looks rubbery legged trying to get back to her stool. Round goes to Troian wide.

R9: Daisy fighting a defensive action as Troian starts the round off with some right and lefts swings at the challengers head. Daisy ducking down by her gloves, but then Troian just swings down for a fresh shelling of Daisy’s midsection. Daisy soon is shuddering under these shits to her stomach, ribs and breasts. She tries to jab Troian back, but the champ is sensing blood and throws everything she has into a final flurry hooks body hooks. DAISY RIDLEY GOES DOWN! Not so much one punch as the accumulation of all those body punches. Daisy falls to her knees, her arms wrapped around her battered midsection and rocking slightly from side to side as she tries to make the hurt go away. Troian back to neutral corner as the referee moves in for the count. Daisy, her face contorted with pain and grief, just cannot make her agonized body obey her brain’s desperate commands. Finally, she gives up, hangs her head and lets the count go to “TEN!... YOU’RE OUT!”

The Winner and STILL FCBA Bantamweight Champion: Troian Bellisario.

After: “I came back and she couldn’t, that was the difference,” a quiet Troian Bellisario says after the fight. “I knew she would give me a tough fight, but she was still a lot tougher than I expected. That knockdown in the 6th was a real wake-up call. I was hurting, but not as much as she thought and that helped me to pull it out. She’s a darned good fighter and she’s only going to get better. I am just glad I met her now and not later.”

Troian had shown her respect for Daisy by going to her corner and giving the battered challenger a sincere hug. Daisy rueful in her comments to the press.

“I do appreciate it that she gave me a hug and not a Walk of Shame or worse,” Daisy tells press, “but I have discovered that I do not like losing. It is painful and it is discouraging. Troian did say she meant to teach me a lesson—that she did—and it is this: Don’t Lose! So I may not always be able to win, but you may be assured I intend to make the experience as rare as possible as my career goes forward.”

Excellent back and forth fight. Troian had shown the ability to come back from a bad round when she took the title from Shay Mitchell. Once again, that ability saved the day for her and allowed her to keep the belt. The lesson for future opponents may be simple: never give Troian a second chance. (We’ll see how true that is as her title reign continues). As for Daisy Ridley, no shame in this loss, she got the champ down, but couldn’t finish the job. That’s always a hard lesson to learn, but we think Ms. Ridley will take it to heart and future opponents had best beware. In the meantime, fans can savor the replays of a fine bantam title bout.