Vanessa Hudgens vs. Alicia Vikander
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

"You know," says 'Nessa with a smirk, "Vikander really ought to pick on someone her own size. She's a bantam, and all she wants to do is come after smaller girls. Well. This time, she's picked on the WRONG smaller girl."

"Vanessa is exactly the kind of girl I like to fight," says a hard-eyed Alicia. "She's full of herself and I can't wait to punch her in the face."

ROUND ONE:

No question this one is going to be about styles. Vikander likes to work forward behind the jab, square girls up, box them. But, that's not the way 'Nessa plans to play this. Hudgens loves to move, loves to use those legs to dance and circle. She works her own jab as she does so, popping it out to create the distance she wants. Then, when she's ready, she stops and fires off a quick flurry, powdering Alicia's face and scoring points and getting back on her bicycle before Vikander can counter. It's a winning strategy, at least in the first stanza. Alicia can't get anything going offensively, while Vanessa roams the ring unfettered, picking her spots and scoring heavily when she gets to them. Hudgens is in rhythm early, and that's bad news for her opponent, who, while not hurt, gets plenty touched up. At the bell, it's Hudgens wide to grab the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Vikander begins to get the hang of this. She's getting her timing down and cutting the ring, walking forward on the smaller Hudgens and walking her down. 'Nessa's spending too much time in front of Alicia, where the bigger woman can bring her size and power to bear. Results are predictable. Hudgens gets backed up and banged up, as the Swede gets rolling. Vikander was a solid boxer when she started in the FCBA, and she's done nothing but get better at that. She puts punches together well, gets the timing and distance down perfectly, gets Hudgens in her cross-hairs, and starts firing the heavy artillery. Vanessa's game, firing back hard, but she's going to come out second-best in these kinds of exchanges. And, she does. For the entire round. And, when it ends, Vikander has taken the points wide and evened the fight at 19-19.

ROUND THREE:

Hudgens makes an adjustment. Now, she's giving ground as she circles, creating distance with both the jab AND her legs, and it works perfectly, because we're instantly back to where we were in the first round. Again, Vikander can't bring 'Nessa to heel, and, again, Hudgens is picking her spots and getting a load of points scored when she hits them. To her credit, the Swede is resolute. She keeps stalking the American, trying to bring her to battle, but it's not going to happen. Hudgens so quick, so athletic, so elusive. It's got to be frustrating for Alicia, but, she doesn't show it. She doesn't get sloppy. She doesn't chase. She just continues to stalk, working her feet, looking to slow Hudgens down any way she can. But, 'Nessa can't be slowed. At least in this round. At the bell, it's been almost all Hudgens, and she's won it wide to go back in the lead 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

'Nessa roaming free, stopping, popping, getting back on her horse. She's right back into that rhythm Alicia interrupted in the second. Vikander keeps working, continues trying to cut the ring, but she's having very little success. Then, she has some. Vanessa stops to pop and Vikander TIMES A RIGHT HAND AND 'NESSA'S HURT! Hudgens wobbles and Alicia lets the hands go and DOWN GOES VANESSA! Hudgens dropped to her knees by a solid flurry from the Swede. Vikander quickly to a neutral corner to wait and watch. Count reaches seven before Hudgens gets to her feet. Referee gives her the mandatory and then waives on Alicia. Vikander wastes no time getting after her rival, laying on a heavy field of fire that backs Hudgens to the ropes. Vanessa's taking a ton of big shots, but she's blocking some, rolling with others, jabbing back, doing enough to survive to the bell. But. It's Vikander 10-8 with the knockdown, and Alicia now leads 38-37.

ROUND FIVE:

Grim, grim stuff for Hudgens. She's still lacking her legs, still a bit woozy, and she's in against a bigger fighter with bantamweight power. But, you know, Vanessa is also a champion, and champions find ways to dig deep when things get ugly. And, dig deep she does. She can't stay off square, so she doesn't try. Instead, she moves the head and shoulders, keeps the hands high, blocks, rolls with, gives ground slowly, fires back hard. Now, Alicia's got the advantage, for sure, but 'Nessa's doing her best to limit it, and THAT she is most definitely doing. There's no clean up. No consolidation. Nothing of the sort. It's a hard-fought round and Vikander takes a punch for every one she gives. It's simply the weight of shot that gives Vikander the edge. When the bell rings, both fighters have taken plenty of punishment, but Alicia's taken the points and built a 48-46 lead at the half.

ROUND SIX:

Hudgens has the legs back now and she's back to movement. A LOT of movement. Hudgy still wants space, and she's getting it by using her wheels. She's dancin' and prancin', slippin' and dippin', running clock like the champion she is. Again, Vikander remains patient, hard as that is to do when she's, basically, playing Washington Generals to Vanessa's Globetrotters, being led around the ring while her opponent dances about. Only, Vanessa isn't clowning. She's deadly serious about buying herself some more time. And, that's exactly what she's able to accomplish, despite the best efforts of her rival. The down side is, 'Nessa's getting almost nothing done offensively. There are no stops and pops this stanza, just the jab and circle. Then again, Vikander isn't getting much done either, so, while there's plenty of movement in the round, there are very few scoring blows and absolutely nothing in it when the bell rings. It's dead even and that means Alicia continues to lead by two, 58-56.

ROUND SEVEN:

NOW Vanessa's back to stopping and popping. She's moving like she did in the early going and now confident enough in having shaken the damage to get back to work. Alicia again patiently stalks, looking to cut, and, when she can, she lets the hands go, using her weight of shot to get the better of the exchanges. But, in open canvas, it's the former champ who's spinning the scoreboard with quick jabs and lightning combinations. Then, about two minutes in, Vanessa stops and REALLY pops. She catches Vikander with a hard right hook and Alicia is HURT. And Hudgens is on her like a pride of lions on a wounded water buffalo! 'Nessa lets the hands go, hammering away with everything she has and DOWN GOES VIKANDER! Alicia dropped to her back. Vanessa prances to a neutral corner and watches as Vikander tries to shake it off and get back to her feet. She sits up at seven, rolls to hands and knees at eight...and collapses back to the mat! She can't beat the count. It's OVER! And your winner by KO7 is Vanessa Hudgens.

AFTER:

"I TOLD you," says a smiling 'Nessa in the post fight. "She picked the wrong smaller girl. I'm not just some flyweight, I'm the FITTEST flyweight in the FCBA and I can handle bantams, take them into deep water, wear them down, and finish them, just like I did Alicia. You know what? Maybe I'll even go after the bantamweight title if Emily ever gives it up. I can win it, you know. I can just see it now. Vanessa Hudgens, Fittest Flyweight and Unified Bantamweight Champion!"