Posted by Simguy on 2/11/2006, 9:14 am

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Before: Claire storming out of one prefight session after fielding her umpteenth Mish Williams question—Marcil  can relate: “Hey, I was second fly on a squad that had Eva Longoria as number 1,” Marcil quips, “talk about overshadowed! But you know what? I had the courage to go out on my oqn and take a championship—I don’t see that kind of steel in Claire, Stables exit to glorify one girl at the expense of defanging potential rivals—that’s all they are. Claire knows she’s just as HISC insurance policy if things go wrong with Mish, and deep down, Danes is fine with that. If she had any guts at all, she’d be out of there, but some girls find shackles comforting. Claire’s bitter about Mish, but you know what? She needs Mish on top, she needs HISC and she needs the security they provide,” sweet, venomous smile, demure shoulder shrug, “When I lay Claire at Mish’s feet to secure my title fight? It’ll seem like coming home to Danes.” Ouuuuuch. Claire in black/white bikini, bra style top, matching two toned boxing shoes with tassels. Vanessa in bright peach bikini, black boxing shoes. Small gloves, both vixens. Danes refusing to touch gloves beforehand: no mistaking the livid resentment in Claire’s glare following Vanessa’s malicious comments.

R1: Claire leads Vanessa a merry chase—just marking territory on Marcil, staking claims. Van bends forward at the waist: Claire extends the right to touch the top of Marcil’s head, then turns into a nifty hook, bouncing mitt off scalp, Claire swivel-pivoting to her left, turning around her left shoulder—constantly punching straight right hands at Vanessa’s face, chipping away jabs, lathering the hook. Marcil crossing her arms, bobbing, weaving, encroaching, but never once cutting off the ring—Danes taps out points bell to bell.

R2: Claire continues to party—Vanessa up with every punch in the book, then melting away to the side, avoiding receipts. Marcil too aggressive, too wide with her shots—Danes easily able to read and pivot away, duck underneath or roll the shots. Claire drawing applause for defensive prowess off the ropes—dropping left hand to side, easing into ropes with her right shoulder to slip a Marcil right’ bending at the waist while stepping right as Marcil’s left swings over top; straightening and leaning weight onto the right foot to evade an off-balance right from Vanessa. Claire countering at just the right moment, lifts the right hand off her hip and jams Vanessa on the point of her chin, stumbling brunette to ropes. While Marcil’s frog-eyed—Claire drifts her another poking right and ANOTHER! Vanny’s legs give a shimmy—she stoops forward earmuff off the ropes: Claire grins as she leans chin out over Marcil’s  shoulder to lap lefts and rights to tummy underneath. Sweet stuff Claire—another shutout, sand some hurt to go with it sends Vanny fuming to her corner.

R3: Marcil tightens up stroke, punching straighter now, stepping-with Claire as she tries to pivot away—good hounding pursuit puts mitts on blonde meat this round. Vanessa tagging Claire repeatedly in the chest and face, stampeding blonde to ropes, then burrowing into body—Danes on her heels, getting pushed around tries to clinch her way out of it. Midway through, zesty one-two on the beltline draws a moist gasp from Claire--she’s all bunched up, helpless as Marcil hooks behind the right elbow once, twice, thrice. Danes’ legs give way—she clinches head and arm while lolling back into the ropes—Marcil writhing in the grasp tro get her hands free. Ref’s break—Marcil wades in overanxious—she swings from the fences, allowing Claire to dip, roll, spin and get out of there—Danes dancing back to midring, manages to run the clock as Vanessa can;’tr close the gap to the bell.

R4: Vanessa with a short, stubby double and triple jabs, straight right hands to the face and tucking right hands toi the body—she just steps-with Claire as Danes pivots, chopping away at blonde. Danes head being jolted as Vanessa scores face punches—Claire getting tapped solid, hounded to ropes and forced to brawl. Danes supple in the pocket, hands low as she rolls her torso or leans into the ropes to slip shots, then answers back, licking counters to little effect. All Marcil—she fights well off Claire’s chest, doesn’t buy into the head-bait, keeps everything below the shoulders to pound out the point on elusive blonde in the fourth.

R5: Fierce two-way action—Claire willing to take face punches to give them—both girls marking up from small glove fury. Danes fighting well in reverse, walking Vanessa into right hands and taut left hooks; schmoozing Vanny onto the left shoulder and shoving her off; tidying up  Marcil’s tummy and flanks whenever Van leans forward. Marcil not as fancy, but still effective walking through whatever she has to and chopping away with short, straight mayhem—occasionally swinging limber hooks underneath when she can get Claire ropebound.

R6: Claire brilliant off the ropes—ducking, rolling her torso, turning her shoulders—Marcil made to look amateurish as she dots the air or skids punches off the parrying mitts or shoulders. Danes hands low, bends underneath Marcil’s one-two at the minute mark, answers back a gorgeous right uppercut from the crouch, neatly picking up Vanessa’s chin: Danes able to spin off the ropes—tassels tossing—as Vanny’s stepping in fence post holes. Claire Danes turkey shoot from that point—luring Vanessa forward, feinting her, stabbing her straight hesitation right hands on the mouth, swatting her walk-away left hooks on the forehead. Bewildering stuff—Danes able to punch off either foot, punch while she’s pivoting away, then slip the return salvoes as a frustrated Vanessa Marcil starts to lump up.

R7: Masterful Claire Danes, luring her foe forward, ringing her up tic-tav-toe and never sticking around for the receipts, Marcil huffing and puffing, working hard, but she’s disrupting Claire’s rhythm,--blonde able to manage the pressure with pivoting footwork (tassels!), supple upper body movement, And Claire’s punching: viciously accurate straight right hands; tart, clanging hooks; tuck-tuck body shots up the middle and behind the elbows. Danes starting to teat herself to Vanessa’s pleasing flyweight rack—Marcil glaring as Danes gets in there right/left, then hooks the liver (PEK!) on the sidestep out.

R8: Vanessa with some professional mauling, tackling up on Claire, headbutting her, roughing things up—Danes in a mood to slug doesn’t bother to tie up and the result is a crowd-pleasing 8^th round brawl. Danes butt-in-ropes, hands low, legs parallel and wide—she’s just dipping side to side, looking to pull

 wide, sloshing shots into Vanessa and damn the consequences, Marcil dukes at her cheeks, forehead grinding against Claire at all times—she’s bashing away tidy, bringing her hands back smart to guard, using her shoulders to keep Claire pinned down. Good thumping abuse—Vanessa’s the aggressor getting the better of it—but Danes unbowed, waving Vanessa forward at the bell to signify “I want more!”

R9: Good pressure from Vanessa,  but she can’t bully Claire to ropes this round—brunette paying a steep price fo0r her hounding two-fisted attack. Claire pivoting clockwise, bending at the waist, then countering dart-and-retract straight rights, slinging hooks to paste Vanessa’s shiny face. Danes a bewildering target—never really right in front of Van, always bending and twisting—sometimes her head is close to Marcil, sometimes it’s out of range. Final minute, Claire slides back, showing a closed stance, pointing the left shoulder at on onrushing Marcil—Claire ducks/rolls Vanessa’s right, answers back a clanging right uppercut out of the crouch and MARCIL GOES DOWN! Pinpoint counter-uppercut spills Vanessa to all fours—brunette veteran shakes her disheveled head, eyes blinking in astonishment as Claire struts on past.

R10: Claire mops up a frazzled Vanessa Marcil. Van still trudging forward, but hurt, discouraged now, not releasing her hands—Danes able to walk her girl into body-harm via thick chucking right/lefts on the waist; tidy rights/lefts shrugged against jug; saucy jot right hands between the eyes and swatting hooks off the pivot. Marcil wobbly butt towards the end, puffing up, eating a lot of frisky Claire Danes leather. At the bell, Danes hoots with pleasure, lifting her mitts and smiling right into Vanessa’s shopworn face—one girl letting the other know all about how the fight went as official moves in quick. Comes back UD10, Claire Danes.

After: Solid Claire Danes effort—defense setting up offense—just a steady chipping away of a valiant Vanessa Marcil who is neatly picked apart over 10 confusing rounds of boxing, Lots of punching from Claire—much higher thrown and landed numbers than we’re used to seeing--accumulation helped to soften Marcil up, rendering her vulnerable and shaky in the final moments. Claire tight-lipped with the press, offering curt “No comment’s in the aftermath—Danes still a little tender from all the rhetoric surrounding this fight—she’s happy to let her mitts do the talking tonight.

Reposted by Archer 6/17/13.