Posted by Simguy on 7/31/2004, 10:59 am.

Before: Beckinsale at the spear’s tip of ferocious fresh faces in the FCBA, billed as the British Total package for her combination of beauty, celebrity and fighting ardour--Jeri Ryan a natural next step for a Briton bent on world domination. “She knocked out cat bell to establish her credentials.” notes one Celebrity Ring Euro-beat pundit, “then Kate beat Charlize down and trash-talked her badly ion BLONDE! And that was important: it showed Beckinsale’s absolute contempt for the women who have controlled boxing with iron fists and stone hearts since the late 90s. She’s had setbacks, but her publicity machine’s been able to spin them as speedbumps: knocking off the Big Three’s always been Kate’s priority, so the losses don’t matter. And to a certain extent, they’re right: if Kate beats Jeri, especially if she knocks Ryan out--nobody’s going to remember Beckinsale quit against garner and got roughed up by Pratt. “ One girl who remembers and looks at Beckinsale as a bad case of Emperor’s New Clothes is one Jeri Ryan. “Looking at what she’s done--yeah I was shocked when she stopped Cat Bell, but that’s looking more and more like a lucky shot. I wasn;t surprised she got all over Charlize--Kate’s take on Theron’s psychology is 100% accurate as far as I’m concerned, so that’s a unique situation. I look at the Pratt and Garner bouts as more significant--an underpowered brunette driven by a whacky superiority complex, wading into stronger girls and thinking she can win grinding victories? That’ll be suicide against me. I’m knocking this girl out or my name’s not Jeri Ryan.” Ryan in red bikini, Kate in black Diet Coke ad bikini with twist-tie top and white waistband.

R1: Girls nimble to midring, easy counterclockwise bop. Beckinsale: one dip down, then up with rapid 3 punch combos--hook, clubbing right, hook. Ryan using her legs just a bit, thrusting stiff jab to catch Kate coming out of her crouch, then trying to  punch with and time a right hand down the pike. Moments in, a rangy Ryan right carries over Kate’s hook, caroms upside the head and moves the brunette to her left. Kate stabilizes, dismissing Ryan stepping back in good order, then quick-jabbing the forehead, diving in with the short right to the point of Beckinsale’s chin. Kate clipped clean, her own right hand sailing as body relaxes, gently corkscrewing down and BECKINSALE SPRAWLS SENSELESS ON HER BACK! Katie B looking like someone’s thrown her out of a speeding limo, eyes clicked shut, hands out wide--Ryan strutting past with a satisfied look at maybe the most perfectly knocked out beauty in FCBA history, KO1 just under a minute, Jeri Ryan.

After: Rarely in boxing do stars align as perfectly for a puncher as they did this fight. “We knew we could get Kate out of there early, maybe 3 or 4 rounds,” says a business-like Ryan in between slugs of Evian, “but when I hurt her that first right hand, I thought ‘screw the bodywork, I’m putting this tramp down!’” Beckinsale brought around in stages--a long, long time from canvas to stool--she’s out of it, but in days to come, devastating nature of this loss will hit home. Beckinsale momentum slowed by Pratt and garner, comes to a crashing halt against Ryan--North American pundits insisting she’s not strong enough to fight the style she does in the wake of this annihilating loss.

Reposted by Archer 11/3/10.