As the build up for this match-up begins, one key piece of information has emerged, Belle Boxers are thinking of abandoning their Candice Patton project!. The BB manager has come out and said that in 2 fights, Candice has lost badly and been humiliated. During the pre-match press conference, this is what he had to say:
BB Manager: Listen, throughout the time Candice has been with us, I’ve always made one thing clear, I don’t care if you lose fights in the ring, but if you aren’t putting in the work behind the scenes, if you’re sh*t in training, you’re gonna have to go. It’s a competitive franchise, and there are plenty of other boxers who are without a stable right now. We obviously held a series of exhibition fights for some free agents, we picked up ScarJo, Meghan Markle impressed us too, but we didn’t have space. After each of my other women’s losses, they come to me and Danielle, and ask where they went wrong and what they need to do to get back to winning. Candice hasn’t done that. At the end of the day, Candice knows where she stands. I’m not saying if Candice loses this fight she’s gonna be kicked out, but I am saying if Meghan wins she’s gonna be in the stable. Truth be told, I think that there are women who I’m looking to bring into the fcba who could defeat Candice, and as a manager, that sucks for me to say because Candice is a founding member of this stable. Still, she’s not where she needs to be in terms of attitude and in terms of performance.

Pre match:
The fighters make their way to the ring, both Markle and Patton know that a win here could cement their place in Belle Boxers. They’ve met once before, in Patton’s debut, Markle lost that fight via 6th round knockout, but now they are 2 very different beasts. Markle having a spectacular 2020, beating the likes of Nat Dormer, whilst Patton hasn’t fought since 2020, and was defeated in both her outings in 2020. They make their way to the ring, steeling their nerves.

Round 1: The bell rings, and the 2 women close the distance of the ring. Markle wastes no time, and powers a shot into the gut of Patton. Patton steps back, dodges a hook from Markle, and uppercuts her in the chin. Patton jabs, but Markle blocks, and throws a hook, which Patton now blocks. Round ends with a small win for Patton

Round 2: Markle now advances throwing 3 jabs in a row, straight to the teeth of Patton. Patton stumbles back and gets her hands up, but Markle throws a punch to the gut, dodges a left hook, and slams a right to the face! Patton stumbles back and goes for the clinch. They stay in the clinch for a minute before the ref separates them. Markle dominates Patton with 2 more gut punches and goes to the head for a third punch. Round ends with an emphatic beating for Patton

Round 3: Markle oozing confidence now, mocking Patton, putting her hand behind her back. Patton throws a punch, getting frustrated now, but Markle dodges, and again goes to the body. Patton lets out a small grunt of pain, and retreats. Markle flexes her biceps, again mocking Patton, and says “Come get it B*tch”. Patton comes back at her, and eats a left hand! Patton’s dropped to the canvas! She’s immediately moving, but it’s a demoralising knockdown for Candice Patton.

Round 4: Markle again coming back at Patton, Patton dodges now and starts stringing in some combos of her own. Right hook, jab, uppercut. Patton, now firing back, slips a left jab and sends a left uppercut the way of Markle. Markle’s hurting now, bleeding a bit into her eye, but she gets off a right hook and a jab, to close out the round with a close win for Candice Patton

Round 5: Markle nodding her head as she comes out for this round, looking a little pissed. She fires one into the ribs of Patton, ducks under a right hook and follows through with a uppercut and a jab. Patton loses her balance and drops to one knee. Ref waves for a knockdown as Markle struts to the neutral corner as Patton gets a standing count. The BB manager looking frustrated now, Patton completely dropped her defenses there. Patton gets up and the fight continues. Markle showing off some fast feet here, dodging 3 jabs from Patton, and slips another jab. Markle winks at Patton as she moves around her, looking very light on those feet. Markle launches an assault, landing 3 quickfire jabs and a right hook to drop Patton! Patton went stone cold stiff right there! Markle has just absolutely levelled Patton! Patton’s getting a count, but it doesn’t look good for her. Patton’s climbing the ropes, looks like she’ll make it. And the round ends with Patton getting up at the nine count, and looking like a defeated woman.

Round 6: The BB manager giving Patton a piece of his mind, as once again, she has absolutely dropped her defenses and almost went to sleep because of it. Patton comes out refreshed and looking ready to fight. Markle, getting impatient and having no corner to advise her otherwise, lunges in! Straight into Patton fist! Markle stumbles against the ropes, she’s fading as Patton rushes in and slams her with furious punches! Ref stops the fight. TKO Candice Patton in the 6th round

Aftermath: Markle is still sitting on the ropes, holding back tears, as a reporter walks in and the BB manager is questioned.
Reporter: A quick TKO win for Patton, is that enough to save her career here at Belle Boxers?

BB Manager: Well, I’m still not sure. At the end of the day at her level it’s not just about wins. If I wanted more wins I’d give her a low ranked opponent. I wanted a high quality performance where she dominated most of the fight. She knew that, and she didn’t deliver. SHe got knocked down 3 times, twice in one round. At some point it’s gotta be a mentality thing. I told her several times, keep your guard up, don’t rush in, she wants that, but she didn’t listen, and it’s a mentality thing. She doesn’t have the mentality to stay calm in a high pressure fight, and I have to evaluate whether or not that’s worth keeping on my team, not just because of her performances, and that her spot could be used for someone better, but because of the effect that kinda attitude has on the rest of the team. It’s a frustrating fight, especially for Markle, because she performed out there, and kicked Candice’s ass around the ring, but, to me, speaking frankly, Candice got lucky."