Unified Lightweight Title

Originally posted by Simguy on 7/28/2007

Before: “I thought they’d send Charisma,” Jennifer says in prefight, assessing her antagonists. “Jenny’s their strongest all round fighter—Charisma’s their best skill girl—I thought they’d send Carpenter. I wasn’t expecting Katie, but it shows you how much confidence they have in her. She surprised me last time I faced her, but I know she’s built a little too light to stand up to me. I don’t see this being a good fight for Holmes. Once I catch up to her, I’ll punish her, then finish her.”

Holmes a big underdog—know she’s got a hell of a challenge in front of her. “Taking a title from Jennifer Garner’s about as legit as it gets in this weight class,” Holmes admits. “That’s why I really pushed for the fight. I beat Jennifer Garner, the asterix comes off my name, you know? If I want acceptance and respect at lightweight, I need to face this threat head on.”

Jen in red bikini, white gloves, hair wet. Katie in royal blue bikini, white belt, white gloves.

During R1: Jen out strong—dukes at cheeks, slight crouch, spitting jab trying to range Katie in. Holmes loping to either side—stepping around her jab: Katie moving her feet, keeping her back off the ropes. Holmes trying to set up right hands and finish the hook: Garner’s pressure and rigid blows to ribcage ruining Katie’s plans for the most part.

R2: Katie on the move, takes a ringing hook off her face as she’s trying to pivot to her right: Holmes sent sprawling to the ropes, covers up face-in-gloves. Jen steps-to—very thoughtful, patient: fetching Katie a tough right hand in behind Holmes’ left elbow then a left uppercut to sternum, Katie grunting behind her mitts, rolling with the blows, but she’s got a beating coming and she knows ot. Garner puts it to Holmes hard—hammering the flanks: breathless Katie toes up, pulls Jen forward for ref’s break. Jennifer narrowing her eyes—pawing the jab first to prep Katie before getting back into that willowy body. Holmes absorbing a few more blows, then glooming on for the clinch—damaged Katie wisely getting out of the round as Jen can’t finish.

R4: Katie gambling—trying to get something hard onto Jen’s chin to make her back off: Holmes trading punches toe-to-toe nearly takes a knee under withering fire. Katie open mouthed, shaky legged staggers to ropes to regroup: Garner stepping-to, mounting that systematic, non-stop apron attack.. Snappy punches bite into Katie, bounce off her. Jen pushes forward, Jennifer’s lifting punches into the chest—not mugging jug exactly—she’s pounding Katie’s pecs to further degrade Holmes’ punching power. Jen punishing her foe’s biceps with flat, turning punches—Garner switching side to side, putting short-strokes onto Katie’s limbs. Bell: Katie frazzled, hollow-eyed; O’Dell grim faced ringside, shouting “Come on, Katie” by rote; Mish Williams giddy—clapping and bright eyed—Katie being battere is good times.

R5,6,7: Grim, relentless hunting down and subjugation of Katie Holmes. Katie’s legs going rubbery—she needs ropes under her butt for support, but at the cost of facing Garner’s full arsenal. Holmes gritting her teeth as she soaks her beating, then answers back—tucking spiteful uppercuts to Jen’s thick body, or clipping Garners mouth as they both employ bump-and-slug shoulder to shoulder. Jennifer burying Katie in volume—outpunching Holmes by a wide margin—but Katie refusing to punk, just standing in, covering in, answering back when and how she can. Garner grunting, grimacing at times—Katie’s giving a firm account of herself—but Jen simply unmovable when she squares away to harm Katie at the ropes. Through 7, Katie’s beautiful face all puffy and banged up, ribs nice and pink: she refuses referee’s invitation to quit on her stool.

R8: Katie setting up at ropes, dukes at temples stooped forward as Jennifer pushes into set up. Simple, straightforward bludgeoning—Garner hammering at her girl, comprehensively bashing both flanks, digging up the middle, then looking for Katie’s head as Holmes’ guard falls apart. Katie slapping back shots—turning herself to pull limp blows onto Jen, the covering up; Katie just there for the taking as Garner settles into her grinding miler’s pace. Just a thick, wet beating going on when ref steps in, cradling Holmes to safety. TKO8 for the winner and STILL champ—Jennifer Garner.

After: Garner showing her dimples—some scuffing and puffy lower lip courtesy Katie’s stubborn defiance—but Holmes simply unable to fight her fight, forced to battle on Jen’s terms most of the night. Katie bitterly protests the ref’s decision—arguing groggily with the man well after the stoppage—in days to come, Holmes actually disputes the TKO: “I admit I was losing—but I wasn’t going down and I felt the steam going out of her punches. I’m not saying I was winning or would have won—I’m just saying that bI shouldn’t have been stopped. I was scoring on Jennifer finding easy to work, and I was staying busy. The ref was out of his mind to stop that fight.”

Garner neither mocking nor gloating—but she’s a little more frosty than usual in the immediate aftermath: no tenderness extended to the beaten BSE vixen, as there was none for O’Dell before her. Plus, while walking the ring, Jen casually holds up two fingers to signify two fallen BSE stars when she cruises by Katie’s corner—Garner not even looking at her targets, just sashaying by and trailing her gesture all nonchalant.

“She fought her heart out,:” Jen allows, “but once I had her hurt, I just went for her jugular, She was in a tough spot—she had to fight off the ropes, but the more she did, the more beat up she got. Absolutely the ref did the right thing: Katie Holmes was taking a terrible beating from me and had gone past the point where she might have been able to turn the tables. She was punching, but it wasn’t meaningful—all she was doing was getting herself more and more hurt.”

Reposted by Archer 7/24/09.