Posted by Simguy on 8/16/2002, 6:15 am.

Before? The Brunette Who Wouldn’t die--Demi Moore back, vocal about toppling Theron, Bell and anyone else who would stand in her way, confident about reclaiming past glory. “I’m the forgotten woman in this division (sub 130),” pours Moore, “When I’m in shape, focused, I beat 90% of these stiffs in my sleep. I’m going to clean this place up!” Paltrow an unassuming pro in the ring, hasn’t had a lot of US exposure, but does keep busy in Europe--she’s not intimidated at being handpicked for yet another Moore comeback. “I really wish her the best,” says Gwyneth, “but I think she’s making a mistake here. I’m taller than her. I’ll make things difficult for her and I feel she’s underestimating me. We’ll see. Gwyneth in pink bikini, battle braid, Demi in black bikini.

During R1: Demi rushing out, hands at cheeks, then planting, rotating her torso down low, trying to come up with sweeping power as Gwyneth givers ground. Paltrow calm, supple, chin tucked behind the left shoulder, right hand at her cheek, left land low--shes graceful, smooth as she sidesteps , doing a nice job keeping her distance as Moore comes up short. Paltrow cute with that loose left hand--cuffing Demi a pre-emptive hook, laying over on the right side to neatly slip Moore’s left--pretty to watch. Gwyneth sliding back to the ropes in a closed stance--Demi impatient, storms straight in with a telegraphed right hand--Paltrow shoulder rolls to her right with it, comes  back a slinging right copunter and NAILS Moore on the mouth! Paltrow spins out, Moore falls face first into the ropes--Demi on gumby legs, trying not to go down as Paltrow limbers up. Gwyneth not a finisher and its evident, but she lays on nice--stroking with long left hands against Moore’s right side, turning her shoulder into a lashing hook on the ear as Demi folds forward, picking the brunette up with a compact right uppercut. Paltrow painting Demi nice to the bell--blonde raising eyebrows with cool, sleek style.

R2:  Moore shakes it off, comes out much more responsible this round. Demi still trying to create pressure, but using her jab now--blonde not able to pick her up clean on the way in. Demi fighting off Gwyneth’s chest--no contest--blonde gives ground, trying to tie up as Moore works the ribcage with patented snappy left/rights. Shove and slug up against the ropes--Demi brawny, pinning G down and battering her--bludgeoning combinations start to overwhelm Paltrow’s supple slip-and-roll defense. Hook on the chin finally gets through, shaking g up a bit--Demi shifts to the right, bites that hook in  tight to the chin again and gets Paltrow limp--blonde sagging helplessly into the ropes. Demi IS a finisher--prepping Paltrow’s sleepy face with a range finding jab, then clobbering home vicious right hands on the eye--Paltrow reeling in ugly fashion as the ref steps in. TKO2 Demi Moore.

After: Rocky, rusty start, but solid finish gets Moore on the right track. Gwyneth recovers, sporting an awful shiner, but congratulates Demi on strong performance--blonde as classy as they come and showed flashes of skill if not overwhelming physical presence in this fight. Demi hasn’t lost her aggression--but pundits have seen this before; “Moore talked tough in the past,” notes one freelance scribe, “but if she got tagged like that by a division heavy--she goes out in the first round of this fight.”

Reposted by Archer 4/22/11.