Partial Report

Boxing on the Beach (California)

Liz in lime green Hurley bikini
Elle in white MacPherson bikini

Outdoor Bout: San Diego

UD10 one--Elle Mac

Venue: Street outside bikini shop cordoned off--ring set up directly bin front of store--standing room only for milling crowd.

Economics bringing rival swimwear magnates into conflict: battle for retail territory along the West Coast of the U.S. centers in exclusive boutiques and surf-shops--both women eager to taker the boardroom into the ring in order to establish footprint. “It just makes good sense,: says a Hurley spokesperson. “The West Coast beach community is a fighting community: these girls want to wear a winner. we’d spend $100,000 on marketing and promotion in every retail center anyway, and we’d have to share shelf-space with MacPherson designs in the most influential shops. Fighting brings publicity to the stores, which they love, and establishes territory for us: it’s win-win.”

Corporate machinations aside, this fight was a barnburner start to finish, showing off both CEOs in fine, if diminished form. Most startling was the lack of defensive reflexes from the one-time sorceress Hurley: Liz got hit, and hit hard, more in this fight than she might have in any 3 fights during her prime. Mac’s defensive prowess  was little better as she dropped the first three rounds and was reeling on long legs from slashing left crosses from Hurley’s wide southpaw stance. But Elle’s slinging lank would prove decisive--dropping Liz in the fifth and halting critical Hurley rallies in the 8th and 9th when it looked like Hurley might have Elle ready to go. A scintillating, limber-limbed slugfest saw MacPherson wrest a critical store in san Diego market away from Hurley, spawning an immediate and unprecedented corporate response.

With over 100 crucial trend-setting shops and retail zones identified, both Hurley and MacPherson have begun “fighter-up”--hiring small “c” celebs where possible or regional hotties (Tropicana girls, models, waitresses, Hooters girls etc) to stage similar contests up and down the West Coast under the respective brand names. Kiana Tom Enterprises has been contracted to supply fighter and ring equipment t both sides; offer publicity and marketing expertise; arrange local television coverage; post-produce DVDs and so on. Spas and gyms offering ring training are filled to bursting with talented hopefuls, There’s even a website devoted to following the contests, offering a two-toned colour map (red for Liz, blue for Elle) so fans can track the success of the campaign throughout the summer months. Beach fighting culture has merged with corporate competition to produce the best of both worlds: it’s a beautiful thing.

Reposted by Archer 7/13/12.