Anna Kendrick vs. Vanessa Hudgens 

(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

"Anna's management should be sued for malpractice," says Vanessa with a smirk. "Here's this poor girl, in a slump, and they sign her to fight not only the fittest but the BEST flyweight in the world? It's criminal, that's what it is. But, not as criminal as what I'm going to do to Anna."

"Oh, I KNOW she doesn't respect me," says Kendrick with a shake of the head. "Even though I knocked her out and took her title the last time we fought. But, I'll make her WISH she'd respected me before this is over."

ROUND ONE:

Feeling out early, with 'Nessa bouncing all over the ring. Anna stalking carefully, not chasing, just looking to corral the younger fighter by cutting off the ring. When she does that, well, Kendrick's nothing if not a slick boxer, and she's able to get punches on target and score points. Unfortunately for Anna, she's rarely able to cut the ring. Most of the round is spent with Vanessa bouncing and dancing and snapping out her jab. Unfortunately for Hudgens, however, those jabs rarely land. Instead, Kendrick slips or blocks, frustrating her rival's attempts to score points. The terms don't change. It's this way for the entire three minutes, and that means not a lot of work or scoring gets done. But, when the bell finally rings and the points are totaled, Kendrick's managed to do enough during those rare exchanges to grab the points and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

More of the same. Hudgens bouncing around, dancing, Kendrick stalking carefully, looking to create exchanges. This time, though, 'Nessa's a bit more aggressive. Instead of limiting her offense almost exclusively to jabs on the move, now she's stopping to pop, scoring with quick combinations then scampering away before Anna can fire off any rejoinders. And, that slight adjustment makes a difference. Now, instead of Kendrick being able to slowly build a small lead during the ring-cut exchanges, the younger woman is able to offset those points with her own scoring via those fast, furious mid-ring combos. Result is that, while we have another competitive round, it's 'Nessa and not Anna who's slowly building the lead. And, the savvy Kendrick is clearly aware of it, as she gets more aggressive late, but it's TOO late. When the bell rings, it's close to Hudgens, who's evened things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Bad news for Kendrick early. 'Nessa's getting into a rhythm. And, as we've seen many times before, you do NOT want that. Hudgens has it all working, hands, feet, geometry, everything. And, the result is predictable. She's landing solid combinations that force Anna to the defensive, then slipping to open canvas only to lather, rinse, and repeat. Kendrick, despite her best efforts, simply can't get anything going. She's spending too much time covering up as Vanessa gets off, too much time waiting her turn...and, as a result, her turn doesn't come. Instead, Vanessa dominates from the opening seconds, taking Anna to the woodshed for almost the entire round. In the final seconds, Kendrick gets the ring cut and lands a couple of sharp flurries, but, again, it's too little, too late. It's Hudgens and wide in this stanza, and 'Nessa leads it 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Terms are set. Hudgens wants to range around the ring, and Kendrick is determined to cut her off and make her box in limited space. And, while Vanessa has her moments out in open canvas in this round just as she had in the first three, Kendrick, after being frustrated almost the entire third, manages to rein Hudgens in much more often in the fourth. 'Nessa mostly manages to extricate herself quickly from this situations, but, in each of them, Kendrick gets the better of things. And, those points slowly begin to add up, especially since the younger woman isn't spending nearly as much time roaming the ring and scoring with her stops and pops. Oh, she's scoring some, but, like in the first, not enough to offset what Anna's doing. And, so it is that, when the bell rings, Kendrick's taken the round close and evened the fight at two rounds apiece and 38-38.

ROUND FIVE:

Same again. 'Nessa trying to find space and Anna giving her as little of it as possible. Kendrick getting more aggressive by the second, as she's finding something that works. She's cornering her rival and finding space for hard shots to both head and BOOM! Right hand, Anna and 'Nessa is HURT! Hudgens stumbles back into the ropes and Kendrick releases the kraken! She lets Hudgens have it with both hands. Vanessa in deep trouble, hanging on in the ropes, taking heavy shot. Referee looking in closely, ready to pounce if necessary. And, Anna's got to be wondering when "if necessary" is, because she is absolutely HAMMERING Hudgens and the referee continues to let the fight go on. 'Nessa doing little more than jabbing back in spots, but it's just enough to keep the ref at bay to the final bell. When it rings, it's Kendrick wide and Anna's got the lead again, this time 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Kendrick bound and determined to finish. She's off her stool and right after Hudgen...BOOM! Right hand counter from Vanessa and ANNA IS HURT! An absolutely SCINTILLATING right from the younger woman and Kendrick's knees do a shimmy! And, now it's 'Nessa calling for the release of any and all krakens! Hudgens firing away with both hands, driving a dazed Anna before her and pinning Kendrick to the ropes. Referee again looking in closely as Hudgens fires away, punishing her rival, paying her back for the last round. Anna in a high guard, hanging on, doing just as little as Vanessa did last round, but, it's enough. The referee's letting it go on. And it does. On and on goes the punishment, as Hudgens works over both head and body. But, Kendrick won't go down and the referee won't stop it. Finally, the bell does, and, when that happens, it's Vanessa via shutout, and we're even again at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

'Nessa wants to finish now. She's stepping to a still-wobbly Anna, backing up Kendrick, landing heavy shot. Anna all about defense right now, keeping the hands high, countering in spots, but mostly playing for time to get those legs all the way back under her. Vanessa knows well that time is Kendrick's friend, and she's fighting like it, going after Anna very aggressively and not worrying about the counters coming back at her. Two minutes in. BOOM! A straight right hand from Hudgens and ANNA'S ROCKED! Kendrick wobbles...and goes down, nosing in at Vanessa's feet! Hudgens quickly to a neutral corner as the referee begins the count. Kendrick trying to push to hands and knees, but can't find the strength in either arms or legs. Finally, at eight, she simply sinks back to the mat and waits as the count passes her by. It's OVER! And your winner by KO7 is Vanessa Hudgens!

AFTER

'Nessa, as usual, dismissive. "Yes, she got LUCKY once," says the beautiful brunette with a snarl. "But, she wasn't hitting the freaking lottery TWICE. It this simple. She's not in my league. And, now, EVERYONE knows it."