Posted by Simguy on 7/22/2006, 1:50 pm.

Before: (Several weeks after the PPV) Courtney knows she’s playing with fire—deliberately inserting herself in the midst of one of the hottest rivalries in boxing. “It’s always dangerous when you get between two feuding girls,” Courtney says, ‘but the fights are too juicy for me to pass up. I’m getting Rachel and Neve back to back—that’s awesome for me, and the more rounds I get, the better I can be. When Neve doesn’t take me out in four, she’s going to start feeling pressure from Rachel’s performance: that’s when I’ll pounce, I’m not just going to take rounds from Neve: I’m planning to really set her back in this fight.” Campbell curt with the press, short with Courtney--Neve’s all business in prefight. “Courtney had such nice things to say about Rachel, I just thought she needed some perspective.” Campbell explains. “I’ve fought more rounds with Rache than anyone, and I can tell you flat out: she’s not the future of the bantamweight division. The only thing in her future is a terrible beating and early retirement. Smith isn’t a tune up: she’s the Ghost of Christmas Future for McAdams.” Courtney in white bikini top ring connection; baby blue cashmere crochet bottoms, small white mitts. Neve matching her dark features with black bikini (ring connections), small black gloves.

During R1: Neve stalking—Courtney sticking to the perimeter (couple of feet off the ropes). Both girls flat footed, set up in strong puncher’s stance: dukes up, eyes intent as each watches for flinches and openings. Crisp, precision punching from Campbell: crisscrossing straight lefts and rights, smashing past Court’s raised guard, bashing off face wit sharp, cracking contact. Neve mixing’em up nice: right/left straight off the shoulders, then a smooth torso-dip down to slip- any receipts, then back into Courtney’s belly a ripping, biting right, followed by a tight hook-to-temple. Smith gritting her teeth, really getting touch hard here—she’s releasing on similar straight punches—but Neve punching-with at exactly the right times, punching Smith’s face on the counter. Midway through, jolting head-punches stagger Courtney, wobbling her into the ropes with concerned eyes: Neve leans in on that front foot to CRANK her hook amidships, digging up Smith’s firm tummy. Bell: Courtney stunned, nose bleeding, eyes wide/glassy. Neve stomping back to her corner as intense as we’ve ever seen her.

R2: Heavy, spearing jabs Neve-to-Courtney move Smith to the perimeter: both girls affect those strong, flat footed shoulders, looking to put straight punches together. Neve the heavier-handed vixen, the snappier slugger—blows thrusting straight off her shoulder—rights and lefts penetrating Court’s guard, punching criss-cross against her mouth and chin. Neve scoring, then rotating down with her torso, staying in front of Court but changing level: good defensive movement from Campbell. Smith adjusting at the minute mark—straight away slugging no good for her: when Neve rotates her torso, blonde sidesteps, changing angle. Pesky punching from Court—straight lefts and rights off the shoulder—Smith tapping out combinations, starting to score to Neve’s face and upperchest. Spirited stuff—Neve not bodying up as much as expected, keeping her mitts free and looking to punch-with: Court using lateral movement, probably wins the round with busier hands in the second.

R3: Neve stalking, banging out a rigid, hurtful stick, hounding Court to the perimeter. Flat-footed, very cagey stuff—smith keeping dukes up, rotating her torso, trying to time Neve—but Campbell really punching with authority—very hard for Court to get off. Smith lumping up badly under Neve’s patient, but relentless one-twos on the face: combos up top setting up hooks or right hands to the ribs as Neve dips deep into her crouch, then come up underneath. Court blinking—left eye busting up, lips grimacing—Smith still alert, rolling her torso, blocking shots—but Neve’s drilling abuse decisive bell-to-bell.

R4: More Neve: early stalking, heavy jabbing ribbing Courtney of canvas, putting Smith on the apron—then the heavy, shelling one-twos detonating off the face, setting up the body blows., Campbell swiveling on her hips, punching, then rolling her torso while keeping her feet set—she’s basically able to stand in front of Courtney, out straight shots together, extending on the blows. Smith’s face swelling badly, left eye closing, cut in her mouth, bleeding from her nose: she’s grimacing, hurting, but still defending herself. Court standing flat footed in front of Neve, relying on upperbody moves and trying to counter, but its no-go: Campbell slipping and blocking with uncanny instincts, answering back with crunching force. Paralyzing hooks to the body crumple Court at the bell, nearly dropping her: Neve just getting up ion there with swiveling hips, hurting Smith terribly downstairs. Camera pans Rachel clapping and shouting encouragement to Courtney from the audience: Smith the fourth, albeit at high cost.

R5: Courtney gambling on hit and run, leading right hands over Neve’s jab and scooting off to either side as Campbell’s defending. Neve irritating more than hurt, but can’t find the blonde with those rivet-gun crisscross combos this round—Campbell reduced to stalking, raking Court’s ribs one punch at a time as Smith bounces round the perimeter at a constant hop. Daring flurry from Court at the bell: Neve forced to cover up as shoeshining lefts and rights bounce off her gloves and skull. Campbell seething, dark eyes flashing en route to her corner as Smith shows signs of life.

R6: Set piece battling: Court on the perimeter, Neve attacking. Sharp right/left punches in between Court’s mitts, buckling Smith’s knees: she covers up, absorbs a WITHERING hook behind the right elbow as Neve pops her hips into the shot. Savage body licks—Campbell crowding for the first time, punching Smith up into the ropes: Court tries to clinch, takes a shoulder-butt in her teeth and is flung back in disarray. Pounding criss-cross to the chest shakes Smith up: she’s breaking down badly, trying to turtle-up, but Neve’s jolting stroke pounding past the guard, Courtney repeatedly hurt, absorbing thrilling blows to her face, sitting into the ropes, stooping forward, then taking the body shots as Campbell steps up the tempo. Rachel McAdams: hands clasped at her chest, very concerned—she’s watching Courtney Thorne-Smith take the beating of a lifetime. It’s all too much, Smith beaten into stupor, starts to wilt to canvas: Neve reaches underneath the blonde’s arms, stacking her up into the ropes, preventing Court from going down. Smith all busted up, groggy, defenceless: her dazed eyes show she knows what Neve wants to do—nothing Court can do about it. Campbell just stacking Court up and going at her—closer distance now, pulling down on Court’s mitts to open her up, then short-clouting her jaw from either side. Muscular, relentless drubbing—poor Courtney out on her feet, repeatedly stacked up—Campbell pouring on the beating until ref finally wises up. Official pushes his way in, waving this thing off, cradling battered Courtney against the ropes just off Court’s right shoulder, glaring into the audience and drawing a thumb across her throat (instant fine) at Rachel, Heartless TKO6—Neve Campbell.

After: Smith extending Neve two more rounds than she did Rachel—but Campbell’s brutal battering Courtney unrecognizable, especially in that ruinous sixth round. Neve very crisp, technically sound tonight—she knows she looked good, preens a little in postfight, “Bring on Rachel, you know?” Neve says. “I battered Courtney tonight, gave her a little something extra just for Rache—I feel great and I’m ready to go hard at McAdams,” Nosey Tractorpull reporter actually pushes his way into the Smith dressing room in order to ask her:  who’s badder, Rachel or Neve? “Rache’s going to destroy Neve,” a badly battered Courtney winces, “and I’ll be watching every second of it!”

Reposted by Archer 11/10/09.