Commentator: “We are back from commercial.  Cammy O’Connell was conscious and alert after being KO’d by Virani MacVicar.  She is being taken to a local hospital for observation, but the doctors stress that this is only a precautionary matter.  Let’s go down to ringside where The Canadian Cobra is set to address the crowd.”

Virani: “Hey everyone!  I just want to start off by saying that I hope that Cammy makes a full recovery.  I hope you’ll be back and stronger than ever.”

Virani pauses as the crowd claps appreciatively.

“Honestly…that fight went better than what I had been visualizing in my head.  I almost want to say that it was a fluke…but I’ve gotten a lot better.  Kayleigh Parsons, thanks for knocking some sense into my head.  I needed it.”  Virani laughs.  “But I feel better and stronger than I did then.  I have a great coach, and I want to thank him right now.  Thanks, Thomas.  Thanks for everything you have done for me.  Thanks for turning me into someone who barely knew how to box into, well…this…”

The crowd claps a bit for Thomas.  Thomas waves to the crowd and looks profoundly embarrassed.

“I guess the next question is where I go from here.  I can already hear people clamoring for a rematch with Kayleigh Parsons.  I want that rematch too…but I think we should let it marinate a little.  Let me have another big fight first.  Speaking of a big fight, they say that to make big fights happen, you have to call people out.  Well, I’m going to call out someone right now, someone that I think is a very good fighter…but someone I can beat.  If I can make this fight happen, I think it’ll produce fireworks, someone will certainly be knocked out by the end.  So, Lilim Alterion, I see you sitting over there with your boyfriend.  I want you next.  Come on up here and have a chat with me.  Unless you are too scared to face an actual good fighter again!”

Commentator: “Virani MacVicar has just called out the Azure Valkarie, Lilim Alterion!  Alterion is at ringside for this fight as she is a part of the ‘Fight for a Cure’ promotion of this card.  So we will see her response immediately!”

The Press Conference

Suzy: Hello everyone and welcome to the press conference for the highly anticipated battle between ‘The Azure Valkyrie’ Lilim Alterion and ‘The Canadian Cobra’ Virani MacVicar. I’m Suzy Bennett of SB Promotions and I’ll be running this press conference. Let’s start with opening remarks from our fighters. Ms. Alterion, why don’t you start us off?

Lilim: Oh uuhh. Hi everyone. I’m Lilim Alterion. Great to be here in Toronto. It’s really beautiful here. I was nervous to come here at first because I was afraid that people were going to hate me since I’m from the US, but everyone has been really nice to me. I can’t thank them enough. This will be the first time I’ve ever had a professional fight outside my country. It’s a really cool experience for me. Please tune in and watch my match. I promise I’ll do my best to make it as memorable as possible for fans everywhere. Thank you so much.

Suzy: Thank you, Ms. Alterion. Virani?

Virani: Hi everyone, I’m glad we were able to draw such a big crowd for this event. I’m looking forward to fighting Lilim in a few days, my training camp was great and I feel totally ready to take on the biggest challenge of my career to this point. Fighting in the main event of a card in my home town is a dream come true and I hope to give the fans what they want, an exciting fight and a knockout victory.

Suzy: Thank you, Ms. MacVicar. We’ll open the floor up to questions now.

Reporter #1: This question is for Virani. There are some that have disagreed with your actions leading up to this fight, including calling Lilim out in public when she was not expecting it. What would you say to those critics?

Virani: I would say that boxing is sport, entertainment and a business. When someone does something dramatic like calling out a potential opponent after a fight, it gets people talking and starts building hype. That’s what this was about. Now I’m main eventing a card in my own hometown. Could I be doing that if I hadn’t called Lilim out? I don’t think so. I didn’t say anything too controversial to Lilim. I didn’t call her a hack or a bum, I just said overrated. Maybe you could say I was pushing her buttons…but its all about building the hype for this fight. Boxing is a business and it was my words that made this such a big event. I don’t see Lilim complaining about the size of her purse for this fight, because its probably the biggest of her career!

Reporter #2: This question is for Lilim Alterion. Do you feel like Virani was trying to get in your head with her comments?

Lilim: The short answer to that is yes. Heheh. It’s really a bizarre moment for me right now. I can’t really believe this is happening to me because I’ve seen every fight Virani has done so far and I never remember hearing her say such things to her other opponents before. She’s such a good sportsmen and she goes out of her way to help young girls. She’s a good person. So, I was caught off guard by her words at first. I was just confused. Hahaha. I thought she was kidding until I saw how serious she looked. Which I sort of consider to be a huge honor because I am a big fan of Virani MacVicar and now she’s right here wanting to fight me seriously. It’s a really cool feeling for me. I’m actually happy she did call me out. But she could have just emailed me. I would have said yes.  I mean she is a lawyer don’t they email people all the time?

Virani: I didn’t think that young women like Lilim used e-mail?  I thought they used Snapchat or Instagram or Twitter or something!  In the end I wanted to give Lilim the personal touch, after all, we are going to be swapping leather soon enough.

Reporter #3: Virani, you enter this fight as the underdog. Do you feel that is fair?

Virani: Absolutely fair. I’m facing someone that is ranked her than I am. She’s younger and more experienced than I am. Heck, I got knocked out not that long ago and I’m facing one of the hardest punchers in the division. But I feel like this is a no-lose fight for me. If I win, then I’ll take a huge jump up in the rankings. If I lose…well…I wasn’t supposed to be able to beat Lilim at this point in my career. Anyways, I do think I have a good shot at beating Lilim. She’s a very good fighter, but not an unbeatable one.

Reporter #4: This question is for both fighters. What is going to be your strategy going into this fight?

Lilim: Hard to say. There were a few times I went into a fight with a master plan to win. And all of them went out the window. So I just adjust as the fight progresses. Virani is a really good boxer. She’s a great out boxer, but her fight with Kayleigh showed me she can take punishment and still keep fighting. And her last fight with Cammy showed me she has some serious knockout power. So she’s sort of became good at being an in-fighter and out-fighter. But facing that isn’t anything new to me. I fought Karen Carlson and she was good at everything. So basically my plan is to just to just keep fight her until she quits. That’s how I always fight.

Virani: I’m not going to tell everyone my plan before the fight starts! But seriously, I think my path to victory involves keeping Lilim at a distance and busting her up with the jab. I don’t want to let her inside, because Lilim is an excellent in-fighter. Lilim is known for having a good chin, but she gets put on the canvas a lot. I hope to get a couple of knockdowns and make Lilim desperate, and make her come to me.

Reporter #3: This fight is being billed as a Canada vs. America battle. Do you feel like that is fair?

Lilim: I get why people are saying that, but I don’t think so. That’s like trying to compare two kinds of popular drinks. It’s kind of pointless because they’ll both always be great. But I can see why fans will see it as that. It sort of adds more competition to the fight itself. Which can be exciting to people. Cause if feels like there is more at stake for both sides, but to me when I see Virani. I don’t see her as a Canadian boxer. I just see her as another strong woman that I have to give my all to beat.

Virani: I don’t see it as a Canada vs. America thing. I think that’s something for the fans to have fun with. We all know that there is a friendly rivalry between our two countries and this is just another chapter of it. I’m fighting Lilim Alterion. It doesn’t matter that Lilim’s from America. She could be from Finland, it doesn’t matter to me. We are boxers.

Reporter #4: This question is for Virani. Lilim keeps saying how she’s a fan of yours. Is it surprising that your fighting another pro boxer that’s a fan of yours?

Virani: Um…yeah! I have to say that I’ve followed Lilim’s career as much as possible, so I’d call myself a fan of Lilim too! But part of being a boxer is wanting to test yourself against fighters that you respect, and I respect the heck out of Lilim. That’s why I called her out. I didn’t want to go my entire career without testing myself against a fighter of Lilim’s quality. George Chuvalo, the great Canadian heavyweight says that he regretted never getting to fight Sonny Liston. He fought Ali and Foreman, but he still regrets not fighting Liston. I want to have a career without regrets, so I’m going to fight Lilim while I have the chance.

Reporter #5: Lilim, your goal is to become the USA Champion. Do you feel like beating Virani fight will help with your goal?

LA: I know beating Virani won’t increase my USA Ranking, but this fight along with every other fight I’ve done has been the most important in my career. To me a real Champion boxer is someone who fights all the good boxers. They fight and they fight until there are no more opponents left. I want to be remembered as a boxer like that. Virani is another strong opponent I really want to fight. It’s as simple as that.

Reporter #6: This question is for both Virani and Lilim. How do you expect you’ll win this fight?

Virani: I think this fight is going to be a war, but it’s a war I think I can win. I see myself getting a knockout in the 6^th round. That’s how I saw it in my dreams last night!

Lilim: It’s hard to answer questions like that. I mean I have confidence in myself that I can win, but it’s impossible to know when or how I’m going to win. Virani is strong and she is not going to make it easy though. I’m just going to fight my hardest until I get that knockout victory. That’s really all I can do.

Reporter #7: Any last words for each other?

Virani: Thank you for taking this fight. I hope we put on a good show for the fans and that we can be friends afterward. I also hope that maybe we will have a rematch later. I will show you my best, and I hope I get your best too.

Lilim: Oh of course. I promise I’ll give you my absolute best on fight night. No matter how this ends I really do hope we can be friends after this and I’d be more than happy to fight you anytime. Just give me the time and place and I’ll be there. And just so you know to its a big honor to be up here with you. This still doesn’t feel real to be honest heheh. I’m already having a lot of fun. Sorry I’m better at fighting than I am at press conferences. Heheh. I’ll keep working on it.

The Weigh In

Announcer: “Ladies and Gentlemen, we now get to the main event.  This fight will be 8 rounds in the featherweight division between Lilim Alterion and Virani MacVicar.  First to the scales, ‘The Azure Valkyrie’ Lilim Alterion.

Lilim: You know… I love boxing with all my heart. With that said I really hate doing this part. I mean hearing people cheering for me is really nice, but standing up here with all these photographers snapping countless pictures just makes me feel so embarrassed. This outfit is way too revealing for me. I mean I wanted to try and come off as more confident, but honestly I wish I was wearing a shirt with sweats instead. I feel so weird wearing this, but as always I pushed my nervous feelings as far back as I can and I do the flexing pose Auroun told me to do. I hope doing this makes me look cool. This probably the only time having a scary face is helpful in these type of situations.

Virani: From the back I watch Lilim weigh in.  Her body is so stocky and powerful, sometimes I’m not sure that we are in the same weight class.  Maybe I’ve got heavy bones or something.  I know enough about Lilim to know that she’s probably pretty nervous, but you can’t tell by the way that she acts up there.  She looks calm and confident.  Scary, even.  There’s a great boxer up on those scales, everyone knows.  The last person to think that is true might be Lilim herself.

The Azure Valkyrie makes weight.  Well, that’s good.  Now there is about to be another great boxer on the scale.  Me.

Announcer: “And now on the scales, the 4-1 featherweight from Toronto, ‘The Canadian Cobra,’ Virani MacVicar!”

Virani: I really, really hate public weigh ins.  There’s nothing fun about being stared at and photographed by tons of media and photographers, like you are a choice piece of meat.  That might be my internal monologue, but I’m bright and cheery on the outside, smiling as I flex on the scale.  At least I packed something slightly more modest for me to wear today.  I mean its revealing, but not too revealing.

Lilim: Seeing Virani come out for the first time was a cool moment for me. She looks absolutely amazing. She’s way prettier than I am. She also has some serious muscles on her body too. She’s been working hard for this match. Man, even the way she smiles makes the whole room light up. The crowd loves her. She looks so happy to be up there. And she makes it look so easy as she flexes for the cameras. She’s way better at this than I am. Every time I do a weigh in I always feel like I’m doing it wrong, but Virani makes it look so easy.

Announcer: “Virani weighs in at 126 pounds!  The fight is official.  Lilim Alterion vs. Virani MacVicar.”

Lilim: So this is going to happen. After watching her so many times on TV I’m the next boxer to face Virani in the ring. My hands are shaking from excitement. I honestly can’t wait.

Virani: Well, its official.  I get to punch Lilim in the face tomorrow in front of a huge audience.  This is going to be fun.

Announcer: “And now the fighters come face to face….”

Virani: Nothing will ever feel more ridiculous then being 9/10ths naked and asked to look tough as you stare down another girl.  Nonetheless, I give it a good shot.  I’m not scared of Lilim.  The worst thing she can do is knock me out.  I’ve been knocked out cold on national television.  It sucked.  But I survived.  I got better.  If Lilim beats me tomorrow, its because she’s better than I am.  But I plan to be the best and to be the best, you’ve got to face tough opponents.  They don’t come much tougher than Lilim Alterion.

As we stare each other down I bring my right hand up to Lilim’s chin level.  Lilim doesn’t flinch.  I don’t know if I expected her to, but this girl in front of me isn’t afraid.  Good.  Let’s make this fight as epic as people think its going to be.

There’s no handshake, and I’m the person that breaks eye-contact.  My desire to get out of this…swimsuit is more than my desire to do some mental warfare.  We’ll get to punch it out tomorrow.  Won’t that be fun?

Lilim: I have mixed feelings about having face offs with my opponents. Sometimes they help me focus on wanting to beat them. And other times its just feels awkward. To be honest I wish we could just fight right here and now. I don’t want to wait anymore. Then again I feel ridiculous in this outfit. I don’t even feel like a boxer right now.

I snap out of it when I saw Virani standing close in front of me and giving me an intense glare. It’s so strange seeing a boxer that I admire wanting to knock my lights out. It’s actually a cool feeling. It’s just going to be me and her in the ring. It makes me happy.

I’ve seen Virani look intimidating before, but having her stare me down was a whole new level. I glare back at her to tell her that I’m ready for her. She looks a hundred percent confident that she is going to beat me. Which I’m fine with. She’s a dangerously strong boxer. I want fight her so badly and I want her at her best.

The longer we glare at each other the more I want this fight to happen. She even brings her right fist up to my chin to try and psych me out. I’m not worried. Virani is not the type of person to try anything funny during a face off. She’s a fair and clean boxer. I trust her.

Eventually she turns and walks away from me. I’m actually a little bummed out for some reason. But I quickly remind myself that tomorrow will finally be the day we trade fists. I’ll be ready.

Announcer: “And there we have it, Lilim Alterion and Virani MacVicar!  The fight is sold out, but you can watch LIVE on EBC Sport.”

The Intros

Ring Announcer: “And now it is time for our main event!  Please welcome to the ring, from California, USA, the Azure Valkyrie, Lilim Alterion!”

Lilim’s Walkout Music: Listen Here

Commentator: “A decent reception for the Azure Valkarie.  She certainly has some fans in the crowd, but this is a pro Virani MacVicar crowd for certain.  Lilim is the betting favourite, and has been the pick of my professionals when asked to pick the victor.  Still, they don’t decide fights based on betting odds, and both women will believe that they can defeat the other.  If you’ve never seen Alterion fight, she is a power puncher with good speed.  She’s best fighting on the inside, landing with big hooks and uppercuts.  Alterion also has a reputation for durability, she was able to last ten rounds with ‘The KO Kitten’ Karen Carlson in what was a knock ’em down, drag ’em out fight that Lilim ended up losing by decision.  The knock on Lilim is that she never quite seems able to win the big fights in her career.  Nonetheless, she is still only twenty-one years old and is tipped by many for stardom.

Lilim: My name is called, the music that Auroun picked for me plays, and I walk out to the large arena. I’m ready for this fight, I’m happy to be here, and I feel good as I walk down the aisle. I hear a good amount of cheers for me which is surprising since I’m not fighting in the United States. As much as I want to smile and thank my fans for their support I don’t want to break my concentration. I’m fighting The Canadian Cobra in her hometown. I have to stay focused and fight at my best if I want to beat Virani.

Ring Announcer: “And now, please welcome to the ring her opponent.  From Toronto, Canada, she is THE CANADIAN COBRA, VIRANI MACVICAR!

Virani’s Walkout Music: Listen Here

Commentator: “BIG ovation for the hometown girl making her return to fighting in Canada after fighting overseas in her last two fights.  Virani MacVicar has won over many fans for her looks, charm and intelligence, not to mention her action-packed fights that have her fans clamoring for more.  The hometown fans in Toronto have come out to support her in a big way, and you have to think that a couple of big wins may put her on track for stardom.  If you’ve never seen Virani fight, she’s a dangerous puncher who like to likes to be aggressive.  Her signature punch is her left hook but she’s not a one punch wonder by any means.  MacVicar is the betting underdog, but she’s been confident in the buildup and she looks to be in excellent shape for this fight.

Virani: I emerge from the back when I hear my name called..and the crowd erupts.  I’ve never heard a crowd like that make a sound for me.  It should be terrifying, but it energizes me.  These people have come out to support me, to see me put on a show and KO Lilim Alterion.  And that’s what I plan to do.  I strike a little pose for the cameras and flash a big smile.  I should do it now before I get into the ring with Lilim.  God only knows what I might look like at the the end of this fight, even if I win!

Commentator: “As is customary for big fights such as this we have some special guests at ringside joining us.  The legend Regina Halmich graces us with her presence along with her protege, Alesia Schumann.  Alesia and Virani are friends and sparring partners, so there is little question about who they will be cheering for in tonight’s fight.  We may possibly check in with Ms. Halmich or Ms. Schumann should there be an opportunity to do so.”

Ring Announcer: “Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner.  She comes to us with a record of 14 wins and 5 defeats, with 11 of those wins coming by way of knockout.  Please welcome, from California, USA, THE AZURE VALKYRIE LILIM ALTERION!”

Commentator: Lilim Alterion gets a nice round of applause as she gives the camera a little wave.  Lilim and her coach Jett have been quiet but confident about this one.  They believe that Lilim can hurt Virani and put her on the canvas and based off of Lilim’s victories, you would have to say that it seems possible.  She is certainly the more accomplished fighter at this current stage.

Lilim: It feels pretty cool when I hear the announcer yell my name out. It makes me feel like some sort of superhero. This is where I feel like I belong. I love the crowds applause, but since I’m not fighting in my home country I don’t want to seem too cocky. So, I  just wave to the camera a little to show my thanks. And now I’m all warmed up and ready to put Virani down.

Ring Announcer: “And her opponent, fighting out of the red corner.  She has a professional record of 4 wins with 1 defeat, with 3 of those wins coming by way of knockout!  Fighting out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she is The Canadian Cobra, Viraniiiiiiiiii MacVicar!”

Commentator: “The crowd roars for its hometown fighter.  Toronto thinks that they have a winner in the stylish, and beautiful, Virani MacVicar.  They’ll be hopeful that a big win here can propel her to a spot in the top ten of the world rankings.  I spoke to Virani’s coach Thomas Nagy earlier today, and Thomas was quietly confident that win or lose, Virani would show that she is a fighter to be reckoned with.”

Virani: You know, the thing I’ll miss most about boxing when I retire (hopefully in a long time) is having my name announced like I’m some conquering goddess.  It just never gets old.  I’m warmed up and ready for this showdown, eight rounds of boxing, though I don’t think anyone actually thinks it will go eight rounds.  This fight will probably be short, sweet and violent.

Commentator: “Our referee for this match is the respected Indian referee Kanti Agrawal.  She was the referee for Virani’s loss to Kayleigh Parsons in London, and I believe both boxers will be happy to have the up and coming referee in charge of this one.

Kanti: “Ladies, this is the main event.  I spoke to you both in your dressing room. This is an 8 round fight. You know the rules.  Obey my commands at all times, protect yourselves at all times.  I expect this to be a good, clean fight.  Any questions?  Okay, touch gloves.”

Virani: Good lord, it looks like Lilim is trying to shoot lazer beams from her eyes.  I think Lilim was a Viking in a previous life.  I offer only one of my hands to touch gloves and shoot Lilim a little smile.  A last little mindgame before the fight begins.  They are all meaningless now.  The fight is about to begin.

Lilim: The time has finally come and I could not be more ready. I know I can take anything Virani can throw at me. I am going to give her everything I got in this match. I touch gloves with her and she shoots me another smile. Another reminder to me of how confident she is. I honestly hate it when opponents smile at me. I know she’s just trying to get in my head. It’s no big deal. I would smile back at her, but I’ll wait till after I win. Let’s go.