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Before: "You add this up, it's one of my biggest fights to date," an upbeat Neve says, ticking off fingers to enumerate her points. "It's a title defence against a first ballot hall of famer. It's a chance to hammer said hall-of-famer into retirement, securing my legacy as well as hers. It's a chance to snag the Bedazzled two piece costume - a legendary piece of celebrity fighting history. So yeah, I'm excited. Not going to be easy: I know Jen's hungry as hell to win another title, and unless I'm very much mistaken, I don't think I've got 100% of her respect going in. I'll be addressing that matter in the fight." Connelly coy on the prospect of her potential retirement following this fight. "I'm not going to make any firm commitments, other than to say, if this IS going to be my last fight, obviously I want to go out on a high note. If - hypothetically - I'm badly beaten by Neve - would I retire and allow her to crow about that? I'll be honest - I'm not sure I could live with that. But if I batter her and take her title, then yes, that would be an attractive exit point for me. A lot of people never thought I'd accomplish even half as much as I have in this sport. Finishing at the very top of the mountain does have tremendous appeal - for all of us, not just me." Jennifer donning the hot pink push up and panties worn by Raquel Welch in 1967's "Bedazzled"; small black work out gloves. Neve in sleek black off-the-shoulder bikini (left shoulder has the strap); glossy black hair tightly turned into french twist; small black workout gloves. Deep staredown during ring instructions: both women showing respect, touching up gloves like veteran pros.
During R1: Neve: right fist at her mouth; slight crouch as she doubles up stick; she wants to step in close and work her hooks. Jen: hands up, palms out - quick-nipping left jabs while motoring left, looking to turn Neve and deny her access. Scooting pace early on - bare feet stomping and sliding across canvas as girls jockey for position. Neve the aggressor, placing hooks to Jen's ribs, rack and tummy: Connelly staying on her toes, never getting it twice in a row - she's using the ring, seeing what Neve's got early.
R2: Neve quickly across the ring, shaking Jen with a batting right/left tic-toc either side the torso, then a swinging hook to chops, rocking Jen as she's trying to exit to her right. Connelly spooked, legs out of trouble, spitting jabs as Campbell rushes in. Middle minute - Neve doubles up her jab to cover her approach; bounces a hot right hand off Jen's ribs, hooks Jen's flat paunch; Connelly grimacing, gambles on a straight right counter, catching Neve clean on the teeth. Jen hopping to her right, looking to regroup after scoring: Neve steps-with, sweeps the wide left hook up and around, swiping Jen clean across her face and DROPPING JEN TO HER BUNS! Connelly scooting to a stop - pained look on her face as she knuckles canvas to push up off her glutes. Neve batting mitts: face impassive, but eyes dancing as she looks Connelly over. Final minute: Connelly stands her ground, dipping and digging a right uppercut in underneath Neve's left breast: Campbell immediately back with a hammering right to chin/clubbing left hook to toggle Jen's chin, backing her woozy to ropes at bell.
R3: Connelly with an early bolo right uppercut to Neve's ribs - Jen bouncing to her right after scoring, hands low. Neve stepping-with, sweeps that swinging left hook up off her hip, clouting Jen across her mouth, staggering the former champ yet again. Connelly retreats to apron (not quite ropes), digs in with elbows in, dukes up: Neve attacks the presented front with a vigorous, batting right/left to the waist. Jen's flat tummy ringing upon contact: Campbell lambasting her opponent tonight, landing with thudding leverage. Jen dips, fits Neve for the cutey-pie right uppercut in receipt: Campbell shrugs it off, clubs Jen a short right to chin in reprisal - pushes the stunned brunette into ropes all ragdoll. Jen bounces off with gloves at her face, then dips, rips the right uppercut to Neve's body again; both girls trigger fast-twitch hooks to chin and JEN'S BACK LEG GIVES WAY! Connelly wilting to her right knee, hollow-eyed at champ's ham-fisted power. Neve bats mitts, makes eye contact, jogs prettily to neutral corner. Connelly up - taking deep, contemplative breaths: she opts for the bicycle, looking to string out the round. Neve gives chase, cutting off the ring behind a stiff, ramrod jab: Connelly driven to all four sides of the ring, beaten up and down her torso as she covers up, then spins off the ropes in a series of Houdini escapes.
R4: Jen looking to box - dropping cute lead rights while pulling out; spitting don't-hurt-me jabs while circling away. Neve the aggressor, always and everywhere coming forward, dukes at her cheeks as she bobs/weaves her way past Jen's jab. Campbell landing thumping single shots to Jen's ribcage as Connelly's rotating to either side: tough for Neve to square up and pummel her girl consistently. Jen's footwork top-notch, but purely defensive: it's all Neve bell to bell on the cards. Connelly getting a firm, but calm talking-to during the break: "Start touching her body baby - now or never. Bank the body shots, come forward on her - you can't let this girl walk to you. Bust her up Jen: she's got no answer to your jab baby, put it on her."
R5: Jen responds, takes initiative from Neve. Quick one-twos bounce of Neve's guard, freezing her; follow up hook snatches at the waist, bouncing off taut meat. Right uppercut fits in under Neve's left breast like it belongs there: Jen crouching down after landing rather than pulling out to get hit that hook. Jen pumping the jab - stepping it in with authority: Neve getting her face punched back for the first time, taking her first backward steps in the bout. Connelly showing sauce late, turning a slow giant circle with her right arm, then quick-jabbing Neve in the mouth to embarrass more than hurt the champ. Bell: Neve's baleful stare says "Not cool," to anyone who knows what to look for. Shutout Connelly.
R6: Neve encroaching, crouching forward behind her gloves: Jen banging one-twos and jabs off the guard just to fix Neve's position, setting her up for real harm. Connelly working underneath with rigid, fish-hook uppercuts, ringing small-mitt connects off Neve's stubborn solar plexus: by the midway point, Neve's grimacing, mouthbreathing. Campbell dogged, inching forward - by the final minute she's able to get her shoulder behind hooks to Jen's body, forcing Connelly to cover up and wait her turn.
R7: Early on, Neve stooped forward behind her mitts - Jen pops hips right, arches her back and fits a stupendous, biting left uppercut to sternum. Champ chokes back a cry of pain - knees bending, then locking out straight as she totters forward: Neve's hurt. Jen's pupils dialate big and black - she steps right, drops a chopping right in around Neve's left wrist, smiting cheek. Left uppercut/chopping right - Neve grimly holding her guard together as Jen pounds in and around the defence. Left uppercut retests Neve's body - Connelly REEFING it in, baring her teeth. Right/left slashes against Neve's waist; Jen bracing her left forearm against Neve's wilting guard, then clipping a tightly curled right uppercut across Neve's overhanging hairline. Neve inching forward on instinct: Jen sidesteps right, pushing Neve behind her elbow to elegantly turn Champ's left flank. Jen loose, relaxed, weight on front foot as she pivots to her right, ripping short, jagged left uppercuts and chopping right hands at Neve's head. Down the stretch, Connelly rocks Campbell a left uppercut to chin, then another, and another - quick little cuffing clouts, buckling Neve's knees. Champ answers back a desperation hook, smiting Jen's chin - Connelly's eyes narrow as she steps back in respect, electing to run clock and take points. Break: Neve busted up, nose bleeding; Connelly's eating into the Campbell lead through 7.
Connelly/Campbell conc
Posted by simguy on 7/11/2008, 8:53 am
R8: Neve ringing tic-toc rights and lefts off Jen's wiry torso: Connelly covered up tight, shuddering under the impact, unable to answer immediately. Neve reaches in, bodies up for the first time - walking Jen to ropes and chesting her upright. NEVE HAMMERS RACK! Deliberate, hardhearted bid for dominance: Neve's eyes cold, lips curling as she leans in close, plowing fists in rapid sequence to Jen's infamous bra. Connelly's mounds jackhammered up - she's momentarily dazzled before managing to tie up for ref's break. Neve quick to get back on after ref pushes her back: jumping back in rough with her head and shoulders - reaching under Connelly's arms, making her take the weight. Neve stamping on the spot, glutes straining with the effort of smothering Jen's resistance. Punches are crude, cuffing or swatting affairs as both girls take whatever they can get. Long sequences of the girls just panting, pushing in close, straining against each other for position and leverage - Neve proving her raw brute strength in tummy to tummy action all along the perimeter.
R9: Bitter hammer and tongs: toughest two way action of the fight. Connelly refusing to give ground, committing toe-to-toe and brawling with Neve midring. Campbell crouching, bobbing in low and close, then erupting into Jen with hateful power from both sides. Jen placing gorgeous fish-hook uppercuts into Neve's lungs - gouging, dip-n'-rip punches Jess Alba would be proud of. Neve's arms shivering as she bats whacking blasts against her foe's slender, Oscar-winning torso. Jen able to drop her right foot back and fit Neve for the odd ringing right hand down across left cheek. Neve able to score up top with hooks and clubbing right hands after pulling Jen's hands down in close. All even till very late: Neve squirming inside, her forehead on Jen's clavicle. Campbell hooks Jen's waist a swipe, then arches her back into a vicious left uppercut off the front (left) foot, clipping Connelly's chin full blast. Jen's knees give - she nearly sits down, but manages a backpedalling reel that carries her awkwardly to ropes. Bell sounds before Neve can apply finishing touch: Jennifer swaying en route to her corner, badly, badly rocked by that shot.
R10: Campbell's trainer turns motivator - bellowing into Neve's face just before the bell "FINISH THIS! LAY HER DOWN! YOU GET OUT THERE AND STOP HER RIGHT NOW, NEVE!" Big spanking slap on the ass sends Neve roaring across the ring, eyes blazing.
Campbell hurtles into a rocky Jen, tackling her to ropes. Pair of hooks twitch short across Jen's breasts, putting a groggy look of despair on her face; right uppercut knocks her face up, drapes her in the ropes. Neve shifts left, pawing her left to Jen's chest, then sweeping a sidearm right fat to midsection. Neve shifts weight to right foot, tips right and reefs the hook to Jen's midsection, doubling Jen over. Campbell reaches in, bulls Jen upright at ropes, bashes at her head and shoulders a brace of clubbing lefts and rights. Connelly getting clobbered senseless: she leans back into ropes, tries the desparation right uppercut - eats a rocketing right hand full to chin and JENNIFER GOES DOWN! Jen rocked back, then drooping to all fours, shaking her head: Campbell jogging to neutral corner, feeling the moment. Jen up at 8, cut at the hairline, busting up badly: she bats mitts, tells ref she's good; on comes Neve. Campbell pouring in: it's a jailbreak - Neve bulling forward with her head, knuckling Jen to ragdoll her off the ropes, then belting her stupid to the body. Connelly growing limp - head lolling as she's shoved and battered - she's reaching to tie up around Neve's elbows, but Campbell's too strong, too violent. Neve mostly curling short lefts and rights off Jen's ribs and tummy, curling the mitts back to her own chest to reset; occasionally looping overhand rights and hooks smash against Jen's jawlines, rocking her back into ropes in stupor. Midway through, pair of short, hacking right hands to the face stun Jen - drooping her right shoulder into the ropes, hands stacked right atop left at her chest: Neve pops hips right, shrieking as she drags a sumptuous hook deep to Jennifer's tummy, immediately dislodging Connelly's mouthpiece. Sob of gutshot agony, Jen Connelly - eyes shut tight, tears streaming, she sinks to her right knee, right arm in the ropes for balance. Neve bellowing incoherently, then ordering the ref "STOP IT REF! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" He pushes her off, watches close as Jennifer Connelly wills herself to her feet one more time. Jen swaying in the wind - ugly mouse forming under left eye, nose bleeding, hairline cut matting her hair: she's a battered mess. "'m good," Jen mumbles "'m good"; ref believes her. "BASTARD!" Neve howls at the official, then wades in, ripping Jennifer a soul-searing sidearm right in the body that has ringsiders shouting in alarm. JEN ANSWERS THE RIGHT UPPERCUT! Neve startled to chin, staggered slightly - she manages a pushy right to Jen's chest, then trades straight lefts in the face as Connelly's slumping back into ropes. THEY'RE TRADING GROGGY! Jen just pushing straight rights and lefts into Neve's face - bumping at her; Neve hustling back the same kind of prodding pokes, stunned to be trading with such damaged goods. Bell: ref jumps in - Jennifer Connelly limps to the finish line. UD10 - Neve Connelly.
After: Neve gracious in victory - hugging Jen, kissing her cheek, then quickly waving in the medics. Connelly soundly thrashed, but savagely competitive to the final minute: giving every last bit of herself to deny Neve the stoppage. Ever classy - Jen Connelly agrees to in-ring interview as ring fills with entourages and press. "She was too strong," Jen admits, offering no excuses. "I felt her strength early, tried to negotiate it, tried to box her, but Neve wasn't having it. I stood and fought with her after that because I wanted to win this - not just survive it. She hurt me repeatedly - I can't tell you how many times I thought I was going out, but I just hung on, because I couldn't lie down for her - no way. Is this my last fight? I mean - I don't know. I'm going to talk to my management, and we'll see what happens from here. I'm hurting right now - I don't want to speak emotionally and say anything I'll regret tomorrow morning." Campbell busted up, but elated: almost all her objectives obtained tonight. "I wanted to stop her, I'll admit that," Neve says, pulling at her nose, "but you don't just step-to Jen Connelly and stop her - she's just too damn proud for that. I felt I was having my way with her, but she started placing body shots - GOOD, good bodyshots - and I couldn't get off the way I wanted to in the middle rounds. You know, it was a tough, tough fight - I knew it would be. I'm proud of the way I handled the moment, and I'm still champ baby. Look around, who's gonna take this from me (jostles belt on her shoulder). I don't know, you know? I don't know any bantamweight who could've handled me tonight, and that's just me being flat out honest with you." |
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