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18 April 2014 PPV Recap and Results

Page history last edited by Archer844 9 years, 8 months ago

Posted by The Spoiler News on April 18, 2014, 1:44 pm

FREEMAN/TAYLOR COLE TITLE BOUT: Taylor Cole gambled on an offensive fight plan which saw her outhit and outclass the champ for several minutes. Freeman's crushing left hook proved an eraser in the fourth, leaving Taylor on her back for a statement-KO.

SIGNIFICANCE: Taylor's best chance for a title is at lightweight.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Taylor Cole beautiful enough to make a gorgeous pairing with Yvonne Strahovski if the latter is through proving herself against try-harder type brunettes. Freeman had to have noticed Law's performance, but Moore and Kesha both did enough to be intriguing as well.

DADDARIO/ROBBIE: - Long limbed Alexandra D a bantamweight/lightweight tweener, and she put her leverage to good use early, overwhelming Margot with slinging body-slop reminiscent of Maria Menounos. Robbie tuffed it out, turned things around with a fifth round knockdown, and ate Alexandra up UD10...but Daddario looks a fighter in her debut.

SIGNIFICANCE: Daddario can fight.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Alexandra can fight tall/big bantams or slender lightweights, and she might get calls from all of them. One girl in particular rumoured to have been VERY interested in Daddario during this fight was JESSICA PARE. Pare looking to get attention in the same space as Alexandra...could be a good launch-pad for either. Robbie at the top of her game...why not go against Claire Danes now and see what happens? Maybe sheer physical glamour is the "soft power" that might be effective against the champ. If not, how hot would Robbie/Shay Mitchell be?

HOUGH/SHAHI TITLE - Julianne Hough talked about being like a young Sarah Shahi, but punters weren't convinced, making the incumbent champ a firm favourite. Juli proved a prophet however, matching quicks and wits with Sarah in the kind of hard-hitting, dynamic bout that has seen Shahi extend dominance over the entire flyweight class, but in the end...youth was served KO7 Hough.

SIGNIFICANCE: Hough is just that good.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Sarah Carter's still title-hungry and still wants revenge against Shahi, so she could push for both. Hough needs a broad palette of opponents though, to prove she's more than just the Shahi-antidote.

VEGA/SCERBO: BLONDE! Magazine predicted this fight would be the best flyweight match up of the last decade, and hyperbole aside, they weren't far wrong. 5'2" is just about the most packed space in boxing, but Alexa Vega wanted to move in right at the top, going strong at Cassie Scerbo to make a statement. After swapping knockdowns and rocking one another in see-saw rapid-fire brawling, it was pretty clear that Vega more than belonged in the ring with Cassie. But Scerbo's got dimensionality on her side, and smart adjustments gave the more experienced little vixen the openings she needed to get the KO8 stoppage.

SIGNIFICANCE: Hello Alexa Vega! Vega as spicy-hot as any CW ingenue ever floated, and she proved that she can hold her own in terms of violence/volume. Maturity shown by Cassie to back away from the fire just enough to give herself some tactical options.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Any short flyweight should be leaping at the chance to go against either vixen. Leaping. There are no bad fights in the space. Jessica Parker Kennedy said to be "disgusted" that Alexa's getting so much attention.

MITRA/RYAN: Jeri Ryan shelled, knocked down and beaten to the verge of submission in this vicious, brief encounter, but if there's anything Ryan has proved over the years, it's that you can't count her out in a fire-fight. Jeri turns back the clock to land a patented right hand, switching Mitra's lights off KO3.

SIGNIFICANCE: It's a cougar fight, but a pretty hard-edged one. Ryan could still stop any lightweight in boxing, and Mitra looks a grinder.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Rumours abound that Jen Garner might come out of retirement to face either or both in a kind of senior-circuit round-robin in support of Garner's new football movie. Elizabeth Mitchell said to be interested in Mitra as well.

HOLMES/BECKINSALE: Surprisingly brutal, grinding type of fight that saw both women greatly reduced. Many close, hard to score rounds, but when judges toted it all up, they saw a UD10 Becks.

SIGNIFICANCE: Fight showed both women fighting as battle-hardened veterans. Holmes continues to retool as a hard-nosed girl; Becks proves she's far from finished.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Holmes can make a lot of interesting fights here - Cam Diaz, Blake Lively or Cobie Smulders at light...Katie's just in a nice sturdy veteran groove right now. Beckinsale being pushed out of the top-seated import spot by the likes of Blunt and Dormer, and now Frege's acting up...everything seems risky to Kate now. That said, this was maybe the grittiest fight of Beckinsale's career, and she did call out Claire Danes in postfight.

CAITY LOTZ/CHLOE B - We don't often see highly touted blue-chip prospects test against each other this early in their pro careers, but these are two extra-ordinarily confident vixens who both refused easier fights to face one another. The result was a bout of astounding dynamism and drama - Chloe down and hurt in the fourth but rallying to stop her ballistic rival in the 8th. A great show of sportswomanship in the aftermath as well, as egos didn't get in the way of mutual respect.

SIGNIFICANCE: Terrific fight puts Chloe back on track as a right-now kind of prospect. Lotz' body of work means she can absorb the setback without being diminished.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Bennet mixes well with just about anybody, but a move against Eliza Taylor might be tasty here.

ELIZA TAYLOR/MARIE AVGEROPOLOUS: It was supposed to be a coronation for Marie - her coming-out party as show-Alpha and new CW super-starlet. Instead, the hard-working curves and fresh-faced blonde determination of Taylor would combine to break Marie's heart TKO7.

SIGNIFICANCE: Taylor, not Avgeropoulos...the CW is still reeling. Marie's got talent and obvious fighting upside, but she proved a little fragile in this one. Taylor looks like a next-gen AJ Cook or Elisha Cuthbert here.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Minka Kelly was very taken by Taylor's performance, understanding immediately how Kelly/Taylor would look on posters. Marie now needs to separate herself from Meghan Markle and Troian Bellisario. Kelly Carlson's name has also been mentioned in conjuction with Marie, and that's a potential classic.
Nina Dobrev could be in the mix for EITHER Taylor or Marie.

STRAHOVSKI/JOANNE KELLY TITLE - Yvonne a comfy favourite at most books, but there were doubts coming in, given Straho's historical numbers against so-called "try-harder" brunettes. Kelly with a number of upset-wins over favoured names, and she nearly lived up to her rep in a round-of-the-year type first. Both women rocked - Yvonne going down...it looked like Kelly might have had the champ by the throat. Strahovski would unleash hell in the second to restore order to the cosmos TKO2, but it was a close-run thing.

SIGNIFICANCE: Yvonne's grit. Stahovski's often seemed psychologically soft, wilting under hard-working brunette pressure in the past, but putting MEW and Kelly both into perspective has Strahovski firming up her rep as a beautiful blonde who takes care of business.

WHO'S COULD BE NEXT? MEW/Kelly might be an interesting 50-50 contest for two girls who work the same turf at lightweight. Yvonne's due for a really glamorous opponent - a Biel, maybe Taylor Cole dropping down, Rachel Nichols, something along those lines.

CUTHBERT/MUNN - Experts told us not to blink - that both women in this contest possessed the kind of violent, fight-ending power that leads to early nights...but that's why they fight the fights. Instead it was toe to toe attrition - blockbuster punching and career-threatening sustained barrages that led to one of the most satisfying battle-of-wills in recent memory. In the end, Munn actually had to show a little versatility, working Lishy for a bruising UD10 as a result.

SIGNIFICANCE: Not that Munn won, but that she showed the ability to be thoughtful, checked her ego and made adjustments to win.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Who COULDN'T be? Munn and Cuthbert among the most matchable girls in boxing. Chloe Bennet could push Munn based on type, could push Cuthbert for curvy blonde/brunette bragging rights. Lotz could bounce-back against Munn.

LOKEN/KESHA - Frontstreet's been waiting for Big K to take her gym-work into the ring in a big fight, and this just might have been the night. She didn't get the win - after Loken's desperation 10th round earned her a draw, Kristanna elected to walk away with the split - but most observers saw signs of real improvement in Kesha. She varied tempo, changed levels, showed a little bait-and-switch, and came off the deck like a girl who wants to be a champion one day.

SIGNIFICANCE: Break out fight for Kesha.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: If Kesha's putting it all together, she could be an interesting dark-horse in the Cassidy Freeman sweepstakes. If she's still fine-tuning, maybe a Nolin or Moore might be the next logical step. And if Landry really has lost a step? Why wouldn't Kesha try for that scalp?

ELIZABETH OLSEN/SHAY MITCHELL: Olsen off the shocking disappointment of an upset loss to Elodie Frege may have been the more motivated beauty in this fight. It was a contest of promising young ingenues tainted by the bitterness between TV girls and their movie-star counterparts. Olsen would return to form, overwhelming big-hitting Mitchell with classy combination punching head-and-body, hurting Shay in the second and finishing her in the third via TKO. The PLP did file an in-ring protest about a perceived quick-whistle, and they were none-too-pleased with Elizabeth's impulsive decision to walk her beaten foe.

SIGNIFICANCE: Movie starlet treats TV starlet shabby. Stoppage looks great for Elizabeth as Shay's a big strong girl at the weight.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Olsen getting set to invade Scarlett Johannson's superhero-movie territory, so conflict there might be unavoidable. Mitchell remains one of the highest-value targets out there, especially for pretty young blondes with confidence and ambition.

MCADAMS/MORRISON - Every card has at least one "fighter's fight" - the contest other fighters from all weight-classes look forward to, and in this PPV, MacMo was it. It was a surprisingly one-sided affair given the quality in both corners, but on the night, it was Rachel MacAdams who took command and never relinquished it. She pressured Jenny Mo, worked her body, backed her up and outhit her, but throughout the assault, Morrison never gave in. In the 10th, with Rachel looking to make a statement, it was Jenny M instead nearly pulling out the miracle finish. As often happens when one girl denies another satisfaction, there were hard feelings in the aftermath of this fight, leading the usually gracious Rachel Mac to speculate that a knockout of Morrison might be required.

SIGNIFICANCE: Rachel reminded everyone of her championship pedigree here. Learning-curve fight for Jenny Mo.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Don't be shocked by a rematch. Lot of tension pre-and-post fight between these two.

AJ COOK/TROIAN - Troian came in with a full head of steam off several impressive performances, and looked forward to testing her boxing skill against the smart-pressure of AJ Cook. Cook an often-overlooked talent who has always produced good results lived up to her over-achiever rep in this one, working hard to get past Troian's jab and take the fight to ropes whenever possible. Bellisario wasn't just there to cooperate however - trimming AJ outside with crisp combinations and proving more stubborn than expected on ring-aprons. In the end, it came back five rounds a-piece for hard working ingenues, but a fifth round knockdown scored by AJ would hold up as the single point differential. (UD10 Cook)

SIGNIFICANCE: Cook reaffirms status as an overlooked talent. Troian shows she can bang out tough minutes, continuing to make the Markle-result look like an outlier.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Katie Cassidy's pretty vocal about pouncing Troian coming off a loss. Marie Avgeropoulos looks like a slender, edgy brunette type in the Bellisario mold. Cook campaigning for Minka, Lauren Cohen.

BELL/CHABERT - Krissy Bell riding high these days - back on the big screen in the role that made her famous; putting together the best stretch of her in-ring career to win a recent championship...she was all ready to put the irritation of Lacey Chabert behind her once and for all. Maybe it was the history between them, maybe it was all the hard feelings, but for whatever reason, this fight didn't look like the usual KBell hop-and-pop. Standing in gun-platform configuration, the girls would poke and punch at each other toe to toe, hurting one another repeatedly, knocking one another down and grimly committing to standing in the pocket. In the end, the attrition proved too much for Classy Kris: Lacey Chabert would punch Bell to sleep on her feet for a heartbreaking TKO7.

SIGNIFICANCE: Confirmation that Lacey is real poison for classy Kris. Brunette's in blonde's head now and Bell just can't shake her.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Bell could regroup by taking away the aging-ingenue heat generated by Krissy Kreuk and Rachel Bilson. Both are good fighters and risky options, but they shouldn't have the body-numbing power Chabert has. Chabert noticed Jessica Simpson's rejuvenated form in a recent outing, and might want to issue a precautionary check there. And more than a few observers referred to Alexa Vega as a "young" Lacey Chabert.

LANDRY/LAW - Landry served notice against the ham-handed Gemma Atkinson that father time had yet to visit the pageant winner's legs or reflexes, but after this fight many are now openly questioning whether Ali's days as a top-tier welterweight are over. Law was simply relentless in her pursuit of Ali - beating the Hall of Famer along the ropes, walking her down, pouring the hurt to her minute after remorseless minute. It was hard to watch Landry go 10 on pride alone, and by the end, all would agree she had taken one of the worst sustained beatings of her glorious career at the hands of Katrina Law (UD10).

SIGNIFICANCE: Media speculating about the "end of an era": Landry's next fight will be all-important. Law enters the elite at welterweight, and if she can't get Freeman, Rebecca Romijn might be an exciting alternative.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Law's performance basically an audition for Cassidy Freeman. Opponent selection critical for Landry next time out - perhaps against a Gena Lee Nolin who may be facing similar questions at this point.

GLAU/HEWITT: Glau's willowy, fragile look always makes her the betting underdog, but she's made a career of exploiting the shortcomings of curvy sluggers at bantamweight. Recalling the over-achievement that gave Summer victory over the likes of Piper Perabo or Britney Spears, Summer would gut out one of the best fights of her career in stinging stocky Jen for UD10 by a single point differential. It was buggywhip power that got it done for Sum: she proved she could hurt Jen early, and rode that respect to the bell.

SIGNIFICANCE: Summer does it again - finding bendy solutions to curvy problems.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Could be time for Glau to move against Katie Cassidy for both show and type supremacy.

MEW/BIEL: If compete alone won fights, Mary Elizabeth Winstead would be champion in perpetuity. And Biel - like Strahovsky - has had her problems with stubborn competitors in the past. But Jessica Biel also has the talent to completely outclass other women on any given night, and this was one of those occasions. Mary had her moments - including a late bid for victory in the 9th that sent Biel to the canvas - but overall this was a savage beating handed out by Jess at her very best. UD10 Biel.

SIGNIFICANCE: Biel's back. Not that she'd gone away, but it's been a while since she's inspired real fear in opponents by treating another girl shabby. Mary would fight Amanda Righetti blindfolded, so she remains undaunted.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? If Biel can't get a title shot, she might want to put pressure on Yvonne by fighting Joanne Kelly. Intriguingly, Joanne Kelly/MEW's a good fight for both hard-working girls looking to regain traction.

MOORE/NOLIN: Oh that crafty Mandy Moore. Jabbing and grabbing to slow the fight and frustrate Gena, Moore would change-pace abruptly in the fourth, hurt Nolin and pile on for a sneaky TKO4 finish.

SIGNIFICANCE: Moore continues to offer an off-beat challenge to opposing welterweights. In a division of fire-ballers, Mandy's a knuckleball pitcher. Nolin loses ground here, and that ground is getting harder and harder to make up at welter.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: If Cole stays at welter, she too could use Nolin as a stepping stone in a crowd-pleasing blonde/brunette way. Moore's unique brand might actually make her an intriguing title defence for Freeman.

NINA D/MISH: Confidence was running high for team-Dobrev coming in: Mishy was seen as worn down and finally vulnerable to younger fists/hungrier hearts. But Mishy's not a Hall of Famer for nothing and she turned in one of her most complete performances in recent years, handing out a heartbreaking UD10 beating to Nina that featured a lot of questionable apron-tactics. Despite the decision verdict, Mishy took it upon herself to feed Nina a little post-fight tummy, just because.

SIGNIFICANCE: Mishy's back. Nina D undiminished - everyone knows that was a learning-curve fight, and she learned a lot.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Michelle remains an interesting choice for CW starlets looking to follow in 'Nessa's footsteps, but it won't be the romp to glory most had anticipated. Mishy's also an interesting choice for Julianne Hough, should the new champ wish to christen her reign with a HISC trophy-win.

LILLY/DANES: 10 rounds wasn't enough to settle matters between the two most complete fighters in the division. Despite a clear signal from HISC officials to take the draw and preserve the title, Danes would elect to fight the over-time protocol to a decisive finish. And in overtime, Claire Danes cemented her legacy when she knocked Evangeline down in the 13th for a career-defining UD13 victory.

SIGNIFICANCE: Expect a HISC PR blitz to get Danes Great Blonde status, Pound for Pound #1 status, and All Time Great status. It's a huge legacy-statement by Claire, giving her the kind of two-division, all-weather fighting pedigree normally associated with Charlize Theron.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Greed and fear are stalemated in this division: every top contender wants a title shot, but what's the right approach against Claire? She's been able to answer pressure, class, or wildness with equal aplomb. Margot Robbie could be the kind of unexpected girl-on-a-roll that might want to take a shot.

BILSON/KREUK: Veteran CW actresses showed the ingenue-class a thing or two in this bitterly contested fight. Displaying skill and will, the girls would swap knockdowns, put each other wobbly-butt, take turns strafing one another's beautiful faces and trim torsos. It was close, but in the end, Bilson's little fist was raised in UD10 victory, breaking Krissy's heart in the process.

SIGNIFICANCE: Aging ingenues put up such a blistering, entertaining fight that both may have been enhanced. Kreuk will have to hope her higher-ups see it that way, as Bilson lies within Kristin's "sphere of responsibility".

WHO COULD BE NEXT? Bilson's swimming in dangerous waters with a lot of young, hot-bodied little sharks, but she's in position to move against them now. And HBO signaling that if these two women are going to fight like this, they can have a rematch-slot anytime they wish.

SWAN/VALANCE: Serinda visibly uncomfortable against Holly both before and during the fight: Valance a girl with a knack for unsettling even the most beautiful of rivals. Swan fought through early adversity to eventually impose will with superior conditioning, pummeling Holly's body for a steamy TKO8 verdict.

SIGNIFICANCE: Swan hard and fit at lightweight - she looks a contender. Holly enigmatic, giving in to Serinda late, but seemingly capable of winning here.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Strahovski's taken care of a couple of "try-harder" brunettes in recent outings...how scorching hot would Swan/Strahovski be for the title?

PERABO/DORMER: Piper Perabo's a sweetheart who can be outboxed and finessed by fighters like Dormer, but Natalie guaranteed herself a brutal war of attrition with a characteristically antagonistic pre-fight, bringing out the bully in Piper. Fighting as angry and determined as we've ever seen her, Perabo walked through early Dormer precision, systematically pouring the business to Natalie until the ref stepped in TKO9 Piper.

SIGNIFICANCE: Piper back on track with a willful performance; Dormer fascinating even in defeat, essentially goading her opponent to greatness.

WHO COULD BE NEXT? For Piper, Chloe Bennet or AJ Cook look like good calls. Lauren Cohen tweeting under the hashtag "beatNattieD" said: "If Pipes could do that to Nasty Dormer, I could too!" Brazen!

FREGE/ALBA: An unmotivated, wildly over-confident Jessica Alba didn't train, didn't watch video, and totally discounted Elodie's stunning upset win over highly touted Elizabeth Olsen. Result? Back to back shocking upsets as Alba faces into Frege right hands until the TKO4 gets recorded. Naturally Jessica protested the stoppage, but really, she has only herself to blame.

SIGNIFICANCE: Frege suddenly hot; Alba undiminished because she's Jessica Alba.

WHO COULD BE NEXT?: Import fighters like Cruz and Beckinsale can now benefit from a Frege fight...IF they can beat her!