Jessica Biel vs. Yvonne Strahovski
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

No hype needed for this one. This is a battle among lightweight royalty. Both fighters have spent plenty of time in the pound-for-pound discussion, and they have fifteen titles between them. And, there's also plenty of respect to go around.

"She's the measuring stick these days," says Jessica with a nod. "She's as good as it gets in our division, and I can't wait to get in there and test her...because, I WILL test her."

"I'M the measuring stick," asks Yvonne with a smile. "SHE'S been the measuring stick for over a decade! And, that's what this fight is about, measuring ourselves against one another. And, I'm not coming up short tonight."

ROUND ONE:

Straho gets to that long jab right away. She wants to work at range, and Biel's OK with that. There's no real reach advantage here, so both fighters can extend on their punches on these terms, and, with girls as talented and classy as these, it doesn't take long for punches to start being put together. Then, just when both are getting into rhythm...BOOM! It's a BLISTERING right hand from Biel and DOWN GOES VONNIE! Aussie beauty blown right to her back by Biel's one punch power. Fans stunned, thinking this one might be over almost before it starts, and, it's close to that, because Strahovski manages to struggle to her feet at nine and the referee thinks about it before waiving Biel forward. And, he thinks about it a lot more for the remainder of the round, as Jessica gives Yvonne a beating, pinning her to the ropes and thumping her to the bell. The blonde does enough to survive, however, and, while she's trailing 10-8 after one, it could have been worse.

ROUND TWO:

It gets worse. Yvonne's legs are nowhere near where she needs them to be, and Biel takes full advantage. Jessica's on the offensive from the opening second of the fight, and all the blonde can do is back and cover. Vonnie counters in spots, and actually lands a good shot or two, but it's Biel who's getting the work done to both head and body the entire way. Strahovski's doing all she can to run clock and give her legs time to recover. She's clinching. She's leaning back in the ropes in a tight ear muff when Jessica traps her there. She's blocking as much fire as she can and rolling with the rest. And, it all works, to a point. It works well enough for her to get through the round. But, for the second consecutive stanza, she takes a thumping as the price for doing so. At the bell, again, Yvonne is standing, but, again, it's Biel's round wide, and Jessica now leads 20-17.

ROUND THREE:

Biel again on the offensive, looking to take the Aussie out of there. Vonnie, however, has gotten the legs most of the way back. She starts the round moving, making Jessica chase, and, just about the time the brunette's figured out that she's not going to be able to continue her clean up...BOOM! It's a guided missile of a right hand from Yvonne and BIEL'S ROCKED! Jessica stumbles and Yvonne goes all in immediately, sending everything in the arsenal at the wobbly brunette and DOWN GOES JESSICA! Biel dropped to her knees by the sheer volume of leather and now the place is going nuts! Biel's looking up at the referee the entire time, so it's clear she's going to beat the count. She does, however, wait until nine to rise, taking as much time as possible to clear her head. She gets another eight count before the ref waives Yvonne forward, and Straho goes to WORK. The rest of the round is a nightmare for the brunette, who takes a TON of punishment, but, like Yvonne in the first two stanzas, manages to remain on her feet to the bell. Strahovski, though, has won the round 10-8 and Biel's lead is down to 28-27.

ROUND FOUR:

Vonnie keeps rolling. She has Biel unsteady and she makes sure to take full advantage. The blonde doesn't press things too hard, after realizing early that Biel might still be a bit buzzed, but she's not ready to go. Rather than try to force something and take unnecessary changes, the Aussie beauty boxes. And she boxes extremely well, as always. It starts with that long, accurate left jab, which sets up right hands and allows her to put punches together. For her part, Jessica works as best she can in counter. Vonnie's not going to let her fight lead, so there's no point in pushing that. Instead, the brunette does what she can, but it's not nearly enough. Straho's in control from the opening seconds to the final bell. Biel's never hurt, but she's thoroughly outfought. When the round ends, it's Yvonne wide and the blonde has completely erased Biel's early lead, evening the fight at 37.

ROUND FIVE:

Straho back to ranged boxing. Biel, having shaken off the damage of the third, able to fight on these terms and fight well. Result is the best round of the fight so far. Both ladies getting punches put together. Both finding the range and landing hard shot. Both in good rhythm. Add it all up and it's something to behold, two of the best fighters in the FCBA showing everyone exactly why they ARE two of the best fighters in the FCBA. It's all there, all the pieces. Excellent movement, not just of feet, but of head, hands, shoulders. Fast hands, not just going out, but coming back. Excellent positioning. Lovely chain fighting, with punches used to set up other punches which are then used to set up even more punches. There are precious few fighters than can fight either of these ladies even on these terms, but, both are capable of doing so against the other. And, so they do. At the bell, there's almost nothing in it. Almost. It's Straho by a cat's whisker. And, Vonnie leads 47-46.

ROUND SIX:

Right back to boxing. Neither fighter needs to change the terms here, because both are having success doing this. And, what's most remarkable, perhaps, about what we're seeing is the patience being shown by the two fighters. Again, neither forces a thing. Both take what's there or what they can create. Nobody tries to do too much. Nobody takes chances. Everybody's as sound and smart as can be. And, that doesn't detract one iota from the fighters' effectiveness or the quality of what the fans are seeing. This is excellent boxing from two excellent boxers, and the crowd is definitely appreciating it. And, again, it's about as close as can be. In fact, heading into the final 30 seconds, there's absolutely nothing in it. Then, Biel shows those veteran smarts. She turns up the heat, putting together a couple of nice flurries and steals an even round. At the bell, it's Biel close, and we're even again at 56.

ROUND SEVEN:

Right back to boxing. Fighters have settled in on these terms now, and both believe they can win on them. And, the fact is, neither is wrong. Both CAN win the fight this way. But, of course, only one of them WILL do so. BOOM! BOOM? BOOM! It happens not just quickly, but, basically out of nowhere. One instant, the fighters are boxing as they have been for the past two-plus rounds and the next BLONDE GIRL DOWN! Again, that one-punch power of Biel's prove's absolutely deadly. Again, it's a follow on right hand that she puts in the right place and Straho is blown to her back just as she was in the first. And, again, it looks like the thing might be over. Yvonne struggles to beat the count, but, just like in the first, she does so, and, after the mandatory, the referee waives Biel forward. Jessica sets all guns to blazing, battering the blonde back against the ropes and hammering away for a minute and a half, trying to get her out of there. Vonnie won't go. She takes a licking, but she keeps on ticking to the bell. But, this fight of twists and turns has turned again. Biel's back on top, 66-64.

ROUND EIGHT:

Biel looking to finish now. Yvonne not exactly shabby, but she's not in top form, either. And, Jessica's taking full advantage. She's backing Straho up with hard shots, sitting down on everything, letting the Aussie have it. Her corner's told her about the math here and about how big a win in this round could be, so she's banking points all the while looking for the punch that will finish it. For her part, Straho's absolutely brilliant in a fighting retreat. She's taking the worst of it, sure, but she's picking her spots to stand and fight, scoring in the counter, making a semblance of a round of it. BOOM! Seriously? BOOM! DOWN GOES JESSICA! Straho brilliantly walks Biel into a right hand. The brunette wobbles and the blonde lets go a nasty flurry that sends Jessica to her hands and knees! And the crowd is going NUTS! This fight has EVERYTHING except a Lady Gaga halftime show! Vonnie standing in a neutral corner, chest heaving, watching. Biel not looking up at the ref this time, instead trying to shake the cobwebs. She does, rising at eight. After the mandatory, Vonnie charges across the ring, manages to land a couple of hard flurries before the bell. When it rings, believe it or not, we're even AGAIN. It's 74-74 with two to go.

ROUND NINE:

Straho romping. She's got Biel buzzed again, and, again, she's taking advantage like a champion does. The blonde using the jab perfectly to set up hard, accurate combinations. Jessica in a fighting retreat, countering when the can, giving ground when she must. She's having to play for time even though she's running out of it. And, of course, Yvonne knows it. The blonde patient here. Not rushing or forcing. She's in control and knows it. And, she knows grabbing this round is going to give her the lead with just a single round to go. She wants to finish, but she's aware that she doesn't necessarily NEED to finish. So, there'll be no opportunity for Biel to turn this fight on its head again. Instead, the blonde is the picture of control, and there's nothing the brunette can do to seize it from her. At the bell, it's Vonnie wide and she's on top 85-84 with just a single round to go

ROUND TEN:

Biel aggressively at Yvonne now. They know what the cards say in Jessica's corner, too. Strahovski able to manage early, using the jab and excellent footwork to parry Biel's offensive. But. Eventually, Jessica's strength begins to show. She's powering through the blonde's efforts to slow her, closing, banging, working body, then head. However, this is Yvonne Strahovski. You aren't going to bully her. The Aussie fires back, and we've got ourselves quite the battle in close! Serious shot is exchanged to both head and body and sweat flies from both fighters after some of those punches land. Nobody's hurt, but everybody's taking some heavy fire. Biel's getting the better of things. Grabbing a little canvas here and there. But, not without determined resistance from Yvonne. In the final seconds, both ladies empty the magazines, firing away with everything they have to try to secure the round. At the bell, both fighters and both corners know it's close. It is. But, it goes to Biel. And, with the cards at 94-94, we're going OVERTIME.

ROUND ELEVEN:

Biel right back at Vonnie. This worked in the last round, and she's going to play out the hand. And, it's working again. The blonde again parries early, but the brunette breaks down her defenses, gets inside, and begins backing her up slowly with superior weight of shot. Aussie trying everything to hold canvas, but, she can't get it done. Jessica just a little too physical, and she's using that advantage perfectly. She's working body, then head, getting in tight, levering with the shoulder, demonstrating the strength that's equal to that of just about any welter in the FCBA. As the round goes on, Yvonne tries tying up to force breaks, but Biel punches out, powers out, keeps coming. Again, Vonnie's fighting back hard, landing solid shot of her own, and staying in the round as a result. But, when the bell sounds ending round eleven, while it's fairly close, there's no question it's Biel, who is now one point from victory.

ROUND TWELVE:

Biel well aware that she's three minutes from victory now, and so is Straho. The difference is, Jessica can do something about it. She's found the terms she needs to win, and Yvonne isn't able to change them. Oh, earlier in the fight, with fresher legs, she could have. But, now, she can't move enough to create space or angles. All she can do is fire back and try to slow Jessica. And, she DOES slow her, but she can't stop her. Instead, Biel keeps slowly grabbing canvas, slowly building a small lead as time runs off the clock. Quickly, the brunette's two minutes from victory. Then one minute. Then thirty seconds. And then...DOWN GOES BIEL! Vonnie pulls a rabbit out of the hat, just finding enough space and time to set her feet and land a perfect right hand counter that drops Jessica to a knee! Biel's more stunned than hurt, but it doesn't matter. She pounds the mat in frustration, knowing there's no time. Jessica could rise, but she doesn't, instead simply dropping her head and waiting for the referee to finish the count. He does. At 2:48 of the twelfth round, and your winner by KO12 in Fight of the Year fashion is Yvonne Strahovski.

AFTER:

When Biel rises, there's a hug, and, in the post-fight, as the crowd chants "FOY! FOY! FOY!" there's more respect. "She is as good as anybody in the FCBA at any weight," says Yvonne with a shake of the head. "I've been in with the best, and she's as good as anybody I've ever fought. I'm just glad I could find a way to pull it out, because she was thisclose to getting me. This close."