(Thanks to Ginny for this repost).

(Note: I believe simguy is 'incorrect' in his reading of Mitzi's memoirs. While it may be accurate that Eartha never BOXED again in the West, she certainly appeared in several wrestling rings in the West in the early-mid 60's...including at least once versus Mitzi. - Ginny)

Posted by simguy 5/26/02

Sometimes a fight comes together out of sheer professional curiosity as was the case in this 1960s bout between then-blonde Gaynor and wiry jazz singer Kitt. Eartha made her reputation on the northeast speakeasy circuit and was reputed to be a hard-nosed competitor. A startling victory over Angie Dickinson brought Eartha to the attention of Sinatra and friends and it wasn't long after when Mitzi was brought in to provide the litmus test. Gaynor was the fuller bodied woman, but also very mobile - it was natural to wonder if Kitt's hard-scrabble style could be as effective with a physically stronger opponent. Fought out doors at the Sinatra villa's poolside ring; Mitzi wore a pink hipster bikini, Eartha a soft n' fuzzy leopard print, bra style hipster bikini.

Rounds 1-2: Both women operated with calm efficiency in these tactical rounds. Kitt with her stalking, flat-footed, sinewy style got close and raked Gaynor's body with long hooks to the waist and lower back, long right hands to the ribs and ears. Mitzi confounded experts by staying on her toes, moving in and out on the smaller woman and utilizing a punishing jab to work Eartha's eyes early. Although the rounds were close, it was clear Gaynor was busier, setting the tempo and putting her punches together in more effective fashion.

Round 3: Double dab jabs and a short, shocking straight right hand on the mouth - these were the tools Gaynor used to firmly assume control of the bout, backing Kitt up throughout the third. Eartha never panicked, getting low, coming up underneath and lashing her left hand across Gaynor's creamy waist when she could - but the blonde was applying increasing pressure with her legs, darting in and out, moving side to side to constantly put Eartha on the defensive.

Round 4: As the minutes wore on, it became increasingly apparent that Kitt, though steely-eyed and determined, was wearing down under Gaynor's sharp punching and tireless ring generalship. Mitzi with her elbows in, hands up and loose, scooted in, hooked her girl in the mid-section, turned over the clipping left uppercut, twisted into the right cross and finished up the banging left hook on the temple. Over and over Kitt would succumb to these bashing bursts and be forced to achingly give ground. Down the stretch, Gaynor would knuckle up on her girl's guard or shoulders, getting Kitt to step backwards, allowing Mitzi to step in and smoke left hooks to the breadbasket at the bell.

Round 5: Kitt wasn't being shutout in these rounds - she was cagey and effective in spots. Bending side-to-side, pulling hard, digging punches into Gaynor, Eartha would often show signs of determined resistance; but the blonde's overall work rate would not be denied. Punishing Eartha with the constant, step-in jab, working that tired ribcage and belly, bouncing combinations off the skull - it was all adding up on a fading, fatigued Eartha Kitt. After five, the jazz singer's face glistened puffy and sore under a blazing Vegas sun - Gaynor comparatively fresh, still bouncing, hungrily looked her foe over at the bell.

Round 6: First signs of breakage occurred in Kitt this round as Gaynor got after the belly early with a series of digging hooks. Kitt groaned, backed away open mouthed, hands low as Mitzi climbed aboard. Mitzi was always a great worker in the ring - she kept her punches short, getting her back and legs into banging lefts and rights to drive the beleaguered brunette to the ropes. A breathless Eartha Kitt slid to her right, hands crossed at her stomach - Mitzi stepped with her, touching the girl with measuring jabs, then digging in with both hands, coming off the body to bang the head. Kitt was hurting in the body, bending forward with hands across her tummy, trying to bob and weave her head, but Mitzi's quick accurate fists were finding the mark. Gaynor clipped her punches tight, picking up Eartha's drowsy face with either hand, bludgeoning the singer across her exposed back - and getting beefy leverage on leaning uppercuts underneath into that fuzzy bra. It was all too much for Eartha. In the final moments, Kitt staggered to her hands and knees in a neutral corner and sheepishly gave it up on her haunches. Mitzi strutted away with a demonstrative KO6.

After: It had been surprisingly one-sided, perhaps one of the most complete boxing performances of Mitzi Gaynor's fistic career - evidence that the versatile blonde was perhaps a better all around fighter in the latter stages of her career than she had been as an ingenue. Mitzi's judgment and execution had been exquisite. She had proven to be too quick for Kitt, but also too strong, shaking off punches that had stunned Dickinson time and time again and had made Kitt appear to be something of a slugger.
"People who had started to write me off had to guess again," recalls Mitzi in her memoir. "This old hoofer still had plenty of 'hoof' left. Before that bout, a lot of Frank's cronies had been talking about how Kitt was going to do a number on me. I never had anything against Eartha personally, but I gave it to her hard in that fight. I don't think she was ever the same afterward - leastwise, she never fought out West again."