Posted by Simguy on 3/17/2007

Before: "Anybody with a music background wants to fight Britney," a bright-eyed Kelly tells the press in prefight, "it's just something you dream of doing. Longer term, I'd be thrilled if it were me who chased Spears out of boxing altogether, but I can't think about that now. I just want to get on her and test her heart in this fight - that's the main thing. I think Spears is slowing down while I'm speeding up, and I want to keep the pressure on her while she's struggling." Spears keeping a low profile these days - recent loss to Jess Simpson always media-fodder - Britney keeping her comments short. "If Kelly tries to fight me the way she has everyone else," Spears emphasizes, "I'll take her apart. This kid isn't making her name on me, no matter what she thinks." Spears in white bikini, white gloves, hair beach-bunned up. Kelly in purple bikini, white gloves. Both vixens wearing cowboy hats to ring instructions.

During R1: Kelly bobbing, weaving, abrupt - she takes Britney to ropes at the open, beating savagely at Spears' flanks. Brit grimacing, feeling it from Clarkson: Spears closing her stance to point left shoulder at Kel, keeping hands stacked right/atop left at the midsection, crouching forward to protect her middle. Clarkson squirming in there - left cheek and shoulder pushing at Spears in between healthy licks: Kelly working HARD to wear Britney's bodkin down. Spears flat footed, staying composed - look at her reaching underneath to lightly grab up Kelly's right arm, bogging Kelly down, then fitting thick counter right hands into Clarkson's body. Murky, grinding stuff - Britney comfy against the ropes, just leaning her body weight forward when she wants to work underneath - holding and hitting crafty as Kelly accepts clout in order to maintain position on top.

R2: Similar body-on-body slugging at close quarters - Britney luring Kelly to ropes, crouching to accept Clarkson's bombardment, then looking to sneak cutey pie counters onto Kelly's chin or tummy. Kelly fighting with her heart on her sleeve - head forward onto Britney, little shoulders rotating, pushing with her face and shoulder on Spears to reset. Britney throwing less, but much heavier shots - twisting side to side as she straps licks in, then covers up on either side to block receipts. Spears constantly tieing up either of Kelly's arms underneath, muscling Clarkson, tugging at her, then clipping her tidy - classic Britney Spears pocket-defence sees Kelly spend tremendous energy just for the priviledge of staying on top.

R3: Spears settling in - SO comfortable with her back to the ropes. She lounges against them, tieing Kelly up behind her elbows, pulling Clarkson up onto her chest and reclining ropeside for ref's breaks. Spears pulling Kelly's head down - even tucking it in under either arm while clubbing a free mitt against Clarkson's shiny lower back. Kelly gritting her teeth, working harder and harder - beating at Britney's biceps, hips, flanks, trying to squirm inside to beat up those jugs - but Spears' pulling, cloying defences just bogging Clarkson down. Systematic Britney: tucking in thick, brutal punches in behind either Clarkson elbow; constantly holding and hitting Kelly, buffetting her face and breasts with sideswiping licks; bumping Kelly that left shoulder, then picking her up tidy right uppercuts. Clarkson stamping and pushing at Britney, but once again - Ms. Spears able to hand out a sexy, supple bludgeoning, using Kelly's aggression against her.

R4: Clarkson showing signs of fatigue - constant gripping of Britney, the pulling and weight-bearing tactics starting to take a toll. Clarkson mouthbreathing, punch-rate dropping, but she's still able to chug away in spots, beating at Britney's ribs and tummy. Spears grunting, willing to absorb tremendous punishment downstairs while doing her thing - crafty, very heavy-handed counters continue to swat and stroke hard-working Kelly. Spears so short with her delivery, just twisting her body or arching her back to get something into Kelly - Clarkson being cuffed and buffetted something terrible in long grinding tummy-on-tummy sequences. Down the stretch, series of sneaky little right uppercuts weakens Kelly's knees: she's buckling, reaching 'round Britney's back at the bell as Spears slaps away right hands against kidney. Ref giving Spears a finger waggle: "Stay off her back, Brit - you know better than that."

R5: Kelly lured in again - starting to look more and more like doom as Spears digs in at the apron, leans forward off the ropes to wrestle and beguile her foe. Clarkson in quick sand - trying to pull her arms free, then getting her chin toggled; pushing into Britney and gasping from thick body-shock. Spears wriggling, pulling, holding-and-hitting - ref occasionally slapping her hand away from a controlling position at the back of Kelly's neck. Britney systematic - never really unleashing in bunches, but getting thick, single-shot strokes in head and body amidst a constant grappling. Britney folding Kelly's head into the crook of either arm as she leans back - tired blonde curls bowing out from the grip as Clarkson's face is pushed against heavy Spears jugs for breaks. Final minute - Kelly's leaning forward, but not punching: Britney's starting to chop her up. Spears with hands stacked right atop left at her body - she hacks a hook in behind Kelly's right elbow, hacks it in again thick n' choppy, drawing a moist groan from Clarkson. Brit steps forward, pushing her weight into Kelly, backing Clarkson up: sideswiping right claps across Kelly's drowsy mouth; short left uppercut shoves up under Kelly's chin - all Britney's back and legs behind the shot. Brit steps her weight forward, backing Kelly up - cracks her another supple right hand while twistinig hard to port. Brit ducks down, easily slipping a wonky Clarkson right: Spears up out of the crouch, twisting to her right to pull the tidiest of hooks across Kelly's mouth. Head swivel Clarkson - mouthpiece shooting off her teeth - KELLY GOES DOWN! Crunching, short blast puts Kelly on deck - hands up and out, head lolling groggily side to side. She can't get off her back - KO5 Britney Spears.

After: Spears grinning, happy: KOing foes after using them up to the body has a way of lifting Britney's spirits. "She's tough," Britney shrugs, as if to say they're all tough, "but she's one dimensional. She's really stubborn - I can see why she'd give Dani such a good fight - but stubborn just gets you beat up against me. I'm a finished product - I'm at the top of my game as a fighter now, and girls like Kelly aren't ready for that. I'm glad we had a chance to get it on, just so she knows that pushing me out of boxing isn't an option at this point." Clarkson frazzled, getting a good long look on her stool in the aftermath - but as soon as she's able, she's over to offer Britney a congratulatory hug. Spears a little perplexed - but that's Kelly: no hard feelings. Yes, Kelly wants to retire Britney, but if she can't, she'll shake Britney's hand like a true sportswoman.