MAXIM/PARAMOUNT BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE

Originally posted by Simguy on 2/2/2002, 1:23 pm

Before: Good natured taunting, tummy-tapping during weight-in between rivals, but Britney sets tone with some harsh comments in pre-fight: “All the fighters know how two faced Dani is. Fans think she’s all about fair play and hard work, but get in the ring with her sometime—see what she’s really like. Dani doesn’t enjoy ‘fighting’, she doesn’t like resistance—she likes you stunned and helpless up against the ropes where she can beat on you—she’s a bully. The truth is, Dani Fishel has a huge Nolin streak in here and it’s about time the fans saw her for what she really is.’ Ouch.

Fishel is teal bikini top, grey stretch cotton shorts, Britney in pink bikini ntop, wrap around short pink sarong over pink bikini bottoms.

During R1: Britney crowding Dani early, fighting inside, but fighting smart. Fishel up against the ropes, hunkered over—Britney crouched with her shoulder in Fishel’s chest—Spears off that right shoulder, using her legs to jam a curling right hand to the pit of the belly, or jerking little right uppercut at smothering range. Minute of tough mugging at the ropes sees Dani touched up plenty—Britney finally backs off to open up the ring. Fishel coming forward, bobbing and weaving, crossing her arms to walk Spears down—Britney fading back, batting the backhand jab, juking side to side, potshotting her oncoming nemesis. Down the stretch—Spears more or less flat footed, but controlling distance nicely—she’s got Dani reaching with punches, coming up short, and whistling right hand counter over the hook has Fishel stepping in fence post holes at the bell. Dani nodding in acknowledgement—realize she got worked over a little that round.

R2: Dani gets the jump—working off Britney’s chest, bobbing inside to buck with her shoulders and snap off left/rights to the midriff. Spears grunting with the solid contact, but she keeps her cool  rolls with punches at close range and blunts a lot of the incoming with shifty upperbody movement. By the middle minute, Britney’s legs are back in control—she’s got Dani turning out midring, eating the jab—Fishel frustrated as she tries to close the gap. Once again, Fishel getting out over her feet—Britney able to time the hook and drop a chopping right hand over the top, puts Fishel wobbly butt at the break.

R3: Dani’s pressure starting to pay—she bobs and weaves her way in close, then has Britney suffering from jerking left uppercuts to the breadbasket, hacking right hands to the hip, short left hooks to the chin in close, Spears laying in with her shoulder, unable to get off—she’s looking sullen, shopworn. By the middle minute, she’s lounging on the ropes, draping herself ion Dani, trying to bog the little dynamo down, but Fishel with feet wide, starts to turn up the volume. Final minute a Carmen Basilio style beating—Spears numb, bending forward as she sits on the ropes, elbows protecting her battered rib cage as Dani reefs away with cudgeling lefts and rights. Dreadful bombardment unhooks Britney’s sarong—crowd roars at the bellas Brit stands dazed, swaying, skirt around her ankles as Dani prances away all smiles.

R4: Britney sans sarong sits down into the ropes, motions Dani on in—Fishel gladly obliges as she has Spears fighting the wrong fight. Britney playing it coy on the ropes, right hand at her cheek, left across her body, trying to put her cheek on either side of Dani’s head, trying to slip and roll with punches—Fishel with head rough under Brit’s chin, hands loose and low at her stomach—she’s bumping and pushing with her head and shoulders, snapping punches into Britney’s body between the hips. Down the stretch, Spears gets something going. Turning her torso to put her left shoulder into Fishel, Spears is able to sling tough right hands to the pit of the stomach, startling Dani and putting the ex-champ on her heels. Spears  punching her way off the ropes, shouldering Dani back, banging her to the body, adding the cuffing hook up top and FISHEL IS HURT! Dani going glassy eyed as Spears crowds in off that right shoulder, tight, curling right hands to the belly and chin, cuffing left hooks, bumping shoulder work—Fishel hits the far ropes in swoon as Spears steals an important Dani round and DANI GOES DOWN! Bell sounds to save an exhausted Fishel—she’s busted up around the right eye, staggers back to her corner concerned for the first time in the fight.

R5: Dani shakes it off, goes right after Britney as Spears refuses to give ground. Shoulder to shoulder banging, both girls getting low on the other, using their legs, jamming punches into the breadbasket and cranking at the chin whenever there’s room. Spears not using her angles inside this round—it’s just smash mouth fighting and slowly, but surely, Dani gets the better of it. Fishel with her hands at her stomach, leaning in on Britney, rolling her shoulders and dipping her legs to get maximum leverage on gut wrenching snaps to the ribcage and tummy meat. Final minute, Spears is stupid with punishment, not punching back, just laying in with Dani, elbows in to try to bock the bombardment.

R6: Britney mixes it up nicely his round. Dani off with stick and move, gliding nicely around Fishel’s left shoulder behind the jab. Steps in to spank-spank the waist, shoulders up to nudge Fishel off balance, then steps away to regroup. Fishel a step behind for the most part—she’s getting beaten to the punch, and more worrisome—she’s being backed up as Spears tags her, shoulders her off balance. Fishel wasting a of time this round trying to get her feet right as points slip away.

R7: Britney lands that sumptuous right hand brick to the pit of Dani’s stomach at the open, getting position with her shoulder in Fishel’s chest, powering the punch in with her legs and back—Dani paralyzed and groaning upon impact. Brit’s got a hurting challenger in front of her and takes Dani apart the rest of the way. Pretty stuff—Spears lifting the jab off her stomach, pounding away on the eye, then she’ll step to right or left to reach a lashing blow around Dani’s body to bash kidney. Dani on her heels, not coming forward this round, grimacing from the cruel touches to her back and sides, but not doing much about it, Shutout Spears.

R8: Britney in total command—a shock to Fishel’s supporters Dani can’t come forward this round. Spears loose and limber, right hand under her chin, left at her stomach—she’s dominating Dani with slashing stick on the eye, catching Fishel leaning forward with a sweet counter right uppercut, stepping to the side off the jab to hammer away at the tight lower back of her foe. It’s all too much—half way through a brutal round, Fishel gives with a hurting moan and folds slowly to all fours—Britney Spears lifts her mitts as she sees the resignation on her foe’s face—it’s KO8 Britney as Fishel can’t get off her haunches.

After: Pain wracked Dani kneeling midring, hand at her back, face contorted—Britney unpacks the kidney punch yet again to dispatch another former champion, but before that, champ did a nice job taking it to Dani’s body. Liu and Fishel back to back—Spears now a player among smaller bantams—she surveys the devastated landscape: “It’s getting pretty thin out there,” jokes a sweaty, fresh faced champion, “maybe if Eliza were to come up I’d have a challenge, but I’d be carrying the entire promotion—I don’t want to hear 6 figures coming from Dushku. There’s Hu, but again, until ‘The Scorpion King’ comes out, who the hell is she? I’m definitely putting the ‘celebrity’ ion celebrity in celebrity boxing—it’s hard to find a match for me right now.”

Reposted by Archer 6/22/09.