Post by Lookout! Boxing on May 29, 2021 2:57:31 GMT -6
Nicola Bryant vs Charlene Tilton
Circa 1984
The main event of the evening was a surprise bout as Nicola Bryant would be taking on Charlene Tilton.
Charlene was known as the Tiny Terror thanks to her early hard punches and KOs. Many a shorter actress had regrets boxing her. The odds maker made her a favorite in this bout.
Nicola was in the States promoting Doctor Who and her own career in and out of the ring. A Hollywood producer wanted to get her boxing and set up this bout.
First to the ring were the announcer and the referee. In this case, a special celebrity referee Cheryl Ladd. The fans gave Cheryl a warm welcome and she smiled in a friendly fashion. She was wearing black slacks and a striped referee shirt.
(Says K.O. Kapowski: “Cheryl was one of the sweetest ladies—though she was a tough opponent in the ring. As a referee Cheryl liked to dress pretty conservative. She used to say ‘They aren’t here to see me. I don’t like to distract from the fighters’. I have to say that wasn’t true of a lot of celeb refs (Linda Gray just loved to show up in a short shorts and unbuttoned shirts). I appreciate Cheryl’s attitude.”
Then it was time for the fighters to appear….
Nicola comes to the bout wearing a blue bikini with blue boots and gloves.
Charlene enters the ring in her yellow bikini with black boots and gloves.
Round 1:
Charlene got a surprise in the first round as Nicola came right out at her. This was usually Tilton’s plan of attack and caught her by surprise. Bryant threw some hard hooks into Tilton’s body and breasts. Charlene did not expect another boxer to box her way. So she dropped the first round widely.
Round 2, 3 & 4:
The next 3 rounds were close ones. Charlene won 2 and 3, and Nicola took 4.
Charlene and Nicola had some great exchanges during these three rounds and the crowd loved them. Both boxers were trading hard straights and hooks into the breasts of the other. Tilton seemed to finally get her punches going during the second and third rounds. This helped her win those rounds. The fourth seemed to be a back and forth affair until Bryant struck Tilton with a quick straight left to her breasts. Charlene then took a right hook to her chin after the straight. She now had to circle away from Nicola. Bryant followed her and soon her blue gloves were punching at Tilton’s body. Nicola won the round closely no doubt thanks to this output.
Round 5:
The fifth round opened with both boxers coming out again throwing some heavy punches at each other. The exchange though was shorter as Bryant landed a big straight right into Tilton’s belly that knocked Charlene back a step. Nicola then went to her face with 2 hooks. Tilton was now forced back with Bryant on her heels. By the close of the first minute, Nicola has Charlene backed to her corner. Tilton tries to clinch with Bryant and Ladd broke it up. Unfortunately she did not escape the corner as Bryant hit her with another straight to her belly. Charlene’s gloves dropped and Bryant was soon smiling as she went with a right cross to her face. A big left hook hit her chin AND DOWN GOES TILTON! Bryant saw this and shortly Cheryl was pointing her to a neutral corner. Ladd saw her get there and then she knelt down to begin her count. Tilton seemed rickety as she rolled to her back by the count of 7. She got no further as the count of 10 passed her by.
After:
Nicola threw her gloves up in winning after the bell clanged. She had been hit hard in this bout but came out on top.
She posed a bit before coming to middle of the ring. Ladd was there and congratulated her on her win. She thanked her before Cheryl raised her right glove and announced her as the winner.
Tilton was in her corner and was being brought around as she was being worked on. The favorite lost to an underdog which surprised her and her fans and bettors.
Bryant posed in the ring and was surprised that Ladd did not take advantage as Linda Gray in a bout where she refereed.
