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Before: Jen going from cupcakes to hardtack - Mendes a heavy handed South Beach slugger of the first order. "I've got issues with Eva," Connelly says in prefight. "I want to give her a taste of her own medicine, get her good and beat in this fight. Mendes is a bully - a swaggering, full-of-herself, dimwitted bully - and I don't think there's any room for that in the FCBA. Not on my watch, anyway."
Mendes snorting at Jen's high hand - Eva not long on respect for former champions. "Connelly's 'watch' ended a long time ago - she's the most-babied, most pampered, most protected fighter in boxing and I can't wait to get my hands on her. I will shred Jennifer Connelly - do you hear me? I'm going to take her apart. There's no way a woman like that can hold a woman like me down forever. The Eva Mendes era is going to pick up where the Jen Connelly era ends - mark my words!"
Eva in lavender two piece - halter top, belted boy cut shorts (like an Octagon girl look), white aerobics shoes. Connelly in white two piece - halter and Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader bottoms - white aerobics shoes.
During R1: Jen steppin' and a tappin' - jabbing Eva a brace of pokes while wheeling clockwise midring. Mendes scowling, stepping in a hard jab to Jen's chest and a grazing right hand backs Connelly off in first minute negotiations. Second minute, Jen looking to jab again - Eva steps in wide, bends forward and loops a STUPENDOUS right hand onto Connelly's chin: JENNIFER GOES DOWN! Shattering blast stretches Connelly on the canvas - hands up over her head, legs straight and twitching - she relaxes into the hurt, arms moving out to the side in surrender, palms up, eyelashes fluttering. Mendes screaming in triumph - grinding and gulping her pelvis in rude celebration - leaping up into the ropes, pounding her chest - BUT JEN FIGHTS OFF THE KO! Connelly rising from her own ashes, reeling hurt at the ropes - ref taking a good long look, asking her repeatedly if she wants to continue: groggy nods from Jen as she digs in. Eva from neutral corner, crosses the ring with her hands high above her head in celebration, closing with total disdain, bringing the right hand down to her chest, pushing the left into Jen's forward guard. Connelly peek-a-booing behind her mitts, stooping forward - Mendes sneering, just prodding with her left, then lashing the right into pale Connelly waist or trying to drive it between Jen's mitts. Boos from the crowd - Eva's just toying with hurt Jen, pawing at her and punishing her - Mendes nodding at Connelly's fans, licking her lips, carrying on. Thumping hook takes Jen thick underneath her elbow, crippling her: Eva delighted, lifts her arms above her head again, standing right in front of Jen and crowing "You're beat! Give it up Jen - you're BEAT! WOO-HOO-HOOOO! YEAH!" Connelly crouched, slumped, ERUPTS INTO EVA WITH A HOOK! Shocking, clean, compact blast catches 100% of Mendes' gloating chin - EVA SPRAWLS TO THE CANVAS! Jen staggering glassy-eyed, glaring down: Mendes on her back, face twisted in shock, limbs all rigid - she's herky-jerky picking her head up off the canvas, trying to rally her tingling body. BELL: Mendes helped up and back to her stool - Connelly limping back into port - craziest first round in FCBA history puts both beauties on the brink of elimination!
R2: Grim, flat footed trading: both girls too battered at this point to do much else. Both lean in with forehead to get close, then rip the hook downstairs: machine-tooled precision on these shots as both girls are masters of the punch. Groggy grunting upon receipt, slackjawed resignation on both faces - gentle clockwise rotation midring as girls shift weight, get leverage, load licks upon offending torsos. Midway through, it's all just too much for Jen - she buckles, then sinks to one knee, mouth wide open as she gulps for air. Mendes closing her eyes, stepping back hands on hips, HER mouth wide open. Connelly up at 8 - just took that knee to refresh: when Eva wades in to finish, she meets stern, determined Jen Connelly resistance. Both girls angling their left sides in towards each other to facilitate the hooks - but Jen chops a little right hand to Eva's jaw, nips Eva a little right uppercut on the chin, THEN hooks her gut to cramp Mendes up. Eva forced to clinch, out of breath, eyes shut tight, lips quivering at the bell.
R3: Excrutiating stuff when these two lean in noggin-to-noggin, hooking away at each other's shiny ribs and taut guts. Both snatching the mitt off offending flesh with a dig-and-retract action that's just so tart and tangy - hooks absolutely ruining both women to the body tonight. Slow, methodical pace - girls flat-footed, perpetually hurt, just circling each other close and stroking away. Jen a little more constructive with her right hand, dropping it in on Eva's jaw via the cross, or visiting chin with the uppercut - tight, non-anticipatory delivery on those shots: Eva never ready for Jen's right hand. Mendes landing some monster shots to Jen's body however, buckling Connelly's knees, banging the breath out of her: ringsiders wincing as they see the pain on Jen's face - the punishment she's willing herself to take tonight.
R4: Foreheads rubbing, torsos tilted forward, girls shouldering and nudging for room, then hooking the hell out of each other's slender waists and proud ribcages. Minute's worth hot-tossing just too much for Jen: she bites down on a cry, backing away crippled - Eva mouthbreathing, walks her girl down with exhausted determination. Mendes on Connelly at the ropes: pawing at Jen's hands to get the guard down, then lathering her rights and lefts up top, dropping the hook-bomb downstairs to shake Jen to the body. Connelly breaking down, stiffening up: Eva squared away, just slopping it to the former champ with rangey, succulent strokes. Tough to watch: Jen's pale, hard body sounding out with tortured spank from Eva's heavy touch - Mendes getting in behind the elbows, warping Jen's torso. Connelly turning her shoulders side to side, keeping elbows in tight to her body, soaking up the beatdown: Oscar winning legs trembling, but refusing to give way as Mendes mops up bell to bell.
R5: Jen all banged up, crying quiet, stoic tears as her ribs are probed during the break: she needs to adjust, and adjust now against her stronger rival. Connelly's answer: she comes out southpaw - right shoulder forward, left at her chin, right at her shoulder, left foot back and up on the ball of the big toe, weight on the right (lead) foot. Eva scowling, immediately tentative as Jen rotates counterclockwise now, turning the Mendes left flank. Connelly dropping the southpaw jab onto Eva's face with a little hammer-swing from the elbow - not turning the fist over, just dropping it down, dropping it down, then stabbing in the straight left hand to Eva's mouth. Straight-punching hunt-and-peck boxing - Connelly keeping her distance, touching Eva up - Mendes a confused beauty as Jen reaches deep into her bag of tricks to get her legs back in the fifth.
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Connelly/Mendes conc.
Posted by simguy on 10/21/2006, 9:22 am
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R6: Scarlett Johannson standing, clapping, screaming encouragement to Jen: no question Connelly's using SJ's southpaw approach to take away some of Mendes' confidence. Eva snarling, fidgetty - constantly stepping out to look things over: she's just not the same against a competent portsider. Jen showing her skill here - looking a little robotic from the southpaw stance, but very effective nonetheless. She's moving easier to her right now, pivoting around the right foot. She's occasionally startling Eva with lead straight-lefts to the mouth, then coming back right hooks to the temple. Hammer-drop jab landing consistently over Eva's traditionally low left - Mendes staring into a lot of punches, reacting late.
R7: Jen keeps it up - poking Eva hard enough with those straight left hands in the teeth to get respect, then going to work with the right jab and hook on Eva's left eye. Portman does this kind of thing - Packard will do it, Claire's done it - it's meanspirited, hardhearted as Jen just methodically pecks at Eva's eye, closing it with a systematic, patient, coldblooded tapping. Mendes blinking, discouraged - she's starting to lift her mitts to her temples, exposing her body to Jen's straight-slanting left hands to midsection late.
R8: Tap-tap-tap: Eva can't see the incoming right, compounded by Jen's lateral counterclockwise movement - Connelly using angles like a geometrician through 8. Jen POUNDING those straight lefts to mouth - tart, sharp punching knocking Eva's head back: by the midway point, Mendes is starting to loosen at the knee from these shots, covering up hurt rather than answering back in anger. Connelly circling, heartless - keeping her punches straight and moving off the poke - she's got Mendes totally beguiled, bewitched at this point.
R9: Connelly's waited a long time for this moment - the moment when she can jab Eva to ropes, get Mendes to cover up and stroke her down with thick, lashing lefts and rights. Eva sulking, face in gloves, dipping side to side, rotating her torso forward and back as Jen squares away for payback. Connelly not as lanky or loose with her shots as Eva had been in this situation: Jen still pretty jagged with the one-twos up top, still snatching that hook off quivering Latina midsection. Jen getting off in quick, tight 2s and 3s, working the head and body, using every punch in the arsenal. Mendes picked up hard by right uppercuts, head rocking back when Jen gets that punch: Eva slumping into the ropes, takes her medicine as lithe legs hold her up in the storm. Round ends with Jen stuffing three uncontested right hands into Eva's trembling breadbasket as Mendes slouches against the ropes, face in her gloves. Jen pulls back, heartlessly appraising: Eva's mitts come down to reveal tear-stained cheeks, snivelling lips. Unspeakable satisfaction on Jennifer's face as she drinks in the sight of Mendes' collapse.
R10: Southpaw Jen keeping her distance, punching at Eva's face with those straight pokes, sliding off to the right, slinging the occasional sweeping left hand to Mendes' paunch just for fun. Eva totally unprepared for a southpaw stance tonight - didn't spar for it - can't react to it - Jen's lead (right) foot always outside Eva's left foot as Connelly dictates terms. At the bell, a pair of jotting straight left hands from Jen take Mendes in her mouth, punching the mouthpiece off her teeth. Eva staggers back all glassy-eyed, well and truly boxed tonight. UD10 Jen Connelly.
After: Scarlett joins Jen in the ring for a jiggly celebration: big bad wolf laid low and tamed as Jen turns the fight around with pure tactical acumen tonight. "Oh, I was hurt," a lumped up Jen admits when Tractorpull queries her on the early going. "I went toe to toe with Eva because I felt like she was more hype than substance - but I was wrong: Eva's very strong straight up - I don't think anybody can handle her fighting her fight. I had worked on my southpaw game because I saw how effective Scarlett had been - but I honestly didn't think it would play a decisive role. It wasn't until the fourth round when we decided to commit to it: I was losing the fight, I was probably going to get stopped, and I needed to do something dramatic to change things." Mendes distraught - emotional Latina having a little breakdown in her corner: she's haunted by that first round. If not for Eva's hubris and clowning, she surely would have stopped Jen KO1 with a more disciplined approach: best argument for professionalism we've seen in a long time.
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