UNIFIED FLYWEIGHT TITLE

Unified Flyweight Title

Posted by Simguy on 7/15/2001, 11:43 am.

Before: Flyweight fireworks--two best fighters in the division get set to get reacquainted in what should be a dandy. Dushku lifted the belts with a perfect game plan last time out--making Liu lead, boxing her early, then grinding her down late to take a convincing decision. “I’ve made adjustments,” Liu admits, “done some fine tuning, but nothing major. Basically my game beats hers if I execute properly. I’m not leaving the ring without that title.” Dushku happy to engage in banter, “I know Lucy’s doubting herself right now. She doesn’t know if she’s good enough. She doesn’t know if she’s up to it physically, mentally or emotionally because nobody’s ever outclassed her the way I did. Lucy’s on thin ice--when I beat her at flyweight, there’s nowhere left for her to run. It’s the beginning of the end for her.” Lucy in slick ponytail, leopard print boy cut trunks, black push up, Dushku in red leather bikini. Liu goes with that flat cat-like glare during instructions--Dushku responding with a “get over yourself’ sneer.

During R1: Dushku hanging back, trying to tempt Liu in, but Lucy’s not having it. Liu content to draw boos, bounce around outside with her hands down, occasionally reaching in to back her jab to the belly or breasts of the champ. Eliza impatient, starts to chase and liu picks her up with potshot ting lefts and rights from the knees, placing the gifts on Dushku’s face or chest, then wheeling away to avoid receipt.

R2: Dushku staying compact defensively trying to cut off the ring, Liu continues to dance loose outside, jumping I occasionally, but never sticking around to trade. End of the first minute, Lucy turns southpaw, slips a Dushku right hand and gets EVERYTHING into a straight left counter on the chin to send Eliza REELING! Hardest punch Dushku’s ever taken and had not been put out with--she’s hopelessly hurt on the ropes, eyes blinking and wide, gloves at her lips as Liu steps in to finish. Lucy wide with rights and lefts, batting away at Dushku’s face as Eliza’s legs tremble, but the champ won’t go quietly. Dushku starts to counter off the ropes, sticking Liu to the body with a rising left hook and turning her shoulder into a short right on the lips and LUCY IS HURT! Liu stumbles back a few steps wobbly butt and Dushku stumbles forward to pursue. Liu recovers well, gets Eliza out of position with zany torso twisting and deep knee bends--she’s able to light Eliza up with a few circus punches from the floors as she flops and bends up and down at the bell.

R3: Liu stays southpaw, feinting like she’s lunging in, then circling away to her right, constantly changing up pace and distance as Dushku keeps her concentration. Liu able to lure Eliza forward, nibbling at the champ with a backhanded right jab to the belly and trunks to draw Dushku’s right, then countering it with straight left hands on the mouth. Lucy wins a tactical third to build a nice little lead going into the middle rounds.

R4: Dushku looks discouraged, sells it with body language and brings out the bully in Liu who stalks forward for the first time in the bout. Ploy works perfectly as Lucy lunges in with a wild right uppercut--Dushku calmly sidestepping to her left underneath the blow, sinking her right fist into Liu’s vulnerable belly and Lucy comes up gutshot. Liu hurting as Dushku pivots sharp to the left, banging crisp lefts and rights against that porcelain midriff. Liu hunching forward in pain as she tries to square up. Gets worse--midway through, ass Liu starts to plunge forward. Dushku chops a straight right hand onto the face, steps to her right and cranks a beautiful hook off Lucy’s eye and LIU GOES DOWN! Liu awkward to her hands and knees, blinking stupidly as she feels Dushku’s power wash through her body. LL up at 8, but badly hurt, sinks into the ropes, covers up tights and takes a bludgeoning up and down her sides as Eliza invests for the late rounds in Liu’s tender ribcage.

R5: Hard hearts, hard eyes--both girls looking scuffed up and starting to favour hurts--Dushku trying to work behind her jab--Liu switching effortlessly from southpaw to orthodox and back, bounding side to side, changing directions and surprising Dushku with swatting wide punches from crazy angles. Liu gets the better of it--Eliza just can;’t pull the trigger as Liu never gives her the same look twice.

R6: Shutout Liu. From southpaw--she’ll bend down and playfully tap at Eliza’s hips and crotch, just to get flinch out of the champ and get her angry. As Dushku comes in, Liu leaves her feet to land a whipping left hand, becoming orthodox as the girls fall inside--Liu wrapping her arm around Eliza’s waist, pivots and turns her girl like a dance partner and nimbly escapes as frustration builds in Dushku. Insolent potshot ting attack from liu has her in control after 6.

R7: Dushku borrowing from Nia Peeples handbook on beating Lucy Liu--goes to the body with spearing lead right hands. Liu startled by the crunching contacts looks to walk Eliza into a monster uppercut, but Dushku reads it, and counters beautifully with a short left hook as Lucy overextends on the punch. Liu’s head swiveling, legs suddenly buttery--she stumbles away, rolling her body this way and that to evade punches, but Eliza jabs her professionally to the ropes, Savage beat down near Lui’s corner--Eliza gets big, hunkers down to punish Lucy’s body with both hands, then comes off the stomach with crisp left hooks in tight to clap Lucy’s mouthpiece off her teeth. Liu breaking down--guard limp, hands out of position as the punches start to bang home on her face, cripple her downstairs and LIU GOES DOWN! Lucy all used up, slips to her hands and knees as a smoldering Eliza Dushku steps back, nodding as she feels the impacts still reverberating in her arms. Gutsiest moment of Lucy Liu’s career--she makes a decision about who and what she is, gets off her knees and barely beats the count. Dushku has a minute to play with and it’s the longest 60 seconds of Lucy Liu’s life: Dushku squares up and brings it off her waist, lefts and rights, merciless clubbing blows as she turns her hips into each punch--fists bashing past Lucy’s weak guard, pounding the challenger from one foot to the other, leaving her dazed and sideways to the ropes at the bell, Liu beaten unrecognizable, gets endswell on her face and answers tough questions like “Do you want to go on?” and “How many fingers am I holding up?”

R8: Liu with slits for eyes, face starting to swell and distort, comes inside with a jab and sets up on Eliza’s chest to surprise the champ with a completely different look. Lucy getting into Dushku’s kitchen, reaching in under Eliza’s arms to push away the guard, getting busy to the body and clinching whenever she needs to rest. Eliza in there shoulder to shoulder, tries to bump and shoot with limited success as Lucy takes a badly needed breather round to recuperate.

R9: Dushku adjusts, now happy to accept Liu inside, and Eliza show her how it’s done in the trenches. Liu mostly clinching, trying to slow Dushku down--Eliza bumping with her shoulder to create space, clipping the right uppercut inside, coming at gut with slinging left hooks--elbow in, Dushku’s just twisting these short left hands in with her hips. Eliza taunting Liu at the bell as the girls clinch, telling Lucy how tired she is, how hurt she is--as if Lucy doesn’t know.

R10: Lucy digs down, gets on her toes and boxes brilliantly. Luring Dushku into corners, liu will suddenly pounce with al ead right off her thigh, spins out of the corner, nail another right hand, slap a straight right arm left to the face and bound away as Dushku gets touched up. Eliza coming forward, can’t cut off the ring as Liu draws her in, scuffs her up and gets away without receipt. Dushku still coming on at the bell, but clearly discouraged as the bell rings, Liu jumps in a final late right hand off her hip to startle the defenceless Dushku as corners rush in. Comes back UD10 for the winner and NEW flyweight champ--LUCY LIU!

After: Dushku in shock, an ex-champion for the first time in her life as Liu prances the ring with belts on her shoulders and around her waist. Bitter, hard fought war--both girls coming out of the ring with savaged faces. Liu finally forced to win a fight with her heart as Dushku pushed her to the brink. Badly battered Lucy not particularly charitable during the in-ring post fight. “I toyed with her, When I saw that I had actually knocked her out in the second. I had to let up--no way as she getting out of here after only a few minutes of punishment. I took a big bite out of the Eliza Dushku myth tonight--I think people can see she’s got a lot of work to do. Maybe if she sticks with it, and I see some improvement, we can do this again sometime. Maybe.”

Reposted by Archer 7/17/12.