Before: "It's long been one of the sexiest match ups in boxing," notes on BLONDE! Magazine analyst. "Ashley's a little slicker, a little classier - Durance has the strength and determination - and both are long lean lightweights who compliment one another perfectly in combat. It's a toss up in every sense: who's the better fighter? Who's the hotter vixen? Who's the more dominant personality? Ask 10 different people and you'll get 10 different answers." Scott in hot pink bra and panties from "Walk Tall". Erica in baby blue bikini with yellow strings ("Smallville reference). Both electing small work out gloves: white for Erica, black for Ashley.

During R1: Ashley sleek, sliding about the ring, supple waisted. Scotty carrying the left hand at her hip, pointing left shoulder at Erica - right hand cocked at Scott's chest: Ashley feinting, scowling, tummy jabbing, darting in/out and around - dragging her lead left foot like a matador's cape. Durance much more straightforward: dukes up, elbows in - strong stepping advances - thrusting jab directed to Ashley's chest, designed to help cut off the ring. Durance outboxed for 2 minutes as Scott bedazzles her, but down the stretch: Scott's pulling away from another successful foray when Erica whirls out of the crouch, clouting Ash a sweeping right to chin. Scotty's legs give way - she's tottering around, hands in panicky earmuff. Erica steps-to, guts Ashley a terrible right hand to the midsection, doubled into a clanging right uppercut mitt-splitter, rocking Scotty's face up and back. Scott manages to clinch, hanging on hurt at the bell: Erica steals Ashley's points, favours her with a steely glare upon separation.

R2: Ashley shying away, legs still aren't there, eyes betraying her distress. Erica confidently forward, pressing Scott along the perimeter, walking Scott down always and everywhere. Ashley denying Erica - sliding or dancing away - flinging out leave-me-alone jabs, or clinching. Durance doing what damage she can to her foe's slender ribcage and arms - belting away tidy before Scott can tie up. Scotty elegant on her sidesteps and pivots - often making Erica miss by wide margins.

R3: Similar hounding pursuit - Ashley roaming the ring, showing leg, drawing boos for shameless running. Erica full-speed ahead - walking Scott down, fixing position with the jab, pulling in the overhand right, mopping up the hook. Ashley rolling and slipping - reaching in to clinch when she can't elude Durance - supple blonde losing the rounds but doing a good job of minimizing damage.

R4: Ashley firms - fight breaks out. Scott's limber limbed delivery beautiful to behold: licking jabs off the hip snapping stiff; legs wide, pushing off the back (right) big toe for leverage; succulent, strapping hooks vicious to Erica's tummy and sternum - Scott popping hips-right and lashing Durance as she's covering up. Erica wincing, but forcing herself through it - when it's her turn, the punches are rigid, bashing - small gloves bouncing tart off Ashley's head, shoulders, flanks. Scott disengaging, pivoting to turn Erica - Ashley outboxing Durance, starting to nibble into the lead.

R5: Scott flowing around the ring, circling Erica, pinning her with jabs, then scorching her right crosses up top/left hooks underneath. Body blows snatch so hard at Durance she covers up - allowing Scotty to pivot 'round, neatly turning Erica midring. Durance' face lumping up nicely - Scotty getting in there with jabs and crosses. Erica's chin proving durable - cracked and recracked several times as Ashley extends on right hands - but it's the body where Scotty's making her money. Time and again that vicious, whipping hook takes Erica in rib, tummy or solar plexus, momentarily crippling her as Scotty pivots effortlessly around the shots. Bell: Ashley glowing - starting to take the fight away from her nemesis through 5.

R6: Ashley fluid, smooth, lethal - long legged, wide stance - limber, loose limbs - lashing, slinging, whipping punches. Erica mesmerized, grunting aloud and hunching forward whenever Scotty hooks the body - Ashley pivoting around, turning either Durance flank with ease. Ash negligent with her hands - often dropping one or both when she's motoring; dangling the right when she's popping multiple jabs. Scott keeping Durance pinned down with poke, then licking away hard to her heart's content - every few seconds marks the sound of fresh Scott leather landing on Durance' superbly conditioned body. Erica's left eye puffy, lower lip swelling: she's discouraged, but competitive - if only she could force Ashley to ropes and batter her. Bell: Ashley's strut says it all - she's taking Erica apart through 6.

R7: Same again, Ashley with the initiative, engaging and disengaging as she pleases, gorgeous legs and loping footwork embarrassing Erica. Durance crouching lower and lower to protect her breadbasket - open invitation for Ashley to scour the lower back, sweeping away vicious right hands against the drum-tight surface. Ref's warnings only irritate Scott: she's taking what she wants here. Erica answering back in spots - scoring sticky, rigid rights and lefts to Scott's ribs; good digging business, but unsustainable so long as Ashley's legs control the ring.

R8: Ashley having fun, sweeping in, scoring, pivoting away: she gets careless. Durance crouching to receive a right hand wide to her flank, then stepping forward with a wide, sidearm hook, catching Scotty wheeling to her right, hands low. Jarring blast to chin puts Ashley wobbly butt: Erica misses a follow up right as Scotty's tottering backward, but follow-on hook finds chin again. Ashley to ropes, stunned: Erica wading in, gloves collected under her chin: OH, she goes to work. Durance squares away, eyes hard - fists ripping at Ashley, then returning to ready position under Erica's chin. Nothing fancy - Erica just snapping mitts off meat - elbows in as she dips and twists side to side with the shots, putting her back and legs to good use. Poor Ashley: Scott butt in ropes, desperately bending and rolling - trying to blunt the incoming, but it's too tuff. Ashley goes to clinches, but Durance won't have it - getting her elbows up to shove Ashley off, or throwing a meanspirited shoulder at Ashley's mouth to disengage. Durance doing a wonderful job keeping hands free, staying compact, and working hard to take the 8th.

R9: Ashley ragged, mouthbreathing - Erica having no trouble closing, finding Scott with a jab in the forehead and driving her to ropes. First minute beatdown hard to watch: Ashley face-in-gloves, sliding forlorn along the ropes under a TORRENT of non-stop Erica punching. Durance just stepping with, eyes hard and heartless - small gloves crack, crack, cracking off all things Ashley. Second minute beatdown just as bad - Scott no longer sliding - just sitting in ropes, bending at the waist, then lolling back into strands, trying to slip the incoming. Durance wisely stays on the body and arms - strapping away steady, strong lefts and rights with vicious, small-mitt intensity. At one point - crowd screaming goes shrill as Scott appears done-for: she's standing upright, arms outstretched, sputtering as Durance wails away lefts and rights to face. Erica pinning her ears back - chest thrusting forward as she switches torso left/right, pouring it to Ashley. By the final minute - Scott's crying, clinching, bogging Erica down as best she can. Durance mouthbreathing, wrestling with Ashley's arms inside as she struggles to keep the pressure on bell to bell. Terrible pasting leaves Scott swaying, dazed on the spot - but she staggers back to her stool all swollen-eyed defiance.

R10: CUE COMEBACK! Erica's eyes hollow - she's punched herself out: Ashley grimly forward. Durance retreating to ropes, digging in: Ashley's turn to lash vigorously at her foe, strapping and slinging away limber lefts and rights. Scott on Durance - wide, whippy deliveries mixed in with straight, shaving right hands; clubbing head-clout mixed in with strapping bodywork to waist, or gouging uppercuts to ribs and jug. Scott heartless when it comes to Durance's back: Ashley baring her teeth, swiping away at tender kidney with hard hammerfists whenever lumbar's available. Erica refusing to punk - she's answering back tight inside - dipping n' digging rights or lefts to Ashley's torso, shouldering her tuff in the chest: Scott buffetted, forced to regroup, but regroup she always does. Scott won't be discouraged - she takes what Durance has left, stays on her - lathering on shellack on past the bell as ref has to pull seething blonde off cowering prey. Long delay as very close cards are tallied - UD10, single point: Erica Durance!

After: Scott in shock - immediately pressing on judges, FCBA officials and the ref to retally the scores. Erica awarded 10-8 without a knockdown in the 9th: it's the difference in the fight. Durance battered, exhausted, exultant in postfight. "Ashley brings out the best in me," Erica beams. "When I'm fighting her, I just feel like no one can handle me - it's hard to explain. No matter what she does, I just raise my game that much more and overhaul her. It's got to be devastating to her - she's so close - even I can see that - but I've got the extra heart it takes to win these kinds of fights. She'll never admit it publicly, but down deep? I know she knows I'm better. I saw it in her eyes tonight - that recognition. When you catch a glimpse of that look, it's better than knocking a girl out, let me tell you!"