Posted by Simguy on 2/19/2005

Before: Cold, cold dais between these two - neither girl making eye contact, both edgy, irritable in the presence of the other. "I'll hurt her and hurt her quickly," Sarah says stonily. "I have no intention of letting Natalie finish this fight."

Portman similarly hard-hearted. "Sarah's skills have diminished with age - she doesn't box like she used to because she can't. She had to get cheap to get by Lacey Chabert and frankly, it was pathetic to see that because at one time, Gellar would have dressed Lacey up proper. I think it's up to me to start giving Sarah the beatings that will ultimately convince her to leave the sport. If that's my mission, I eagerly accept."

Weigh in equally frosty: Sarah standing with arms crossed, tongue pressing against her cheek as Portman is weighed in her bikini; Portman glaring baleful, lips pressed tight as she watches Sarah come in at the flyweight limit.

Small gloves both vixens - black bandeau bikini, slick battle bun hair Sarah - white/green floral print bandeau Natalie, low ponytail.

During R1,2: Very, very brisk pace - girls setting a classy thrust-and-parry cadence midring. Nat doubling up the jab to chest while scooting left, stepping in with a short overhand right, gouging up with lefts. Sarah swivel pivoting left, bending at the waist, rolling low with Nat's rights, coming back at brunette breadbasket with tidy hustle-punching lefts and rights. In and out, staccato collisions, step-out disengagements - both girls' eyes thoughtful, calm, professional. Both utilizing quick top-tugs to pull the other forward and reverse positions with her - just catch-and-release, no holding and hitting. Yet.

R3: Sarah batting and flapping at Nat - arm punching flurries, but effectively driving Portman to the perimeter and keeping her defensive. Natalie dukes up, blocking, sliding to her right along the ropes - she's giving up her shoulders, hips and flanks, but taking away chin, chest and tummy against Gellar's non-stop, flailing attack. Down the stretch, Portman's patience rewarded - she times a short, pulverizing right hand straight to the tip of Sarah's chin in between Gellar's punching: blonde rocked, put wobbly butt on the spot. Quick top-tug Nat as she hauls Sarah forward, turns her and pushes her off into the ropes - Portman able to finish up with a round-stealing flurry as Gellar covers up wounded to the bell.

R4: Natalie taking over as Gellar's legs still dealing with that clean chin-check - brunette jabbing to close, hooking the ribs and stomach of her foe. Gellar gritting her teeth, leaning forward behind her mitts as Natalie treats herself - Portman scoring, walking Sarah down as Gellar minces in retreat. Late the round, Gellar steels herself, hooks-with Nat, steps right for a little angle and gets a clean hook inside Portman's raised right mitt. Natalie on her heels, steadying herself at the ropes - Gellar spits jabs to close, dips and digs a jagged left uppercut to the sternum, buckling Portman forward and SARAH ROMPS TO KIDNEY! Gellar baring teeth in an ugly snarl, sweeping in across Natalie's tender lower back with great swiping left and right heel strikes. Portman sobbing aloud, knees nearly giving - she's saved by the bell as ref tackles Sarah off, reads her riot act for the dangerous infraction.

R5,6: Purists rejoice - girls razor sharp, fighting at break-neck tempo but never losing form - very crisp, professional two way. Right hands high, both girls operating behind the jab in space, spritzing and spitting, darting in close, flurrying to stubborn tummies, lathering sturdy ribs, dusting tidy racks, then quickly disengaging. Quick catch-and-release top-tugs, both girls very adept at snagging bandeau with the left hand, reversing field on her opponent. Natalie getting the better of competitive minutes: she's the harder hitter, the more imposing female, harvesting more chin in amongst the body blows - Gellar usually the one to step out, hoping to reshuffle the cards from fresh angles.

R7: Gellar mounts a sustained egg-beater attack, driving Nat to ropes and hounding her corner to corner. Portman defending well - eyes alert, dukes up - she's blocking a lot up top, turning her shoulders, stepping to the right. Gellar stepping with and tidying up - she's throwing 3 or 4 to land 1, busily batting at Portman's flanks or snik-snakking right/lefts across Nattie's belly. Wheels fall off late as Portman counters off the ropes - short right hand on the button threads the needle, puts Sarah creaky-kneed. Portman: Short left uppercut on the button; dip; rigid digging hook to liver; shoulder-bump; CLANGING hook on the chops - Sarah sent reeling, eyes shiny with 'how-could-you' glaze as Portman steals the round.

R8: Sarah shakes off sock, gets right back on top - still busy, but smarter this round. Gellar fixing Natalie's position with the stick before flurrying - batting away head and shoulders to set up gouging hooks to liver and shoulder-shrugging jug mugs hup-hup-hup. Gellar punching has Nat leaning forward at times - blonde taking the opportunity to snag Portman's bandeau, tug her forward and spin her around. Portman fighting in spots, jabbing from her temple, operating out of the high, compact guard to buffett Sarah's bodkin in spurts.

R9: Sarah with vicious, vindictive, all-in hooking to Portman's body - thing of awful majesty to see Gellar practically leaving her feet to get up in there, driving Portman into ropes. Natalie grimacing, badly body-shocked - she's covering up earmuff, stooped forward in stupor and SARAH POUNDS AWAY KIDNEY! Gellar's eyes glacial as she does what she must, swipin' and a-sweepin' against Natalie's defenceless, shiny lower back. PORTMAN TAKES A KNEE! Natalie snivelling, hand clutching her back, bitter complaint on her lips as ref starts barking out the count - Nat up at 8, eyes flat with hate. HAMMER AND TONGS! Sarah rushes in to finish, but runs into determined Natalie punching - little vixens snuggle in mouth-on-shoulder to dig up tummy with busy mittfuls of leather. Natalie hurt, but holding her own - wheels fall off late as trade in chin-clipping hooks goes SArah's way. Natalie reeling straight back, hands down - Gellar pounces. Portman slumped on ropes, face in gloves, elbows in - Sarah rips her short left uppercuts against the guard, scouring over and over to get in there; Sarah hooking waist with all the venom in her little body, sending shivers down Natalie's thighs; Sarah sweeping sidearm rights in over Natalie's left hip - blonde hungry to bend brunette double so she can reap those tender kidneys again - Portman refusing to obey. Bell: Sarah stays on with heartless lather till ref tugs her away - Gellar's eyes flashing, chest heaving as woozy Natalie struggles up off the ropes. Gellar writhes clear of Ref, manages to plunge home a heinous elbow tip to pit of Portman's tummy from the side - poor Natalie groaning, slumping sideways to ropes as ref re-collects wriggling blonde minx.

R10: HAMMER AND TONGS! Girls following jabs to edge in with shoulders to opposition chests then hanging around cheek-by-jowl to claw and rake each other underneath. Hooks drift low, nipping trunk as fatigue makes both vixens sloppy. Chins tested and retested as both are landing the clean rights and lefts they couldn't get earlier. Digging double hooks are rewarded with shuddering, throbbing ribs or tired tummy meat, now producing weary give in legs that had earlier proven too hard and stubborn to buckle. It's to Natalie's liking - she's backing Gellar up, hurting her more in the intense give-and-take - Sarah too proud, maybe too worn down at this point to do anything other than slug to the last drop. Bell: bitter rivals continue to gnaw at each other punches - both leaning forward, letting hands go underneath in mindless lather. Separated at last, both are heaving, trembling with exhaustion: both would gladly rejoin the combat were it not for the official presence. Comes back UD10 comfy: Natalie Portman.

After: Gellar crestfallen - she knows she had Natalie ready to go in the ninth, but the more consistent beauty minute for minute, round for round definitely Portman. Natalie calloused where Sarah's concerned - brunette fronting up on Sarah, forcing hard eye contact and staring blonde down - Gellar can't take it - goes to lunge at her tormentress and girls are separated by a coterie of security guards.

"We did things her way," says a bruised, badly scuffed up victrix, "and I used Sarah up. She can't box me, she can't slug me so she's reduced to fouling me. I'm not going to forget those kidney punches anytime soon - I'll be giving Sarah the bill for those blows, don't you worry about that."