Cruz in black Sahara bikini, solid ring connections tits and hips

Becca in bronze bikini top, copper bottoms

Venue: "Sahara" Premier, L.A.

UD10 Gayheart

All the talk coming in was of Penelope's hard new action-heroine physique - her improved stamina, punching power and durability - but somewhere along the line, hard-working Becca Gayheart managed to miss the headlines. Cruz' physical foundations are indeed better than they were, but that long swan neck and delicate avian chin are still glaring weakpoints - weakpoints the veteran Gayheart would be able to exploit throughout the night.

Indeed, it looked as though Cruz - fighting in support of her own major motion picture release - might not get out of the first half. Drilled and dropped in the second, reeling from Gayheart right hands in the fourth - Cruz' conditioning probably saved her from a knockout as Becky set a sweltering pace, outboxing the classy Spaniard and placing firm right hands to the tip o' the chin behind a sparkling, better-than-expected stick. A gritty fifth saw a shaken Cruz start to rally behind her own jab, stabilizing Gayheart as American output slowed and the fight began to take on a more deliberate, tactical flavour. Clawing her way back on the cards, Cruz would take the 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th rounds, busting up Gayheart's exquisite features with slick, sharp punching, but the comeback would fall a couple points shy of a victory.

Both girls seemed stunned at the announcement: Gayheart at the enormity of the moment given her relatively low profile over the last few years; Cruz at the fact that American fists were still denting her chin despite all her hard work. A spoiled debut for Cruz proved a wonderful rebirth for once-popular Gayheart: Becca has the combination of elegance and grit we've seen from Love-Hewitt, Kelly Packard, and Claire Danes - interesting to see if she can cash in on the upset.