Hailee Steinfeld vs. Emma Marrone
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE: 

It's blonde vs. brunette in this one, as rising American singer Hailee Steinfeld battles Italian chanteuse Emma Marrone in the latter's FCBA debut, and, neither fighter is exactly lacking in confidence.

"No," says Emma with a shake of the head, "I haven't fought in the FCBA yet. But, I've been in the ring plenty, with girls better and tougher than Hailee. I handled them, and I'll handle HER."

"So, she thinks she can 'handle' me," says Hailee with a smile. "Well, we'll just see how she 'handles' things once she gets punched in a face. A lot."

ROUND ONE:

Marrone aggressive early. She's after the younger woman immediately, working past Steinfeld's gloves and working her over on the inside, banging body and working off the hooks to the midsection and ribs to land hard shot to the head. Hailee taken aback by all of this. She's on the back foot and the blonde is intent on keeping her. Brunette being backed up, forced to cover up. She's taking a lot of leather, and she's not liking it at all. Emma, on the other hand, is liking it just fine. It's clear that, despite giving up size to her lightweight opponent, the blonde believes her path to victory involves getting physical, and that's exactly what she's getting. In a big way. In the late stages of the round, she's got Hailee against the ropes taking and she's also got the crowd into it. Steinfeld's never hurt, but she's definitely scuffed by the bell, and, with the blonde grabbing the round wide, she's also down 10-9. 

ROUND TWO:

Marrone changes tactics. Now, she's moving, circling, jabbing, being all "hard to find" while the brunette tries to get her left on and get some offense going. No dice. Instead, the Italian slips the left repeatedly, then hits her spots and gets off in combination, once again forcing the brunette to the defensive. Again, Steinfeld's spending too much time covering up as the blonde boxes lead. Hailee's corner not at all happy, shouting at the brunette to get off, let her hands go. But, the younger woman can't get it done. She's able to punch only in spots, and, though she does land a few sharp shots, she's not scoring enough to offset the offense the blonde's getting in. Instead, Emma's controlling things for the second consecutive round, leaving the brunette both uncomfortable and a step behind right to the bell. It's Marrone's round again, and the Italian now leads 20-18.

ROUND THREE:

More Marrone. She's angling beautifully, screwing up the geometry for the younger woman. Hailee can't get the range she wants, and she can't get her left hand on. As as a result, she's, for the third consecutive round, unable to get into rhythm or get much offense going. Meanwhile, Emma's patient, getting to spots, getting off quickly, scoring with both hands, forcing the brunette to the defensive. This is getting serious for Steinfeld. Again, she's not hurt, but she's flustered and frustrated and can't seem to get out of neutral. She's again getting out-scored, but the cards aren't the biggest problem. It's that the brunette's become tentative and can't seem to find any answers for what the blonde is doing. Marrone, for her part, is looking like something of a revelation. For a girl who's never had an FCBA fight, she's comfortable and effective. And, at the bell, she's also up 30-27.

ROUND FOUR:

Steinfeld's corner spends the minute between rounds trying to settle their girl down, get her head back in the fight. Doesn't seem to have worked. Again, it's Marrone dictating. Again, Hailee can't get off. She's short or she's late, but she's never on target. To her credit, the brunette keeps working, keeps trying to find Marrone. And, finally, she does. Off one of her few accurate jabs of the fight, the younger woman drops a hard right hand and EMMA IS HURT! Marrone staggers backward and is DROPPED by a follow on right hand! That quickly, the Italian is flat on her back as Hailee heads to a neutral corner. Steinfeld can only watch and hope as the referee counts, but the hopes are in vain. Marrone's on her feet at six and, after the mandatory, Hailee's waived forward. For the clean up. Steinfeld gets out plenty of frustrations in the remaining minute of the round, hammering away at a wobbly-legged Marrone. She can't finish the Italian, but she piles up plenty of punishment, and, with the 10-8 win in the round, cuts Emma's lead to 38-37.

ROUND FIVE:

Hailee keeps the pressure on. She's got an opportunity now, and she's not about to blow it. She's forward immediately behind her left, lining up the Emma with the jab and then PUNISHING her with hard right hands. Marrone's legs are nowhere near back, and Steinfeld's taking full advantage, sitting down on punches, piling up the hurt, looking for the finisher. Emma's made of tough stuff, though. She takes a licking and keeps on ticking. For a time. About half way through the round, however, the brunette lands a BOOMING right hand and DOWN GOES EMMA! For the second time in as many rounds, Marrone's blown to her back. Again, Hailee stands in a neutral corner watching and waiting. And, this time, she gets satisfaction. Emma manages to roll to her belly and push up to her hands and knees, but, she can get no further. She's still on all fours when the count passes her by. It's over. And your winner by KO5 is Hailee Steinfeld!

AFTER:

Not a great start for Hailee, but, the brunette hung in and found a way to bring her superior power to bear on the bantamweight. "She's better than I thought," Steinfeld admits in the post-fight. "I mean, like I said, she's not as good as I am, but, she's not bad at all. There are a lot of girls around here she can beat. Just not girls at my level is all."