Posted by Simguy on 3/7/2008, 10:05 pm.

Before: “I’m thrilled,” Panettiere says in prefight, “both to be in a title fight, and to be fighting Natalie Portman. Natalie’s the classiest, best champion we’ve had in a long time, and it’s just an honor to be scrapping with her for the belts. She’s a great, great champion, but I want to say this: the era of the gamine champion is over at 100. There, I said it. As good as Natalie is, she just isn’t built t hold off someone like me. She’s never seen a flyweight as sturdy and strong as me, and I’m going to make her feel my weight every second of this fight. I’m in this to win—I want to be champion, not just a happy-to-be-here girl, Portman gets no mercy until we’re done!”

Natalie nodding in acknowledgement, recognizing Hayden’s legitimacy coming in, “Anyone who thinks Hayden’s a media creation hasn’t stood next to her at a weigh in,” Natalie says. “{The kid is ready to fight for a title—she’s hungry, young and strong—and I can’t wait to test her. She’s got holes of course-I see a lt of flaws in Hayden’s game—but I’ll wait until fight night to expose them!”

Nat in navy bandeau with low-rise hipster bottoms; small white gloves; slick battle braid hair. Hayden in bikini with horizontal bars of white/pink/red; hair in tight battle bun; small white gloves.

R1: Hayden strong up the middle: bobbing head movement, stubby jabs—all designed to hustle Portman to ropes. Natalie grimacing as she accepts shock against her ribs and tummy—Hayden pounding at Portman in blunt fashion. Nat shook, then spinning out—brunette in full retreat through early minutes. Down the stretch, Portman at ropes, getting shelled, but being composed—she erupts with a series of 3, biting left uppercuts to Hayden’s breasts, startling challenger. Nat with a chopping right to cheek—pivot-right off the ropes—left hook to mouth—quick left jab to mouth, right cross chopped to mouth: Hayden’s ropeside, blinking, STUNNEDF! Portman snarling: right cross chopped to chin; jerky left uppercut off the front (left0 foot; vicious left hook jammed in tight liver; shift weight to right (back) foot while pulling hook across Hayden’s mouth. Hayden sputtering—curvy legs holding her up—defense in complete disarray as she faces into punches, Crowd screaming—Natalie pounds away supple and accurate, belting Hayden’s face raw to bell. Official pulls seething little champion off badly buzzed challenger—Hayden rickety to her stool after a good start fizzles.

R2: Natalie attacking. Up tempo, Ledoyen-busting pace—Natalie spitting her jab, putting the right hand on, carving the hook—buffetting Hayden about head and shoulders. Panny covering up, forced onto her heels not so much by weight of shot, but the brisk ferocity of the volume. Natalie scouring up top, then ripping left uppercuts to ribs or face as Panny’s stooped forward. Nat’s left hand off Hayden’s ribs: thumping. Nat’s left hand off Hayden’s face: biting, clouting, Constant brunette lather has blonde stumbling around, crouching, looking defensive and hesitant through 2.

R3: Natalie pouring herself at Hayden. Panny able to face into, and take, Natalie’s strongest right hands—but Nat undeterred, keeps peppering. Left hands scour ribs, jerk uppercuts to jugs and face; right hands buggywhip at flank or ear, or shaft in on mouth. Nat’s jab an ever-present nuisance, chipping at Hayden as Portman’s sidestepping in either direction. Sturdy blonde can’t get out of her crouch—frequently forced onto her heels by the pure volume or clever angles of her tormentress.

R4: Natalie in waves—whippet brunette using volume/fitness to keep Hayden’s guns holstered. Panettiere hurt by none of it—but she’s grimacing stooped forward behind her mitts, trying to work herself into position to punch with little success. Nat’s fists working on Hayden like sandpaper—just a constant scrubbing of blonde. Nat pelting away head and shoulder to get Panny to cover up and stoop—then brunette grunting as she lashes hard, sweeping rights or lefts into blonde flanks and underbelly. Nat’s mitts sounding PIK! PAK! PEK! Against Hayden’s sturdy chassis—Panny’s flesh pinking up nicely under the constant touch of the champ.

R5: Nat at Hayden like bees on a bear. Midway through, series of pesky right hands has Hayden confused: Natalie’s left uppercut able to split mitts, move Panny’s head. HAYDEN’S HURT! Blonde baby-stepping forward—Nat slide-stepping backwards in good order, LASHING rights and lefts in celebration to Hayden’s waist. Panny exhaling through pursed lips—too sturdy to go down, but she’s shipping quite the pasting as Natalie keeps her distance, continues to score at will.

R6: Hayden finally gets the jab on Natalie—spooking the brunette to ropes with near-miss right hands to chin. Panny able to enjoy quality time at ropes on Nat—pushing and bullying Portman into position, then hammering her, Natalie badly jostled, unable to spin-clear: she covers up grimacing, absorbing thump to both flanks and arms. Hayden stamping on the spot, backside jumping as she strains to keep Nat pinned down: blonde able to work shove and slug for points in the 6^th.

R7: Natalie on her toes—landing right hands even as she’s bopping backward, turning at the ropes while batting hooks upside Hayden’s head. Biting punches—stinging punches—but not fight-winners: Panettiere able t walk through them and keep pressure on with her feet. Portman denying Hayden position at apron—brunette constantly moving feet, but not running: she’s being first, then scooting to the side before receipt. Panettiere not shutout, but she’s a step-behind—having trouble constructing the chest-to-chest fighting she wants.

R8: Hayden’s jab key—stubby poke able to bash Nat backwards, fix her to ropes where Panny can pursue and dominate. Hayden employing muscular shove and slug—ragdolling Natalie against ropes, beating her waist and flanks. Portman rugged—bending low at waist, making Hayden miss over the top—clawing back counters in spots. Portman trying to get that ripping left uppercut through ribs and face both—just enough heat coming from that punch to prevent Hayden from going all in.

R9: Nat being first—even if it’s not with howitzer heft, its keeping Hayden off balance. Nat scoring, then sidestepping, bedeviling with the jab, then raking Hayden with combinations—bewildering stuff, Panny scuffed up scowling—she’s proven she can take the best of Natalie, but blonde’s been waiting her turn too much, unable to take the initiative much of the time. Glorious sequence for Portman late: in a crouch, she leads a right hand to Hayden’s belly—slides back out of range (weight on right foot)—reams Hayden a lead right to the chin as Blonde’s coming forward—sidesteps right (around Hayden’s left sh0ulder)—catches Hayden the right uppercut as blonde’s turning-in. Nat leaps away all smiles: Panny fuming, touched up and hunting Portman down as she has all night.

R10: Nat salts it away—pasting. Right hand lead; left uppercut to chin; left uppercut sticker to ribs; left hook while shifting weight to right foot; right hand to mouth. Panettiere flustered—crossing arms, facing into the storm, getting cuffed and buffeted.  Natalie’s eyes bright, intense—concentration has never wavered tonight—she’s kept after Hayden, striking and moving like a little whirlwind. Panny slugging back in spots—frequently being smote across the face even as she’s getting off—Natalie hasn’t been hardest, but she’s been first most of the night. Portman leads Panettiere a merry chase bell to bell: brunette lifts her fists and beams at the break. Hayden turns away puffy and demoralized. UD10 for the winner and still champ—Natalie Portman.

After: Emphatic defence—Natalie retains in the face of the strongest young flyweight to come along since Mish Williams—Portman doing it in dazzling fashion tonight. “We had a great—a GREAT—fight plan for Hayden,” beams the happy champ in postfight. “We knew what we couldn’t give her, so job one was denying Hayden her bread and butter at the ropes.; Then it was just a matter of beating her to punches, moving her, working in and out on her from angles. I hurt the kid in spots—I know I did—and that’s always the key with a fighter like Panettiere. You need to give her a good whack on the snout—especially early, you know? You can’t just let her pin her ears back and let her run you down—so whenever I could, I muscled up and let her have it!” Panettiere downcast—but brightening at words of encouragement from Portman in the ring. “She was just too good tonight,” Hayden admits. “I’m not going to make excuses or take anything away from Natalie—she flat out beat me tonight. She’s very, very quick—every time I thought I had her lined up, she clipped me a shot and ducked away. It’s a very frustrating style, because she wasn’t hurting me but I knew she was nibbling me for points and I couldn’t do anything about it. I’ll know better next time—you know—you’ve gotta step up and fight a Natalie Portman once in a while to get better. I have no regrets because I’m coming out of this a better fighter than when I went in.”

Reposted by Archer 9/15/09.