Posted by Simguy on 03/25/2005

Before: "I'm very concerned about Courtney's health in this fight," says assistant trainer and part-time promoter Terry Farrel. "I was against this bout from the start, because I was in the same sort of denial at the end of my fighting career and I know how destructive that can be. As you know, with TE backing, I've been making attractive fights at affordable prices under my own banner for some time, and I tried to put together Lori Loughlin/CTS on B.A.D but Court wouldn't bite. I couldn't really sell Smith on the beach because of her age, but I did come up with Courtney Cox, Kelly Rowan and Katie Holmes offers and again: Smith had her heart set on Fishel and wouldn't budge. It's a mistake: Dani doesn't let up on girls - you show ANY weakness in front of Fishel and she's on you. I know what Courtney's thinking - she's thinking she'll box and confuse Dani, but it's not going to happen. Bottom line: if you can't hurt Dani Fishel, you can't get it done against her."

Courtney in black Hanes cotton two piece - Dani in navy bandeau bikini with large baby blue polkadots, bra strap supports.

During R1: Courtney playing hit-and-scoot - brushing Dani with shoeshining combos, sticking her lead rights or jabs, then sidestepping lively. Fishel just finding her rhythm, cutting down the ring, stompin' and snortin' forward, arms crossed, bobbing and weaving. Smith keeps her back clear of ropes, gets off first, and keeps her distance - relatively easy CTS points as Dani takes a round to get warmed up.

R2: Dani's warm: Courtney suffers. Fishel stepping over and stubbing her jab out in Courtney's chest - blonde bumped to ropes and crowded as Fishel sets up in wide slugger's stance. Dani from the crossed-arm: bumping Court shoulders, propping her elbows then RIPPING her gut vicious hooks - Dani using a blunt straight right or pushing right to reset, generating all her power from the left hip. Courtney slouching open mouthed off the ropes, soaking it all up in her ribs - she never sees the tidy left uppercut down the stretch that drapes her back blinking and stupified against the strands. Queasy moments for Smith fans - Courtney reeling, guard loose - Dani smelling blood and POURING into the breach - Fishel detonating lefts and rights off Smith's stunned face, pounding the mouthpiece off teeth as Courtney just sways and stares in response. Bell: Courtney bleak, steadying herself in the ropes as young Fishel skips away happy to her corner.

R3: Courtney: hurt, hands at temples, stooping forward off the ropes. Dani: bubbly, smiling, squared away in front of Courtney and working her over. Fishel nice n' muscular, getting into Court with the left shoulder/extended left elbow to prop, ripping hooks to ribs and hip, occasionally reefing that vicious left uppercut as Smith wilts too far forward. Courtney drowsy, stiff as she soaks up body blow after body blow - sickening sound of Dani's heavy hands thudding against Smith's aging torso. Signs of life from Court however: brushing shoeshines return as Smith leans back into ropes, harmlessly buffetting Dani's face before covering up to take a shelling.

R4: Courtney cute at the ropes, settling in as a pocket-boxer: she's making her stand. Hands up, eyes alert - Smith making an effort to pre-empt Dani with short, straight right hands, chopping jabs, leaning into the ropes to slip, then bouncing back to hack Fishel's available face. Midway through, Courtney finds a key weapon: tight, ripping left uppercuts, just turning her shoulder and torso into biting blows, tugging and tugging at Dani's stubborn chin as Fishel leans in face-first. Court in a nice rhythm, swaying back to make Dani miss, tapping right uppercuts to set up the more vicious left uppercut and Dani's taking a pasting! End of second minute, Courtney scoring flush, scoring plenty and DANI WOBBLES TO ONE KNEE! Glorious moment Courtney Thorne Smith - she lifts her mitts half in shock at the sight, strutting and smiling to neutral corner as Fishel takes a chagrined 8. Dani wades in, but Courtney's confidence too high - CTS chop-chopping a rapid one-two off Dani's face, sliding back and walking Fishel into the left uppercut, sliding to the right and hooking Dani's left eye at the bell. Cheers for Smith: she hammers Dani for a shutout and the old gal's right back in this fight!

R5: Courtney feints, DRILLS Dani a cracking lead right on the mouth midring, wobbling Fishel's buttocks - tasty, mop up left uppercut on the chin rocks Fishel onto her heels as COURTNEY BACKS DANI UP! Crowd roaring as Smith wades in - no-frills slugging lefts and rights smash off Fishel's head and shoulders as HER buttocks touch ropes for the first time. FISHEL BRAWLS BACK! Dani tasting her own blood - that's the switch: she responds with feral fury, bobbing, ripping punches from the crossed-arm crouch, forcing Smith to give ground. Hammer and tongs midring - Dani's punches bashing off shoulders and flanks - Courtney trying to create distance with her jab and getting nailed. Bell: Fishel pumped, loving the warfare - Courtney a little wide eyed, jangly-kneed - she's inadvertantly created a monster by actually fighting Dani hard.

R6: The relentless charge of Dani Fishel. D off her stool like a freight train, ducking in low, tackling Court around the buttocks and lifting her off her feet to jam her whiplash-necked into her corner. That done - Dani bumps her a shoulder, palm-shoves her the right hand, RIPS hook to breadbasket - Fishel squared away and climbing into Courtney's trunks from the get-go. Smith covering up tight, cowering - she just can't answer the punching, can't get out of the corner, can't clinch - it's a brutal, brutal thing to watch. Dani's teeth bared as she gives herself over to the slugging - punches hammering into Courtney's arms, flanks, hooks wedging in tight behind the elbow, digging up into tender tummy, sizzling uppercuts brushing Smith back. It's all too much - dazed veteran does a slow-mo droop to one knee - ashen faced, drained, Smith takes a smart 8 but doesn't get much relief: On. Comes. Dani! Pounding right hand clubs Courtney's face hard to starboard, sits her bleak and staring in the ropes - crashing left flattens Court's head to her shoulder, buzzes her knees - Dani's releasing freely now, hurling lefts and rights from her hips to bat Courtney's face side to side. Ringsiders screaming for the ref to act and he does - Dani bumped aside as the official cradles Courtney to safety. TKO6 Dani Fishel.

After: Smith badly belted, but classy in defeat - once she gets her bearings, she hugs Dani, congratulates her - girls share a nice moment amidst the postfight throng. Smith encouraged despite the drubbing. "I've got more left than people think," Courtney says. "I dropped Dani, I backed her up, I got uppercuts on her. I give her a lot of credit, but I think that was a pretty quick whistle - I was slipping her shots, managing her pressure. I was sizing her up for an uppercut rally when the ref jumped in, so I guess we'll never know if I could've turned it around."

Fishel stunned when she hears of Smith's assessment. "She's a classy fighter," Dani says charitably, "and she DID catch me, but she emptied everything she had on me and look what happened. I like Courtney - she fought her heart out, but bottom line: if the ref hadn't stepped in, she'd be on life-support at this point. She needs to watch tape of this fight and pay attention: if she thinks she was making me miss at the end? She needs a reality check."