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Before: Tough road for Jordana Brewster: hot young star of The Faculty, Fast and the Furious, and other towering hits hasn't had the same momentum in the ring. "It's a lot of things," says Jordana in prefight. "Management problems, lack of focus. When I'm on, I'm as good as any girl out here, but you can't always be on when you're taking fights on short notice, or having fights fall-through and so on. All I know is I'm fit, I'm healthy, and I'm ready for Summer Glau. Unless she bails - that would be just my luck."
Summer smiling at the prospect of her forfeiting: Glau with a dedicated cult fanship, looking to fight her way into the mainstream. "I look at somebody like Neve Campbell, and what she was able to achieve essentially on her own, and I know it's possible," says the hard hitting brunette. "I'm lucky to have good backers who will work hard to get me fights, so all I have to do is concentrate on winning. Someone like Jordana has to negotiate her own contracts, arrange for training facilities and sparring partners - it's a real advantage for me to be able to step to her without those burdens."
Glau in green bikini; yellow gloves. Jordana in black bra style bikini top, yellow bottoms; black gloves. Summer walking to the ring to Johnny Cash's "When The Man Comes Around" - drawing howls of appreciation from fans in the know.
During R1: Brisk - girls close, work. No nonsense - shoulders hunched, dukes up, heads in close - girls dipping side to side, chopping at each other. Both beaten consistently about head and shoulders; both taking the time to dip down and hook the midsection. Jordana breaks the stalemate late with a shivering right, toggling Summer's chin, stunning her. Glau stops punching, backs up hurt: Jordana steps forward, hooking her way to the finish line.
R2: Same crisp, short, clipping work at medium/close range. Neither girl much for clinching: they're just in there close n' compact, taking turns getting off. Nobody hurt, but Summer getting the better of the action: she's busier, steadily pressing the pace, backing Jordana up step by step.
R3: Oh yeah: girls are determined to work hard tonight. Close; bang - not a lot of negotiation. Short punches in close - beating each other about heads and shoulders; hooking ribs and waists. Jordana starting to find a tidy little right uppercut: just a quick chip in between Summer's guard, scoring to Glau's face. Jordana also moving up-torso with her hooks, exploring Glau's pleasing rack for points.
R4: Get close, get off, all 3 minutes. Very close, competitive rounds - both girls doing what they wanted to do, aside from absorbing much more damage than either had anticipated. Glau now expanding her punch selection as well, incorporating short left and right uppercuts and jug-mugging hook to answer Jordana's. Digging, bumping, bruising, non-stop work goes Summer's way - by a hair.
R5: Pace has been brisk, but not crazy: girls are still fresh, still working every bit as hard as they have been. Jordana reputed to be a fancy boxer when she chooses: we're not seeing it. She's choosing to dig - in there bumping shoulders and noggins with Sum, chopping it up. Right uppercuts continue to vex Glau: Jordana getting short, six-inch jerkers in there any time she wants.
R6: Summer. Glau tidying up on ribs and rack, focusing on her foe's lithe body. Jordana grimacing, backing up, but still contesting every inch of canvas. Glaur punching with her elbows in close to her body - she's hacking at ribs with hammer-drop blows, stepping forward, shouldering Jordana off the patch of canvas Summer wants. Summer's hook to chin scoring much the same way Jordana's right uppercut is: punch is there for Summer when she wants it.
R7: Jordana: Brewster sustaining pace, mixing in just a few more stubby jabs to set the table, then gnawing on Sum with right uppies, left hooks and body shots. Jordana stubborn: bumping shoulders with Glau and moving her backward - almost as though Jordana's trying to retake every inch of canvas she gave up last round.
R8: Sum. Glau's pace hasn't changed - still in a compact, forward crouch, moving her hands, bobbing her head, coming forward. Steady pounding off Jordana's ribcage has exotic brunette stepping out and walking around now - first time either beauty has willingly disengaged to regroup. Summer walking Jordana down, walking through Brewster's jab and getting back on: Glau showing a merciless, relentless quality - not too fast, not too slow, juuust right.
R9: Sum. Jordana gambling early, expending a lot of energy on furious combinations: Glau calmly blocking on her guard, then stepping-to. Jordana's fury abates at minute mark: Glau steps up her body attack. Thumping rib-music has Brewster cringing/grimacing - she's walking away now, blinking back tears. Summer walking her girl down, attacking the body, then looking for chin via short, clubbing hooks. Brewster's legs rocked repeatedly in final minute as she's put wobbly butt at bell.
R10: Sum. Jordana still fighting - but it's don't-hurt-me-fighting, survival fighting: Glau's the confident aggressor. Brewster mouthbreathing, shying away, ducking down and walking Summer into clinches. Summer just extending her arms out to the side when she's grabbed, inviting ref's break - then she marches on Jordana again. Brewster wilting, no longer trying to win, but she's crafty, stringing out the minutes so she can go the distance. UD10 Summer Glau.
After: Good win, Summer Glau. Jordana swapping rounds with Sum over the first half, proving every bit Glau's equal, but the steady attrition clearly wore on Brewster more over the second half. "I'm very determined," says a serious, almost shy Summer G in postfight. "Jordana was hitting me a lot and hurt me once, but I felt stronger. She was going punch for punch with me, so I was pretty comfortable that sooner or later, I'd wear her down."
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