Before: Penelope loser of her last two, favoured in both - she turns to an old nemesis to right the ship. Watts a similarly built whippet with good boxing skills but not a heavy-handed puncher - Cruz hoping to be a little more durable against her blonde. Naomi bubbly, upbeat in prefight - Cruz an opportune stepping stone to get back in the mix - Watts well positioned for a springboard launch if she plays her cards right.

Cruz in black bikini from Sarah - Watts in white bikini from Huckabees, short bobbed hair from Huckabees as well.

During R1: Naomi boxing splendidly, really embarrasing and overshadowing her classy brunette opposition in the first. Popping, darting jabs, body and head. Gorgeous right crosses - Naomi grinning as she bends and plants leather on Spanish chin, punching Cruz' head to the side in dismay. Robust body shellack - mostly tucking little hooks, but some flurries, some digging right hands - anytime Penelope cooperates by leaning forward behind her guard. Bell to bell Watts - shining smile en route to her corner: Cruz already discouraged, sullen on her stool.

R2: Naomi committing to right hands, setting 'em up with jabs then bending 'em in - Cruz upright, taking hard shots - she's put wobbly butt by a series of Watts drilling crosses in potshotting first minute action. Naomi on her toes, lithe and athletic tonight - she gets off, pivot-steps to the left, hooks Pene's ribs, doubles up the hook to the body, triples up the hook to temple. Naomi can't wipe the grin off her face - Cruz is sluggish, uncertain of herself - just covering up and tilting forward, right there for Naomi's punches. Brisk tic-tac-toe body punching as Penelope's paralyzed on the spot - Watts just moving her mitts, loving it on Cruz for a second straight shutout.

R3: Penelope breaks up the party, toughening up and letting her hands go. Jab finding Naomi between the eyes, in the mouth, batting her head back - Cruz following with a crisp right cross and a meanspirited hook in the pit of blonde belly. Watts keeping her defence in place, weathering Cruz' work, then answering back - blonde dig-digging to the body both hands and finishing upstairs with hooks in spirited two way trade. Pene the busier, bossier girl, backing Naomi up after most exchanges - both girls classy inside and out, ringing each other up through 3.

R4: Girls feels each other out, rotating left around their jabs, then migrate inside to slug hooks shoulder to shoulder. Right hands at cheeks, both vixens dig and tuck at ribs, tummies and tits - left hands curled in tight arcs, just snatching at high quality flesh. Even trade till Naomi starts turning over left and right uppercuts, shutting Cruz down - all Watts in the final minute, coming forward, busily putting her hands all over Penelope to the bell.

R5: Similar stuff - good conventional boxing outside, but Naomi's footwork is better, allowing her to dictate terms, maneuver in and out on Cruz. Good crisp licks inside - neither a big banger, but both busy and ill-intentioned in there. Again, Watts separates herself, picking Cruz up a pesky tapping uppercut to win the exchanges, stepping forward as Cruz retreats. Naomi still landing fine right crosses whenever she wants, bending in the shot, carrying forward with her body into Penelope to bump her backwards in bullying fashion.

R6: Naomi's right hand the difference in the fight - she freeze Pene behind her gaurd with the jab, drops the right hand onto jaw and poor Cruz is doing the funky chicken once again. Penelope hurt, slouching on the ropes for support - Naomi steps-to, piles on the hurt. Watts so brisk mitted, putting tapping combinations to work in Penelope's tired gut, wilting tits, heaving lungs. Naomi tic-toc with left/right uppercuts - just short, tapping blows, skidding off Cruz' face or head, molesting her, chipping at her. Cruz lumping up under the constant pesky contact, but fighting back in spots: she's getting hooks into Naomi's waist, countering to the chin as blonde opens up brazen through 6.

R7: Shutout Naomi Watts. Watts patient, feels she has the better legs - she spends the round breaking Cruz down with the jab. Pene peering over her gloves, turning, getting her face punched - Spanish beauty glum, sluggish as she turns, takes. Naomi never prettier - fresh-fisted, smiling, dropping in right hands off the front foot but basically taking Cruz apart with the stick - all these pitty pat shots are adding up.

R8: Naomi moving in and out now. Blonde dominant on the outside - her jab has surpressed Cruz', her legs have humbled Cruz' - Naomi's looking for the body. Good digging hooks - small glove wet and sharp as it bites into Spanish rib or tummy - Cruz making small grunting noises, buckling forward behind her mitts. Watts still sound defensively - digging in two or three, then pivoting to the side, giving Pene no chance to respond. Heartbreaking back to back shutout has Cruz' eyes shiny with embarrassment - Sunny smile Watts, she's all bouncy back to her corner.

R9: THIRD straight shutout, Naomi just outclassing, outworking, outpunching Penelope Cruz tonight. Cruz listless, keeping the guard high, stooping forward into the storm - Watts pelting the waist slender-limbed right/lefts, jabbing to regroup her feet, bending into the right hand to catch Pene shifting. Naomi a flashy, pretty puncher, but it's the accumulation more than the power that's getting to Pene - Cruz groggy, inching forward, unable to respond. Watts able to lower her left to her waist while edging in close to scrape multiple right uppercuts off the back (right) foot, carving away at a morose Penelope Cruz to the bell.

R10: Naomi with one of those shearing right hands just outside Penelope's left wrist, cracks jaw, busts Cruz' head to the right - Pene's hurt AGAIN! Cruz ramshackle, eats a rapid right/left through her guard - she's getting drilled, forced to fight. Pene answering back in Naomi's body, slender shoulders rotating, fists peppering quivering blonde belly - Naomi right back with a tummy flurry of her own, mopping up a hook in Cruz' teeth to back her up. Penelope reeling around, ready to go, but she's hanging in there - she nails Watts an intercepting right hand on the teeth, freezing blonde on the spot, leaving her defenceless for a good tucking hook in the waist. Hammer and tongs - both girls opening up - Cruz finally getting the better of it as she consistently makes Watts miss, then scores tidy to chin or ribs - Pene showing class as she fights well backing up. Down the stretch, Naomi getting right hand happy - Cruz able to slip the cross, answer back the hook and WATTS GOES WOBBLY BUTT! Naomi suddenly derailed, staring at Pene in shellshocked astonishment - blonde reels away sideways as brunette goes over to offense. Cruz snarling as she puts mitts on meat at the ropes - straight criss-crossing lefts and rights punch through Naomi's ragged guard - blonde head bopping back, knees knocking and THE REF JUMPS IN! Chaos as Watts bursts into tears of protest - her corner charges the mound - Cruz staggers away just as shocked as everyone else. TKO10 in controversial fashion - Penelope Cruz.

After: Cruz all lumped up, badly battered, loser of 8 rounds tonight - quick whistle destroys what had been the best fight of Naomi's career to this point. Watts shrieking, blubbering, stamping her foot - it's a total outrage, and when Cruz strides by to taunt - all hell breaks loose. Scrappy catfight action as lithe-bodies lunge for one another, hands pulling at hair, legs wrapping around struggling bodies as girls tumble across canvas, black bikini on top, then the white, black/white/black/white - until officials can intervene. Plenty of hard feelings - bitter rematch agreed to as Watts can't accept the verdict and Cruz aches to separate herself from Naomi for good and all.