Posted by Simguy on 04/22/2005

Before: Lilly the athlete, Jewel the battle-hardened veteran - good contrast in looks and styles. Kilcher unable to procure high-paying gigs in the wake of two sensational upsets over Jessica Alba, snubbed in the rankings - is Jewel a ducked woman these days? "Sure feels like it," Kilcher grins. "I think people realize that when you get with Jewel Kilcher, you're in for a hard, hard dime and a lot of girls don't want that kind of heat. Everybody apparently thinks Alba quit in our fight, so they're not giving me any credit for dominating her and MAKING her punk. Evangeline's got nothing to lose, but I don't want to stumble against her. I've worked harder than any other fighter in the sport and this is a dangerous fight for me - I'm never going to be a stepping stone for another woman again, so I have to put Lilly down. Hard."

Evangeline in green bra style bikini top, yellow jungle print, yellow bottoms - Jewel in teal bandeau bikini, slick ponytail.

During R1: Lilly exuberant, explosive, muscles ripping into view as she slashes gaudy lefts and rights from her hips. Evangeline all hard - she's jumping in, swiping punches across Jewel with vicious leverage, jumping to the side. Kilcher covering up tight, crouching, but feeling the sock - blonde getting buffetted off balance, getting tagged. Midway through, a lead left uppercut/right cross smashes past the guard, batting Jewel's head around - blonde reels away hurt to the ropes, defenses faltering. Lilly on in a rush, baring her teeth, urging harm from her limbs and legs with smashing, rising lefts and rights - poor Jewel under siege bending forward behind her mitts and KILCHER TAKES A KNEE! Jewel stunned, cut at the hairline, dazed - sheer ferocity of Lilly's acrobatic assault has blonde on her heels. Veteran gets herself together, digs in - Lilly romps on in to complete a shutout first, fists blazing up and down Jewel's flanks to the bell.

R2: Kilcher composed, fat-lipped, but calm - right at her temple, left at her jaw, elbows in - she steps out with that rigid, blocking guard, pressing behind her jab. Lilly tagged a harsh stick and pre-empted early - she's stepping away, looking to circle to a spot, then lunge - Jewel shadowing her course, cutting off the ring, pounding out the jab to keep the initiative. Midway through, Jewel jabbing Lilly to forehead - blonde leans in with a crunching right above the hip, arches her back to get a thudding hook in Lilly's rightside ribs: brunette folds forward, covering up winded. Jewel goes to work: thumping hooks breadbasket and flank, rough left shoulder bumps, stubby jabs from that tight guard. Lilly getting roughed up at the ropes, firing back with that sudden, violent delivery, but getting blocked by Jewel's high guard. Blonde answering back off the block, scoring to Lilly's skull, chest, waist, beating out the exchanges as punches flow back and forth. Good brawny blonde donnybrook - Jewel standing strong, bashing away with clean punches, calmly riding out Lilly's bursts behind that blocking D - Lilly getting banged up, slowing down, getting sloppy. Down the stretch, blunt right hand on the chin stuns Lilly, short left uppercut lifts her up and drapes her staring in the ropes. Crowd groaning as Jewel steps left and puts 100% Kilcher behind a sickening sidearm right to the pit of Evangeline's washboard abs. Classy brunette groans, spitting out her mouthpiece with a wheezing "POOH!" pitching forward into Jewel's arms: Kilcher throws the deadweight back into ropes, starts a bad beat down in earnest! Hard, hard bludgeoning blows, skull, shoulders, bicep, chest, lungs - Jewel just bashing and bumping, staying on her girl with no-frills, Alaskan brutality and LILLY GOES DOWN! Evangeline all beat up, drooping, taking punches sullenly with no expression - she droops to all fours in a fog, trembling on the spot and it's OVER! KO2 in thudding fashion, Jewel Kilcher!

After: Kilcher proving Alba was no fluke - she takes apart another superb athlete with bone-crunching determination. Same menu from Jewel: spitting jab; high blocking defense; forward pressure; devastating body shots setting up accurate, opportunistic chin checks - not a lot of moving parts or eye-catching style to it, just baseball-bat efficiency. Jewel crossing to Lilly's corner, stoops to hug the battered ingenue and offer advice: pure class from a girl who's been in Evangeline's shoes and understands the heartache. Good learning session for Lilly - blazing start fizzled in the face of Kilcher's consistency - ingenue can and will do much better with more discipline.