Scarlett Johansson vs. Natalie Portman
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Blonde/brunette battle is the third installment in the rivalry, and Natalie, who has claimed the first two, sees no reason the third will be any different. "She's not a bad fighter," says the queen with regal nod. "But, she's simply not as good as I am. There's no shame in that, of course, because no one ELSE is, either."

"I can not WAIT," says the blonde, eyes shining, "To wipe that smug look off Portman's face. She's gotten lucky TWICE now, but THIS time, all the horseshoes and rabbits feet in the world aren't going to be enough to save her."

ROUND ONE:
 
No surprises in the early going. Natalie wants to box and ScarJo wants to get physical. Portman very slick and active, bouncing and circling, snapping out left jabs, putting punches together well, getting leather on jug almost immediately. ScarJo patiently working to bring Portman to pitched battle, and, despite the brunette's efforts, manages to cut her off about midway through and force a BLISTERING exchange that sends Portman wobbling into the ropes! Nat's been hurt by a straight left hand and ScarJo's calling in artillery from all over the area. She's blasting away with heavy leather, pummeling Portman, who's trapped and in deep trouble. Natalie eventually shores up her defenses and is even able to counter attack in spots as the round nears its completion, but ScarJo, while denied the quick finish, gets plenty of points scored and plenty of work done in taking the first wide.

ROUND TWO:

Scarlett wants to test Natalie's legs early. She's after the brunette from the start, closing, crowding, getting physical. Natalie giving ground. Has some leg now, but not as much as she'd like, so, rather than fight a rolling battle, she opts for a controlled retreat. She's slick, and she's smart. She avoids being trapped, and, when she's cut off, she clinches, forcing fresh starts that give her opportunities to get into open canvas and fight on her terms. Still, though, ScarJo's getting leather on target. She's getting combinations put together, and she's scuffing and roughing up the brunette. There's a price to be paid. Portman strikes back hard in the counter-attack, twice sending sweat flying with hard right hands. But, it's a price Johannson is willing to pay. She wants to mix it up, and she's going to do what's necessary to make that happen. And, by the bell, that strategy has paid off in the form of a second straight round to her credit. It's close this time, but ScarJo, who leads 20-18.

ROUND THREE: 

Natalie seemingly recovered now. She's moving better, bouncing and jabbing, assembling those slick, quick combinations that stop Scarlett in her tracks and enforce the kinds of distance Natalie wants. Johansson, however, not interested in boxing with Portman, which is a losing game for just about anyone. She's going to keep the pressure on, bring the physical at every opportunity. She crowds, cuts, bangs, works as much body as she can. Natalie responds to Scarlett's rack, digging so much of that at times you'd think a JMD bout had broken out. Surprisingly, though, the girl who's fought a few of those disdains a response in kind. She's banging BODY, hooking ribs, pounding the midsection. Their last meeting fresh in her mind, she wants to get into Natalie's legs, grind her down, wear her out. And, she gets plenty done. But, at the end of the round, Portman's done a bit more, claiming this one close to cut Scarlett's lead to 29-28.

ROUND FOUR: 

ScarJo back on the attack. She's upping the pressure on Portman, squaring with her feet, then sitting down on her punches. She's crowding, backing Nat up. And working body. Always body. Just about all body all the time. This is heavy investment with the promise of a big payout later, and the blonde is willing to sink just about all of her liquid assets into the strategy. Portman giving ground, countering sharply, scoring points in response to Johansson's aggression, but ScarJo will not be deterred. The fight plan attrition, and she's going to throw in every division at her disposal to bleed Natalie white. Portman grimly determined in the defensive, always looking for ways to slip away from the hand-to-hand stuff and get back to the war of movement, but ScarJo's plenty athletic, and she's using those great legs to stay in front of the brunette and bring her power to bear. When it's over, it's another close one, but it's Scarlett's, and the blonde now leads 39-37.

ROUND FIVE: 

More aggression from ScarJo, who's now beginning to take control of things. She has Portman backing and covering now, forcing the brunette to the defensive, simply being too physical for Portman. Natalie is game in the attempt to stop the offensive, but, she can't get it done. She works rack, tries to jab and move for distance, but, nothing works. ScarJo simply keeps coming. Until she's stopped cold. It happens nearly two minutes in, in the form of a perfectly-timed right hook to the chin. Johansson stops, staggers, stumbles, nearly goes down. And, Natalie pounces immediately. She's now all over the blonde like the blonde was all over her just seconds earlier. She drives a wobbling Scarlett before her, forces her to the ropes, and gives her a vicious beating. Natalie works over every inch of the blonde with sharp, accurate punches and has her on the edge of collapse when the bell finally sounds. It's Portman wide, but ScarJo remains standing and in the lead 48-47.

ROUND SIX: 

Total reversal as Portman now starts the round on the offensive. ScarJo still buzzed, giving ground, taking leather. Natalie looking to finish now, committing on everything, shrugging off rejoinders from Johansson, who, without the legs, doesn't have the power to stop the onslaught of Queen Natalie's forces. Johannson is worked back to the ropes, pinned to the cables, and savaged for the second round in a row. Portman works a ton of rack, punishing the blonde viciously before rocking her with a blizzard of leather to the head. ScarJo stumbles along the ropes and is then dropped with a short right hook to the chin. The blonde crashes to her left side, then rolls to her back, staring up at the referee as he begins the count. She tries to sit up at seven, but slumps back to the mat as the count passes her by. It's over, and your winner by KO6 in comeback fashion is Natalie Portman!

AFTER:

Portman matter-of-fact in the post-fight. This is prelude, nothing more. "As I said pre-fight," Natalie says with a nod. "Scarlett is a good fighter. But, she's not at MY level. And, now that I've proven that again, it's time for me to focus my attentions on bigger game. And, if you don't know what game I'm talking about, you haven't been paying attention."