Dove Cameron vs. Katherine McNamara (Results: Lookout! Words: Wiz)

BEFORE:

Two of the best young flys in the FCBA climb into the ring in this one, and neither the redhead nor the blonde are lacking in confidence. "Dove's had a nice little run," admits Katherine with a nod. "But. Tonight, she's in with the best flyweight in the business. And, it's not going to go well for her."

"Katherine," says Dove with a smile, "Is a nice scalp to claim at this point in my career. And, I'll be claiming it tonight."

ROUND ONE:

McNamara "forgets the face of her father". Or, at least, a lesson she learned against Vanessa Hudgens. You don't want to get overly aggressive against a girl who can move like Hudgens. And, while Cameron's not quite Vanessa Hudgens, at least not yet, she can move very, very well. So, as the redhead tries to pressure, Dove is here and there and everywhere and nowhere. She's bouncin' and misbehavin', not allowing Katherine to square her up, all while picking her spots to stop and pop. And, POP the blonde does, getting off in combination, piling up points before dancing away to reset once again. McNamara looking frustrated at points, but, late in the round, lesson learned. She dials back the aggression and begins stalking and cutting. But, it's too late to matter in the first. The blonde takes it wide to lead 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

McNamara continues cutting and stalking and it begins to work in a major way. Now, she's bottling up the blonde, forcing exchanges on terms much more favorable to the redhead. Cameron ALL out of sorts, can't get space to roam and can't get to the spots she wants to get to. As a result, she's on the defensive much too much, spending a ton of time covering up and backing up. Dove is never hurt, but she's getting taken to the woodshed in a major way, as McNamara shows why she advanced so quickly into the upper echelon of the flyweight division. Late in the round, Katherine turns up the heat and backs Dove into a corner, where she calls in some serious artillery strikes. Cameron rides out the storm, but, at the bell, McNamara's taken it wide to even things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Dove's got a problem to solve, but she's struggling with the math. McNamara's got the geometry working ALL in her favor now. She's keeping Cameron cooped up, using the jab to find, then following with hard right hands. Dove doing a bit better defensively, moving the head, slipping, blocking, but, she can't get much going on the offensive side of things. For the second round in a row, she's spending most of her time backing and covering and looking for space to slip away into open canvas. But, space remains at a premium as Katherine controls the ring throughout. The redhead's got all cylinders firing right to the closing bell, piling up points and punishment and leaving Dove looking a little scuffed at the end of the stanza. It's McNamara wide again, and Katherine now leads 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Cameron tries some corollaries and things begin to make more sense. She's working to stay in the center now, giving a little ground while she circles, doubling the jab, anything she can to slow McNamara's stalk and cut routine. And, after a fashion, it's successful. There are still times when Dove gets bottled up, and, when that happens, the redhead throws punches in bunches and scores a pile of points, but, at other times, the blonde's back to roaming the ring like she did in the first, and, when she's got the space, Dove is dominant, offsetting the work the redhead does when she's brought Cameron to heel. Things are on a razor's edge the entire round, and both fighters try to steal the points late, to little effect. When the bell rings, it's cat's whisker stuff, but it's Dove, and we're even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

More of the same. Good, two-way stuff as Cameron is able to sustain periods when she can roam the ring, bouncin' and misbehavin' and piling up points. At other times, though, the redhead pens up the blonde, and, when she does, she takes the fight to her, scoring well with both hands. About mid-way through the round, however, everything changes. Katherine cuts the ring, steps forward and EATS A RIGHT HAND FROM DOVE! A perfectly-placed right from the blonde and the redhead is HURT! McNamara stumbles backward, nearly goes down, and the blonde lets fly with a blizzard of punches that sends the reeling redhead back into the ropes. Cameron spends the rest of the round trying to finish, but, while she can't manage that, she does pile up points and hurt, and, when the bell rings, Dove's taken it wide and gone into the lead 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Cameron all OVER McNamara to start the round. All torpedoes? DAMNED. The blonde is determined to finish this thing and right now. The redhead's being forced to give gobs of ground as she plays defense and keeps the hands high, all while Dove commits on everything and keeps up an insanely high volume of fire and DOWN GOES MCNAMARA! It's not one punch but about five in quick combination that sends Katherine to her knees! Dove strides to a neutral corner as the ref counts down on the redhead. Katherine is up at seven and takes the mandatory. And the ref waves on Dove. The blonde is a blur of activity, battering her rival back into the ropes and then calling in artillery strike after artillery strike. McNamara hanging on desperately, but the ref has seen enough and waves it off! It's OVER! And your winner by TKO6 is Dove Cameron!

AFTER:

Dove matter-of-fact in the post-fight. "I told you, Katherine is just another scalp for me to claim. It was all about getting the right management for me," the blonde says. "And, there's no management better than HISC. I promised to go right to the top for them, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. So, all you other flyweights? Stay the hell out of my way!"