Note: A huge thanks to Archer’s continued work on the FCBA archive…without it I couldn’t even hope to do this. Don’t expect too much of this: it’s just numbers and a little judgment of all the girls' year.

BONZO STABLE REVIEW

2010

THE FIGHTERS:
Evangeline Lilly
Ashley Greene
Ali Larter
Nadia Bjorlin
Milena Govich
Katrina Law
Megan Gale
Amanda Righetti

1. Evangeline Lilly



The numbers: 3 wins, 2 losses (60 %)

02/26/10 (Unified Bantamweight Title) Def Summer Glau (KO5)
06/28/10 (Unified Bantamweight Title) Lost to Jaime Pressly (KO9)
07/23/10. Lost to Elisha Cuthbert (TKO4)
09/18/10. Def Jessica Alba (UD10)
11/03/10. Def Elisha Cuthbert (KO10)

The verdict: Highs and a lot of lows. In 2009 Evangeline won the bantam tournament in stunning, dominant fashion. In her first defense in February against Summer Glau she looked like the most dominant champ in the sport. Then came Jaime Pressly. It’s Evangeline’s goal to be the most physical athlete in the division – it is Jaime’s, too – so they clashed and it was one of Evangeline’s most crushing defeats this side of Missy Peregrym fights. Jaime didn’t exactly dominate her, but she was the more active, aggressive woman who made the fight and finally pounded Vangie out.

More tragic and more painful than losing the title like that turned out to be fight that followed. Nobody would call Elisha Cuthbert an easy opponent, but what she did to Lilly in that fight surprised a lot of people. It was an amazing KO punch that destroyed Lilly that night, gave her a second loss in a row and put her into a mini-crisis. That crisis isn’t quite completely over, but beating Jessica Alba kind of put her back on track – and of course she got her revenge on Cuthbert, although in a much more difficult fight than anticipated.

Lilly was out of the title business for most of 2010 – that has to and will change in 2011. Still, questions have been raised about how dominant Lilly can be in this division. Certainly things look bleaker than we thought they would be after hated rival Missy Peregrym had ventured into lightweight. Lilly needs to be at the top of her game to silence the doubters who say her best years are behind her.

The rating: 3/5 – because she started as champion and ended on a good revenge note but the slump in between was ugly.

Best moment: Her dominant defense against Summer Glau, early in the year.
Worst moment: "Evangeline Lilly hitting canvas like a cadaver", to quote Simguy's description, thanks to Elisha's fists.

Fight ideas for 2011: Pressly, McAdams (they have never fought before...weirdly enough.)

2. Ashley Greene



The numbers: 4 wins, 5 losses (44 %)

01/06/10. (Debut) Def. Jennie Garth (KO2)
01/08/10. Lost to Jewel Kilcher (TKO1)
01/08/10. Def. Taylor Swift. (KO5)
03/29/10. Lost to Jaime Pressly ((KO6)
04/16/10. Lost to Kate Beckinsale (KO3)
04/23/10. Lost to Elisha Cuthbert (TKO8)
05/21/10. Def Olivia Munn (TKO6)
08/05/10. Def Erika Christensen (TKO6)
08/21/10. Lost to Julie Benz (UD10)

The verdict: At Bonzo, we care about the big girls – that’s why we don’t have a flyweight and most of our new names are welters. But Ashley Greene may only be 5’4’’/5’5’’, but she has the body of our welters – if she were a little taller we’d make her a lightweight, but at bantam her stocky, broad strength is dangerous as hell. Still, 2010 was a very busy but not altogether successful year. At this point her obvious physical advantage over pretty much everybody who’s fighting at bantam hasn’t quite transported into huge wins. Losing her debut we don’t mind – and certainly not losing to Pressly, either, but these were a lot of fights that were close (even the Jewel one that ended in R1) and Ashley ended up on her back in the end.

We decided to send her in with big names early, hoping Ashley’s super self-confidence bordering on healthy arrogance combined with her physical strength would lead to success. But the big fights – lost. Still: beating Olivia Munn finally showed that our methods could be working. I’m most disappointed by her loss to Julie Benz (That MUST be Ginny’s fault!). But don’t get me wrong: it’s still the plan to make Ashley the second Lilly. It’s going to take a while, though.

The rating: either 3/5 (because she’s an still-inexperienced newcomer with great potential) or a 2/5 (because she was good but not nearly as good as we, and Ashley herself, expected her to be)

Best moment: Ashley beats her first highly regarded opponent in Olivia Munn.
Worst moment: Losing to Benz - not the KO losses before, because this was supposed to be a win.

Fight ideas for 2011: actually Lilly - Greene's not making a secret out of her wish.

3. Ali Larter



The numbers: 1 draw

02/20/10. Draw Vs Kelly Brook

The verdict: After a very good 2009, Ali took the year off because of her pregnancy. But don’t be worried: she’ll be back and she’ll be as good as before.

No rating.

Fight ideas for 2011: Strahovski (well, maybe not immediately, but certainly down the line.)

4. Nadia Bjorlin



The numbers: 2 wins, 3 losses (40 %)

01/23/10. (Boxing After Dark) Def. Amanda Righetti (KO6)
01/31/10. (Boxing After Dark) Lost to Elizabeth Berkley (KO9)
02/09/10. (Welterweight Title Tournament Rd 1) Lost to Mandy Moore (UD11)
07/10/10. Def Milena Govich (KO3)
09/24/10. Lost to Bridget Regan (KO10)

The verdict: A difficult year for Nadia who hasn’t won a title since 2008 and finds it increasingly difficult to deal with the success of her (sort of-) stablemate Amanda Righetti. Obviously that’s not what you would have thought after the two of them met in January in a three-woman war between the welters of Technetium and Bonzo: Nadia gave what very well may have been the best performance of her career and dominated the favoured Amanda and gave her the hardest beating Righetti has suffered in the almost 30 fights since fighting at welter, probably her whole career. This was THE chance for Nadia to make 2010 a glorious year, get back into the title business and rule her stable. But early hopes for that course were dashed in the very first fight after that: she lost, in dramatic fashion, to Liz Berkley, resulting in an unsatisfying draw in the in-stable war.

It was obviously bad luck that Nadia had to meet Mandy Moore, a fighter she has always had tremendous trouble with, in the first round of the legendary welter tournament. It was a very close fight that needed an 11th round to settle matters but in the end, Nadia was out – after gloriously beating Righetti, she had to watch helplessly as Amanda pounded herself through the rounds, went on to win the title and dominate the division. Nadia later held off a vocal challenge from another stablemate: Milena Govich, but ended the year on a very bad note – a very bad one. She lost a KO10 to Bridget Regan and it was by no means a lucky punch – Bridget dominated the vast majority of the fight, out-punching, out-boxing and even out-smarting an almost overmatched Nadia. It was one of the ugliest losses for Nadia in a while.

These erratic performances have always been a problem for her, but somehow she’s got to find a way to string together a series of important wins – both 2009 and 2010 have been about huge-win/shattering-loss back to back fights – with consistent fighters like Righetti, Regan, Landry around – will Nadia be able to win a title again? The potential is still there, but she’s gotta reach a lucky streak.

Rating: 2/5 – because she didn’t walk through the wide open door after beating Righetti.

Best moment: "Right to jaw turns drowsy Amanda into ropes...Bjorlin with right hand on Amanda's left shoulder straightens her, then rips across the left. Righetti: right hand at chest, left at her side, eyes shut, head lolling back and forward...Bjorlin stabilizes with a left in the chest and POURS in another right hand! Righetti's head tossing aside, body limp against ropes STOP THE FIGHT REF! Nadia reloading but FINALLY the official tackles her off. Righetti swoons belly-down into the mat, battered into KO6 defeat."

Says it all.

Worst moment: Either Regan, Moore or Berkley - they all hurt.

Fight ideas for 2011: Katrina Law - Nadia needs to defend her gym. Ali Landry - Regan - maybe Righetti again.

STABLE REVIEW Pt. 2

Posted by Bonzo on 12/17/2010, 3:07 pm

5. Milena Govich The numbers: 1 win, 2 losses (33 %) 02/01/10.(Boxing After Dark) Lost to Amanda Righetti (KO8) 07/10/10. Lost to Nadia Bjorlin (KO3) 11/12/10. Def Alana De La Garza (KO8) The verdict: Milena is a true dark horse of our stable, who’s never as active as she thinks she should be, and hasn’t really done anything significant career-wise since leaving Law & Order, which means she’ll probably stay a dark horse. 2010 was all about getting respect by her gym partners – but that certainly failed miserably. She lost decisively to both Bjorlin and Righetti who left no doubt that Milena was a strong puncher but not a fighter on a same level. She did beat Alana de la Garza, but ADLG is a lightweight, and Milena had a very strong physical advantage. There are interesting fights for her – she’ll stay here, but she’s not going to be the huge name she thinks she could be. But underrating her is the worst thing you could do. The rating: 1/5 – because her sparring partners kicked her ass. Fight ideas for 2011: Katrina Law, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Moon Bloodgood. 6. Katrina Law The numbers: 1 win, 1 loss 11/29/10. (Debut) Lost to Michelle Ryan (KO7) 11/29/10. (Boxing After Dark) Def Moon Bloodgood (KO3) The verdict: a new name, but what potential! Katrina is not only stunningly gorgeous – she has an athletic, strong broad-shouldered body that could cause havoc and wreckage at welter. We’re happy with her debut performances, losing a close battle to Michelle Ryan and then beating top welter comp Moon Bloodgood with an awesome KO. She’s gonna need TV footage and event pics to keep us interested, but look out for the K-Law in 2011! No rating yet. Fight ideas for 2011: I'd like to see Katrina try herself at some of welter's big experienced names, from Nolin or Moore to Landry or Loken to really test her. 7. Megan Gale The numbers: 1 win 08/01/10. (Boxing On the Beach) Def Mandy Moore (KO8) The verdict: Megan Gale’s another of our test names at welter. She’s so big and strong nobody wants to mess with her, which makes it a little difficult getting her fights. Fearless Mandy Moore agreed to the fight and suffered a shattering KO loss on the beach. We don’t know how active Gale can be, but her physicality is stunning. We’re open for any fight ideas. No rating. Fight ideas for 2011: anybody who's not backing down from taking on this six-foot beauty. 8. Amanda Righetti The numbers: 12 wins, 2 losses (85 %) 01/14/10. (Boxing After Dark) Def. Maria Menounos (KO4) 01/16/10. (Boxing After Dark) Def. Elizabeth Berkley (KO3) 01/23/10. (Boxing After Dark) Lost to Nadia Bjorlin (KO6) 02/01/10. (Boxing After Dark) Def Milena Govich (KO8) 02/12/10. (Welterweight Title Tournament Rd 1) Def Kristanna Loken (UD10) 02/14/10. (Welterweight Title Tournament Rd 2) Def Ali Landry (KO8) 02/15/10. (Welterweight Title Tournament Rd 3) Def Mandy Moore (KO4) 02/16/10. (Welterweight Title Tournament Finals) Def Natasha Henstridge (1 Pt Dec) 03/27/10. (Non-Title Bout) (Boxing at the Mirage) Def Jennifer Garner (UD10) 05/05/10.(Unified Welterweight Title) Def Gena Lee Nolin (KO5) 07/10/10. (Unified Welterweight Title) Def Moon Bloodgood (UD10) 09/18/10. (Unified Weltterweight Title) Def Stacy Keibler (TKO4) 11/12/10. (Unifed Welterweight Title) Lost to Bridget Regan (KO5) 12/12/10 (Boxing After Dark) Def. Sarah Lancaster (TKO5) The verdict: 2009 had been a very good year for Amanda - after years of obscurity (four fights in the three years before) she moved to welter and, much easier than we had even dreamed it could be, stormed to the title with only two welter fights behind her. She may have already been the division's best fighter in that year, but it was nothing compared to 2010. Starting out with a confidence-boosting win over lightweight Maria Menounos, she entered the Tech/Bonzo welter war as the favourite and handled Liz Berkley easily. The Nadia Bjorlin fight that followed turned out to be the ugliest loss of the last two years for her. Amanda had lost fights in 2009, but they were one-punch-power-KOs (Loken, Lancaster) that always included long stretches of dominance for Amanda, too. The Nadia Bjorlin fight was an ugly beatdown with various knockdowns - it is in my mind the only truly and utterly humiliating defeat Righetti has suffered since I've co-managed her. And yes, it at least raised the question whether such a loss could potentially have damaging and diminishing long-term effects. In a weird development, it turned out to be the one fight that transported Amanda from being a very very good fighter to a candidate for being the best fighter currently active in the FCBA. I did never expect Amanda to win the welter tournament, especially when she drew Loken as a first-round opponent - I expected her to do well and go far, but beating Loken, then Landry, then Moore, then Henstridge in a row? FCBA tourneys usually end with surprising winners, and past welter tourneys have been decided by wild and casual KO punches. The quality of performance surprised even the optimistic me - and especially the fact that Amanda didn't rely on single-punch power to win or turn around fights - although she has KOed many girls this year - but rather use systematic, processing, steady beatdowns based on skill and power even if they didn't end in a KO. Righetti was able to extend her dominance of the tournament throughout the rest of the year, winning another four in a row to reach a nine-consecutive-victories streak. She beat legendary Jennifer Garner on special occasion and defended impressively against Nolin, Bloodgood and Keibler. In the hard-hitting welter division, such a long streak is unusual to the point of impossible. Obviously it had to end at one point and that came in the fifth round of the defense against Bridget Regan, a classic fight that saw two knockdowns each before, when Bridget's shattering left hand blasted Amanda out and ended her reign. No shame at all, as Regan's probably considered the best newcomer at welter. And just a few days ago, Amanda was able to take revenge against Sarah Lancaster who shocked her last year - that's probably going to be her last fight in 2010 (unless I get the sudden urge to do another writeup based on Sim's dice). The rating: 5/5 Best moment: Every single minute of the welter tournament. Worst moment: See Nadia Bjorlin's best moment. Fight ideas for 2011: outside of Regan and classic welter names, I've always wanted to see a couple of fights with girls who are at light, but could do a welter fight: that's Strahovski, Cassidy Freeman, revenge with Taylor Cole. 2010 was such a good year that it will be difficult to follow up on, but I have no doubt that it can become at least almost as good... And this picture must be a good way to end this: