Before: Two great little flyweight technicians hook up - characterized in the press as a chessmatch, but Gellar begs to differ. "I'm going to hurt Natalie, bust her up," Sarah tells BLONDE! magazine. "Girls like Shakira or Mish Williams really don't have the skill to get to Natalie, but I'll be able to hit her, and when I do, she's not going to like it. Mark my words - I'm going to be opening up on Natalie more than people think."

Portman scoffing at the notion of a Gellar onslaught. "Sarah's jealous of my success in and out of the ring," says a confident brunette. "She wishes she could bully me, but the truth is, her only hope is to box and stay defensive. I'm expecting to take a stubborn decision from her, but if she wants to go out early, we can do that too."

Nat in white sports bra, high waist white aerobics bottoms, white shoes and gloves, battle braid - SMG in white silk bikini, white gloves and shoes, tanned little body, slick ponytail.

During R1: Classic chessmatch as advertised - very little flush punching. Portman with the right at her cheek, left stabbing out from her shoulder, clockwise rotation - Gellar more supple at the waist, hands at her stomach, moving her head below Portman's hip level, wheeling crisply to her left.
 

R2,3,4: Natalie Portman schools Sarah Michelle Gellar - there's no other way to put it. Nat bearing down with a crisp, punishing jab - tracking the elusive Gellar in her crouches, rooting her out of her defenses and disrupting her balance. Right hand chasers - straight, slicing blows, finding Gellar's face, shocking her - blonde wide eyed at the cleanest, crispest punching she's seen in a long time. Sarah getting disrobed by Nat's orthodox, but mercilessly efficient execution - brunette jabbing blonde to corners, finding her with right crosses and mopping up in the ribs with 1,2,3 swatting hooks. Gellar battered pillar to post, legs shook, knees wobbled each and every round. Portman so impressive and dominant in the 4th judges award her a 10-8. Gellar? A closed left eye, haunted look as she is soundly thrashed through 4.

R5: You know why Gellar's so good at this weight? Here's why. Beaten to the brink of quitting in the fourth, blonde cowboys up, digs in, starts outboxing a supremely confident Natalie Portman this round. Sarah jabbing with Nat, slipping under Portman's meanspirited right, and coming back with counterhooks head and body. Sarah sliding left around her hook, not standing in one place, doubling up and swatting the punch against Nat's ear or tender ribcage. Portman's knees give a little at one point - she's covered up, jaw tightly clenched - she thought this thing was over.

R6: Gellar gets after Nat, whittling away at the brunette lead, outboxing her girl midring. Gellar jabbing-with just to take the punch away from Nat, then beating her to the hook, swivel-pivoting left to change the angle. Portman reacting, getting her face slapped - Gellar running her ragged with that double-dabbing hook. Beautiful moment midway through as Gellar swats Nat upside the head, pivots left, sells it like she's going to step around again, but edges in strong to stuff a right hand square to Portman gut. Nat caught cold, staggering back from the body shot - lips pursed in pain as Gellar hops after her.

R7,8: They've swapped rounds, one tiny pugilist having her way with the other, now bitter, two way brawling breaks out as attrition takes effect. Girls will make one defensive move, just something to make the other miss or get a key block, then they're gnawing at each other with 2 and 3 punch combos, raking each other along well-scrubbed jaw lines or slender ribcages. Both girls want to close and be the aggressor, leading to exciting exchanges and blistering back-and-forth trade. Hard to score stuff, but more often than not - it's Sarah slapping Nat's face that extra cuff, Sarah coming forward, Sarah imposing her will on the stubborn brunette.

R9: Sarah hard hearted, knows she's reeling Nat in and she remembers the beating Portman gave her in the 4th: it's payback time. Gellar practically leaving her feet to pull slender armed jawbreakers into Nat's chin, really walloping away, then piling into Portman to tackle her ropeside. Gellar standing strong as Portman wilts - blonde heaping on a brisk lather of clobbering powerpunches as Portman droops forward, legs shivering under abuse. Sarah gets big, getting underneath Nat and bulling her upright, then shoe-shining those perky tits, scrubbing away in close with a tidy side to side motion with the backs of her hands. It's too much for Natalie - at one point, her composure cracks - Portman crying out in pain and rage as Sarah takes what's hers.

R10: Nat's lead is gone, this thing is tied going into the tenth. Portman's scuffed up, mouthbreathing - Gellar's left eye a tight slit, SHE'S all banged up - girls wade into each other like Barerra/Morales I. Back and forth. Natalie's taking on the chin - Sarah's taking on the chin - Natalie's knees bend and straighten - Sarah gets backed up. All even down the stretch, who wants it more? It's Sarah advancing behind a bulldozing succession of lefts and rights against Portman's trembling belly, putting brunette butt in the ropes. Sarah's on autopilot, eyes closed, face buried in Nat's shoulder, fists hustling back and forth into Natalie's waistline. Portman's eyes close, cheek on Gellar's shoulder, hands reaching around Sarah's furiously chugging arms - that's the way they finish up - Portman hanging on, Sarah rooting away at the bell. UD10 Sarah Michelle Gellar, decided in the last minute.

After: Portman shouting in anguish as the decision is announced - hurts her like an ice-pick in the stomach to have let this girl off the hook. Sarah lifting her mitts and sobbing in triumph - what a tremendous effort to come from so far behind, eating Natalie up minute by minute and finally passing her at the finish line. Portman crestfallen, looking to leave when Gellar corrals her at the ropes, takes her by the front of her trunks and shouts incoherently into her face. THAT'S flyweight boxing. "The sun has set on Natalie," Sarah Michelle spits into the camera in postfight. "She had her moment, but I just used up everything good in that girl. I told you I'd wear her out!"