{Prefight}: This bout matches Jocelyn Lane, a shapely starlet of B movies, versus Mitzi Gaynor, musical variety actress who is 6 years her senior. Both women have had spotty careers in the ring which have left them a little short of main card status.
{Entering the ring}: Jocelyn enters the ring in a bikini showcasing her great shape while Mitzi hides her hourglass figure behind a one piece, thus exemplifying the culture differences between the two. The women are similar in stature so size shouldn't be a factor.
Round 1: Both tentatively emerge from their corners. Each probe with jabs from long range with limited success to begin the action. Both are moving clockwise and seem rather unsure what should come next. Once again, evidence of a cultural gap seem to be evident. Jocelyn normally battles beach girls and Mitzi opposes screen dolls, thus some acclimation is slowing the early action. Jocelyn throws a couple of left/right combinations that force Mitzi to the ropes where Jocelyn then slips some rights into Mitzi's side. After breaking off the ropes, Mitzi utilizes those shapely legs to move more actively avoiding further contact this round.
Round 2: Jocelyn continues to be the aggressor probably due to her participating in "beach girl" matches which usually are a little more wide open than the "screen girl" matches. She shadows Mitzi forcing her into corners and rope situations where she delivers body punches to Miss Gaynor. Mitzi covers up and counter-punches to the arms on occasion. Jocelyn is controlling the tempo of the fight at this point and the scoring as the round ends.
Round 3: Jocelyn once again begins action with some left jabs to Mitzi's face which mildly jerk her head back. Mitzi begins to move more and looks for some offense. She finds some with periodic blows to Jocelyn's concave abdomen causing mild sound acknowledgments from Miss Lane. Jocelyn, possessing that classic model's face, tends to keep a high guard to protect her best asset. Thus, Mitzi continues to land stomach and side punches while Jocelyn counter-punches to Mitzi's chest and face. Mitzi continues to force an exchange of punches apparently believing it to be to her advantage.
Round 4: Jocelyn increases her movement as she bobs and weaves interspersed with jabs to Mitzi's head, some of which make it through her gloves. Mitzi backs away only to move back inside when possible to deliver more body punches. More clenching is evident this round as both try to rapid punch the other during rope tieups. Jocelyn is showing some redness on her tanned abdomen while Mitzi's alabaster face is splotched with redness from punches absorbed.
Round 5: Jocelyn continues as the aggressor with opening jab sequences, but Mitzi continues her strategy of counter-punching during those forays. Mitzi moves her punches up a bit to hit Jocelyn's breasts while Jocelyn continues her face assault. During one of the exchanges Mitzi gets Jocelyn in a corner and throws her biggest barrage of the fight in a left/right flailing of Jocelyn's sides. Jocelyn eventually escapes but avoids contact the rest of the round.
Round 6: Mitzi begins moving more forward than laterally to initiate action against Jocelyn with jabs to Jocelyn's chest and abdomen area. Jocelyn counter-punches from her higher guard area by throwing more over-hands to Mitzi's head. Jocelyn's punches seem to have more snap to them, but Mitzi seems to take punches more in stride thus offsetting the power. Jocelyn traps Mitzi on the ropes and returns the flailing favor from last round by drilling Mitzi in her sides before the ref breaks it up. Mitzi seems a bit fatigued as this round terminates.
Round 7: Jocelyn forces what action there is in this round, but the pace has slowed for the present time. Both seem to be moving aimlessly around the ring basically avoiding a mistake they might regret. The crowd becomes a little restless as the punches thrown of consequence can be counted on one hand.
Round 8: The pace picks up as Mitzi comes out refreshed and ready to initiate action realizing she is behind at this point. She bulls forward absorbing expected jabs as she wades close to Jocelyn to deliver some body punches. Forward momentum moves Jocelyn into the ropes on these occasions which gives Mitzi opportunities to deliver these punches with a more fixed target. Jocelyn feels these blows more than most this fight giving involuntary "ughs" audible to ringside observers. Jocelyn spins away to avoid prolonged exposure, but this is a Gaynor round.
Round 9: Mitzi continues her stalking while Jocelyn accelerates her movement. Mitzi's desperation to even the fight continues the bulling strategy, and while she indeed does continue to score more heavily than in the past to Jocelyn's chest, stomach, and sides areas, Jocelyn uses openings to slam some shots of her own to Mitzi's head. Mitzi's left cheekbone is exhibiting some minor swelling and appears to be getting more sensitive to pressure. Jocelyn, near the end of the round, forces Mitzi to the ropes and while clenching, runs some uppercuts into Mitzi's jaw.
Round 10: Mitzi looks like a fighter who needs a knockout while Jocelyn appears content to avoid one. Jocelyn employs a rope-a-dope strategy allowing Mitzi to punch herself out against her while just leaning backwards on the ropes. Mitzi is basically landing side punches and ones blocked by Jocelyn's arms. Jocelyn then clenches whenever she wants the onslaught to end. She believes she has won this fight and only wants to avoid a catastrophe. The round ends with Jocelyn raising arms and claiming victory.
{Decision}: Jocelyn wins a unanimous decision symbolizing a solid, but not overwhelming victory based upon the scoring of 18-14, 20-17, and 16-13. Jocelyn acknowledges smilingly while Mitzi just nods her head.
{Analysis}: Probably more than any boxer in my memory, Mitzi's opponents determined her results. Mitzi needs to take some punishment, wear her opponent down, then perhaps turn the bout late using her stamina advantage. Someone like Jocelyn is too fit and doesn't punch herself out, which doesn't work into Mitzi's strategy. Conversely, Jocelyn can be susceptible to the "big punch", but Mitzi doesn't really seem to have that punch. Thus Jocelyn can match Mitzi's stamina and impress the judges with her aggressiveness without exposing herself or her face to a potential knockout blow.