Natalie Alyn Lind vs. Anya Taylor-Joy

BEFORE:

Pair of top ten bantams to square off in this one. Both blondes are pushing for a shot at the belts, with Natalie having the added pressure of trying to continue to show her new stable, HISC, made the right call in trading former bantamweight champ Naomi Scott for her. "I'm better than her," a hard-eyed Lind says in the pre-fight. "And, I'm going to beat her. It's as simple as that."

"I'm happy Natalie's feeling herself in her new stable," says Anya with a smile. "But, she's the same fighter. The one who's not as good as ME."

ROUND ONE:

All about the geometry and distance in the first. Taylor-Joy has the reach and wants to use it to keep Lind off. When she's able to get the jab on, she can keep the younger blonde out on the end of her punches, and that works VERY well for Anya. But, Natalie's working the feet, angling, slipping that jab and stepping in to middle distances. When she can do that, it's Lind who gets the better of things. With both fighters getting some, but not nearly enough of what they want, we end up with a good, two-way round with neither blonde able to build up much of an advantage. Lind's done a bit more, though, and despite an effort by Taylor-Joy to steal the round late, it's Natalie who claims the points and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Same again, with Lind looking to close and Taylor-Joy wanting to enforce distance. Until...BOOM! A perfect one-two from Anya changes everything. A snappy jab right in Natalie's face that pushes her head back directly into the path of a VICIOUS right hand that leaves Lind STEPPIN' IN FENCE POST HOLES! Taylor-Joy immediately pushes ALL her chips into the middle of the table! She's swinging away with both hands driving all before her. Lind quickly trapped on the cables and taking. Ref looking in. Natalie in deep, deep trouble as she hangs on in a tight guard. She's got the body on sale, but Anya's not buying. She's determined to finish this thing...and she gets close. But, Natalie rides it out to the bell. She's looking a wreck on the way back to her corner and Anya's taken the round wide to even things at 19, but at least "Nat The Brat" is still standing.

ROUND THREE:

Anya in control from the opening bell. Lind on wobbly legs, an easy target, and Taylor-Joy's landing bullseye after bullseye, backing up Natalie again and again. Lind keeping the guard high, playing defense, countering once in a while, but mainly taking a beating. She's playing for time, trying to get the legs back, and, in the final minute of the round, it's clear the gambit has paid off. She's moving better now, able to hold her own in the exchanges. None of that will matter for the third, of course, as Taylor-Joy has built up much too big a lead, but it augurs well for the remainder of the fight, especially as Natalie lands some solid shot in the final seconds. At the bell, though, Anya's taken the points wide and pulled into a 29-28 lead.

ROUND FOUR:

Two way stuff now, as Lind's shaken the worst of the damage and is able to battle Taylor-Joy on even terms. And, terms are, again, the thing. Anya still wants to work at range, using her length, extending on her punches. Natalie wants middle distances, and, in spots, even the phone booth. And, once again, both fighters get some, but not enough of what they want, leading to an entertaining, competitive round in which both blondes land plenty of solid shot and neither can gain much of an edge over the other. Final thirty seconds sees Lind put together a trio of combinations that toss Anya to the back foot and leave her in reverse as the bell rings. The late rally is enough to secure the points for the younger woman, who evens things at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Lind ups the aggression now. She's working forward behind the jab, backing Anya up. Taylor-Joy working to stabilize her front, but finding she can't get it done. Natalie's angling past her defenses, getting inside, banging away. Well. Two can play at that game. Anya's got plenty of power of her own, and she decides to make use of it. Result? SLUGFEST with both blondes sitting down on punches, looking to impose wi...BOOM! Right hook, NATALIE and Anya is HURT! Taylor-Joy tries to clinch, but Lind shoves her off and goes to work, winging away with both hand and BOOM! Right hook again and DOWN GOES ANYA! Natalie throws the hands over her head in triumph as she heads to a neutral corner. Taylor-Joy down on her right side, trying to push to hands and knees but SINKING BACK TO THE CANVAS! It's OVER! It's OVER! And your winner by KO5 is Natalie Alyn Lind!

AFTER:

Lind scuffed but jubilant in the post-fight. Another big win for the blonde beauty, and she knows it. "I TOLD you. I TOLD you," she says with a smile. "I'm BETTER than her, and I just proved it. I can go toe-to-toe with any bantam in the FCBA and I'm GOING to win the belts for HISC. Just you wait and see!"