Posted by Simguy on 1/19/2001, 6:04 pm.

Before: Well matched pair, both girls with a good mix of skills, both durable, tougher than they look. Denise the more snake bitten of the two-she really needs a credible win to rescue her shattered rep--Neve looking to pack up a vulnerable brunette torn by self doubt. Neve in grey sports bra, grey drawstring shorts ala “Scream 2”--Denise in little blue bikini top, grey drawstring shorts.

During R1: Almost as though both girls made a secret pact before the fight to disobey their trainers. Brunettes step to mid ring and lay it down. HARD licks back and forth--girls fighting flatfooted, bending side to side as they pull haymakers into one another and NEVE GETS HURT! A series of crashing blows yields a piledriving right on the chin as Neve gets set to throw her on right-Campbell’s legs are shot as she wobbles to the ropes, D piles on. It’s heartless middle minute--Richards wide eyed, sensing the kill, staying on her girl with rolling 3 punch uppercuts to the body, then capping off with the short hook or right hand on the face. Campbell swooning, seated on the ropes, eyes fluttering as she soaks up punch after punch. A cut at the hairline opens up on Neve as the sheer volume starts to bust her up. Final minute: Richards still pumping leather, girls trade left hooks and DENISE GETS HURT! D stepping back with a startled look, hands down as a battered Neve comes forward in a hurting cringe. Campbell lighting Denise up--Richards stunned, can’t defend herself--Neve clapping wide lefts and rights across the girl’s face drives D the length of the ring, Now it’s Neve on Denise, shove and slugging at the ropes, DIGGING in the right hand to the stomach, doubling it up top to the ear, finishing off with the hook--Richards out on her feet at the bell as the crowd ROARS. Round of the Year ends with Neve being pushed back--Denise’s corner helping her to her stool and breaking out the smelling salts.

R2: Both girls off their stool looking like they’ve already gone 10. D bodies up and goes to work--Campbell resting inside, keeping her head close to Richards. D moving her hands back and forth into Neve’s belly, walking the girl back to the ropes. All Richards this round as Campbell goes from willing accomplice to wobbly butt prey--final minute sees d really sink in wide rights and lefts to the trunk like to send Neve grimacing back to her corner. Shutout Denise.

R3: Neve lights Denise up with a nifty short right hand lead, bending in and down with the punch as Richards stands up straight an stunned. Neve patient, stepping around Richards, touching her with a short double jab, then reaching in with the smacking right on the head or banging it off the breast. Takes Denise a couple of minutes  to clear her head, but down the stretch, she’s got her legs back--she’s circling with Campbell, out jabbing the scream queen at the bell.

R4,5: Both girls are fighting hurt, busted up--they commit inside these rounds to take one another’s heart out of the fight. Grueling head on shoulders trade--girls lapping up one another’s chugging efforts and responding in kind--gloves just licking back and forth underneath. Exhaustion grows--both girls drop low more than once into the soft trunks--neither compromise as fight takes on a numb, mindless aspect. Denise takes the fourth, Neve the fifth--still no clear leader.

R6: Neve with the first change up. She’s been banging heads and shoulders with Denise all night, now she backs off, lures Denise in with a pitty pat jab from the hip and potshots counter right hands as Richards comes forward. Pretty stuff from Campbell, she’ll roll with Richards’ chopping right, comes right back with a short right hand, all shoulder to the chin or chest, then dip away to either side, staying low the whole time. Midway through, Neve puts wobble in Denise’s trunks with a crunching right on the face--D momentarily frozen--enabling Neve to reload, light her up with another right/left on the mouth. Big shutout Neve Campbell--D lumping up badly, cut over the right eye at the bell.

R7: PAYBACK! Denise won’t give in--she answers Neve with a brutalizing round of body punching that has ringsiders cringing. Campbell looking exhausted, falters around the ring as Denise looms over her, lifting her mitts up into the creamy sides or solid midriff as Neve bends forward. Denise with bludgeoning, methodical beat down batters Campbell in a staggering path around the ring and after 3 successive unintentional left looks into the trunks--Campbell sobs aloud and is caught with a beautiful right uppercut on the chin. Neve swooning to the ropes glassy eyed--she’s out on her feet as Denise piles on, clops left/right across the face at the bell. Ref pushes a spent Richards away--Campbell prevented from falling by her corner as they literally carry her to her corner as they literally carry her to her corner, assuring officials that she’s fine.

R8: D knows where the money is, and goes back to the body as Campbell wilts, All Denise Richards, fighting on her last legs, heaving lefts and rights up underneath, swabbing the sweaty back as Campbell hunches over her legs. Dreadful, hamfisted beat down--Richards getting her body into every punch, staying on her girl, able top aim and reef at a slogging pace. Campbell drops another shutout, seemingly unable to answer back--both girls weave uncertainly to their corners at the bell.

R9: OH NEVE! Campbell times Denise for another diving right hand, bouncing her fist off face, bending low and staying crouched as Richards’ legs bend, then lock--D fighting on instinct, Neve slowly, painfully to work, gets her shoulder into Denise’s chest, nudge and slugging left and right to the gut as she backs Richards to the ropes. D just pushing her mitts, cringing as her body is touched, head swiveling whenever Neve comes upstairs--ringsiders screaming as each punch seems to have knocked Richards out but she never falls. Down the stretch, Neve lolls on Denise all punched out--Richards with eyes closed, dreamily starts to stuff her mitts  into the trunks and belly of her foe--Campbell gurgling, crumpling up, clinches around the waist to avoid going down herself.

R10: Ruined beauties limp towards one another, hands low, faces blank, and Neve starts to jab, Pushing back Denise’s vacant face, jamming a breast--Neve automatically pumps left hand, stumbling to her left as Richards paws back ineffectually with her own left. Campbell starting to hook off the jab, digging at the sternum, has D’s thighs trembling, but Richards continues to cut down the ring. Final minute, Neve lights Denise up with a vicious hook--Richards seems stunned, but then turns on a short right hand lick that catches Neve perfectly, beating Campbell to the punch. DOWN GOES NEVE! Campbell’s own right sails as she corkscrews wearily to the mat--Richards barely registering the accomplishment, steps through the sprawled legs on the opponent to wander to a neutral corner. Campbell beats the count, steps through the sprawled legs of the opponent to wander to a neutral corner. Campbell beats the count--girls fall in together content to tie one another up to the bell. Comes back a narrow decision for: DENISE RICHARDS!

After: HEARTBREAKER! Campbell losing a surprisingly entertaining slugfest as Richards puts everything on the line to win. 100 years from now, highlight shows will still be running that first round--back and forth slam bang action that effectively ruined both girls for the rest of the night. Impossible to tell who was more badly hurt as the fight progressed, each lighting the other up so often and so badly as to defy description. Career saving effort from Richards proves she can still fight at a certain level--no shame in the loss for Campbell in one of boxing’s rare win-win fights.

Reposted by Archer 7/20/