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8 October 2010 Zoe Saldana vs Reese Witherspoon

Page history last edited by Archer844 13 years, 5 months ago

 

 

 

 

Posted by for simguy on 10/8/2010, 10:58 am

 


Before: Gutsy little (5'2") Reese Witherspoon is stepping up way in class to fight a bantam; giving up 5" in height and nearly ten pounds in weight to take on a woman two years her junior. But since joining The Academy Reese has shown a gritty side we haven't seen before and she's stated emphatically that she's gotten serious about conditioning, training and mental preparation - things she admits she wasn't doing before.


"Sharon Stone, Cat and Charlize have really opened my eyes about what it takes to succeed in this game," she said. "And having a couple of mature women like Penelope and Julie to train with makes it a lot easier to get in the gym and work hard. If I were in with a bunch of teenagers who didn't have to worry about weight or stamina the way older fighters do, it wouldn't be quite so easy. So I'm truly blessed to be at The Academy."


When asked about Saldana, Reese shrugged. "I don't know much about her. She did lose to Court Cox - but that was on the beach and I'm not sure that it means anything for me. I do see she's fought mostly bantams, so we have no common opponent for comparison. I've been preping by sparring with Cat and Candice; working with tall women to get used to punching up; hoping it'll help facing Zoe. I've got a few tricks in mind to try, but let's not kid ourselves; it's gonna be a tough row to hoe and she's a pretty good boxer, so I'll have an up hill slog all the way."


'Jersey Girl' Saldana has just 9 FCBA fights, but she points with pride to "dozens of fights" on movie back lots and TV sets; fights not officially sanctioned or having the result recorded. "We'd spar after work sometimes; do impromptu bouts on weekends and pass the hat to buy beer, stuff like that. Especially in TV where you might not work much for a couple of weeks, we'd work off tension in the ring. Then at the end of the season, cast and crew rent a ring and either settle disputes or just have fun. Me? I had LOTS of fun!"


Among those Zoe claims to have faced in the ring were some top drawer names such as Keira Knightley (on 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl'); Erica Christenson, Bridget Moynahan and Shiri Appleby ('Six Degrees'); Jamie Chung and Shannon Doherty ('Burning Palms'); Emmanuelle Chriqui and Mila Kunis ('After Sex') and Regina Hall ('Death at a Funeral'). Zoe declined to speculate about her record, but was adament that, "I won more'n I lost - by quite a bit."

During R1: Saldana out upright, emphasizing and using her height edge; driving the jab downward into Reese's forehead, face; rocking the little blonde right from the git-go. Reese retreating in good order behind a high guard, picking her spots. 'Spoon on the attack: fitting in an occasional hook to the ribs or uppercut low into Zoe's belly; blonde using her lack of height to her advantage; getting to and scuffing up Zoe's mid-section. Saldana all bendy, leggy; Reese unable to compete in either area, but she's stubbornly edging forward, or circling left behind that hook - almost fighting lefthanded at times, keeping her right high to block Saldana's jab while digging to the midsection with her left. Reese cautious about Zoe's cocked right, ducking quickly whenever it's thrown or taking it high on her head. Saldana controlling the round with her long legs takes the points, but Reese competitive.

R2: Reese lands a big right! Witherspoon coming up out of a crouch, winging a leaping, overhand right ala Lucy Liu! Zoe shocked, stumbles as she recoils in surprise. Saldana not hurt, but wide-eyed at the audacity of the little blond. Reese follows with hooks to the body, pounding Zoe to the ropes. Rest of the round sees Saldana re-establishing her control; not letting Reese get set as often but Witherspoon showing her class; stubbornly coming forward; head bowed; little fists pumping. Reese having her good moments, but bendy Zoe dictating terms with her long legs and supple body; sticking the jab in Reese's forehead and keeping her at arm'l length where Reese can't reach her body without risk. Another solid, if unspectacular, round goes to Saldana.

R3: Shutout Witherspoon! Witherspoon feints a crouch this time, then again jumps into crushing overhand lead right hand that swivels Zoe's head. Reese lowers her head, drives it between Zoe's breasts and hammers away to the body with both hands; pummeling Zoe back and stuffing her tight little bottom between the ropes. Reese getting busy; non-stop punching; seeing this as her golden opportunity to do some real damage to the bigger fighter. Zoe's defense good, lots of body bending and torso twisting; shoulder rolling; keeping her head out of harm's way; letting Reese wear herself out on her 'abs of steel'. Late in the round, Zoe getting her shoulder into Reese, nudging her back, creating some room to jab her back off the ropes at last. Big round a shutout for Reese who has the crowd on her side with a gutty performance through three!

R4: Witherspoon presses! Reese presses her advantage, catching Zoe with an unexpected second leap-in right hand lead right off the bell. Who'd a thunk she'd be so bold as to try it again?!! Reese back to the body; lefts and rights pound Zoe's abs which are taking on a beautiful, rosy, hue after a round and a half of hard work by Reese. 'SPOON'S HURT! Reese goes to the well once too often, trying another jump-in right that Zoe times and counters with a straight right to the side of Reese's head. Witherspoon almost goes down, but staggers away and regains her balance. Hurt Reese is rocked again with a check hook off Zoe's back leg. Zoe cleaning up as she pounds Reese about the head and shoulders. Witherspoon backed into her own corner, bearhugging Zoe around the waist, her face buried in Zoe's cleavage; Saldana thumping away to the ribs with both hands to the referee's break; then jabbing Reese back to the ropes again! Closing seconds, Reese rocked again by a roll-and-counter right uppercut that lifts her up on her toes. Reese too sturdy to go down, but she's been badly hurt this round. In Reese's corner, Stone quickly goes to work on a cut above Witherspoon's left eye. The referee comes over to check it, deciding the ring doctor isn't required.

 

 Witherspoon/Saldana conc. (too much Zoe for one post)

 

Posted by for simguy on 10/8/2010, 11:01 am

 

R5: Little blonde dynamo Witherspoon shakes off the harm, goes right back at Zoe, stunning her with yet another Liu-esque looping overhand right. Reese driving her shoulder into Zoe, taking her to the ropes and working her supple body over with bludgeoning uppercuts and hooks. Witherspoon head in Zoe's bosom, just bangin' with both fists. Saldana's movement is slick in the pocket, however, that Reese isn't getting any head contact - but she's hammering that tawny body for all she's worth. Another shut-out for Witherspoon who earned the standing 'O' from the crowd as she goes panting back to her stool.

R6; Reese shocks Zoe early with still another jump-in looping right hand lead up top, chases Saldana to ropes and punishes her some more. Witherspoon reaching with the uppercut inside, alternating it with hard hooking of Saldana's taut body. Steady beating on the ropes has the crowd on their feet, but late the round - overzealous pursuit and attack leaves Reese open to be countered and it kills her! Reese misses badly with an uppercut and as she tilts back off balance following thru, Zoe clips her a limber left uppercut of her own pushing off the ropes; she shifts weight to her right foot and whips a hook to the mouth that staggers Reese! A big right uppercut coming up off her right leg followed by a sloppy, clean up, right to jaw finally sits Reese down! Witherspoon gamely crawls to the ropes and drags her broken body up at 8, but she's badly hurt and when Zoe wades in and starts to pile on the leather, the referee - urged on by concerned fans - scampers in, wraps protective arms around the little blonde, then lifts her off her feet. Reese kicking, squirming and wriggling in protest as she's carried to her corner and handed over to Sharon Stone. Goes as a TKO6 Zoe Saldana.

After: Reese Witherspoon was just staring into a pasting when the referee remembered the commissioner's memo on 'protecting the fighters' and got her out of harm's way before any more damage was done to her beautiful Oscar-winning face.
Zoe, who had looked a bit fragile in some previous bouts, tonight weathered what had to be an unexpected storm and came out on top!
"I don't know where she came up with that right hand thing," Zoe said shaking her head in amazement, "but it gave me trouble the first few times she used it. I kept thinking, 'Well, that was a cute gimmick but she'd never try it again' then bang, she did it again! She's a tough little competitor and thank goodness I was prepared for that, because if I'd been expecting the Witherspoon of a year ago, I'd be toast. She doesn't quit and keeps coming right at you, about all you can expect when you're fighting someone so much taller. I give her all the credit in the world just for taking the fight, I know she did not come calling us looking for me, but she didn't back off when we offered. You know a girl has to work hard to win an Oscar and if they gave one for 'best performance for an underdog' she'd have my vote tonight!"
Reese appears with a bandage over her left eye, several bruises on her pretty face, and a big smile on her puffy lips. "Yeah, I pretty much got my head handed to me tonight," she admits. "But we knew going in this was no walk in the park. She's big and she's tough, so what else are you gonna do but try and hope for the best."
Asked about her change of style, Witherspoon credited her 'team' of Stone, Theron and Bell. "Sharon and Char had Lucy Liu in the KruZherZ back in the day and Stone had video of Lucy's fights. Charlize suggested I watch how she fought taller women - she's my height you know - and then Cat and Candice worked with me on that leap in thing. Sharon warned me a lot of girls would try to use it, but unless you have full confidence in it, and 'sell out' to it, you tend to hold back a bit. That can be fatal. Once I got comfortable doing it, I bought into the tactic totally and Cat will tell you I was able to (barely) reach her chin a few times. The three or four inch difference between her and Zoe made a world of difference in my confidence."
When she was asked who she'd fight next, Reese Witherspoon laughed and said, "Hopefully somebody my own size, OK
 

 

 

 

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