Posted by simguy on 4/21/2006, 7:16 am

(Thanks to Technetium for this repost)

Before: Ledoyen cordial to Lohan's face, but snippy in French and Italian journals, accusing the American teen of 'trampy' behaviour and immaturity outside of the ring. "Does Virginie actually think we don't know what she's been saying?" Lohan rhetoricizes with press in prefight. "She can save the patronizing crap - I know what a two-faced little gossip she is, and I'll be happy to slap the attitude out of her stupid little face."

Ledoyen acting surprised, then snooty - clear attempt to gall Lindsay and get under her skin. "Whatever M'amselle Lohan may think, the facts are these. I am a world-class, former champion at flyweight. Lindsay is a failed bantamweight, miserable from the many beatings she received at that weight and hoping to be something other than what she was. It is an illusion chere - nothing has changed. Sleeker women - proper beauties - will have their way with your dwindled body as they did before, and I shall be the first to partake." 'Ginie immediately powdering her nose, eyeing herself in a compact while a seething Lohan is physically restrained: score the prefight for French Vixen, wide.

 Lohan in jazzy shades-of-purple bikini, ring connections, sassy puncher's ponytail with bangs framing face, small gloves. Ledoyen in slick battle-braid, black bandeau bikini, small gloves - further infuriating Linds after ring-instructions with a frosty air-kiss on both cheeks. Typical multi-layered French insult: Lindsay aware that Ledoyen believes the gesture to be too sophisticated and cosmopolitan for an American teen to fully comprehend, adding to the sting.

During R1: Seconds in, Lindsay drops Ledoyen with a lunging right hand on the jaw, spanking French lass to a seat on tingling buttocks - American trotting to neutral corner with a sassy grin, making taunting eye contact with a blinking Virginie. After 8 - Ledoyen in wide stance, flushed with embarrasment - she's stepping right, flinging out her jab, then looking to ease back out of range by shifting weight to back foot. Lindsay upbeat, perky, ponytail brushing back and forth across her spine - right hand at her cheek, left hand nice n' zesty, popping jabs as she walks Ledoyen down. Late the round, both girls lean into gambling right hands, Ledoyen comes back a short-arm hook and DOWN GOES LOHAN! Linds scooting to her derierre - her turn to suffer the superior glance of her opponent as Virginie struts past, pointedly looking down. Lohan 8 at the ropes - both girls stung, wary - they feint and circle each other to the bell.

R2: Ledoyen in that exagerrated wide stance: she flings out the jab, covering a lot of ground, then eases back a bit, dipping to her right to help avoid receipts. Virginie with a natural step to the right - she's got Linds turning, moving away from Lohan's power hand. Minute mark - Lohan conscious of Ledoyen's point-scoring poke to breasts and tummy rushes in righty: 'Ginnie times it, bends into an intercept right on the chin and DROPS LOHAN TO ALL FOURS! Virginie oozing supremacy as she stalks behind Linds, staring down at the svelte back of her foe - Lohan snivelling, bewildered as she pushes up gingerly to her feet. Resume - Lohan very tentative, defensive - dukes up high as she turns, fronting up on Virginie. Ledoyen stepping right, flinging her left hand into Lohan's available tummy and jugs, occasionally pitching in the long right hand, but Lindsay's blocking everything up top. Shutout Ledoyen - Linds gets a calming lecture on her stool: "Settle down, box, work your fundamentals. Just win the minutes Linds - don't get caught up slugging with her."

R3: Linds proving coachable, boxing smartly, conservatively, well inside her envelope. Lohan pinging out jabs, keeping the right hand high and occasionally dropping short hard rights in behind the poke. Linds stepping over to her left, cutting off the ring, being first - she's got Ledoyen sliding back and away, clearly in retreat. Virginie sticking to the perimeter, trying to lure Lohan into more mistakes, but none forthcoming - Linds able to box out a tactical third and settle herself down.

R4: Chessmatch replaces the early risk-taking: neither girl anxious to get chin-checked again; they circle; explore one another with jabs; feint and commit about 75% on safety-first right hands. Ledoyen a little more artful, working her stick into Lindsay's flat tummy and bulging rack when face isn't available.

R5: Ledoyen circling the perimeter, keeping her distance with economical use of the wide stance, that yo-yo jab and good feints/lateral movement. Lohan the aggressor, learning to jab Virginie in the left shoulder/bicep, jugs and ribs when nothing else is open - activity keeping 'Ginie from getting off or controlling the ring. Tactical fifth: Linds showing plenty of maturity IN the ring, answering her critics without.

R6: Another nice Lohan round of boxing - Ledoyen being steadily outjabbed, forced to skirt the perimeter. Virginie too crafty to be trapped and battered up against the ropes, but she's only evading and negating Lindsay: there's no positive programme happening for Ledoyen. Lohan diligently chewing up canvas and clock, getting off - even hooking to the rib cage off right hands up top to get the judge's attention.

R7: Lindsay finally breaks through Virginie's poised defenses, working hard to jab and stalk her foe in the first minute, then drilling her a tasty right to open the second. 'Ginie chin checked, momentarily stepping in fence post holes, dukes at her temples - Lohan raking French ribcage hooks, trying more right hands up top against the teeth of Ledoyen's guard. Virginie stabilizing, maintaining the guard and moving her head, but she's purely defensive - Lohan romping to a shutout and bouyant with confidence as she's starting to click on all cylinders.

R8: Ledoyen beats an excited Linds to right hands, twists to get that slinging, short-arm hook on chin and DOWN GOES LOHAN! Lindsay turned from bully to victim in a heartbeat, taking a bewildered seat in front of Virginie, gawking up in shock at her strutting tormentress. Lohan up, nodding her head vigorously at ref's query as he wipes her gloves on his shirt, then it's slim-limbed brawling at it's 110 pound best! Virginie snarling, sweeping rights over the top, scraping back hooks in hopes of scoring an identical knockdown. Lohan bristling, doubling up her jab, and leaning into straight right hands up the middle to buffett away on Virginie's face. Crowd-pleasing two-way - heads of both women snapping back from sharp connects as neither backs up - Lindsay getting the better of toe-to-toe, but not so much that judges can't make this 10-8 Ledoyen.

R9: Ledoyen working her wide stance, jabbing to Lindsay's body, shuffling to the right - she's got Lohan misfiring right hands, leaving herself open to craft French counterattacks. Minute mark, bingo on the chin: Ledoyen puts that tart right hand on target, mops up that brisk, biting hook and LOHAN'S ROCKED! Lindsay desperately going earmuff, stooping forward - Virginie GOUGES her a savage licking hook to waist off the front foot, then picks her up cruel the blunt left uppercut mitt-splitter and DOWN GOES LOHAN! Hard chin check jerks Lohan's head - she freezes, then wilts groggily to one knee as Ledoyen misses a whipping right hand over the top. "Calare la Breche," or something like, Virginie taunts in Italian - little french minx strutting to corner, pandering to her Maserati and Ferrari driving paymasters as poor Lohan takes 8. Lindsay battles up off her knee, dazed, but willing: again she vigorously nods 'yes' to the ref as the official briefly considers stopping this thing.

R10: Lohan driving in with right hands off the jab - she can't afford to be too cautious now, trying to press with smart pressure. Ledoyen slidestepping back, looking for cute counter opportunities - but Lindsay's jab problematizing things, making it hard for Virginie to potshot. Patient stalking, hard jabbing, accurate right hands pestering and punishing Virginie - she's very close to ropes, moving to her right, trying to leg out the round with the points she's already collected. Final minute - Lohan looping wide left hooks to gather Ledoyen in: Virginie buffetted in her face and driven into ropes - she's momentarily open for a BLISTERING LOHAN RIGHT! Linds leaning in and cleaning up on ALL of Ledoyen's chin - furious blast swivels VL's head around, leaves her tilting forward limp over her feet, hands low, out to either side. Lohan snarling, busting Virginie her hardest licks: rising left hands, rising rights - thick-punching shellack takes Ledoyen in her lungs and overhanging chin, beating her into slackjawed stupor and THE REF STEPS IN! Seconds left to go - Virginie sitting on a points lead gets cradled to safety as Lohan stops her TKO10!

After: Wild finish, surprising fight as both women prove torrid competitors. Early knockdowns scared both battlers into boxing looks - Lohan the more aggressive and constructive, taking bland middle rounds in workmanlike fashion, but the final three rounds a magnificent display of slender limbed slugging at it's finest. Lohan badly busted up and puffy - Virginie crying, protesting the stoppage - plenty of hard feelings to go around as unexpected pier-sixer proves a crowd-pleaser.