LUCY HALE VS HAYDEN PANETTIERE
Results: Lookout   Writing: Archer
Lucy:  26 YO, 5’2 (1.57 m), 17-17-0 since 2010, Pretty Little Punchers
Hayden: 26 YO, 5’1 ½ (1.55 m), 58-24-1 since 2006, Foxfire Boxing

Before: No secret that Foxfire and the PLP have “big sister/little sister” relationship and it is not surprising that “sibling rivalry” has begun to rear its ugly head. Grumbles have been heard from the Punchers that they are being insufficiently respected and from the Foxfire camp that the PLP “you get respect when you earn it.”  Then Hayden, three-time Flyweight Champion unexpectedly challenged the PLP rising flyweight star Lucy Hale. Puncher management accepts, of course, but an undercurrent of tension is running at the pre-fight press conference.

Hayden Panettiere saunters to the podium and says with a cool, veteran smile: “I think that as #7 in the last Boxing World Flyweight Contenders, Lucy makes a perfect opponent me, the #1 Contender as I wait for my chance to fight for the title again. I think Lucy should be more than happy that I’ve given her the chance show what she has done. It’s been a long hard struggle but here she is at .500 overall and still above all but 6 other flyweights and the champ. I am sure she will make an excellent tune-up for my title shot and she’ll learn plenty of tips that will be useful when the day finally comes when she gets a title shot of her own.”

Lucy sitting down the table starts glowering at Hayden. It appears it’s not only Hayden’s words, but the condescending way the Foxfire veteran is delivering them that has red spots appearing on Lucy’s cheeks. However she remains silent until it is her turn come. As Hayden finishes and turns to go to her chair, Lucy is up in a rush and their hips brush. Hayden suddenly flashes with anger.

“Excuse me,” Lucy says, but it doesn’t sound very sincere.

“Watch it, kid, nobody likes a punk,” Hayden hisses.

“Don’t call me ‘kid’—I’m 26 just like you!” Lucy snaps back.

“And I’ve been around here longer than you—so you’re still ‘kid’ to me!” Hayden retorts.

“That is going to change!” Lucy fires back.

Assembled fans and scribes lean forward expectantly. All it will take is one wrong move and a catfight will break out in front of them. At this point, Beth Harnois and Autumn Reeser, the communications directors of Foxfire and the PLP rush out. Beth guides Hayden to her seat while Autumn steers Lucy to the podium, speaking to her fighter in a soothing voice.

“Well, sorry for that folks,” Lucy says, regaining her composure, “as you probably noticed, we at the PLP think that we have something to prove to Foxfire. I am pleased that I can be the one to start the process. Sure they won our 2014 Stable War 3-1, but that was 2 years ago—we are getting better and—some of them—are getting—older. I didn’t fight Hayden back in 2014, that was Ashley Benson, but I did beat Clare Bowen. I think the day has arrived where I can beat even someone as good as Hayden. I am glad for this opportunity to do it.”

Hayden sitting looking grumpy through all this, then leans for it: “You have the opportunity, Lucy, but that’s all you’ll have. You are going to fail as surely as Ashley did. You aren’t at our level and you all know it.”

Lucy now glaring: “You will take that back before this over.”

“No,” Hayden says flatly, “I won’t!”

Lucy looks like she is ready to throw herself at Hayden, but Autumn Reeser suddenly appears to steer her off the stage. Beth Harnois is doing the same for Hayden who has to settle for exchanging blazing hot glares with Lucy.

Fight night finds the tension still running high. Hayden in a black bandeau bikini, Her blonde hair pulled back with a simple top knot.  Black gloves and boots. Lucy in blue and white bikini, black spaghetti straps, blue gloves and boots with white laces, Lucy’s bobbed hair is hanging loose. Two fighters giving each other hostile looks. The glove touch suddenly turning into a shoving match until referee intervenes with stern finger waving orders to behave. Fighters warily turn away from each other and go to their corners.

No shortage of teammates at ringside. Sarah Carter, Rachel McAdams, and  Laura Vandervoort all there along with Beth Harnois, Adelaide Kane and Willa Holland, Addie and Willa both started out with the PLP before being signed by Foxfire. If the two have divided loyalties they seem to concealing it well as they can be heard jeering at Lucy as well as cheering for Hayden.  Across the ring are Ashley Benson, Sasha Pieterse, Leah Pipes, Janel Parrish, Danielle Campbell, Troian Bellisario and Communications Director Autumn Reeser. (Dani Fishel arrives late and settles into the Foxfire section. She plainly pained as Foxfire and the PLP exchange insults across the canvas).

Then attention returns to the ring as the bell sounds and the fighters come out ready to get this bout rolling!

R1: Hayden wastes no time in charging at Lucy and laying down a barrage of pressure punches. The incoming leather strikes all over Lucy’s small frame from waistband to forehead. Lucy being driven back by the sheer confusing number of punches coming at her from all directions. Hayden trying to drive Lucy to the ropes with a slow, steady advance, but then Lucy shows some neat footwork, she manages to feint to her right, but then swing to the left. Hayden lurches off balance and Lucy just drives straight rights and lefts into the side of Hayden’s head. Hayden’s head knocked against her shoulder and she staggers sideways into the ropes. Lucy springs forward, she grabs Hayden’s right shoulder, spins her around up against the ropes and goes to town on the Foxfire blonde’s wide-open body. Hayden takes serious punishment until clinches obliging the referee to step in with the break. Both fighters already showing reddened swelling marks on their bodies and faces. They circle warily for a few moments then come at each other in a furious toe-to-toe action. Those arms are moving like pistons as they try to drive their gloves into each other’s bodies. They just blaze away to the bell—AND BEYOND! Referee has to jump in and force them apart. The two stand there, chests heaving, eyes glaring, until the official orders them to their corners. No real surprise that this round is listed as a DRAW on all cards.

R2: Hayden seems to shift tactics in this round. Rather than go charging back in, she circles, bobs and weaves, steadily punching, but she seems to be irritating Lucy more than doing damage. For her part, Lucy not liking this in-out-and-around approach and keeps working to cut off the ring so she can get back  to her preferred toe-to-toe action. Hayden lets Lucy’s frustration grow and then she makes a move as though to come in close. Lucy leaps at the opportunity and throws a strong right. Too late Lucy sees Hayden ducking so that the PLP right goes whistling over her shoulder and then Hayden brings back her own right to CRACK off Lucy’s jaw. LUCY HALE GOES DOWN! Lucy on all fours, looking up in dazed surprise as Hayden stands over her raising her arms as she does a victory dance! Jeers from the Foxfire side has the PLP faction screaming at Lucy to GET UO! GET UP! Hayden inadvertently gives Lucy a few extra seconds as the referee delays count to order Hayden to the neutral corner. Even so, Lucy barely is up by “NINE!..” and it takes some tearful pleading on her part to get the referee to allow the fight to resume. Not surprisingly, Lucy is on a closed-down defense to get out of the round. Hayden bangs away mostly to keep Lucy ducking. As the bell sounds, Hayden spits out mouthpiece and tells Lucy: “You won’t get up from the next one, kid!”  Lucy turns on her heel, but Hayden gives her a slap on the butt. Lucy turns with a look of rage, but quick acting referee jumps in to sternly warn Hayden against further provocative behavior. (PLPers at ringside are all furious and it does help the Foxfire forces make a show of “yawning” their disinterest in the outrage).

R3:  Lucy comes roaring off her stool at the start of this round and just plows into Hayden before she can even clear her corner. Hayden fighting with her back to her own turnbuckle as Lucy just keeps driving forward really pumping punches into Hayden’s belly and breasts. Hayden then manages to get a short right uppercut under Lucy’s chin and send her stumbling back. Hayden understandably pausing to regain her breath before pursuing Lucy, but Lucy manages to shake off the bellringer and is meets Hayden with a stiff jab that bangs up Hayden’s face. The battle swirls its way out to mid ring as the fighters keep swinging around each other first clockwise then counter-clockwise and then back to clockwise. Hayden landing a steady number of punches, but Lucy’s jab is doing real damage. Late in the round, Lucy goes on the attack and it is Hayden’s turn to show off her jab, but Lucy showing good upper body movement and Hayden is not quite as effective with the jab as Lucy was earlier. Then Lucy shakes Hayden late with solid shots to the jaw. The bell ends and the referee takes no chances this time by immediately getting between the clearly seething fighters. Judges total it up and find Lucy has pulled out the round by a close margin.

R4: Hayden quick to go back on the attack in this round as she charges Lucy at the bell, but Lucy seems to have expected this response and is off her stool very fast. The two bang away at midring and start that swirling battle of movement once again. It’s really exciting action as first Hayden seems to be pushing Lucy back, but then Lucy counterattacks and Hayden goes backwards a step or two. Then they settle into that toe-to-toe battle of attrition that they fight all-out with little interest in defense all the way to the bell. Again referee as to jump in at once and the fighters strain to get at each other until they both turn away, but both are now badly lumped up, dripping sweat and blood as they go.  Again no surprise that his round is declared the second DRAW of the match.

R5: Hayden again out quick and this time Lucy isn’t quite quick enough in getting out of her own corner. Hayden’s blitz carries Lucy back to her own turnbuckle where she administers a heavy bag like pounding to Lucy’s writhing body. Lucy wraps her arms around Hayden (not only creating a clinch, but pinning Hayden’s arms to her sides which thwarts the body attack until the referee can separate them). Hayden not happy at Lucy’s bear hug, but there’s still a fight going on and Lucy is coming back in. Hayden has to settle for some driving uppercuts to the belly that stops Lucy in her tracks and lifts her up on her toes. Lucy in danger of being driven to the ropes, but manages to get away thanks to some neat footwork. Hayden on her trail though and all Lucy can do is be evasive. This is actual a pretty good tactic for Lucy to avoid more hurt, but it gets her nowhere with the points which allows Hayden to win the round wide. Hayden fuming as she watches Lucy go to her corner, but with the wary referee between them, the Foxfire flyweight is obliged to return to her own corner.

R6:  Hayden again the aggressive one at the start of this round, but Lucy well-prepared to deal with the attack. More fierce toe-to-toe exchanges. Hayden making a maximum effort trying to get through Lucy’s defenses and lay the PLP fighter out. Lucy fiercely determined to resist this, she suddenly makes a duck-down and pops up with an uppercut to Hayden’s chin. HAYDEN GOES DOWN. Lucy’s uppercut snapped the Foxfire flyweight’s head back and she stumbles backwards before landing on her butt. Hayden then swoons so that her knees are bent upperwards while her upper body rests on the canvas. Lucy shoots Hayden a gloating look and then skips off to the neutral corner. The Punchers side is howling and screaming with joy, but the Foxfire girls just sit there with stunned expressions. Is it over? NO! Hayden groans., rolls to her side and slowly pushes herself erect just as the count reaches “EIGHT!”  Hayden’s angry glare quickly causes referee to allow the fight to resume. Lucy not reckless, but she is wary that a hurt Hayden Panettiere is a dangerous one. Hayden just getting her counterattack organized when bell sounds. Lucy spits out her mouthpiece and sneers: “You won’t be getting up from the next one!” Hayden gives Lucy a glare, but that is all (much to disappointment of some in crowd) as she makes her way back to her corner.

R7: Sharp-eyed observers take note that Hayden sags on her stool as Foxfire corner crew swarms around her with obvious concern. Lucy is just as bruised and swollen around the face as Hayden, but she seems more alert, taking with trainer Nia Peeples and looking eager to go. Sure enough, Hayden is slow off her stool and very defensive as a wary Lucy (perhaps suspecting this is a ruse) comes in. Lucy circles Hayden, striking hard at face and body. Hayden slow in reacting at first, though she does gradually get her jab back on line. However Lucy is able to maintain the pressure and she is working Hayden’s chin forcing Hayden to cover up to protect it. Lucy then pounds Hayden’s torso doubling her up at times. Foxfore supporters are alarmed as Hayden seems unable to keep Lucy from sweeping the round. Hayden on shaky kegs going to her stool. Lucy takes it all in, but still seems wary as she turns to her own corner.

R8:  Foxfire Trainer Virginia Madsen seen studying Hayden, clearly considering throwing in the towel, but Hayden seen begging her not to and gets her way. Hayden makes an effort to pull herself together and get back into this fight, but Lucy is too evasive and her jab too effective. As the energy goes out of Hayden’s comeback attempt, Lucy shifts to the offensive and pounds her gloves again and again into Hayden’s midsection. Hayden starts to shudder as each new blow strikes home and then Lucy slips a short right uppercut into Hayden’s swollen chin. Hayden freezes and Lucy then blasts a straight right and left between the Hayden’s eyes. TIMBER! Hayden just goes crashing to her back like a felled tree actually bouncing on the canvas from the impact. Again Lucy goes skipping off to the neutral corner, but this time Hayden just lays there, holding her gloves up to her face as she rocks from side to side unable to riseas the count passes “…TEN!...YOU’RE OUT!”

THE WINNER: LUCY HALE KO8

AFTEER: Lucy Hale leaps into the air pumping her right arm skyward! She is rushed by her Pretty Little Puncher teammates who come boiling in the ring from under the ropes. They are all bouncing and hugging, tears streaming down their faces.
“Oh, this is greatest victory in Puncher history!” Lucy excitedly tells a microphone someone thrusts in her face. “This wasn’t just my win! This was a win for all of us! Now people will have to show us some REAL respect! Hayden thought she could beat me, but she couldn’t! She knocked me down, but I got up and I knocked her down—twice, but the second time she didn’t get up! I beat her! We all beat her!”

Meanwhile, Foxfire fighters are clustered around Hayden, who has been brought to her stool and revived. Foxfire girls keeping a protective eye out in case the Punchers decide just knocking out Hayden wasn’t enough.

“Come on,” Dani Fishel says quietly, “lets get Hayd out of here. She can meet the press tomorrow.”

Sure enough, Hayden does meet the reporters the next day, but she seems more defiant than chastened: “Yes, she beat me. I’ve been beaten before and I can tell her—and you that this is not over! She is a dirty fighter. That bear hug alone should have gotten her DQ’d! No I won’t protest to the Front Office, but I can promise retribution. She and those ungrateful skanks at PLP have gotten Foxfire mad. They will be sorry they did that! Very sorry!”

Autumn Reeser, spokesperson for the PLP says: “We have no idea what Hayden was talking about. Lucy is not a dirty fighter. Maybe that bear hug was out of line, but Lucy was just trying to clinch and didn’t quite do it according to the rules. I defy Hayden or anyone else to look at the the tape of that fight and see anything even remotely ‘dirty’ coming from our Lucy. This just goes to show how those arrogant bullies at Foxfire cannot cope with defeat. Lucy was superior to Hayden and that’s a fact. They can just live with it. A rematch? We’ll see, Lucy thinks she has earned a title shot now, she’ll leave Hayden to the rest of the ‘also contends’ of the division!”

It’s a pity this fight ended in so much bad blood between the Foxfire and the Punchers. It was an very exciting back and forth battle. Lucy seemed to hurt Hayden in R6 and Hayden never recovered from that knockdown. Will there be a rematch? We wouldn’t be surprised, but we also wouldn’t be surprised if Lucy and the PLP let Hayden wait for it.