Partial Report

Originally posted by Simguy on 11/9/2007, 6:59 am.

Cox in scarlet bikini, small black gloves, scruffy beach ponytail

Missy in teal bikini, small black gloves, shoulder-length/loose hair

UD10 (close)

Site: Malibu Beach: Standard ring/bleachers outdoors—sunny and hot

Two nearly flawless physiques for boxing hook up—Missy in the full flower of her youth, filled with as yet unrealized potential; Cox still arguably in her prime, her potential largely a matter of debate at this point as she remains one of boxing’s great “what if” stories. Cougar would pounce and maul her cub in this one early—but Missy’s starting to show signs of being a sinewy threat in an already jampacked bantam division, standing up to Court and ultimately turning her back in a sunkissed theiller.

Cox is a gym legend and classic boxer, and she used her technical prowess to undress Peregyrm in the first three heats of this fight, ringing Missy up again and again with diamond-cutter right hands on the chin, set up crisp, adroit footwork. Cox’s jab has long been a national treasure and she deployed it in masterful fashion, punishing Missy’s pretty face and setting up glorious hooks and crosses from outside. Peregrym’s legs and metle were sorely tested, but she proved her resilience: Cox was able to carve out a 10-8 second without a knockdown, while Missy showed she could take the best Courtney had to offer.

Wide ranging idle rounds saw the girls step and lope around the ring—each covering space with sinewy grace, each employing feints to get the other flinching. Contact was sporadic as legs negotiated canvas—precision began to replace volume as clean touches became rare events. It was in these rounds that Missy got herself back into the fight—shaking off the beating she’d received, firming up psychologically and slowly taking the initiative from the older woman. Cox—in marvelous shape herself—began to have trouble matching her lanky foe’s pace. More and more it became Missy curling in from angles and bringing the fight to Cox as Courtney looked to counter.

Where Cox was straight-punching and technically precise—Peregrym was more unpredictable and fluid. Missy would lift a stiff jab off her thigh as she retreated, foiling Cox pursuits. Missy would lead with elastic, dabbing rights, or whip hooks against Courtney’s chest while executing smooth pivot-lefts, Missy showed she could pick her hands up and box conventional as well—frequently indulging in fencing matches midring with the wily veteran—bit it was Peregrym’s penchant for the unorthodox that may have given her the edge. The extra touch was going to Missy, often from punches that Courtney wasn’t seeing clearly, and as rounds passed, the gallant Ms. Cox was thrown over to the defensive entirely.

Peregrym erased Courtney’s lead and salted away the fight in the last three rounds—finally breaking through and staggering Cox with a variety of rangy right crosses and right uppercuts—frequently thrown in combination. Peregrym’s legs swept her effortlessly around the ring, moving her in and out at will as her lanky, powerful strokes began to find Courtney’s head. Busted up and hurt, it was Cox’s turn to show her heart, proving that she too could withstand what must be withstood, in order to keep competing.

In the end, a very close, competitive decision to Missy, but onlooked were equally impressed, if not moreso (considering the age factor) by the still-formidible skills of drum-tight Courtney.; If there’s a mid-sized cougar tournament in the offing, Courtney Cox has probably fought her way into the draw with this performance.

Reposted by Archer 7/18/09.