30 April 2005 Title Ch Natalie Portman vs Claire Danes


Natalie Portman 03.jpgClaire Danes 06.jpg

 

UNIFIED FLYWEIGHT TITLE

 

Posted by Simguy on 4/30/2005

 

Before: "Technically, it breaks down like this," Claire assesses in prefight, "I've been far superior to Natalie at close and middle ranges, while she's barely held her own at long distance. I'm the better woman overall, it's just that simple - Natalie's like my own personal belt-warmer. It's exquisite because nobody comes to the ring prouder or more full of herself than Precious: deflating that, seeing the denial and confusion in her eyes after I've really outclassed her again...well, it's a special thrill."

 

Portman bristling, but keeping her cool - she's not about to play Danes' little mindgames. "Claire's earned the right to talk," Portman admits, "I won't deny that. She's a very good boxer - nobody is as good as she THINKS she is, but she is very competent. All I can say is I've worked hard, my team has put together a winning fight plan and I'm ready to execute. I didn't have to fight Claire, but I wanted her to be my first defence, just so she'll have a nice long wait on the sidelines when I polish her off."

 

Natalie in floral print bandeau bikini (Aristide reference below), Claire in plaid bra style bikini (Aristide below). Small, grabby gloves, both vixens.

 

R1: First minute nary a punch - girls hinky, skittish, feinting, circling, coming up short on jabs - that all changes at 1:01. Portman labels Claire a shattering right over Danes' jab - follows up a sweeping left to chin, overhand right - tic-toc punching batters a bewildered Danes to ropes. Nat hopping-to, jab-jab-jab, right hand chopped to cheek, left in the sternum - Nat wriggling her body into punches, twisting and writhing to coax leverage from her lithe frame. Claire right at left cheek, left across her body - stunned, bobbing at the waist, getting tagged - rat-a-tat lefts and rights pelt her head and shoulders and DANES TAKES A KNEE! Seething Portman pushed back - Claire trembling, eyes wide - she's taking deep breaths, gets herself together, takes an alert 8. ON COMES PORTMAN! Natalie pouring herself at Claire - Danes gambling on an intercepting lead right catches Nat coming in, startling her - Claire with a quick bandeau-tug pulls Portman forward, reverses field and shoves her to back-to-ropes! CLAIRE UNLEASHES! Portman suddenly under siege - covering up earmuff, leaning forward and gobbling a brace of tawdry Danes left uppercut! Claire grunting, ripping left hands, placing 'em between the mitts, working down-torso to dig those ribs. Tidy shoe-shine buffs Portman's perky jugs, drawing a woozy pout, clinch from Nat - eyes're closed, mouth open as she hangs on for a break. Ref separates wriggling battlers - Claire back on strong - looping over hand right to temple draping Natalie ropeside - belly-romping lefts and rights cramp her forward as Danes hup-hup-hups downstairs. Bruising stuff down the stretch - Claire in nice n' snug, bumping her left shoulder, slashing cute left hooks under Natalie's elbow, picking Nat up tidy right uppercuts at the bell. Blazing first round sees Claire narrow a Portman 10-8 to 10-9 with a fiesty blonde rally.

 

R2: Claire emerges the stronger vixen from the fire fight - jabbing Nat's lower lip while pivoting left, potting the hesitation right hand down the middle, mopping up shivering body-shot hooks off the front foot. Danes with cutey-pie swivel turns around the left shoulder, making Natalie miss with pivot/slips - Claire just patiently whittling away at taut brunette waist. Frustration on Natalie's face - Claire's working her body again early. Portman so rattled down the stretch, Danes able to grab bandeau with her right hand, tug Natalie forward and trip her to canvas in one sleek move. Ref nagging Claire about that top-tugging roughouse - Portman ruddy cheeked as Danes starts to worm in under her skin.

 

R3: Portman showing discipline, starts to settle down behind her jab. Sharp, stitching stick, tapping out sharp on Claire's blocking left shoulder, forehead, left tit. Natalie managing distance better - she's pinging poke, sliding back if Danes wants in, circling left and pressing Danes' right flank, forcing defensive turns on Claire. Danes defensive sorcery evident as she slips and parries most of it, but Natalie in control with her feet, getting touches, owning the cards in the third.

 

R4: Ringing right hand over the top clouts Natalie's head to the side, buckles her knees - Claire goes to the midsection hooks like an old-school pro, hobbling her foe. Portman gutted, groaning forward - Claire walks her into a series of swiping, scrubbing lefts and rights, deftly sidestepping at the last to let Natalie stumble face-first to ropes. Claire on her toes, hands at her chest, eyes bright: Portman shaky, buzzed - dukes at temples, digging in at ropes on uncertain legs. Danes with a patient stop-and-go attack - jabbing at Natalie's tummy, hopping out of range, stepping to the right to get hooks, then circling away - feinting, getting the hesitation right through Portman's raised mitts. Claire humming, systematically working Portman over - she finishes up with a brazen shoe-shine on Natalie's breasts - blonde just swishing her shoulders side to side to polish up the puppies.

 

R5: Claire superior midring, rejecting Portman with deft jabs in the mouth, circling to the right. Claire superior midrange - bending in with right hands, staying on her front foot, easing back out with a dragging hook up into Natalie's straining bodkin. Claire bossy inside, edging her left shoulder into Natalie's chest, bumping and swatting brunette cute lefts and rights, blunting and foiling the receipts with deft torso angles and slips. Claire using cheap top-tugs to pull Natalie forward, spinning her and reversing field - ref nagging Danes with constant nasal whining - easily ignored by the many-time champ. Prim smile of supremacy at the bell, Claire: she's just taken the lead after 5 tense heats.

 

R6: First minute hinky - Portman using her legs to re-establish distance, circling widely, feinting, flicking jabs. Claire stalking, then backing off - doesn't quite know what Natalie's up to. Second minute - Portman with a feint-jab to body, loops righty over top and skids a beauty off Danes' dome - Claire stepping in fence post holes, leans in hurt to clinch and catches a drubbing. Portman stepping back in good order, rotating her shoulders and walking Danes into a drumming body attack - small gloves pik-pak-pek off sweaty blonde midriff as Claire stumbles forward groggy. Portman with a series of cuffing right hands upside the head puts Claire against ropes - brunette opens up with high-volume low intensity barrage. Tapping, poking, chiselling straight lefts and rights - Natalie's eyes wide as saucers as she coaxes velocity from her body, just touching Claire as much as she possibly can. Danes lips curled back, trying to bob and roll it - every now and again her head bumps back or her body flinches from a clean pop - the rest of it dotting arms, breasts, ribs, pate in non-stop chopping. Portman hustling to the bell - volume doing the work of power as Claire's effectively shut down.

 

R7: Portman's jab starting to worry Claire's left eye - Nat dropping in the nasty hacking right if she can, then hustle-punching straight lefts and rights - she's just trying to overwhelm the sorceress' slick D with dousing barrages. Claire turns southpaw, dragging the front (right) foot in a bucket, pivoting sharply to her right, chin tucked behind that right shoulder - starting to angle her way from the pressure. Down the stretch, exquisite straight left jams in over Natalie's left hand to chin, buckling brunette knees - Danes doubles up the left on Nat's mouth, hooks her viciously a right hand behind the elbow - poor Natalie cringing, bent over her feet and helpless as Claire mops up swabbing rights across the lower back at the bell. Danes glaring, forcing eye contact: she's retaken the lead, upped the ante in the seventh.

 

R8: Hinky first minute - Natalie's dancing, wide-ranging footwork versus Claire's stepping, flat footed, sliding efficiency. Once again, Portman able to leg to an angle, catch Claire a right hand on the temple - blonde put wobbly butt, covering up gloves-at-brows as legs momentarily stiffen. Portman jab-jab-jabbing to the guard, then thrusting the right hand in, then a hard straight left - she's backing Claire to ropes, setting up wide, and going at her busy again. Up-tempo hup-hup from Natalie - straight shots, palms down as she chops in steady lefts and rights - just putting mitts on meat as Claire rolls, bobs sullen against ropes. Danes hard-pressed - Natalie's fists tapping her biceps, jugs, jamming into chest and ribs, skidding, nibbling about the head. Danes able to avoid any more homeruns, but volume has her purely defensive on the ropes - Portman just throwing a blanket over Claire and touching her up. Portman warned for elbow-strikes - unintentional, but inevitable consequence of the chugging, straight delivery she's using.

 

R9: Claire wheeling and dealing - pivoting clockwise around the front (left) foot, wearing out Natalie's waist hooks, potting sharp, straight hands on the mouth. Chipping, chiselling jab a nuisance, keeping Portman off balance, guard high - body going on sale as result. Claire utilizing that cheeky bandeau-tug to perfection - scoring on Portman, frustrating her, then tug-and-spin to reverse field and mess up Natalie's balance. Breezy bell to bell shutout Claire - taunting eye contact blonde to brunette - Danes takes a slender lead into the 10th and final round.

 

R10: Natalie off her stool like her hair's on fire, shrieking across the ring, intimidating Claire into a defensive posture in her corner. Portman waving the right, cranking the left hook, backhanding the jab, then BRINGING the right - Danes getting clipped, just a little late on her bobs and CLAIRE GETS HURT! Pinging shot off the temple puts Claire woozy - she reaches forward to clinch: Natalie rejects with a short-shrugging left/right uppercut to drape Claire against ropes. HARD RIGHT HAND! Punching blow to face rocks Claire over the top strand and DROPS HER TO ALL FOURS! Natalie yelping in triumph as she hops to the side - Claire stunned, astonished on hands and knees - she takes a trembling 8. ON COMES NATALIE! Same hustle-punching, raking, scrubbing barrage - Portman pelting Claire rain-drop lefts and rights - but in non-stop sheets - poor Danes can't cope. Claire listless, bobbing and weaving but getting tracked, getting tagged, getting drilled and GOING DOWN! Slow mo degradation - Danes wilting under the constant touch of Natalie's fists - Claire exhausted, discouraged as she sinks gradually to one knee, chest heaving, eyes furtive. Another 8 - Claire shabby as she covers up, sits in the ropes - Natalie pours herself at the dregs! Natalie looming over Claire, no fear of repraisal - it's just brunette romping on blonde all one way. Nat batting flanks straight arm, swabbing across the lower back, carving uppercuts to straighten Claire up, then going at her with that left/right chopping hup-hup as Danes slumps cramped and grumpy in the strands. Bell - Natalie still pouring it to Claire - brunette humming as lefts and rights tap away on Claire's reddened chest, open mouth until referee intervention. Comes back UD10 for the winner and STILL flyweight champ - Natalie Portman.

 

After: 800 pound gorilla off Natalie's back at last - little brunette hugging everyone in sight, pumping fists, releasing pent up emotion as she finally gets the better of hated Danes. Claire stiff n' lumpy after catching an unusual amount of leather tonight - bitter pill to swallow, coughing up a late lead like that. Portman breaking a potential stalemate with a heroic 10th - she's thrilled, bubbly in postfight.

 

"That was just as good as a knockout," gushes Natalie. "Dropping Claire twice in the 10th? I can't tell you how sweet that was. There's a certain tempo at which Claire can't do her thing and that was my plan tonight: put so much hand on Danes that she couldn't breathe. I didn't care if I hurt her, but as it turns out, I really got to her tonight - I mean, I started out gangbusters and had her reeling right from the get go. I hate to admit it, but she's so tough and stubborn! Every time I caught her, she'd come right back - that was nip and tuck fighting, let me tell you."

 

Tense moment as Claire actually approaches at the end of Portman's on-camera segment, only to shake hands, clap Nat on the shoulder, and murmur, "Good fight," before turning away. Portman on her heels: doesn't know if it's some kind of obscure ploy or an honest gesture of sportswomanship from mercurial Claire.