Lily Collins vs Isabela Moner (Flyweight Title)
Lily: (31, 5’5, 112, 34:11 FCBA, VIXENs)
Isabela: (19, 5’0, 11:3 FCBA, Global Boxing Syndicate)
BEFORE: "Who is this Moner-character? A year ago, absolutely no one heard of her. And now, she knocks out Lavigne in seven? Not saying that's a hard thing to do at all though," Lily laughs from the press table earlier on. "Frankly, Moner doesn't stand a chance against me tonight. She's had less time spent in the ring, frankly is just a bloody teenager for all intents and purposes, and let’s not forget is a full head shorter in height. Seriously, what's her deal??"
Isabela tries to remain calm from across the press table, the relative youngster still a bit nervous in her first ever title opportunity. Don't count the girl out just yet, however, as she quickly rallies when it's turn at the microphone:
"This seems to be Lily's practice, isn't it: pick girls who are on a hot streak and then challenge them before they pose too much of a threat to her reign," Isabela says with a smirk "Well, she picked the wrong damsel to dance with! Just ask Avril, Olivia and Lowndes - they KNOW I'm ready to beat her ass because I beat all of them, and I'll do it again!"
Ladies stand toe-to-toe and the champ has never looked more confident, towering a full five inches over her challenger tonight, whilst Moner struggles to maintain her cool at this glaring disadvantage. Isabela simply stares upwards, her fists poised steady at Collins' chest whilst the Vixen simply smirks back with both hands on her hips.
Fight night rolls round and Isabela strides down to the ring first, waving enthusiastically to both sides of the aisle. The sultry vixen is dressed in a wrapped around black bikini, her short hair bundled up high into a battle bun as she straps on red gloves. Collins enters the stadium next, looking focused and determined to not let her reign be a one-fight wonder. She climbs into the ring wearing a comfortable white sports bra, long grey tights for mobility. She touches blue gloves to Moner's red. Referee calls this title fight to order - both girls look locked and loaded in their corners as he lifts the Flyweight Title belt to the audience. HERE we go with ten rounds of Flyweight action!
ROUND 1: Close, action-packed round at the opening bell, both girls getting close and doing their thing, as soon as they’re out of corners letting fists fly in opposite directions. Lily of course playing into her jab early, landing plenty of effective shots into Isabela’s guard before the shorter woman can close the gap and retaliate. That height disadvantage is going to cost her this fight, we think, as Isabela just needs to do much more in order to land her own shots. But her youthful vigour might make up for the difference, however, as close the distance she does, quick leaping forward one-two-three followed by one-two-three jab flurries sent into Lily’s body and arms, shocking the champ back with her own rapid advance. Collins however quickly rallies, adjusts, moves back faster to create a bigger pocket, and by the end of the round, wins by a close margin from landing more punches overall to the challenger’s head.
ROUND 2: Moner not to be denied, however, quickly resumes the fast-paced action - she knows that she needs to get in close in order to punish Collins, and the first few rounds are exactly the time and space to do that, with her adrenaline pumping and body still brimming with energy. Collins gets rocked multiple times by the incoming comet, Isabela streaking inwards and battering shots to her belly and chest, with Collins instinctively going to guard her head but her immense height in this case making her body an effective punching bag for Moner, who takes any targets she can find this round. Collins is left gutted, her body lurching forward multiple times as the young spitfire bends her in half from gut-shots, the champ having to initiate the clinch at least twice in order to survive. Bad news for Lily in the long run if this is her future. For now, she manages to stay alive to the bell, with Moner’s corner beaming from a wide round for their girl.
ROUND 3: Lily’s still struggling to deal with the younger girl’s speed and power. She knows she can’t let Moner get close but there’s nothing to be done if your opponent’s hungrier and faster than you, not to mention a good ten years your junior. Lily weathers the assault in the first two minutes, arms locked and head bowed low, trying to decrease the surface area for possible targets. Moner’s content with bashing hooks into the Vixen’s side and arms - not as effective as full-on leather delivered to the sternum or chin, but she has to break down the champ’s resolve before she can get access to her vulnerable regions. Meanwhile, Collins is also moving like her life depends on it, keeps herself at range and delivers more jabs to the face than previous rounds, as she slowly takes hold of the narrative. Last minute sees Moner bleeding points, the youngster clearly tired of three rounds of chasing and suddenly has to contend with Lily’s fast flurries tagging her on the face.
ROUND 4: Lily’s back in control this way, capitalising on Moner’s out-of-breath status and hounding her repeatedly to the face. Moner left grunting as it’s her turn to take abuse, and it doesn’t help that the youngster’s still charging forward in more futile attempts to pin the champ down - Lily exploiting this, counter-attacking after jumping out of harm’s way of an incoming hook or weaving her head to the side to dodge a cross-hand from the challenger - Moner not realising she’s running out of juice and this makes her attacks slow and lumberous. Collins is controlling her effectively in the final minute, drilling the message home with a left-right-left delivered crisp to the face and drawing a loud gasp from Moner’s lips. Bell rings and Collins raises a hand in victory to the crowds, already in self-assured celebration.
ROUND 5: Lily’s confidence grows as she presses the attack in the fifth, Moner now an even easier target as the last few rounds throw her strategy into disarray - Moner like a babe lost in the woods as she keeps her distance, perhaps at the insistence of her corner to focus on defense, but this means Collins is able to pick her off from afar and at her own leisure, fast jabs slammed into her arms with occasional grunts from gloves sunk into the tummy, as Isabela flounders and fades, yet another wide cross delivered straight to the chin suddenly BLOWS her over and off her feet!! Collins scores the first KNOCKDOWN of the evening and makes it look effortless as Isabela hits the ground on her back, head bouncing off the canvas with a loud groan, the GBS starlet dazed and shocked from recent developments! Collins returns to the neutral corner with a satisfied nod - as far as she’s concerned, this match is over. But Moner has suffered worse, most definitely, already lifting her head and back off the ground, shaking the daze from her eyes as she slowly climbs back up by the count of 8. This fight continues!
ROUND 6: Collins circles in in the first minute, hoping to end things in dominant fashion. The Vixen resumes her battering of the arms, fists seeking Isabela’s face and chin as she gets in closer than normal. Isabela needs to adjust her tactics soon if she stands a chance to recover, fight back, and eventually win this. All of a sudden, the young fighter switches gears from zero to a hundred, surprising Lily with an overhand right that bangs off her forehead to stun, another swing grazing the chin as the challenger fights back with the only way she knows how! NONE of that defensive crap any longer, folks, as Isabela storms in with more aggression, another one-two combo sent into Collins’ stomach to drive her back, the champ desperately trying to fall back to her defensive line. Rest of the round sees a return to status quo, with Collins skirting the ropes, creating distance to not get caught in another close-quarters brawl. Bell rings and Moner’s little outburst wins her the round, though we aren’t sure whether she can keep up the pace for another four rounds.
ROUND 7: Set of deja vu as Collins goes back to jabbing from afar, with Moner trying again and again to breach her defenses with all-out charges. For now, the champion prevails, blocking those wild hooks with her forearms, her body taking several shots from Isabela’s straight combos, but never troubling Lilym who stays out of harm’s way. It’s a testament to both these girls’ stamina as they move like they’re still in the opening rounds of the fight. But Isabela’s corner is growing worried as their strategy of all-out warfare doesn’t seem to be bearing fruit, with Moner getting caught by crisp blows to her face as Lily returns fire from afar, using her reach to dictate terms for the rest of the seventh. Round ends and Moner’s left red-faced and breathing hard, though her claim to fame is parts of Lily’s body showing the same pinkish treatment from all that abuse.
ROUND 8: Thus far, we have Collins in the lead in terms of points, and as we close the distance towards the final round, it looks like this fight might be well decided by the judges. That seems to be Collins’ strategy at least as she keeps herself away again, bouncing jabs off Isabela’s arms as the challenger closes in for a big climax. Thus far, she hasn’t managed to pin Lily down for good, but you have to give it to the young fighter, whose stubborn nature simply refuses to make her quit the chase, as Moner advances with her arms up and face protected (mostly) from returned grazing shots. Collins grows complacent, however, in the third minute lets loose a jab-cross combo that sails over Moner’s head - the challenger slipped under, manages to get in too close for comfort - BLAMM!! Moner ROCKS the champ with a hook to the face, then another sent sprawling into the side of her head, which turns and twists Collins on the spot - Lily grunts in shock, her arms and legs twisted in knots as she stumbles over herself, FALLS down to all fours in a revenge KNOCKDOWN from Isabela Moner!!
OUCH indeed!! As Lily sputters and almost chokes on her mouth guard, crawling to the ropes as her world’s rocked by this latest upset! Will Moner prevail?? Isabela catctes her breath as she returns to the neutral corner, a small smile on her lips but otherwise, not looking too well either - she clearly put a lot of energy into that last blitz attack, and it’s taken its toll on her. Collins not helping things along with a slow but sure recovery, one leg steadied at a time and then standing up by the count of 8. We’re heading into the last stretch, folks, and this title fight might be closer than previously predicted!
ROUND 9” Moner goes back to her first-round strategy but obviously, times have changed - the younger fighter takes the middle ground but it’s a slow lurch forward, her tired body gleaming with sweat as she lets her fists fly at a much more lumburous pace than before. Not as if Lily’s performing much better, of course, the tired Vixen doing her best to swerve to one side, use her arms to block incoming jabs, then fire back with her own long-range artillery. Girls trade punches to the face in the middle minute, mutual destruction as they simply ram those leather gloves into the nose with abandon, pushing heads back with dull crunches to both nostrils and lips. Collins however uses her head movement to dodge, parry or counter a little more often than Moner, slipping out of harm’s way more than once and then dingin’ her back on the face to win the round close.
ROUND 10: Last round, and Isabela knows she needs to win big… quite a rare sight indeed for fights to go the distance but here both women are, panting hard as they step forward from opposite corners. Isabela with a sudden burst of energy as she takes the fight to the champ - perhaps the last chance to put Lily away for good. Collins, however, is sorta ready, anticipating her attack with a locked guard and slick slips to the side to avoid best she can, but even she can’t avoid Moner’s full-on assault wholesale. Moner’s corner on their feet as their girl draws pained grunts from Lily’s lips, another jab-cross sent to the tummy, bowling her over mid-round and pushing Collins’ back into the ropes for a further beatdown. HERE COMES MONER, practically leaping in with a wild hook to the head, which Lily just manages to absorb with a raised arm. Follow-up swing to her body also connects, and Isabela has a real shot here to shove the champ’s butt between the ropes! Collins clinching up, arms wrapped around the youngster’s head and shoulders as her body takes a beating, Isabela SHOVING fists left and right into the tummy till the bell finally RINGS - brief moment of confusion as the referee pulls the rabid youngster off the champion before the judges hold up their decision: it’s a DRAW! It looks like we’re heading into overtime and sudden death rules!
ROUND 11: If we’re not wrong, it’s Lily’s first foray past the traditional ten rounds, and same for Moner for that matter - both girls look disappointed at first at the result of the judges, clearing thinking they did more than enough to win the fight overall by unanimous decision. Moner’s corner however are still hopeful slash thankful that that last rush of action in the tenth saved their girl from a painful loss. Overtime kicks off with the bell and both fighters spend it first catching their breaths, circling and barely throwing punches at each other. Lily’s particularly wary of Moner’s unpredictable nature, one moment playing coy, the next leaping at her with superwoman punches. Moner, perhaps still inexperienced, perhaps partly exhausted, tries this exact manoeuvre again at the end of the first minute, gets caught by a blasting hook to the side of her face as Lily timed and predicted her incoming attack, deftly avoids it to the side and then swung her hook for the fences - WHAMM! The punch echoes through the arena as Isabela’s head is spun on its hinges, her feet following to the side as half her face disappears in leather and she goes stumbling off to the side. Lily goes after her this time, more deliberate hooks slammed in hard after her, literally BEATING her back to the floor with a final swing to her pretty head, which catches Moner on the jawline and sends her DOWN to her back!! The third KNOCKDOWN of this epic title fight, and this SURELY must be it?!
Collins barely able to stumble back to corner herself as Moner blinks rapidly up at the stadium lights, her arms flailing off the ground in a desperate attempt to raise her head from canvas. Loud gasp from the arena as Isabela does force her way back off the ground, slowly taking a knee at a time as she uses the ropes to recover by the count of 9!! This AIN’T over, folks!!
Lily perhaps the most disheartened at the sight of her opponent still standing opposite her - what’s it gonna take to put this young punk away?? Isabela nods with sunken breath to the referee, who already has a look of concern on his face with Moner wavering and having to hold onto the top rope to steady herself. There’s still a minute-and-a-half left on the clock and HERE WE GO! Collins comes in, looking for blood, tentative jabs resumed to Moner’s frame, undefended as Isabela barely has the energy to unglue herself from the ropes. Moner left moaning, arms desperately swung in front of her face and body, trying to fend off remaining attacks, perhaps do just enough to save herself till the start of round 12! But Lily not having it, POURS it in as she slams another right hand straight to Moner’s chin, knocking her head back and over the ropes - for a moment, Moner’s body appears to sag into the ropes, the only thing holding her back up is both her hands still clinging onto the top lifeline - Lily’s about to pull back for a final, goodnight kiss, when the referee FINALLY steps in to stop this madness! Moner groans as he leaps in front of her to cover up, waving arms for the final bell. It’s OVER!!
Official Decision: Lily Collins defeats Isabela Moner via TKO11! Collins RETAINS the Flyweight Championship!
AFTER: A mad dash into the ring from both stables and fight teams alike, as half the ring erupts in jubilation and the other half throws their heads into their hands in anguish. The GBS corner of course immediately rushes over to check on Moner, who had collapsed down to her knees by the ropes, before tilting over to one side, an absolute wreck after eleven rounds. Meanwhile, Corey Saucier’s embracing Collins by the turnbuckle, laughing and shouting congratulations into the tired girl’s ear.
Lily’s just thankful the fight’s over, to be honest, putting away a worthy challenger tonight but needing some overtime to do so. Plenty of scares in between the eleven rounds, that’s for sure, as Moner did her utmost best to score the upset, but fell a bit short in the end. One scene that’s sure to be remembered is post-fight: a rare show of respect as Collins stumbles over to Moner’s corner, offers a hand to the exhausted girl before telling her that she’s certain to win the title one day - just not tonight.
Perhaps it’s Collins’ own fortuitous circumstances that led her to show such grace - no one could have predicted the Vixen to hold a title herself just barely a few months ago. Tonight, she’s offered Moner the chance to score an upset win, and if the young fighter is as talented as she’s shown tonight, that title belt might be wrapped around her waist sooner rather than later.
(Results: Lookout!, Words: Caspian)
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