The first round began with Michael coming out swinging. He was punching like he was trying to take Brandon's head off, and with his technical prowess, he almost succeeded. Brandon was able to dodge and backpedal, but he felt the fist graze his cheek a couple times, one leaving a cut that he would have to treat after the fight to make sure that it didn't scar. Seeing an opening, Brandon retaliated with a punch to the nose, surprising Michael with his force. He followed this punch up with a kick to the stomach that pushed him back, putting more distance between them. Boxers were used to working in close-quarters, so if Brandon was going to win this thing, he was going to have to stay out of range of his fists.
That proved to be easier said than done, though. Michael closed the distance many times throughout the first round, and kept throwing fast jabs that tested Brandon's ability to dodge. He hadn't used this much head movement in a fight in some time, and even Brandon's impressive reflexes could not dodge every punch. He was hit in the mouth with a single jab and took a single punch to the chest, but he landed blows of his own. The round ended with both fighters evenly-matched, and Brandon returned to his corner. His strategy of using distance would prove to be a good one, as that single punch had bloodied his mouth, making it clear that he would not win by standing and exchanging with Michael.
After rinsing his mouth out with water, he stood and went into the second round. This round showed Brandon using more kicks to wear away Mike's legs and push him back. He took a punch above the knee that probably would have broken his leg if it had landed on the joint, and so he switched tactics to counter punching. Michael was like a tank, though, absorbing his punches to keep on swinging. This round did not see any significant gains for either fighter, and so they returned to their corners. Brandon was getting a feel for how his opponent fought, and knew that as long as he stayed patient, he would ultimately prevail.
Rounds three through nine saw the momentum change from one fighter to the other. One round Michael would appear to be dominating, and the next would be Brandon's turn to dominate. In round ten, however, Brandon took a hard right hook that sent him sprawling to the canvas. His vision was blurry and his head was spinning, and he knew that he had to get to his feet. He was able to stand on the count of six, and got out of the round safely. This round had made Brandon's fans nervous, concerned that their champion might lose for the first time in his illustrious career.
However, rather than being a sign that Michael was gaining ground, this turned out to be what Brandon needed to weather the storm. In round twelve, Brandon dodged his punches and countered with well-timed punches and kicks. Michael's eyes were starting to swell, and this cut down on the accuracy of his lethal punches. Brandon launched a head kick that Michael attempted to counter with a punch to the knee, but his fist was not as hard as Brandon's kneecap and the pain shocked him. Using this second that his opponent had lost focus to his advantage, Brandon delivered a spinning head kick that sent Michael crashing to the mat. The referee approached, saw that he was knocked out, and called the fight.
Brandon raised the belt to the roaring crowd, proud of their champion that had bested yet another challenger. Michael was still too dazed to communicate, which was probably just as well, since Brandon doubted that he would have anything nice to say to him after that defeat. Putting on his blue robe, he walked with his manager back to the locker room. Changing back into his street clothes, a fight physician put some salve on his cut and then bandaged it. Getting his stuff together, they walked to the lobby. Brandon waited, knowing that Vanessa would soon be there to meet them.