24/7 Championship Match: Carmen Rodriguez (C) Vs Diana Accera

Standard Rules Title Match
Win By Pinfall, Submission or KO

Spoiler:

After introducing herself in an interesting way, to say the least, Diana's heart was racing. Her first tussle in AFW, and it were to be the fight she'd sought for so long for; the fight of her life, against a champion calibre opponent. Having already warmed up, thanks in part to the unfortunate rookie of Carmen, Suzy, Diana simply observed her foe, as she circled, her hands up in a boxing stance.

She knew for a fact boxing would come into play at some point in the match; regardless of how clever she was or how skilled she believed herself, Carmen were going to try and smack her senseless. It was more a matter of when, not if. And whilst Diana had a boxing past to fall back on, the fact remained that in a straight up boxing match, she'd be out of form and practice against a boxing expert like Carmen. Still, she'd give her moneys worth, if that were the case. Alas it were not, and Diana wouldn't be DQ'd for throwing or slamming her toned foe.

"I've been searching, for years now, you know Carmen. Searching for a woman who deserves my time in a fight. You better not disappoint..."

So, there was another thing Carmen liked about Diana. She could admire her desire to find a strong opponent, the spirit of competition, wanting to be the best in the world. It was the same sort of desire that had led her to competing for the title, going to the Olympics, defending her championship…

Of course, with Diana, it seemed to be coming from a darker place. Even ignoring the way she’d look with coming disturbingly close to breaking someone’s arm, even ignoring the way she didn’t seem to mind putting her body on full display, taking away all her obvious quirks - there was still something off about this woman. Carmen couldn’t put her finger on it quite yet, but she wagered she would figure it out soon.

Carmen simply fell into her own orthodox stance and stared back Diana from the shadows of her fists. ”Likewise.”

Analyzation was the first step. Diana was a completely unknown quantity, and Carmen needed to see what she could do before she committed to anything serious. She took a moment to fall into her rhythm, bouncing back and forth, establishing her groove, glding over the floor...and then she went right to it.

Carmen closed the distance in a flash and quick jab towards Diana’s face. She pulled back a split second later, looked like she might back off, only to lash out again with another jab, every bit as fast as the last one and aimed at her chest.

Testing. Assessing. Getting a feel for the way this Amazon moved.

Whilst Carmen and her shared that aspect, it was without a doubt Diana's was infinitely more vicious. Had Carmen been in her position, searching for the champion and been refused, she would of likely simply come back another day, patiently but kindly persisting. Had Diana been refused? Suzy was a good example of what would of happened.

She let out a dark smile as it seemed that apparently Carmen was the girl she searched for, before closing her grin, bouncing on her toes, fists up in a more traditional manner.

Her eyes on Carmen like she were prey, she'd find her champion foe quickly closing the distance, throwing a hard jab, forcing Diana to raise her hands and block her face. She'd soon find another, equally powerful jab, blocked the same even with a different target.

She'd again bounce on her toes, when a realisation came to her mind. Carmen definitely had the power to give her what she wanted; she could literally feel her arms throbbing despite blocking. But to a woman like Diana, she'd need to be pushed in all aspects of the fight; where as she knew for a fact Carmen would be boxing orientated, Diana would be determined at some point to close the distance and grapple with the Italian.

That point wouldn't be yet though, as she'd hop forward, bouncing, before throwing a long jab, more carefully than Carmen, but at the same time resulting in less power, to test the waters as it were, aiming square at her cheek.

It had been over a year since Carmen had faced Lorenza Saldano in a boxing match, but she still remembered what it was like to go up against a fellow boxer. There were subtle differences between taking on one and just going up against someone who preferred to use a lot of strikes, and she could tell that Diana was either the real deal or she’d been trained extensively by someone who’d worn the gloves.

She could see it in the way Diana anticipated her jabs. It wasn’t so much speed, as she knew when to get her arms and up and where to put them. Good timing, the sort you don’t see too much in brawls or street fights, but constantly and consistently come across inside the ring.

She could see it in the way Diana retaliated. Her own jab was fairly crisp and well executed. Not much power behind, but decent speed, and with a form that she wished her own students would learn how to mimic.

From the way Diana had talked and her overall demeanor, Carmen expeted her to come in guns blazing from second one. But there was a defense mind under all that arrogance. Interesting.

Of course, it was all old hat to Carmen. She juked to the side, letting the blow slide past her face, and took advantage of the temporary opening with a swift right cross aimed towards Diana’s face from her padded fist, looking to strike before her opponent could fully retract her arm and guard. Not the most powerful punch in her arsenal, but it would wake the Amazon up and give her a good idea of what she’d have in store for the rest of the fight.

In fighting the mostly boxing focused champion, the tiniest of an ideas, of a future where Diana returned solely to a boxing league shone to light. Maybe when she was rid of her sadistic side, which revelled in the full on contact of strong opponents, that was, she could possibly find and build a successful legacy in a boxing league. But future planning was for another time, and right now, Diana was focused entirely on the present.

It was easy to believe that from the offset, Diana would indeed come in like a animal unleashed, grappling Carmen and turning the match into more of a street fight. But where there was ferocity to the Italian, there was also control. After all, she knew for a fact she wouldn't be performing at her peak if she ever let her savage nature take control.

Her blow expectedly dodged, a moment viewable almost in slow motion, Diana had no defence against the counter hook cross, causing the Italians head to snap briefly to the side in response, as her cheek became the target of an perfectly aimed assault.

Her arm retracting, she'd step back, shaking off her head and shoulders, as if something cold was just put against her back.

"..I see...so that's how it is..." she'd mutter to herself, as Carmen seemed to be the woman she'd sought to beat relentless and receive the same back. Only time would tell if her boxing was the only thing of a threat to Diana, as she'd again circle her foe, moving her head in quick jerks as she tried to further analyse the woman.

It was a punch. Just a punch. Far from Carmen’s Sunday best. It only really tapped Diana’s skull, and given how hard those bones felt on impact, she could tell it didn't do much damage. If any. A woman like this was used to taking much, much more and dealing it out even harder.

But the way Carmen’s students reacted to it, whooping and cheering, you would’ve thought she landed the knockout punch of the fight. Especially Suzy.

”Yeah!” She called out from a chair by the side of the ring, waving the one arm she had that hadn’t nearly been ripped out of its socket. ”Knock that bitch flat on her fat ass!”

Carmen just rolled her eyes and kept her mind on the match. Diana’s ass wasn’t even that big. Very appropriately sized.

With a little damage done, Carmen took a step forward, making sure they didn’t lose any space. She kept up with Diana’s movement, following her as she jerked around. Good movements. Nice and fluid. They might’ve thrown off a less experienced boxer and made her drop an opening, but it wasn’t anything Carmen hadn’t seen a dozen times, a hundred times, a thousand times, and she had just the remedy.

Carmen threw another jab towards Diana’s face - or started to, at least. Instead of letting it connect, she pulled it back, turned it into a feint. From there, she dropped down quick and swung out with a hard right hook, trying to tag her opponent right in the side, making her ribs sing a little.

Whilst it were just a 'testing-the-waters' calibre of punches, it did well to get the blood flowing even more vividly through the fired up Italian, who at this point had yet to remove her eyes off her foe. Suzy's taunts against her might as well of been from miles away, there was essentially no chance Diana was going to listen now that she were in her little 'battle trance.'

With her foe stepping forward, Diana intended to do the same, this time trying to meet her inevitable head shot with a strike of her own, to try and pick up the pace of the match.

Seeing Carmen through that long jab once more, again at the Italian's head, she'd lean in, closing her eyes, intending to take it. It were a jab after all, intended to snap her head so slightly and build up damage, not sustain a kill shot. Whilst doing so, she'd throw her own, more wound up shot, aimed square at Carmen's toned stomach, to try and leave the girl panting.

To her shock, the following meeting turned out to be almost a mirror of the two women, as each of their hooks crossed and missed their foes arms, connecting right where they intended to. Diana would open her eyes far too late to realise what a fool she was for taking the feint, and would step back in response, bringing her arms up. She essentially no sold the punch, her eyes back to their usual glare, feet back to their hop, as her arms raised once more.

In reality, she could feel the red throbbing in her waist raging, her breathing escalating in response. She couldn't take another one of those. Not unless she wanted to end up wheezing.

Diana was roughly about the same height as Carmen, and while their muscles seemed to be built with differing goals in mind, the spread was close enough. With a little tweaking, similar clothes, and a haircut, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the two of them at a distance. Body doubles.

Because of that, when Carmen realized Diana was coming in at the same time as her with similar goals in mind, she knew it was going to hurt. She was right.

Diana’s punch crashed into her side and lit it on fire, connecting right at the tender spot where her ribs ended. She grunted, ground her teeth down hard, soldiered through it, but she knew it was one of the more powerful punches she’d taken from a woman. It wouldn’t take too many of those before it became a serious problem.

With that in mind, Carmen decided it was time to press the attack. Instead of retreating, she moved forward, closing in on Diana and keeping the pressure applied, claiming more real estate in the ring.  She stepped left and right, weaving and bobbing, then lashed out with a quick jab into the Amazon’s guard, just a little something to keep her focus downward. The instant after it connected, Carmen rose back up and swiftly shifted to the right, where she threw a vicious right hook to the Amazon’s face, trying to swing it around Diana’s guard before she could react.

Hopping back, Diana felt a sense of huge satisfaction. Barely two steps into the dance, and already she felt Carmen worthy, the fighter she'd been hunting for.

Carefully controlling her breathing, with recovered arms but a throbbing stomach, Diana found the woman pursuing. Good; the aggressive sort were always more likely to put up the greater challenges.

She'd react interestingly this time, well, interestingly as in risky, as the woman lowered her arms, intending fully to block the strike with her face. Her head snapping back briefly, from yet another 'taster' jab, Diana quickly reaffirmed her feet, and stepped forward, intending to grip Carmen in a boxer style clinch.

Her feign earlier already provided a lesson to the Italian; the jab was never going to be a manoeuvre on its own, but more followed up by something that would catch the fish as it were, when the jab was lining the bait. By closing the distance, she'd try prevent all chances of a big wind up, and more importantly, turn the match into a wrestling one over a boxing one.

If all went well, she'd have the girl securely by her hips, fronts fully pressed, chin to shoulder, muttering, "Gotcha.." under the belief she had the boxing star now at a complete disadvantage.

As Carmen moved in for the kill, a strange thing happened. Suddenly, Diana was close. Too close. Far too close for her hook to connect properly. She moved in, and suddenly they were embracing like long lost lovers. Chest to chest, hip to hip, forming a perfect fit all over, and with Diana’s inexorable grip to keep them secured.

Carmen couldn’t stop a small blush. It was a rough, intimate contact, with lots of skin contact, and a stark reminder why she’d preferred to wrestle men when her career started out.

However, if Diana thought it would be enough to keep her pinned down, she was about to proven sorely wrong.

In a real boxing match, Diana would indeed have a good strategy, here. Killing Carmen’s momentum before she could even hope to build it up, making her waste time when she could’ve been dealing damage. A solid maneuver.

But this wasn’t a boxing match. It was a wrestling match. Anything goes. As such, there were options available to her that wouldn’t be there in a normal match, and she fully intended to make use of them.

”No,” Carmen reared her head back and snapped it forward, slamming their skulls together with a heabutt. ”You don’t!”