Before: Carpenter proving a democratic champ, giving long-suffering Lauren Graham a well-deserved shot at the belts. "I've been where Graham is now," Charisma admits at the dais. "I've been the hard-working girl, the go-anywhere, fight-anyone girl, the short-notice girl and it's tough. Lauren's been solid and steady, and despite what the rankings might say - she's as worthy of this shot as anybody."

Graham equally courteous, but not deferential: Lauren's here to beat Charisma and take away her titles. "I'm grateful to Charisma and I respect her, but I won't let her deny me," Lauren tells assembled press. "I've worked too hard and too long, I've fought too many fights that nobody saw for too-short money and I'm not letting this opportunity slip away. I won't let Charisma finish this fight - I can't let her: this fight is too important to me to let it go to the judges."

Charisma in black Veronica Mars bikini - Lauren in vibrant red/white Hawaiian print bikini (twist tied top and sides) coming to ring with sunflower in her hair.

R1: Carpenter setting up at ropes - legs wide apart, hands stacked right-atop-left at her tummy/chest - she's dipping side to side, leaning forward and back, twisting her torso to present sheer angles to LG. Graham setting up strong - dukes at temples, weight planted on left foot, pushing off ball of the right foot as she tries to find CC with straight rights and lefts. Symptomatic of Lauren's difficulties: Her right hand squirts past CC's right ear as Charisma slips the shot while simultaneously dragging a thumping right into Graham's armpit. Same thing on Graham's right flank - CC dippin'-n'-draggin' hooks into Lauren's ribs while slipping Graham's offerings up top. Sumptuous, textbook display of slip-n'-counter: Lauren essentially shutout, sent back to her corner red-cheeked, breathing hard through 1.

R2,3: Similar stuff - Graham committing herself to punching straight into Charisma from a high guard - very easy reads for CC off the ropes and easy for Carpenter to slip underneath and answer thick to her opponent's ribs. Great, shellacking drumming of the Graham torso taking place - Carpenter so cute, so adept at swiping, cuffing and swatting while dipping and twisting her voluptuous torso. Graham not shutout, but she's making glancing contact at best and never finding Carpenter's much-sought-after chin with anything. Meanwhile - Carpenter absolutely tearing up the Graham midsection and ribs with healthy, robust strokes.

R4: Graham making some adjustments: bringing her elbows in and down, holding guard chin-high, pushing into Carpenter's chest and trying to stuff punches into her firm paunch from a crowding position. Life gets tougher for Charisma, but she's still managing the pressure - squirming well against the ropes, fitting tight punches back into Lauren's ribs while blocking the majority of taller girl's body shots. CC getting to the Graham chin as it becomes more and more available: LG unable to read CC's cute little swiping hooks and chop right hands, unable to answer as Carpenter ducks to either side on follow through.

R5: Carpenter cruising - rarely moving from her comfy perch on the ropes about 6 feet to the right of her own corner: she's walking Lauren in, chewing her up in one gritty engagement after another. Graham gritting her teeth, proving very durable as she munches one clean Carpenter counter after another. Lauren taking to tapping little lefts and rights at CC's chest, guard, arms - anything to get Carpenter to commit defensively long enough for Graham to try to clout her something serious. Charisma so relaxed, eyes alert - so cute when she twists to the side, burying her face in her gloves for a moment to absorb something, then answering back with a supple roll-and-swat. No mistaking the relative effect each girl is having: Graham a little busier with the pittypat set-up punches; Carpenter much heavier-handed with selective wallop - swivelling Graham's head off chinchecks, buckling Graham's knees with rib or tummy swipes. Bell: Graham ramshackle back to her corner, discouraged buttocks wobbling every tired step of the way.

R6: Charisma's body punches starting to dislodge Graham's mouthpiece: Lauren warned twice for spitting the thing out after thumping CC contact down there. Graham slowing, visibly breaking down, just pushing punches at Carpenter now and paying a terrible price. Lauren's eyelashes fluttering, lips parted - she's SO hurt to the body, but still so stubborn, squaring up and trying to go at CC toe-to-toe. Carpenter very disciplined - never rushing, never pushing the pace - she's just reading the opponent, punching-with and systematically taking the bigger girl apart. Bell: Graham in obvious distress on her stool - grimacing as ribs are probed, wincing as tender facial tissue is given the enswell.

R7: Entering tough-to-watch territory. Graham all busted up, very shopworn as she slouches close to attack Carpenter once again at the apron. CC having fun now: she can take the body any time she wants, but more and more she's feinting Lauren, then catching her hesitation lead right hands quick off the shoulder. Graham getting her face punched back, getting pre-empted, then waving impotently back. Withering body shots continue to catch Lauren and cramp her up: Graham warned again for spitting her mouthpiece out, but it's purely involuntary as Carpenter keeps catching her evil.

R8: Carpenter's gloves sounding out rich, moist spank from Lauren's tortured midriff and ribs - CC getting glorious CHUP! CHUP! clout down there. Time and again, Graham's legs seem like they're going, her shoulders bow and head droops...and then she recovers to swing another tired, slow punch at CC. Charisma taking everything on expertly turned shoulders, or parrying with her mitts - just working the pocket to perfection as Graham suffers, but persists. Ringsiders wince as relaxed CC turns into short, clouting rights on Lauren's available face, landing thick and flush - then leans back into ropes, dips a smidge to the right and picks Lauren's chin up a quick-clipping right uppercut. Graham sputtering under these assaults, but basically powerless to prevent them. When Lauren covers up face-in-gloves and stands in front of CC - Carpenter lambastes the flanks with vicious, all-in body leather, buckling Graham's legs anew. When Graham tries to work, she misses and is picked apart - her tempo too slow to truly threaten Charisma or get her off her game. When she bodies up, Lauren can smother CC, but Carpenter's head on points: she's happy to bog Graham down - it's Lauren that needs to work now.

R9: Lauren keeps coming: Charisma keeps taking her apart. Real testament to Graham's will if nothing else: bridge is out, engineering's in flames, auxiliarly power blown out - but she keeps pawing and pushing at CC, trying to score. TUP! Charisma hooks paunch, rolling to her right as Lauren buckles forward with a sigh. FUP! CC takes some jug from a snug little closed stance, just clipping the right uppercut while measuring Lauren with the pointing left shoulder. Clapping right on the ear from the same screened stance - CC so economical, all hips and back, very little backswing as she continually startles and harms Lauren in close. CHUP! CC dipping to her right, pulling that hook across paunch again and poor Lauren! Graham grimacing, leaning forward, unable to get off as she momentarily crippled. CC picks her up that cute little right uppercut from the screened stance again, this time picking up Lauren's drowsy face. On and on and on like this - Carpenter working at close range - her elbows in, nipping and tucking her shots - taking Graham apart brick by brick and sending her back to her corner SHABBY!

R10: Crowd applauding, even shouting encouragement to Graham as Lauren gets up woozily from her stool: battered gatekeeper knows she needs a KO to win this thing, trudges all the way across the ring to go get it. Doesn't happen: CC working the pocket, inviting Graham then dismantling her as she has all night long: licking, lashing, tucking brutality as Carpenter gobbles up everything Lauren has left. Crowd squealing at times when Lauren sponges clean chinchecks or gorgeous body shots, but though rocked, Graham won't even give CC the satisfaction of taking a knee. CC taking whatever she wants, clouting and clipping Graham from dipping, rolling positions: she can hurt Lauren and force her to fall in to clinch, but she just can't get the big woman out of there. Finally, mercifully, it's over - UD10 - 10-0 rout, Charisma Carpenter.

After: Graham beaten unrecognizable - only AFTER the fight does she collapse, going out on her stool as the numbing effect of countless Charisma Carpenter punches takes delayed effect. Graham a good, tough, durable fighter, but absolutely tailor-made for Charisma's slick style: Lauren simply unable to decode CC whatsoever, probably yielding the Beating of the Year to the voluptuous welterweight champ.

"That's very flattering," Charisma admits when told the fight will make the ballot, "I've never won Beating of the Year and it would be thrilling to get it against Lauren. You know, she gave me everything she had, but she was just an easy, easy read for me. I felt so good for this fight - camp was perfect, my weight was bang on, and then to get someone do everything exactly the way you want them to: it was like a dream fight for me." Terrific defence - CC getting off on the right foot, setting the bar pretty high for her future challengers.