UNIFIED FLYWEIGHT TITLE

Posted by simguy on 3/9/2002, 11:25 am

Before: Psyche war raging in weeks leading up - Eliza's superiority complex frequently provoking angry outbursts from Mish, but at the same time, Williams' fiesty eagerness to compete irritating Dushku. "I've been waiting for this opportunity," boasts Mish, "I've grown so much since the last time I faced Eliza and I have so much more to show her now. She's always talking about breaking my will. We'll see how she reacts when it's HER butt in the ropes, HER ribs getting kicked in. We'll see who gets broken tonight." Mish in classy black bikini, Eliza in red leather push up bikini. Hard glares nose to nose during ring instructions - nobody's touching gloves tonight.

During R1: Dushku does her thing - hooking off the jab, sharp pivot to the left, fighting off Michelle's right shoulder, turning the blonde midring. Eliza putting punches together, tapping the body and head with hooks, jamming the straight right hand in between Williams' mitts - Mish keeping the gloves up, elbows in, but can't get off. Late in the round, Eliza steps left, drills a hard right hand through the middle, sending the champ backwards in disarray. Dushku nimbly steps forward, pumps the right back in, steps forward, pumps the right - Williams hits the ropes wide eyed at the bell.

R2: Mish answers Eliza's shutout with one of her own. Williams remembering to jab with Dushku, moving her head better - she's forcing the action, coming forward and beating Eliza to hooks. Mish takes away the angle for Dushku, forcing the brunette to fight toe to toe - blonde gets the better of brisk exchanges which force Dushku to step out and regroup. Midway through - Mish advancing with a fencer's stomp - champ places a hook to the belly, chops over the top with a short right hand behind the ear and puts Eliza wobbly butt. Dushku falters to the ropes, goes to the earmuff guard and suffers as Mish gets big, pounds away left/right on the flanks to the bell.

R3: Eliza with another shutout - girls just taking turns working each other over thus far. Dushku frustrates Mish with a lead right hand, jumping it in and out, changing up distance on the blonde. Mish starts to reach and Eliza starts to catch her over the top - biting hooks on the right eye, chopping right hands on the mouth as Dushku calmly beats Williams to punches. Dushku circling counterclockwise now, doing the damage with her right hand instead of her hook - brunette versatility giving the champ problems early.

R4: Shattering bursts back and forth as the girls take turns spanking each other with 3 and 4 punch combinations. Sturdy defence from both, elbows in, gloves up high, each showing the ability to stand in the pocket, roll with the incoming and answer back hard. Difference is footwork - Eliza often moving around either of Mish's shoulders after she's gotten off, forcing the blonde to reposition. Flanking the blonde often enough to induce retreat - Mish doesn't punch when she's backing up - Dushku's feet win the points in a close 4th.

R5: Eliza showing a quick mitt: she slips a Mish right hand, pivots left, gut-taps a hook, then curls it up tight to bang back blonde head - Mish suddenly wobbly butt, stunned. Eliza propping with left forearm/elbow, then twisting in a tight right hand, banging back that blonde head again as Mish goes groggy with punches. Dushku pivoting to the left - bang/bang on the hip and stomach with biting left/rights, then pivoting again as Williams starts to unravel. So vicious and efficient - Dushku stepping, getting off at the perfect distance and angle, then escaping without receipt - Williams gritting her teeth has to rely on heart to get through the adversity. Down the stretch, Mish moving her hands and good things happen - she clouts Eliza a clumsy right across the teeth and then a more serious left upside the head which finally has the brunette backing off at the bell.

R6: Shutout Eliza, this time pivoting around Mish's LEFT shoulder, turning the blonde the other way and harming her with pinpoint right hands. Dushku's footwork means she can stay close, shorten up her strokes, but not be available for open trade and Mish is taking a ton of punches this round. Combinations - a lot of decoy and throw away punching from Eliza, but it always sets up a harsh right hand on the mouth or digging left hook to the sternum. Williams swaying slightly at the bell - Dushku forcing eye contact, looking for the quit.

R7: Shutout Eliza - Williams trudging forward, trying to make something happen, but the lights are dimming as the punches add up. Eliza back to pivoting left around Mish's right shoulder, doubling up her hook to the belly and chin, then catching Mish the right hand as the blonde turns wearily to stay square. Williams constantly on her heels, either being induced backward, or beaten into retreat by Eliza's machine gun delivery. Highlight reel moment midway through as Eliza bangs a straight right hand through the middle, sagging Michelle against the ropes, then steps left and delivers a murderous chugging barrage of hooks in behind the elbow. Williams dazed, jerking as the punches slam home - Eliza just setting and pumping, getting off like some sort of steam engine on overdrive in these moments.

R8: Eliza continues to hound and pound - Mish trying to come forward but missing too much, getting out of position, then victimized from either side. Williams ineffective when she's rocked back, and once she starts to retreat, she can't get her rhythm. Dushku touching what she wants, taking the belly, the breasts and face, dropping 2 and 3 punches at a time then moving - constantly breaking Mish down. Down the stretch, rare exchange sees girls trade hooks off missed right hands and ELIZA GOES DOWN! Stunning blow on the teeth stupifies Dushku - she sinks in slow mo to her knees as Mish misses a sweeping right hand over the top. Ref shoving Williams away as she bellows in rage - Eliza gets dreamily to her feet for 8. All Mish in the dying seconds, feverishly belting away as Dushku sits in the ropes, blonde driving hard for the stoppage.

R9: Mish back on top early, but Eliza calmly retreats to the ropes, rolls and blocks, crouching low to either side, then twisting out of the crouch to fit her sneaky counters into Mish's face. Williams standing in there, keeping the pressure on, but Eliza holds her own through much of the round, then pulls away late with a nifty step to the right, shooting lead right hand over William's low left. Mish getting turned and rock, loses another close round - she's discouraged at the bell as Eliza seems to be all the way back.

R10: Eliza fades Mish's right hand, giving ground in good order, walking the blonde into a constant cuffing left hook. Williams starts to wobble, stubbornly stomping forward, but falling prey to Dushku's loose limbed, accurate touches. By the midway point, Mish is pushing out desperate leather, getting touched back hard by the much sharper, fresher punching from her foe - Williams starting to wander, getting buffetted off stride. Dushku steps in close ala Too Sharp Johnson, suddenly ringing a series of biting lefts and rights off Mish's face, bobbing under the receipts as the blonde continues to miss, then stepping around William's right shoulder. Mish wearily squares up and grunts as Dushku digs her tummy a cruel hook, shooting the blonde's hips back and leaving her head forward. SNAPPING left uppercut, Eliza biting the fist back to her chest on follow through and WILLIAMS GOES DOWN! Mish dropped to her hands and knees, eyes unfocused, mouthpiece dangling from her lips - IT'S OVER! Williams can't get off her knees and Eliza Dushku struts away the KO10 Victor.

After: Eliza takes it all, hauling Mish up off her seat to give the defrocked champion a merciless rub-in walk of shame. Mish's head lolling as she is pulled corner to corner - her face pale, expressionless as she refuses to give Eliza the satisfaction of tears. Once again Williams fails to go the distance with crisp punching Eliza - ex champ has the guts to face the press briefly in the ring, "I don't have to tell you guys I'm hurting right now. Dushku...she looked good tonight, I couldn't get her out of her game plan and she took me apart. But I haven't been exposed, and whatever she says, I'm going to rebuild and give her an answer for tonight. Eliza wanted to annihilate me, but all she's doing is creating an opponent who won't rest until Dushku herself is brought down. It's time I started hating her as much as she apparently hates me." Totally different atmosphere on Eliza's side of the ring - belt over one shoulder, sweaty smile, finger raised #1 for photographers. "I think I saw a little of what I was looking for tonight," crows Dushku, "When I hammered her for 9 straight minutes in the middle of the fight, I could see it in her eyes - she was giving in. I'm glad she caught me in the 8th - I was getting a little bored, a little complacent and it woke me up, gave me what I needed to get her out of there. The belt is back where it belongs boys - drinks are on the house!"

Thanks to Apollo for this repost.

Archer 10/19/09.