Natalie Portman vs Ariel Winter
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:
The experience mismatch in this one couldn't be much greater. In one corner, you have a girl in her third FCBA fight, and, in the other, a 100-fight veteran, Hall of Famer, and nine time champion. Still, Winter doesn't seem cowed by the challenge she's about to face. "Obviously, she's a championship-level fighter and I'm just learning," says Winter with a nod. "But, I'm more physical than she is, and I'm going to bring all that and she how she handles it."

Portman has no doubt she can and will handle it. "This girl has some potential," Queen Natalie allows. "But, potential isn't going to be enough to help her tonight."

ROUND ONE:
We've seen Winter do a couple of different things early in her career. She's shown she can box and circle and she's shown a willingness to close and bang. Unfortunately, in this round, all she shows an ability to do is get buffeted around the ring by an absolutely masterful Portman. Natalie is out-slicking the kid from the opening bell. Portman's boxing, of course, boxing like Natalie Portman does, which means as well as anyone in the world, and Winter is simply unequipped to do a thing about it. Oh, the youngster tries. First, she tries to box with, and, seeing that this isn't going to work, she tries to close. No matter what she tries, however, Natalie simply feeds her a face full of leather. Ariel can do almost nothing but get hit. That, however, she does well. And often. It's a clinic. It's a beating. It's classic Portman, and, at the bell, Natalie's claimed it as wide as you can claim it and still only lead 10-9.

ROUND TWO:
Winter hears it in the corner between. Told to get to work and stop admiring how good her rival is. Kid takes it to heart. She comes after Portman hard, gets the guard up, works forward. Natalie manages with the jab, always moving, maintaining distance. And continuing to give the younger brunette a beating. Winter closing, closing, closing, and hooking body on those rare times when she can get to her spots. Fight plan becoming clear for the youngster. Work Portman downstairs. Grind her down. Then finish her late. Natalie's game plan, of course, is to box Ariel into submission. And, right now, it's Portman's that's working better, to no one's surprise. Easy to forget, with the schedule Natalie plays, just HOW good she is. Just how smooth. Just how perfect the footwork. Just how great she is at the geometry. But, it's all on display against the less-experienced Ariel. Winter's all effort, but the effort is for naught. Natalie beating her up, starting to puff up her face already. Winter almost helpless. Ends a shutout Portman, who now leads 20-18.

ROUND THREE:
Ariel back forward in that high guard, she's bobbing and weaving now instead of boring straight in. The kid has some athleticism and she's showing it now. She's determined to close, because staying at range simply isn't an option, as Portman has proved for two straight dominant rounds. Winter finding angles, getting inside, working some body. Portman moving the feet, working for distance, jabbing, dropping in the odd right. Slowly, Ariel gets into the fight. It's been seven minutes of getting batted around, but, now she's finding things that work, and she'd finding Natalie's rib cage. No question Wiinter's calling is to be a physical fly. She has the build and she has the power, even at only 5'1". And, she's finding ways to bring that to Portman. Natalie holding her ground when she wants to. Still managing with the jab, but Ariel holding her own now, getting her offense going, creating a good, competitive round, and actually claiming it close with a late push to cut Portman's lead to 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:
Winter gaining confidence as she finds ways to get some of what she wants. She's obviously not going to dictate terms to Natalie Freakin' Portman, but she's managing to close and bang in spots, and, when she gets those opportunities, she's making the most of them. She's WHACKING Natalie to the body, getting off fast and heavy and Portman definitely feeling it. Portman, though, keeping those opportunities short and well spaced. She's controlling the round with her left hand and her boxing skill. Until Ariel, while working some body, catches Portman a right hook to the chin. Then, everything changes. Portman stumbles, nearly goes down. She's hurt and Winter immediately seizes the opportunity. The teenager all in, winging away at Portman with everything she has. Natalie driven to the ropes by raking fire from the younger woman, then given a serious working over. Winter wobbles Portman again, this time with a left hook, and the referee seems ready to jump in, but the bell preempts him. Portman clearly woozy on the way back to he corner, but she's survived. Winter takes the round wide, though, and we're even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:
Winter gets too aggressive. That's the story of the round in one sentence. Portman's in deep trouble from the opening seconds, but Ariel, to paraphrase Dennis Green, lets her off the hook. She's after Natalie the entire round, but she's too wild, too sloppy, looking for one big punch rather than setting everything up. She keeps loading up the right, chasing Portman around, taking the odd snapping jab to the face while she does so. Natalie not getting much behind those jabs, not following on much, just managing, playing for time, allowing Winter to chase, but not allowing her to catch. Ariel determined, never slows the pursuit despite those stinging lefts from the older brunette. The teen is plenty gutty, no question of that, but the lack of experience showing up in a big way, as Portman's able to not only run clock on the round, giving her head a chance to clear and her legs a chance to recover, she wins it close and grabs the lead back at 48-47.

ROUND SIX:
Ariel settles down. She gets back to work. Portman moving better, now, though. No longer buzzed. Boxing clever. Making the teen work hard to get to spots and keeping things short when she gets there. Same terms as we had in the fourth. And, believe it or not, the same result. Winter hurts Portman AGAIN. Again it comes when she's able to close and work body. She finds space for a right hook and blasts it into Natalie's chin, Portman wobbles, nearly goes down, and Winter goes all in. And, this time, the follow on flurry has the desired effect. DOWN GOES PORTMAN! Natalie crumples face first to the mat and Winter wastes no time admiring her work. She's to a neutral corner immediately, watching as the referee counts. For a moment, it looks grim, but Natalie beats the count. And. Winter. Is. Coming. Ariel cleans up and does it in a big way. She pounds Portman to head and body, trapping her on the ropes and giving her a thorough going over. Portman looking ready to go for over a minute, but she hangs on and makes it to the bell. And Ariel now leads 57-56.

ROUND SEVEN:
Winter learns quickly. She's not sloppy this time. Not too aggressive. She's coming forward hard, but soundly. She's looking to finish, but letting it come to her, rather than trying to force it. It's good stuff for any girl in her third FCBA fight, let alone the youngest fighter in the FCBA. Ariel backs Natalie up, commits on hard right hands, keeps the veteran retreating and covering, always looking for spots for a right hand. It's desperate stuff for Portman. Natalie's hurt and ready to go. And Winter just keeps on coming, banging away with both hands, working Portman to the body, bringing the power, bringing the physical. Portman manages to stay off the ropes most of the round, but, by the end, she's trapped on the cables and ravaged. Winter works her over viciously, never slowing down even as the round nears its conclusion. Again, Portman looks ready to go. But, again, she doesn't. She hangs on and makes it to the bell, but, it's Ariel wide, and Winter now leads 67-65.

ROUND EIGHT:
Ariel continues to pressure. Portman backing and circling as much as her wobbly legs will allow. The teen staying within herself. Knows what's happening here and where we are in this fight, again, impressive for the youngest fighter in the FCBA. Portman clearly desperate. This isn't how this was supposed to go. Desperate times and all that. Natalie, forced to the counter as she has been for the better part of two rounds now, uses an opening to go rack. Winter, with fire in her eyes, responds in kind, and, in doing so, lowers the head. Right into a right uppercut from Natalie. Winter wobbles, and Portman throws in the reserves. Every unit she can find is tossed into the battle now as the Hall of Famer sends a blizzard of fire at her teen opponent. Now, it's Winter covering up and backing up as Portman lets her have it with both hands. Ariel game, firing back in spots, but she's taking a licking. In the final 30 seconds a perfectly-placed right hand staggers the teen again and she nearly goes down. Only a clinch keeps her standing. Portman shoves out of it, goes back to the rack and punishes the kid right to the bell. Nasty exchange of stares before the fighters turn back to their corners. It's Portman wide, but Winter still ahead 76-75.

ROUND NINE:
Portman has Winter giving ground for the first time. The teen is a little unsteady and can't hold canvas in the face of a determined assault from Queen Natalie's forces. Winter again game, she's fighting back as best she can, but she's not comfortable going backward and Portman taking full advantage of same. She's working Winter over, picking her apart, working body, rack, head, punishing her for her insolence. Still, though, Ariel won't punk. She's getting touched up, getting hurt to the body, but she keeps fighting. Until a nasty right hook to her left bra cup brings down her guard and Natalie blasts a left hook over it. Winter wobbles and a straight right sends her crashing to her back. But. It's not over. Portman can only shake her head and Winter gets to her feet at eight. She's a wreck, but she beats the count and gets the gloves up as Natalie is waived forward by the referee. The Queen is now determined to break the teen pretender to the throne. She's not just tossing in the reserves now, she's creating units from the broken remains of others. Every single soldier is given a weapon and tossed into the fray. This is to be the final battle. A shabby Ariel is quickly driven to the ropes, and the punishment begins. Fire's coming from everywhere and landing everywhere. The kid's taking a terrific beating, but she won't go. The referee, however, has seen enough. He leaps between the fighters and bundles a protesting Ariel to safety. It's over. Finally, it's over. And your winner by TKO9 is Natalie Portman.

AFTER:
Portman initially waiving off the interview, finally consenting to talk. "Don't write that I took her lightly or wasn't ready for her," says Natalie. "It's not true. I was ready and I trained hard. She works hard and she can hit, so, she gave me a little trouble. But, in the end, class wins out. Just like it won out tonight."