Posted by Simguy on 4/29.2005 

Before: Katie a grizzled old veteran compared to Amy - Holmes installed as a solid favourite - pressure's on to live up to the billing. "I have to step up," admits Holmes. "Not in terms of quality of opposition - I know Amy's not the calibre of girl I've been in with before - but in terms of my performance. You can't be a plucky ingenue your whole career: eventually you have to be able to handle an Amy Smart and prove that you've taken the next step. I'm too much for Amy - I know that for sure: all I have to do is prove it to her." Smart coming in with well-schooled credentials - not a lot of tape on her however. BLONDE! magazine scouts calling her style reminiscent of the young Oscar De La Hoya coming up - we'll see.

Katie in royal blue bikini, Amy in lemon yellow bikini, white trim.

During R1: Smart showing an educated left jab, pounding Katie's forehead with authority, stepping around Holmes in first minute negotiation. Second minute, Smart hooking off the jab gets tremendous batting clout on Holmes' chin, pounding Katie's head to the side and buckling her knees - brunette baby-steps hurt to her left, shaking her head in shock. Amy stays on her, jabbing on approach, then batting that hook to ribs, settling Holmes grumpy in the ropes. All Amy as she squares away, keeps the right at her cheek and works Holmes' rightside ribs over hooks - great batting shutout Smart puts a frown on Katie's face during the break.

R2: Smart still hitting Katie hard - Holmes with her hands a little low, trying to get her step-and-jab routine going, but Amy's disrupting everything. Drilling jab on the forehead knocking Katie's head back and freezing her - she's standing up pretty for that frisky batting hook on the chin that PUTS HER DOWN! Hook-off-the jab, just like that Katie's scooting along her rear end, head bobbling as she sits in mute astonishment: Amy glaring down, bats her gloves together and stalks angry-butt to neutral corner as Katie gets a humiliating 8. Holmes sucking it up, finally moving her hands, shelving the footwork for a moment just to get working - spirited two way brawling as Amy's temporarily drawn out of her fighting stance. Young beauties flailing - neither particularly adept at improvisational slugging - lots of glancing, slapping contact, girls falling into each other, struggling and muscling eash other to ropes. Smart emerging late, shoving Katie's back to ropes, holding the left at Holmes' chest and drifting her some bar-room right hands on the chin - Katie stunned, bullied at the bell.

R3: Look at Amy punch! Nice scolding stick in the forehead seems to paralyze Katie - she's right there for a pretty tic-tac-toe pattern: right in the chest, left in the waist, doubled up left hook/uppercut bingo on the chin. Holmes straight back wobbly butt, blinking - she's hurt for the third straight minute as blonde hops forward, stabs a chasing lead right hand to chest, driving Katie ropeside. Holmes showing maturity, walking Amy into a clinch, wrestling her to ropes and pinning her down for the break - Katie getting her legs back with holding tactics. Holmes spends rest of the round trying to contest the jab with Amy: both girls need that punch to get the rest of their program over.

R4: Katie finally getting the better of it outside, doubling up her stick, finding Amy in the mouth, startling young blonde. Katie stepping left, front foot sliding, back foot up on the toes, giving Holmes good leverage on straight shots. Katie shooting a nice sloping right hand down into Amy's body this round - Smart grimacing, backing away from the shots - Katie taking a little steam out of those blonde legs in the fourth.

R5: Katie slowly establishing control. Outside, her jab has suppressed Smart's - it's Amy's face getting spanked back, Amy getting startled and pre-empted. Inside, Holmes doing a nice job tieing up behind the elbows, refusing Amy's hook - Katie savvy enough to read Smart's chocolate punch and take appropriate measures. Offensively, Katie's firm right hands in the body aren't doing Smart any good, and Holmes starting to get hooks and left uppercuts off her jab. Amy's early rounds poise starting to crack - form breaking down - she's wandering a little, looking indecisive as Katie walks her down.

R6: Holmes really burying that sloping right into Amy's body - Smart set to receive it with a high guard, groaning and backing away upon impact - Katie able to put her long body behind the shot and get to Amy's legs. Holmes hopping forward as Amy gives way, jabbing Smart to forehead, now dropping long right hands to chin - Amy in freefall retreat as Holmes starts to get all the parts working in tandem. Midway through, Holmes with a pair of rifling right hands to the midsection has Amy cramped up - Holmes pushes blonde in the shoulders to jostle, jabs her face, drops a tidy right cross onto chin and AMY GOES DOWN! Smart facing into punch as it lands - she scoots to her backside, fighting back tears as Holmes jogs to neutral corner. Shaky 8 Amy - knockdown built on a strong foundation of body shots and Smart's not shaking it off. Katie hops-to, sets herself lanky and licks the waist some long-limbed, batting rights and lefts, sitting Smart suffering in the ropes. Right uppercut, left uppercut - Katie putting 'em together tasty, shrugging her shoulders, twisting her hips with the punches - she's showing decent finishing form against a helpless foe. Right uppercut, right uppercut - Katie just working short, chiselling shots - no backswing. Left hook slapping at Amy's waist, short left uppercut, right uppercut AND THE REF STEPS IN! Amy just not responding, looking forlorn, glassy eyed - she goes to out to Katie's fists TKO6.

After: Smart bitterly disappointed, but nobody can deny she owned the first three rounds of this fight, hurting Katie every stanza, dropping her and outboxing the more experienced brunette. Holmes showing tremendous heart and headiness, holding at the right times, stabilizing Amy with the jab, hurting her to the body and rolling her up when the opportunity came. "I didn't see me polishing the mat in training camp," Holmes grins ruefully in postfight, "but I'm really happy with what I did tonight. I took Amy's best, dealt with it, and wore her out - I couldn't be happier!"