Saldano vs. Rodriguez - Queens of the Ring

Good reflexes, excellent reflex - that flicker was just a test to get Lorenza's blood pumping, she wasn't expecting it to do any real damage - but she wasn't expecting it to be blocked so easily, either. Mission accomplished, though - Carmen wanted to get Lorenza's motor going, and that seemed to start it.

She didn't see the underhand itself, but she did see Lorenza's shoulder moving, read the body language - her muscles reacted without even thinking out. Low hit. Guard. She knew first hand what Saldano's fists could do if ignored, the pain they could inflict. Last time, Carmen hadn't been able to hug anyone for a full month without excruciating pain.

She tightened her guard into a classic Peek-A-Boo stance, dropping her arm and letting it take the blow instead of her body. Not the ideal stance for offense, but perfect for the defensive strategy, and she could still punch back - she tested it with two more jabs, snaps from the left hand; a little slow from this position, but she was looking to at least start riling Saldano up.

Carmen was just as quick defending against Lorenzaâ€s punch as Lorenza had been defending against Carmenâ€s. The Mexican boxerâ€s glove bounced off of her opponentâ€s arm largely harmlessly. Knowing that Carmen was still in a position to attack, Lorenza would pull her arms back in close to her chest as quickly as she could.

It wasnâ€t quite quick enough, as the Puerto Rican launched a one-two combination, her punches coming in at a relatively low angle, aiming for Lorenzaâ€s chest. The first one snuck just inside of Lorenzaâ€s retreating glove, and it landed against her right breast. The former champion grunted and took a step back as she let Carmenâ€s second punch of the combination bounce off of her gloves. It was a slow hit, and one that hadnâ€t hit her with very much force, but it had still been the first hit of the match. Lorenza would have to retaliate as soon as she could.

She tried to remember…who had hit who first two years ago? Or had they hit each other at the same time? She had been a little more aggressive to start out that match, finding more opportunities to pummel Carmen early on while, at the same time, leaving herself a little more open…

Lorenza would throw a straight jab right towards Carmenâ€s face next, looking to try to put the Puerto Rican back on the defensive.

First real hit - nothing to throw a part over, not even first blood, but she would take it. Getting past Lorenza's guard would be tough, but it wasn't impossible. This time around, Carmen scored the first hit - she remembered well how aggressive Lorenza could be; you don't earn names like 'tigress' by being the sort of person to hold back. This time, though, she had some remedies for that sort of pain. Preventative measures.

Lorenza's next attack came in strong, a straight jab, too fast for the shoulder roll to knock it off guard. She tightened her guard and let the punch slam into it, making her torso jerk back - even with a simple jab, the power was impressive. But Carmen wanted more than simple jabs and slaps - no, she needed Lorenza to take some risks.

She opened her guard enough for Lorenza to see her wide smirk, then lashed out with a right hook, hammering at Lorenza from the side, the most aggressive move so far. Probably wouldn't land with any real force if it hit at all, but that was hardly the point - it put pressure on Lorenza, trying to goad her into coming back even harder, making her fight the way Carmen needed her to fight in order to get a good analysis going.

Lorenza had expected Carmen to be able to block that punch, and block it the Puerto Rican boxer did. The black-haired woman was every bit as good as she was two years ago. And she knew it, too—the smirk on her face attested to that. Lorenza huffed and smirked back at her opponent. She would wipe that smug grin off of Carmenâ€s face soon enough.

The Puerto Rican launched another punch at Lorenza, this one a hard, aggressive right hook. Lorenza made a split decision and would take a step forward, sliding to the right side, bending her body and letting her foeâ€s glove whiff past her. Now, she was close to Carmen—a little closer than she might have liked, but if she was able to land her next hit, it would be worth it. Lorenza would weave back to the left, swinging her right glove forward, hoping to sneak it around Carmenâ€s defenses and give her a powerful smack in the side of the head. If nothing else, Lorenza hoped she might be able to knock the other boxer off balance.

Any other opponent would have either block the hook, took it on the chin, or moved back. Saldano moved forward. That was one of the more annoying things about her - Carmen knew how to mix it up, but she was an out-boxer at heart, doing her best damage at a distance, getting close, but never too. Since she was fairly tall for her class, that was typically an easy thing to do - but Saldano was only an inch shorter, if that much, and every bit as fast. Always uncomfortable.

The blow moved past her head, getting nothing but space - she didn't even have to see Lorenza's retaliation, she knew it was coming. Sure enough the glove flashed into her face a second later, landing dead on, knocking her back.

"Gloves up, gloves up!" Army called her way. "Incoming bitch!"

Carmen's went back tight into her hole, locking in the Peek-A-Boo as she retreated.

Lorenzaâ€s gamble paid off. Where another boxer might have stepped back, or absorbed the blow, she had taken the risk and stepped forward, and, in doing so, had caught Carmen off-guard. The retaliatory punch which Lorenza threw at her rival nailed Carmen right in the side of the head before she had time to get her gloves up and assume a defensive posture, knocking the Puerto Rican boxer backwards.

Carmen may have landed the first punch of the match, but Lorenza had just landed the first one that would leave a mark. She heard Carmenâ€s corner getting a little noisy as the punch connected. It was a very small victory, but it was a victory nonetheless. The champ was back in the ring and as ready as ever to defend her old title. She was the One and Only.

Lorenza would move her gloves back in to protect her face, letting Carmen put a little distance between them again. She would follow Carmen as the woman moved back, keeping a few feet of separation in between them, keeping a sharp eye out for another opening. More than half of the first round was gone, now, and both boxers had played it relatively conservatively. Lorenza, though, having won that first small victory with the punch to the side of Carmenâ€s head, would look to land at least one more skull-rattling blow before the round was out. She wanted to send a message to Carmen.

Damned careless - that blow was a blast from the literal past, Lorenza had tagged her with a similar one in their last bout during the...third round? No, the fifth. Just like before, she gave Saldano and inch and the wily woman took whole miles. She couldn't see much of Saldano's face behind her guard, but she didn't have to - that smirk was widening.

Lorenza was smelling blood, now, circling her prey in the water as Carmen took a few steps back. She was still playing it safe, not closing in just yet - more careful, more patient than Carmen remembered. Probably waiting for Carmen to throw something she could take advantage of, then punish her with an even worse blow than before - the tigress was hungry for knockouts. Starving for some fresh meat.

Carmen had the plan, but another minute or so of this might've been fatal - a minute with some like Lorenza was an eternity. She'd find an opening eventually - Carmen would open up her side, turn just a little more than she meant. A simple, minor thing that Lorenza would turn into a crippling blow. She couldn't take that chance; if Carmen wanted an opening, she would have to make one herself.

She drew Lorenza back a few steps, then abruptly changed direction and went straight for her, taking her defensive stance on the offense. She started to bring her right hand out for a hook, but cut it short at the last second and dipped down instead with a fient, throwing out a left uppercut instead, going hard for Lorenza's side.

Lorenza kept following Carmen as the Puerto Rican retreated, ready to go after her again when she came to a stop. Carmen had been playing this match very defensively, letting Lorenza come after her, with mixed results. This was a more patient Carmen than Lorenza remembered from their first match. She herself was more patient, as well. Two years older and two years wiser, the two women were much more wary of the threat each posed to the other.

But that might not hold true throughout the match. Lorenza did not intend to fight so tentatively, so slowly for the entire fight. Neither, she suspected, did Carmen.

Carmen proved this theory almost immediately. Quite unexpectedly, the retreating boxer would abruptly switch the direction in which she was moving, charging forward at Lorenza, closing fast. Lorenza would throw herself forward as well, and the audience sent up a loud cheer at the flurry of motion.

Carmenâ€s right fist began to hook towards her, and Lorenza would bring her gloves high to that side to shield her face. But Carmen had managed to fake her out, and, though she would make a last-second effort to readjust, Lorenza could not quite bring her guard down in time, and Carmenâ€s uppercut dug hard into her side. “Nguh,” Lorenza grunted, staggering back a step. She would shake it off and recover quickly, unwilling to show any weakness. She would step forward again and launch a right hook towards Carmenâ€s face, following it up with a straight left jab aimed at the Puerto Ricanâ€s chest.

That's right. Come in close. Follow her. Go on the hunt. Not all prey is meek and waiting to be eaten - some prey will bite you back. Hard.

The feint worked like a charm; Carmen had improved on using fake out like that at close-range, and it was paying off; the rapid movement, the timing, the dedication were all tricky, but worth the effort. Maybe that was a good area to focus - one blow certainly didn't constitute a pattern, but it was worth noting. She cut a serious hole in Lorenza's momentum, slowing her down and scoring a solid hit in the process.

She knew a solid blow like that wouldn't go without a return - Lorenza's wasn't the type to just let a punch go, she seemed to favor giving as good as she got. Another important note.

She came in with a right hook, but Carmen was ready for it; she jerked to the side and brought her shoulder up, rolling the punch off before it could slam into her face. That put her in prime range for the jab, though; her movement brought her low, and Saldano's jab smacked her in the face.

Stepping back wasn't an option - the pace was picking up, and Saldano would take it all if Carmen let her. The punch knocked her head back, but she kept her footing and stayed even with her big sister, ducking low and rattling off a double hook with her left - one weak, one strong, hammering the spot she'd struck a moment ago. Might not hit, might even result in her taking a blow in return, but that uppercut from before had managed to push Saldano back for the first time in the match - she wanted to put some fear in Lorenza's eyes, make her focus on protecting that spot more and less on doing anything else.

Lorenza had lost any momentum she might have accumulated during her brief offensive. She had landed a punishing blow, but now, so had Carmen. The two were essentially even at this point in the game.

Lorenza came in strong and threw a right hook at Carmen, one which the Puerto Rican managed to roll off. Lorenza had expected her to. The second punch in the combination was the one which she had counted on hitting, and hit it did. And Lorenza had actually gotten a bit lucky there—aiming for Carmenâ€s chest, the Puerto Ricanâ€s movement had brought her low, and Lorenzaâ€s punch, rather than striking her chest, tagged the Puerto Rican girl right in the kisser.

Lorenza smirked, but her opponent managed to hold her ground. Of course she did. Carmen was a pro—one punch, even a solid one like that, was not going to floor her. She came right back, too, and threw a second uppercut to Lorenzaâ€s side. Having been bruised by that same punch before, Lorenza would get her guard down quickly. Carmenâ€s first punch would skid along her glove and only graze her side; the second would be blocked entirely. Lorenza would then look to take advantage in these, the waning seconds of the first round. She would throw her right arm outwards, trying to push Carmenâ€s glove far away from her body, before bringing that white glove back in towards the Puerto Ricanâ€s face, hoping she could not get her guard back up in time.