Laura Pausini versus Emily VanCamp

BEFORE:

Former champ VanCamp stepping up to lightweight again, this time to face the Italian Lightweight Champion in brunette beauty Laura. And, Laura's plenty confident ahead of the contest. "She's a very good fighter, obviously. But. This isn't bantamweight. It's lightweight. And, she doesn't have the power or the physicality to win up here."

"Here's the thing Laura's about to find out," says Emily. "I can win ANYWHERE in the FCBA. And, that's exactly what I'm going to do tonight."

ROUND ONE:

Em working her usual strategy, boxing at middle distances. But, Pausini not having any. Laura wants to pressure, get physical, and she does. And, it works. BOOM! Not forty seconds into the round, the Italian lands a BLISTERING right hand and VanCamp is HURT! Emily stumbling around on the sand as Pausini loads up the heavy guns, gets them on target, and begins raining down heavy fire on her blonde rival. VanCamp quickly backed to the ropes, where she's shaken again and again by the hard, accurate shot the Italian is throwing at her. Blonde leaning back in the ropes, keeping the guard high, jabbing back in spots, trying to run clock, all while Laura's looking for the one shot that will allow her to pull the upset. But, while she lands plenty of power punches, none of them do the trick. At the bell, EVC is still on her feet. But. It's Pausini wide and with the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Pausini brings the pain. If there were a dream scenario for the Italian coming into this one, well, this was probably it. Emily rocked early, wobbly, unable to move effectively, making her, basically, a sitting duck for the Laura's power. Blonde playing defense as best she can, moving the hands, head, and shoulders, using all her skill and experience to limit the damage. And, limit it, she does. But, there's still plenty of hard stuff landing. Hurt IS being dished out. Points ARE being scored. And, it's all adding up, leaving some ringside analysts to wonder if Emily's made a mistake stepping up to the big girls. Final minute of the round sees the blonde steady the ship. Laura's still in control, but EVC is able to get onto the front foot for the first time since the opening minute. At the bell, though, it's Laura solidly, and the brunette's lead is 20-18.

ROUND THREE:

EVC holding her own in the early going. The blonde has the legs back under her, and she's able to move effectively now. She's getting the distance she wants in spots, getting her jab working, getting punches put together. None of that is bothering Pausini, though. The brunette's still able to step to at times and get heavy shot home to both head and body. It's good, two-way stuff from the first moments of the round to the last. Nobody is able to hurt anyone, nor is anyone able to take control of the proceedings. Instead, there are spots. Spots where Laura's doing what she did in the first two rounds. Spots where Emily's doing what we've all seen her do so many times, outboxing an opponent, putting together combinations, scoring points in bunches. All adds up to a close round, but, not quite an even one. Instead, it's Emily who gets the points and cuts her deficit to 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

And, now's the time to use the phrase that spelled bad news for everyone and anyone in the bantamweight division for the past several years...Em's getting rolling. Now, VanCamp's getting the geometry she wants. She's finding ways to keep Pausini off, using her jab and her feet, angling, fighting consistently at the middle distances she likes. Laura's game, working hard to get to her spots and get heavy leather home, but, it's not happening. Emily's controlling the brunette, and, as a result, EVC is taking control of the fight. She's touching the older woman up, even backing her up in spots. Laura keeps trying, keeps working, but it's all for, pretty much, naught. She has a moment or two, but, for the remainder of the three minutes, it's Emily working, scoring, punishing, and, at the bell, VanCamp's won the round wide and evened the fight at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Blonde continuing to dominate. Pausini has no answers at the moment. The more aggressive she gets, the more she's punished for that aggression. VanCamp's cracked the code, at least for now, and she's using that knowledge to very, very effectively. Again, Laura's not only unable to move forward, but finding herself being backed up here and there as Emily puts together hard, accurate combinations. About half way through. BOOM! Right hand, EVC and Laura is HURT! Pausini's legs to a shimmy and the blonde lets the hands go and DOWN GOES LAURA! Right hook at the end of a combination sends the brunette crashing into the sand on her back. Emily bouncing to a neutral corner, sand flying from her bare feet. Pausini able to roll to her right side, but she can get no further. It's OVER! And your winner by KO5 is Emily VanCamp!

AFTER

EVC not exactly dismissive of Laura in the post-fight. "She's strong and she hits hard," Emily admits. "But, here's the thing. I knew, in stepping up to light, that girls would try to get big on me. Well. That doesn't work at bantam. And, it won't work HERE, either."