Posted by simguy on 12/11/2004

Before: Charlize Theron guest commentating the Bell/Ryan rematch at ringside. "Cat's catching a lot of heat for this fight," Charlize says, "but I understand what she's doing. Jeri's always been the weak sister between the three of us, always nipping at mine and Cat's heels, but now Jeri's really serious about surpassing Bell. I know Cat better than she knows herself in some ways and I'm telling you: she won't stand for this attitude from Ryan - any more than Connelly took it from Cuoco. Bell has a chance to really break Ryan's heart in this fight, make a strong statement about who the better woman really is. I'd probably do the same thing - I mean - taking a belt from a girl with Jeri's pride, then turning her back in the first defense? That's a back-breaker - I really admire Cat for going after Jeri's jugular like this. My pick? Cat Bell all the way. She's in Ryan's head now and Jeri's too dumb and stubborn to realize it." Cat in electric blue bikini, Jeri in red.

During R1: Cat: jab over Jeri's right shoulder to abort Ryan's cross, short, blunt right hand on Jeri's chin, stepping starboard while riding the left around Jeri's neck to tug and turn her. Ref's break - Cat repeats the process, jabbing and coming in hard on the chin, holding and hitting while stepping to the right as Ryan stumbles early. Middle minute - Cat jabs to face and upper chest, has Jeri dukes up, on her back foot - Bell going gut with sloping rights straight to the body, up quick with sweeping hooks to the cheek. Ryan buffeted to her left, looking a little pasty - blonde standing behind a rigid high guard, trying to make sense of it all. Final minute, Bell working behind a ramming stick, landing wide right hands to ear. sweeping hooks hip and jaw, finishing up strong with Jeri's back against the ropes.

R2: Ryan coldblooded off her stool - knows she got bullied last round and doesn't like it. Jeri into Cat with a thudding stick, hook off the stick and short right hand on the chin - BELL'S BACK FOOT SKIDS OFF CANVAS! Cat a little queasy, startled - she stutter steps, extends her arms and eats another right hand as Jeri launches from outside Bell's left shoulder. Cat staggering sideways into the ropes, ducks down in the nick as a roaring Ryan right misses over top: Jeri torquing, back into Cat's liver with a shivering left, drawing a moist groan of agony from Bell and JERI GOES JUG! Cat's knees buckling - Jeri knuckles shoulders to straighten Bell up and goes at that rack arms a-pumping! Bell lurching forward, wrapping up wide: Jeri shoulder-bumps teeth, picks Cat up a tidy right uppercut to brush drooping brunette off. Left hook, short right hand bang-bang on the chin bends Cat's knees again: Bell swooning BUT SLUGGING BACK! Bell chopping a short right over Jeri's left, tucking a sidearm left thick to Ryan's breadbasket: pinched expression and grunt of pain from Jeri as she leans forward. Long limbed beauties reaching in with the left arm to shoulder-shrug the opponent back, then lick her hard - uncompromising two-way sees Bell march a step or two off the ropes. OH it's tasty inside: thudding rip right hands up underneath, girls bumping for room and cashing in hooks to chin and RYAN'S HURT! Jeri's eyes misting over, legs rubbery - Bell twists her foe and stacks her up at the ropes and CAT GOES JUG! Great heaping mittfuls of jug, INSANE jug - Bell hunkered forward, keeping it short and harmful, chugging away with no backswing - all legs and shoulders. Round's end: Cat's still socking sack with mindless abandon - ref intercedes - chaos as Ryan groggily tries to get at her tormentress.

R3: Both girls rocked in the second - Ryan comes back stronger. Jeri stalking, stiff jab off the hip setting up whistling right hands up top, mopping up thick, shivering hooks in Cat's ribs to slug Bell ropeside. Cat: butt in ropes, tilted forwards, dukes up - she's there for the taking as Ryan settles in. Jeri strapping right hands harsh under the elbows to thump that tummy, dipping and digging left uppercuts to hulking Cat Bell rack, picking her up then labeling her short right hands across the jaw. Bell unable to answer, slumping and soaking as Ryan works her over rangy.

R4: Cat more combative - busy trade midring as long-armed gals slop on the hurt. Thudding hooks to flank, sharp right crosses up top - girls leaning in with hands crossed chest and tummy, sensing each other's weight with the shoulder, taking turns getting off. Who wants it more? Down the stretch, Jeri in close, picks up Cat's chin a tasty right uppercut, steps in a tuff shoulder to the chest to bump Bell back and sinks a vicious hook in behind Cat's right elbow. Bell winces, disengages to slouch hurt on the ropes - Ryan setting up over Cat's left shoulder, crowding close with her guard, banging away short punches and forearms to the bell. Cat complaining of elbow smashes - Ryan unrepentant as she stalks back to her corner.

R5: Similar stuff - girls midring, blocking guards, stiff jabs setting up long right hands up top, clean-up hooks to ribs and stubborn tummies. When they lean in - both relax, hands stacked waist and chest high, easing each other around with shoulders, both looking to snatch right uppercuts and tidy hooks in close. Down the stretch, Bell scores a clipping clean right uppy - immediately tucking a left into Ryan's pale belly, pushing her off with the chickenwing left elbow. Ryan groggily stepping back, stares into a CRASHING right flush on the chin - blonde sent rag-doll to the ropes, knees a-knocking and ON COMES BELL! Cat reaching in with the left to stabilize, then chugging up into Ryan's healthy, helpless rack! Cat normally a crisscross mugger, gets closer and jerks upward into the beefy heft of Ryan's breasts - poor Jeri sagging to a seat, numb in the ropes as Cat storms to the bell. More late punching from Bell - ref pushing her off - tempers flare as accusations fly both ways.

R6: Cat back to the piston jab, pounding it off Jeri's face, then doubling it over her right shoulder and edging in to stub a short right hand on Ryan's jaw. Masterful tugging and hitting from Cat as she rides the left around Jeri's neck, stepping right to turn the blonde, clouting her upside the head righty. Ref's break and warnings - Bell unrepentant, LUNGING in a sudden right hand that catches Jeri looking. RYAN WOBBLY BUTT! Stunned by the blast - she's jerked a quarter turn right and reels headlong into ropes - Bell hounding her every step. Bell squaring away to have another robust go but JERI'S BRAWLING BACK! Ryan shabby with hurt, turning her shoulders side to side to stamp Cat savage short lefts and rights, elbows in, no backswing. Torrid two way as Bell steps back and tries to walk Jeri's chin into harm at the bell.

R7: Jeri contesting the jab with Cat in first minute - blonde getting the better of it, rewarded with spanking connects and a groggy stupor on brunette face. Midway through, Jeri sweeps a hook to Cat's jugs, hooks again as Cat hooks to the body and steps into a gorgeous short right cross on the chin - DOWN GOES CAT! Bell flat on her back, eyes glassy, picking her head up shabby - she rolls painfully to her feet for a ramshackle 8. Bell woozy, hands at temples as she sinks into the ropes for support - ON COMES JERI! Ryan UNLEASHING - belting straight arm lefts and rights to flanks, occasionally sinking in horrifying leverage on the hook behind Cat's elbow. Brunette stunned, open mouthed - Jeri picks Cat up uppercuts from either hand, then gets after that trembling gut. KO's not coming - Ryan switches up with great chugging lefts and rights to jug, bending her knees to get up in there - drawing breathy grunts of pain from shabby Cat.

R8: Ryan pressing, trying to pile on with that knockdown, but Bell won't crack. Crafty Cat preempting with the jab, stepping to the right, clinching. Bell walking Jeri into sneaky rights on the chin, then holding, bodying up for breaks. Ryan disoriented - unable to get off - her ribs coming under increasing attack as round wears on. Down the stretch, body blows have Ryan bent forward, elbows in, dukes up and Cat sinks that shuddering Hopkins left hook in behind elbow. Ryan sobbing aloud, staggering into the ropes but refusing to go down at the bell. Jeri clutching at her back with her right palm, begging the ref to do something - Cat getting pissed, pressing in on the man's left hand and berating Jeri for grandstanding.

R9: Late rounds hard to scrounge off Cat - nobody's tougher on the five yard line. Jeri trying to bring it inside - Bell joining her, landing flat right hands to the belly, scraping left uppercuts in tight, chopping rights on jaw as Ryan moves back. Jeri hooks Cat's tits, hoping to intimidate, but Bell gives it right back - lengthy sequences of the girls leaning in, crowding, then bumping off to get hooks on rack. Back and forth tasty slugging, but overall it's Cat: she's backing Jeri up, holding and hitting, twisting and turning to be the effective aggressor.

R10: Cat pouring it on, a jab on approach, but everything else hard. Bell's eyes intense, stepping in with the hatchet right hand on Jeri's jaw, twisting to pull the hook across chin, sweeping hooks out wide to smash in behind that elbow on Ryan's tender ribs. Jeri open mouthed, shabby, hunching forward but driven into steady retreat - brunette applying consistent, roping shellack through 2 minutes. Down the stretch, Jeri wearing down, bends to slip a tired Bell one-two - blonde slides her right foot back, walking Bell in and hooking the BEJESUS out of Bell's chin. DOWN GOES CAT! DOWN GOES CAT! Bell dropped by a perfect counter-left hook off a SLIP of all things from Jeri - Cat's astonished, lying rigid on her back. Pure heart gets Cat off the mat - she's swaying, reeling hurt at the ropes and ON COMES JERI! Ryan strides in, hauling a walking right hand onto Cat's jaw - Bell's mouthpiece shoots out past her right shoulder as knees fold. JERI TAKES JUG! Ryan bodying Cat upright, won't let her fall - she gets after offending rack with soul-searing shellack. Bashing left/right crisscross pancake punching has Bell sobbing, reaching wide to clinch, but unable to close up as Ryan hammers her to the break. Fight's over: Bell draped breathless around Ryan's arms - blonde bouncing up and down in the boozy grasp, certain of victory. Ryan steals the tenth, takes back the belts in another savage slobberknocking dime.

After: Theron shaking her head in disgust - denouncing Cat as a "Shopworn old hag" for "letting down" against Jeri. Ryan breaking down into tears at the announcement - it's been a long time since she's had her hand lifted over Cat's. Bell blinking back tears of a different flavour - she mounted her famous late rounds rally, tying up the fight after 9, leading through most of the tenth...and then Jeri Ryan just took it all away. Awkward - both have been good sports in the past, but now Cat's been scalded and Jeri can't hide her satisfaction: neither makes much of a move towards the other as hard feelings boil over at long last. "Beating Cat's been a personal goal of mine for a long time," says a badly battered, but beaming Ryan. "Everything she hit me with, I paid her back double. Every trick she tried, I punished her for. She's getting dirty as her skills fade - lots of kidney work and holding, but I wasn't going to get bogged down in it this time. When I laid her out in the tenth and took that round from her...I could see it in her eyes: things have changed between us. The next time we fight, I know I'll knock her out. She just doesn't have anything more to give."