Michelle Williams vs. Dove Cameron
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Plenty of contrast here, with 21-year-old Dove, who has fewer than a dozen FCBA fights under her belt, stepping up to a girl who's had a dozen TITLE REIGNS in Hall of Famer Michelle Williams. But, if Dove is intimidated, she's not showing it in the pre-fight. "Obviously," says the blonde beauty, ""She's one of the best of all time. But. I'm pretty good, too. And, what better way for me to show that to everyone than by beating Michelle Williams?"

"You know," says Michelle shaking her head. "These kids. They just keep trying me. And, they all end up the same way. In a puddle at my feet. What makes this girl think she'll be any different?"

ROUND ONE:

Dove thinks she's going to be different, and, it doesn't take her long to start making the crowd wonder if she's right about that. The younger blonde comes out bouncing and jabbing, but, when Mishy begins stalking, trying to cut the ring, Cameron pounces, putting together quick, sharp flurries that force the Hall of Famer to cover up. And, with Williams stopped, Cameron bounces away, forcing Mishy to stalk her again. And, the results are the same. Cameron pouncing forward and letting the hands go, throwing Mishy onto the defensive with good, accurate fire before bouncing away once again. The whole round goes like this. Michelle can't get anything going. She's getting preempted, touched up, out worked, out quicked and out fought. All the way to the bell. It's Dove wide in the first, and the younger blonde takes the early 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

More of the same. All Dove all the time. And, folks in the crowd as well as those in the press box are beginning to exchange glances. What's going on here? Is this girl too quick for Mishy? Is this the fight where we see that the now 37-year-old Williams' reflexes simply aren't good enough to compete in this division anymore? Because Dove is romping once again. Everything she's doing is working and nothing Michelle is trying is. Williams can't get off, because Cameron is beating her to the punch. Not some of the time. All the time. Williams isn't hurt, mind, but she's clearly getting frustrated. She can't get any leather on this girl. Meanwhile, Dove's getting a whole herd of cows worth of leather onto Michelle, both body and head, though mostly the head. Final few seconds of the round see Cameron just legging away from a slowly boiling Mishy, a second consecutive wide round and a 20-18 lead in her pocket.

ROUND THREE:

The thing about Hall of Famers is, they're pretty good at adjusting, because, when you've won over 130 fights like Michelle Williams has, you've had to MAKE a few adjustments. And, Michelle makes one in the third. She stops stalking. Instead, she sets up in the center of the ring and forces Dove to come to her. Cameron does so, circling, pouncing, firing off quick flurries. But, now, Michelle's in position to respond in kind. Result is some of the best two-way exchanges of the fight. NOW Williams is getting off, landing hard, accurate stuff, able to make use of all that awesome boxing skill she possesses. But. Cameron's speed and work rate continue to work for her. She's not dominating now, but she's still scoring. She may not be out-boxing Williams, but she's staying with her, even on these new terms. At the bell, it's close, but it's Michelle, and it's now 29-28 after three.

ROUND FOUR:

More two-way action to start the fourth. Both fighters able to get leather home on these new terms. Neither one controlling the fight, but neither getting thrown over to the defensive, either. BOOM! A NASTY short right hand from Mishy changes everything. It's an absolutely perfectly laid punch at the end of a perfectly laid trap. Mishy takes a step BACK just as Dove is bouncing forward, creating the geometry she needs to absolutely BLAST the younger woman with a clean right hand. Cameron freezes, wobbles, nearly goes down. And spends the remainder of the round sincerely wishing she'd done so. All that early frustration Williams was feeling? Now being taken out on Cameron. Michelle is absolutely clinical in battering the smaller blonde around the ring, piling up as many points and as much punishment as possible. By the end of the round, Cameron's on the ropes taking nasty body shots and begging for the bell. When it comes, Mishy's won it wide and evened the fight at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

A wounded Dove is now thrown on the tender mercies of Michelle Williams. Now, go ahead and read that last sentence again. "The tender mercies of Michelle Williams". Guess how that goes? Mishy is both clinical and brutal. She's after Cameron from the opening seconds, backing her up with hard shots to the head and digging nasty leather into her body. Dove game. She's hanging on, firing back in spots, but taking a beating from the Hall of Famer. Two minutes in, Mishy lands a brutal body shot that doubles the younger woman up, an expression of agony on her lovely face. And, then the tender mercies of Michelle Williams are on full display. She digs two more shots into her rival's body, before using a vicious right uppercut to swivel her head and send her puddling to the canvas. Michelle takes a few seconds to stare down at her handiwork before walking slowly to a neutral corner. She has all the time in the world. Dove is out and it's OVER. And your winner by KO5 is Michelle Williams.

AFTER:

"She can box a little," Michelle admits. "Give her a few more years, and she might be a good fighter. She's never going to be in MY class, of course, but, she might get to where she can beat most of the rest of these brats coming up. She can be THAT good, anyway."