Michelle Williams versus Lily Collins (Flyweight Title)

BEFORE:

Now, when your opponent is Michelle Williams, a Hall of Famer and one of the most vicious competitors in the history of the FCBA, one would suspect you might have a MODICUM of respect for same, as long as, of course, your name is NOT Vanessa Hudgens. But. In the case of Lily Collins, well, your suspicions would be wrong. "Her day is DONE," says the British beauty. "It's about time I get a shot at this gold. And, I won't waste it. I'll waste HER."

"SHE," says a hard-eyed Mishy, "Is just ANOTHER talentless pretender. And. I. Will. Enjoy. Making. Her. Pay. For. Her. Insolence."

ROUND ONE:

Collins, as usual, aggressive. She wants to get RIGHT into Mishy's grill early. Silly rabbit. Williams has scouted this and is well prepared for it. Belichick prepared. She's stopping Lily on the way in with the jab, following on with hard right hands, then using the feet to angle, forcing Lily to try to square. And, while Collins does that, Williams throws more leather, scoring more points, before angling again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. English beauty game, determined to put the HURT on the veteran American. But, she's also frustrated, and becoming visibly so as the round goes on, throwing punches from bad spots, missing, creating more openings for Williams. It's a thoroughly woodsheddy round, with Mishy as the taker and Lily as the takee. And, when the bell rings, Michelle has the points wide and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Lily hears it in the corner. Move your feet. Stop walking straight in. Get your hands up. Stop with the slop. She listens. Now, instead of just stepping to Williams, she's using footwork, angling herself, working to get to spots and set up punches. And, it makes a world of difference. Instead of Mishy dominating, it's good, two-way stuff, until. BOOM! Right hand, LILY! Collins lands a perfectly-placed right to the chin about two minutes in and MISHY IS HURT! Williams stumbles, nearly goes down. And Collins goes all tiger-at-raw-meat, winging away at the listing Hall of Famer, pounding her back into the ropes and having at her with both hands. Mishy in BIG trouble and the crowd knows it, on its feet as Collins POURS IT ON LATE looking for the stoppage, but, somehow Williams stays on her feet and keeps the ref at bay. At the bell, though, it's Lily wide and we're even at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Collins still looking for the stoppage and Mishy still looking ready to go. Williams all defense, as the younger woman lets her have it with both hands. Referee watching closely, as the veteran does jussssttt enough to show she's still fighting back. Mostly, though, she's taking a ton of leather, almost all to the head. Mishy has the body on sale, but Collins not buying much at any price. She's looking for the elusive 'off' switch and isn't going to waste much powder downstairs. Mid round, the British beauty traps the American on the ropes again and begins winging away. Mishy keeping the guard high, leaning back, rolling with, limiting the damage as best she can. Final twenty seconds or so sees the champion firing back hard, seemingly having shaken the worst of the damage, but, on the cards, the damage is done. At the bell, it's Collins wide and Lily now leads 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

More Collins aggression, but now Williams firing right back and we're getting some SHARP exchanges in the middle of the ring and DOWN GOES WILLIAMS! A BLISTERING right hand from the Brit and Mishy is blown to her back! Lily raises her arms in triumph and heads to a neutral corner. Referee counting over a downed Williams as the crowd goes nuts. But. Michelle is on her feet at nine, leading Collins to unconsciously SLAM her right glove on the turnbuckle. Ref, meanwhile, gives the Hall of Famer the mandatory and waives on Lily. Collins loaded isn't loaded for bear, she's loaded for MASTODON. She's firing everything she has at the reeling champ, who's once again backed to the ropes and taking. But. Once again, the veteran wiles play. Williams hangs on to the bell. Lily, however, claims the round 10-8 and extends her lead to 39-36.

ROUND FIVE:

Collins thumping Williams. From the opening seconds of the round, Lily is after Mishy, backing her up with flurry after flurry of hard shot. Collins showing no signs of slowing down despite all the energy she's spent banging away in the last few rounds. Instead, she's continuing to busily hammer away at the reeling champion, yet again trapping her against the ropes and letting her have it. Ref looking in very closely now. Williams has taken a tanning, and, while she's still on her feet, he's not going to allow her to take much more punishment. Michelle hangs on, however, frustrating Collins yet again, and, like in the third, by the latter stages, she's banging back, giving as good as she gets, looking to have shaken the damage once again. At the bell, it's Lily wide, though, and Collins has a huge 49-45 lead.

ROUND SIX:

Lily playing it smart now. Corner has stressed that she has a large lead and that Mishy is the one who needs the comeback. And, Collins knows Williams is no longer wobbly. So, rather than take chances, she dials back the pressure. But. Lily's not going to play defense. The brunette still wants to fight lead. She's just willing to box now. And, Williams takes her up on that invitation. Rather than press, trying to claw back her rival's whole lead at once, Michelle is patient, slowly getting back into her boxing rhythm. And, get back into it, she does. For, while Lily has the better of things early, as the round goes on, the Hall of Famer gets more and more done. By the late stages, she's made up most of the ground she lost early in the stanza, and, at the bell, it's dead even. A drawn round. Which, of course, with the scores on the cards, is another win for Collins, who's now up 59-55 with four to go.

ROUND SEVEN:

Back to boxing. And, Mishy continuing to get more and more of an advantage. Collins now looking out of sorts, spending too much time on the back foot, too much time covering up and waiting to get off, all while Michelle gets more and more firmly into that fearful rhythm that has sunk so many fighters over the years. By mid-round, Lily's actually being backed up, as Williams tosses hard, accurate flurries at her, then steps forward. Collins not hurt, but she's doing next to nothing while the Hall of Famer makes higher and higher piles of points. Final thirty seconds are a Williams clinic. She's landing a ridiculous percentage, picking apart a Top Ten flyweight like you'd expect to see if she were in with a club fighter. At the bell, it's Williams and wide. But, Collins is still up by three 68-65.

ROUND EIGHT:

Williams has Collins where she wants her. And, she keeps her there. The corner's given up on the whole 'ease back on the throttle' thing, telling their fighter to get after Williams, but that doesn't matter. Mishy's in the zone. Everything is working. And, it's, as always, a sight to behold. Williams is giving Collins the kind of licking she's never had in an FCBA ring, just taking her to the woodshed. Then picking up the woodshed and beating her with it. Lily has no answers. She tries to fire back, tries to come forward, tries to regain the advantages she had earlier, but she's frustrated at every turn. Her offense mostly consists of the odd counter, while Michelle's pile of points reaches skyward and threatens to actually exit the atmosphere. At the bell, its Williams via shutout, and the one bit of good news for Collins is, she's still up a pair, 77-75.

ROUND NINE:

Collins' corner telling their fighter to turn it back on. This thing is getting too close for comfort now. Lily, though, can't get it going. Mishy's too slick. She's got it all working and Collins can't do a thing about it. Lily tries closing and getting physical, but she can't do the former, so the latter doesn't happen. Instead, Williams simply keeps dominating until, BOOM! A short right hand from Mishy and Collins is STAGGERED! Lily stumbles backward and Michelle steps to and DROPS HER WITH A BRUTAL COMBINATION TO THE HEAD! British brunette doing the Maltese cross bit on her back as Michelle steps over her on her way to a neutral corner. Collins not moving at all as the referee counts. She's not just down, she's OUT. And it's OVER! And your winner by KO9 and STILL Unified Flyweight Champion is Michelle Williams!

AFTER:

Williams pretty dismissive in the post-fight, especially after taking quite the licking in the first half. "I KNEW she wasn't going to beat me," the champion says. "We knew EXACTLY how to fight her. She was going to come after me early and try a bunch of slop, but, in the end, I was ALWAYS going to be TOO GOOD and she was ALWAYS going to end up where she's most comfortable, flat on her back."