Evangeline Lilly vs. Britney Spears (Bantamweight Title)

BEFORE:

Lots of moving parts in this one. Hall of Famer Britney Spears making what she and management insist is a "one night only" return to the ring for the 100th fight of presumptive future Hall of Famer Evangeline Lilly...with Lilly's Unified Bantamweight Titles on the line...meaning piles of bantam hopefuls, sensing a possible spot in a championship tournament, may be on Team Britney tonight. But. None of that seems to matter to the two fighters, who are all about respect for one another. "When I retired," the blonde says with a stern expression, "I RETIRED. I'm not coming back. But. There are girls you respect in the FCBA, and Evangeline was always one of those. This is a special fight for her. I'm, frankly, honored she wanted me as an opponent. So. Here I am."

Evangeline expressing similar sentiments. "Yeah, she was at the top of my wish list for this one. So. Let's get it on!"


ROUND ONE:

Brit looking more than a little rusty as things get started. It's been awhile for the blonde, and that's clear by just how dominant Vangie is. Brunette is quickly in rhythm, getting punches put together, getting to spots, landing hard leather. Brit a step slow, a second late, off the mark. She's looking a shadow of the girl we saw the last time she was in the ring and an even fainter shadow of the Hall of Famer at her best. Blonde lands a solid shot here or there, but mostly takes a licking from an active, effective Vangie. Brunette's having it all her way almost all the time and has settled into a nice rhythm. She's not hurting Spears, but she's touching her up, controlling the fight, piling up points, making all those other bantams on Team Brit despair of ever seeing that tournament. At the bell, it's Vangie wide and up 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

Lilly continuing the dominance early. But, about thirty seconds in, something clicks for Brit. She's getting things working now, the rust falling off. She's moving better, the hands are quicker, she's getting to her spots and getting off in combination. Lilly, at first, surprised by the sudden change, thrown over to the defensive. Blonde makes hay for about a minute. In the final minute, though, Vangie gets going again and we see some classic back and forth stuff, with both fighters landing in combination, scoring to head and body with both hands. This is, clearly, the kind of thing the fans hoped to see and both fighters likely envisions, and it rages on right to the bell, with a final exchange sending sweat flying from both fighters. On the cards, it's Spears, close. And we're even at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Brit rolling now. The layoff apparently hasn't done much to erode any skills, because she's now looking every bit as good as she did before she left. In fact, the blonde's looking like the rest may have helped. She's taking the fight to Vangie now, getting to her with both hands, backing her up. Lilly not hurt, but she's definitely taking the worst of things, getting squared up repeatedly by the Hall of Famer, who's gotten into quite the fearful rhythm. By late round, Vangie's on the counter. Brit's strafing her with flurry after flurry, keeping the brunette on the back foot and the defensive. Lilly staying off the ropes and landing in spots, but that's about all she can accomplish as Britney controls things from the opening seconds to the bell and takes it wide to pull into a 29-28 lead.

ROUND FOUR:

Lilly changing tactics. Going to get physical now. Brunette stepping to, working body, backing up the blonde. It works. Brit tries to bang back and hold canvas, but, for the moment at least, she can't get it done. Instead, Vangie's up in the Hall of Famer's grill, working that body, going upstairs with hard hooks to the head, then coming right back down to tenderize ribs and tummy. Spears tying up, trying to slow this down, but it's not happening. Lilly leveraging, wrestling around in there, freeing the arms and working Spears over some more. Late in the round, Brit figures this out. She goes into the pocket on the ropes and begins working the counters. And, it changes the complexion of things. But, it's too little, too late for the fourth. Evangeline grabs it wide to even things again, this time at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Brit in pocket. Vangie laying siege. How's that workin' for ya? Not so well. Becomes clear Spears hasn't lost any of the ability to play the game on the ropes. She's got the guard high, rolling with, blocking, slipping, filling any holes created by misses with sharp counter rejoinders. Lilly staying sound, not getting frustrated or sloppy, but, she's not able to break down Britney's defenses. Instead, it's the blonde getting far the better of things. She's landing loads of solid stuff, while the brunette's mostly banging away at Spears' gloves or her arms. Final seconds of the round see Brit landing a nice combination, backing Lilly up at stepping off the ropes for a second hard flurry at the bell. Ladies exchange a smile and a glove tap before heading back to their corners. It's Spears. Wide. And up 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Vangie getting the hang of this siege thing...to a point. She's more circumspect now. Setting up things more carefully, giving fewer opportunities for blonde counters. Brit still landing sharp shot, though, and Lilly's responding with work to both head and body. It's two-way stuff again, with neither fighter able to create any kind of space, both literally and figuratively. Brit very, very comfortable on the ropes and Evangeline getting more and more comfortable in her grill, attacking her defenses. There's some great tactical stuff going on here, and, even if we're not seeing some of the big excitement of earlier rounds, there's plenty of action and lots of stuff for purists to enjoy. Final seconds see a big exchange as both fighters look to steal the points. When it's all tabulated, though, Lilly has taken it very narrowly to even things at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Lilly back to work on the siege of Spears. Very briefly. Brit times a counter and BOOM! Vangie's ROCKED! Lilly stumbling backward, nearly going down, and now Brit is all IN! Crowd going nuts as are several bantams in the audience who are thinking about reservations for that tournament. As for Evangeline, she's quickly backed to the ropes and taking, taking, taking. Spears buffeting the champion along the ropes. Ref looking in, not going to stand for much more of this. Lilly tightens the guard, jabs back, working hard to stay on her feet and keep the ref at bay. Spears just WINGING away with both hands, landing hard leather, trying to cut power to Vangie's sturdy legs. But. Can't do it. At the bell, Lilly is still standing and the ref is still watching. Spears has pitched a shutout and taken the lead 67-66, but a huge opportunity has gone wanting.

ROUND EIGHT:

Spears aggressively after Vangie, but Lilly's shaken the worst of it in the corner and bangs back in kind. And, we've got a firefight in the middle of the ring! Both women letting the hands go, looking to grab control of the proceedings. And, neither can do it. Instead, it's edge-of-the-seat stuff as blonde and brunette trade bombs and it looks like something has to give. But. Nothing does. Instead, things slow a bit, then a bit more, and, soon, we're back to terms. Brit works her way back to the ropes and Evangeline goes back to work on the siege. Now, it's tactical stuff, with Lilly working hard to land punches without giving Spears too many opportunities to respond with counters. It's also two-way stuff with neither fighter able to grab much of an advantage. When the bell rings, though, Lilly again grabs a narrow round and evens the fight again, this time at 76.

ROUND NINE:

Back to the ropes for Spears. She's got the guard high, moving the head and body, dipping and slipping. Lilly working soundly, trying to limit counters before BEING DROPPED WITH A KEYHOLED RIGHT UPPERCUT! Vangie crashes to her rump then slumps to her back as Brit heads to a neutral corner. Crowd going nuts, assembled bantam contenders cheering right along with them as the count begins over a dazed Lilly. Evangeline sits up at six, rolls to hands and knees at eight, and pushes to her feet at nine. After the mandatory, ON COMES BRIT! Spears banging away with both hands looking to finish. Now it's the brunette on the ropes and taking, as the Hall of Famer dishes out the punishment. Lilly shaken by a booming right that gets the ref's attention, but, before he can make his decision, the bell rings. But, Spears has grabbed the round 10-8 and leads 86-84 with three minutes to go.

ROUND TEN:

Desperation time for Lilly. Spears on the attack, backing Vangie up, time ticking away. Lilly giving ground, jabbing back, trying to slow the assault. Brit applying steady pressure, looking to finish this thing if possible, while Evangeline is just trying to get her legs back under her. BOOM! Champion manages to set the feet and ROCKS BRITNEY WITH A RIGHT HAND! Spears wobbled, nearly goes down. Now Vangie is all in, winging away, trying to pull this thing out when it looked like it was all over. Blonde backed to the ropes and taking as Lilly's pouring on the pressure with a minute to go. Brit rolling with, hanging on, jabbing back here and there, but being shaken again and again by right hands. Champion works the challenger into a corner, having at her viciously as the clock runs down. Thirty seconds. Twenty. Ten. IT'S OVER! The ref leaps in with under ten seconds and waives it off! And your winner by TKO10 in comeback fashion and STILL Unified Bantamweight Champion is Evangeline Lilly!

AFTER:

Lilly battered, face swelling, lips and nose bleeding, but she has a smile for the interviewer. "No IDEA why she retired," the Canadian says with a shake of the head. "She's as good as any bantam in the FCBA right now, and she proved it. Needed everything I could find to get her. Thought I'd run out of time...but I managed it. What a fight, huh? What a fight!"