Posted by Simguy on Wednesday, 22-Sep-1999 19:15:22

Thanks to Fight Fan for this repost


Before: GLN treating Dani with condescension at best during pre-fight, while playing up her self-professed 'people's champion' status. Fishel making the challenge has the experts scratching their heads - but the curiosity factor leads to a good buy rate for the fight. GLN in her yellow bikini, black mesh to a high neck, Dani in teal pushup, Navy on blue polkadot bikini bottoms.

R1: Crowd appears mixed with GLN inspiring as many jeers as cheers. Chants of G-L-N compete with DA-NI at the start, but the fight quickly goes the blonde's way as Nolin takes to clinching, pushing Dani's head down, and driving the smaller girl to her knees with shoving tactics. Dani, frustrated, wades in, gets clinched, and Gena has her way with clouting right hands on the mouth while she holds Dani in place with the left. Gena pumping the right hand in from her hip. smiles as she bloodies Dani's nose at the bell.

R2: Fishel comes back with a vengeance, easily slipping the taller girl's sweeping blows and getting after Gena Lee's midriff. Dani on the inside, holds Gena's hip with her left while plowing right hands straight from the shoulder to the belly, drawing howls of protest from Lee. Lee pushing Dani off, can't prevent Fishel from burrowing inside through most of the fight, but a sweet thumb in the eye has Fishel turning away in pain. Gena cruelly stalking the hurting brunette, clubs away with her hardest blows - uncontested as Dani wipes at her eyes, taking drifting rights to the forehead and cheek. At the bell, Gena taunts Dani - making a "boo-hoo1 gesture with her gloves as Dani stumbles to her corner. Lee stealing the Fishel round with power punching in the final minute.

R3: Gena now dictating pace, able to clinch Dani on the inside, hold her, and plant that sawing right hand on the shorter girl's face. Fishel still punching whenever she comes in low, lifting the hook and jamming the straight right home before Lee can lock up. Gena still doing most of the scoring as Dani has trouble navigating past those long limbs.

R4: Dani with a good pressure round, manages to put Gena Lee's back to the ropes. Digging lefts and rights from a squared up stance from Dani, forces the blonde to draw her arms in - Nolin turning her trunk to absorb the shock of Fishel's churning assault. All Dani for most of the round as she continues to get off, but in the final minute - shameful clutch and grab from Gena as she pulls Dani's head down, shoving her to the canvas again, and slowing the fight to a crawl.

R5: Gena hooking her left arm around Dani's neck, employing the right on the swollen left eye to consolidate the damage from the thumbing. Dani trying to push her face into Gena Lee's body to escape the punishment, but unable to punch in bunches due to Gena's octopus act.

R6: Dani outhustling Gena, successful once again at mounting rushes from down low, and getting off 2 or 3 digging body shots until Nolin clinches. Gena slowing down, laying on the ropes - not hurt exactly, but getting flustered as Dani's work rate begins to dominate.

R7: All Dani Fishel as she uses her low center of gravity to lever Gena off balance, shoving and slugging the tall blonde to the ropes. Best punching of the night from Dani as she gets that little body humming, ripping at the blonde's torso with thumping lefts and rights. Gena Lee howling, arms in, gloves at her cheeks, tries to take Dani's shots on her elbows with limited success. In the final minute, driving right hands to the sternum and pitching left hooks to the liver actually have Gena's slender legs stiffening, and Lee at the bell looks uncomfortable to say the least. Dani urging the crowd, bounces back to her corner with new life.

R8: Gena making an adjustment, catches Dani coming in over and over with the right uppercut. Gets to be almost comical, with Fishel walking into the punch, getting smacked straight, and stumbling back outside as she shakes her head. All Nolin as the early uppercuts bust Dani up, and in the final minute, the holding and hitting pounds that left eye into a slab of raw meat. Gena continues to maul Dani after the bell, prompting referee intervention.

R9: Dani looking a little shopworn, can't get as low as she was previously, and is getting NAILED by Nolin's looping right uppercuts. Nolin able to clock Dani at will, then clinch and batter Fishel, sawing the right hand in from the hip with short, drilling blows. Fishel starting to soon, laying against Gena's hip, mouth open, eyes closing, hair clinging to her battered face in wet clumps.

R10: All fight long, Gena's been prevented from really extending on her punches because of her own clinching and Dani's difficult target area - but Fishel with very little upperbody movement this round makes an easy target. By the midway point, Gena is clearly looking knockout, rolling her punches downhill in spearing lines to hammer relentlessly against the smaller girl's skull. Fishel not built to take this kind of abuse, gets smashed into a daze, but continues to stumble forward. Gena smiling, enjoying the turkey-shoot, recocks and drills right hands like they're going out of style, pulping Fishel's pretty face with banging impacts. In the final minute, with some at ringside screaming for the fight to be stopped, Gena pours it on, left hand on Fishel's shoulder, holding her steady for pounding straight right hands to the face. Dani out on her feet, drowsily takes blows, recoils, then droops back forward for another hit of the good stuff. At the bell, Gena Lee smiles, still holding Dani, then raising her gloves as the little dynamo's face bumps drunkenly against her ribcage. Unanimous decision Gena Lee Nolin.

After: Nolin accused of carrying Dani, but replays show that the blonde simply wasn't able to get her body behind big swinging blows until the late rounds. Dani with her moments, exceeds expectations by going the distance, but pays a fearful price in absorbing hellacious punishment in the final round. East coast boxing writers criticize Fishel's management for taking the fight, and HBO promises an in depth review of their matchmaking policy in the wake of the decision.


Sim Guy

ff