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.

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.

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.

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.

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.