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26 May 2018 Natalie Portman vs Lily Collins

Page history last edited by caspian2 4 years, 4 months ago

Natalie Portman vs. Lily Collins(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

No question there's been something of a changing of the guard about in the FCBA these last couple of years, with a younger generation of fighters moving up, and, if not shoving traditional top contenders aside, at least elbowing enough room to stand side to side with them. And, one of the standard bearers of that younger group is Collins, just turned 26, who, a year and a half after her FCBA debut sits firmly among the federation's top flyweights. And, if Collins is among the flag ships for her group, then Portman, who's held the belts ten times and won her first title when Lily had just turned 12, occupies the same position of honor among the traditional contenders. So, while there are plenty of personal things at stake on this evening, both fighters are aware that more global issues hang above the contest.

"Natalie's day is DONE," says Lily. "Yes, she and Williams and Danes and Dushku and all those girls, they were great in THEIR time. But, this is OUR time now. And, if Natalie doesn't believe that now, she will when I'm done with her."

"Eventually," says Natalie with a smile, "at a time of MY choosing, I will step aside and allow some of these younger flowers some light, and then we'll see which of them will grow. But. For now, all of them, including Lily, will remain in my shadow."

ROUND ONE:

And, the Queen casts a long, broad shadow. Collins wants to box early, using her reach and speed advantages. Sounded like a good idea in the video room, no doubt. But, in practice? Not so much. Because, Portman is as slick a boxer as the FCBA has to offer, and advantages in speed and reach are things she knows how to offset. Collins can get off first, but she can't get anything ON, because of Natalie's defense and mastery of the geometry. Instead, Portman's the one scoring with both hands with sharp counters. Collins tries to adjust, creating a bit more space to use her length. No dice. Natalie's mastering the distance with her slick footwork. She's never where Lily wants or needs her to be and always where she can score. Frustrating stuff for Collins, who can't get out of first gear, while Natalie opens things up as the round goes on, taking the Brit to the woodshed and grabbing the first wide for a 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Collins on the move now. Attempts to stand and box with Portman having borne no fruit, the Brit decides on a war of movement. And, on these terms, things begin to go better. Now, Collins is forcing the tempo. She's circling, jabbing, creating the distance she wants and peppering Portman's face with left hands as Natalie tries to close or cut the ring. As good as Portman's footwork is, and it's about as good as it gets, she can't run Collins to ground. Instead, Lily's quickly and perfectly in rhythm, the combination of the quick, accurate jab and the excellent leg work proving too much for Natalie to overcome. Instead, it's Lily piling up the points, both with the single jabs and with solid, accurate combinations when she stops to pop. Natalie resolute, continues working hard trying to get into the round, but it never happens, and, at the bell, it's Lily wide to even things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Lily on her horse, circling, jabbing. Natalie working hard, trying to find an answer to this, but it's not happening. Lily's too comfortable now. Everything's working for her. Everything's going exactly the way she wants it. She's stopping Portman with the jab, setting the Queen up for hard right hands, then getting out of Dodge before the older woman can do anything in counter. It's excellent stuff and shows exactly why Collins is a Top Ten flyweight. She's not just getting the better of a fighter like Natalie, she's dominating the Queen, scuffing her with repeated jabs, making her look outclassed. Again, Portman keeps working, keeps trying to find a flaw in the plan, a break in the defenses, but, she can't do either. Instead, Lily romps from bell to bell, taking her second-consecutive round wide and grabbing the lead, 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Natalie finds a crack. Or, more properly, CREATES one with an adjustment. Portman gets the guard high, almost using a peek-a-boo style. She uses those high gloves to pick off Collins' jabs, breaking down one of the two legs of Lily's plan to keep distance. Now, with the jab no longer landing, Portman can use the feet to cut the ring and create exchanges, exchanges like the ones in the first round, the ones Natalie, with her superior boxing ability, gets the better of. Collins does her best to fire back on these terms, and she manages to land some good shots, but, it's Portman who's getting the better of things in a big way. By late in the round, Collins has all but stopped the movement, giving the Queen even more of what she wants with predictable results. By the final seconds, Lily is covering up as Natalie gets off with flurry after flurry to the bell. Portman, wide. Even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Now, it's Natalie who has it going. Oh, Lily tries to get back to movement, but Natalie's cutting her off almost at will now, forcing her to box with, and, that is not going at all well. Again, it's not that Collins can't box, she can, but, there simply aren't a lot of fighters who are going to outbox Queen Natalie. Instead, Portman gets the better of every exchange, piling up points and throwing Lily to the defensive again and again. Collins isn't hurt, mind, though the leather's going to pile up sooner or later, but, she's getting touched up and even backed up on occasion. BOOM! It's a right hand counter from Collins AND PORTMAN IS HURT! Natalie stumbles backward and is DROPPED BY A LEFT HOOK! And, that quickly the fight changes! Natalie dropped to her back out of nowhere. Brit quickly to a neutral corner to watch and wait. Portman sits up at six, shakes the head, gets to her feet. Referee gives her the mandatory and waives on Collins, however, before Lily can get anything done, the bell sounds. But, Collins has turned the fight and stolen the round to lead 48-46.

ROUND SIX:

Collins moving forward, looking to clean up, but Portman ends all that noise immediately, stopping the Brit cold with a hard combination, then backing her up with another solid flurry of punches. Lily suddenly on the defensive, as Natalie, having shaken off the knockdown, goes to work on the surprised younger woman. Collins backing and covering as Portman sits down on punches, lands solid, dangerous shot, and GETS ROCKED! There's that right hand counter again from Collins! Perfectly placed and Portman's knees do a shimmy. Lily immediately all in, banging away with both hands and DOWN GOES NATALIE! Portman dropped to her back again, this time from a right hook. Lily dancing to a neutral corner as the referee begins his count. Portman rolls to the belly, pushes to hands and knees and gets to her feet at eight. Another mandatory and ON COMES LILY! Collins has time now and she UNLOADS on Portman, driving her to the ropes and absolutely HAMMERING her. Nat on shaking legs, taking shot after shot until THE REFEREE LEAPS IN! It's OVER! And your winner by TKO6 is Lily Collins!

AFTER:

Collins jubilant in the post-fight. Sure, she's beaten top girls before, as Vanessa Hudgens and Cheryl Cole are far from chopped liver, but there's nothing like taking out a girl like Natalie Portman, and Lily knows it. "This is what I've been saying," says a smiling Collins. "The day of Portman and girls of her era is over. Now is the time of Lily Collins. And, it's just beginning!"