Emily VanCamp vs. Kaya Scodelario (Unified Bantamweight Championship)
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

A pair of tacticians meeting up for the bantamweight straps. Both champion VanCamp and challenger Scodelario have shown they can box and do so very well, indeed, and brunette beauty Kaya shows plenty of respect in the run up. "Look, she's had the belts three times for a reason. She's very, very good, and she has a lot more experience, especially in the FCBA, than I have. But. I've proven again and again that I belong among the elite bantams in the FCBA, and I'll prove it again tonight."

For her part, Emily a bit less respectful. "I mean, yeah, she can fight, or she wouldn't be here. But, the thing is, when you come down to it, her accent might be a little different, but she's just another brunette who's not good enough to beat me."

ROUND ONE:

No surprise it's recon early. Kaya likes to use her length, get the left jab on, box at range. Emily more comfortable at middle distances. And, as both girls are plenty talented and working at cross purposes, nobody gets what she wants. Instead, we get tactical work with both fighters probing defenses and looking for clues that might give them an idea about how their respective opponent plants to approach this thing. Result is a lot of movement and a lot of jabs, but not many power punches, as neither fighter looks willing to commit early. But, again, that's not to say there isn't much action, because there's plenty. Leather's thrown, and, while some is picked off and some is slipped, some lands and both blonde and brunette ring the scoreboard consistently, so that, when the bell rings, it's close, but it's Kaya, who grabs the 10-9 edge.

ROUND TWO:

Kaya gets in rhythm. Brunette begins to get the geometry the way she wants it, and she plays it perfectly when she does. She's keeping the blonde at arm's length, working the feet, frustrating the champ's attempts to get to the middle distances she likes. Instead, it's Kaya and that left jab calling the tune. She's using it to control Emily and control the pace. And, when she's got VanCamp where she wants her, she begins dropping in the right hands. By mid-round, Scodelario's in complete control, putting punches together, throwing Emily to the defensive, and making her cover up again and again. In the final thirty seconds, VanCamp's getting backed up by hard shot, and the Brit's upping the pace of her attack, piling points upon points right to the bell. When it rings, Kaya's grabbed the round wide, and she's extended her lead to 20-18.

ROUND THREE:

If you understand metrics, you understand the tremendous difference in decision win percentage that results when a fighter who's won the first two rounds of a ten round fight also wins the third. The jump in percentage, obviously, is caused by the simple mathematics at work. Lose the third round after winning the first two and you have a narrow one-point lead with seventy percent of the fight remaining. Win the third round and you're up three points with seven rounds to go, meaning, absent a two-point round, your opponent must win five of the last seven just to break even. Thus, with Scodelario winning the first two rounds of this bout, the third loomed as being very, very important, and, while both fighters were desperate to gain the points, nothing the blonde could do could slow down the brunette. Kaya started the round jabbing and playing angles, just like in the second, and finished it exactly the same way. The champion's efforts to close were frustrated, as were her efforts to get any kind of offense going. Instead, the challenger was even more dominant in the third than she had been in the second, completely controlling VanCamp for three solid minutes to pitch a huge shutout and stretch her lead to 30-27.

ROUND FOUR:

Plenty of talking in the blonde's corner between rounds as the situation is beginning to get, if not desperate, at least ugly. Result is a more aggressive VanCamp. She's walking through Kaya's jab, suffering the slings and arrows of her follow-on rights, all in the service of getting to spots the blonde likes and getting some leather on. It works. To a point. The challenger isn't controlling things now. She's no longer able to simply box from range and maintain distance despite VanCamp's efforts. Instead, it becomes a round of turnabout, in which Scodelario scores as Emily moves forward and VanCamp scores when she's at middle distances. And, as both fighters are getting some but not all of what they want, the result is a close round, like the first, and not the blowouts we saw in the second and third. The fourth, though, is even closer than the first, in fact, it's too close to call. It's ruled a draw, making the score 40-37 and the champion's decision win percentage even smaller, as she now has one fewer round in which to make up Kaya's three-point advantage.

ROUND FIVE:

Same again. VanCamp has to take some chances now to try to get this thing turned around. She's got to take one to give one, or, at least, take SOME to give SOME. For her part, Kaya can be a little more circumspect, a little more careful. But, the Brit is no dummy. She's well aware that this is a title fight and there's plenty of time left for the champion. She's not about to sit on anything. So, we get a replay of round four, with VanCamp walking forward, taking those jabs and hard right hands to get to middle distances and then getting off with solid shot of her own. There are more power punches landed in this round than in any of the previous four, but, both bantams take them well. Nobody's hurt, and, like in the fifth, things are very even from the first second to the last at the bell, though, it's no draw. It's close, but it's VanCamp, who cuts Scodelario's lead to 49-47.

ROUND SIX:

Same again. EVC has found something that works, at least to a point, and she's sticking with it despite the obvious dangers. The challenger, meanwhile, has found an antidote of sorts, and she's sticking with that. It's a risky strategy for the champion, but it's the only card she has to play, so she continues playing it, over and over again until. BOOM! Another power punch lands, and, for the first time all night, a pair of legs wobble and Scodelario nearly goes down. It's a short right hook from the blonde that does the damage, and, as Kaya covers up, Emily goes all in. Here's the opportunity to turn things around, and the champ throws in all the reserves in an effort to do so. She backs the wobbly brunette into the ropes and proceeds to give her a thorough thrashing for a minute and a half until, mercifully for Kaya, the bell rings, bringing the sixth to an end. It's Emily wide, but the challenger's not only still standing, she still leads 58-57.

ROUND SEVEN:

VanCamp pushing for the finish now. Scodelario still clearly lacking legs and the blonde now able to bring her to battle without taking all the shell she had to wade through in the previous three rounds. Kaya keeping the guard up, countering in spots, but mainly playing defense as EVC looks for the 'off' switch...looks, but does not find. Scodelario clever defensively, rolling with punches, slipping others, staying off the ropes, despite Emily's efforts to force her there. Brunette playing for time and doing so very, very well. BOOM! There's that short right hook again and Kaya's STEPPIN' IN FENCE POST HOLES! Emily smelling the blood in the water lets the hands go and DOWN GOES KAYA! Another hook, this time a left, sends Scodelario crashing to her left side. Emily quickly to a neutral corner as the referee counts. Kaya struggling feebly to rise, but can't come close to doing so. She's still trying to get off the canvas when the count passes her by. It's OVER! And your winner by KO7 in comeback fashion and STILL Unified Bantamweight Champion is Emily VanCamp!

AFTER:

Emily all smiles in the post. "Just a matter of time," she says with a grin. "She got a few rounds early, tried some stuff to slow me down, but, sooner or later, I was getting her. Like I said, her accent is different, but she's just like all these American and Canadian brunettes, not good enough to beat me."