From what I understand, the women would agree to the types of punches that they would throw (and where they wouldn't hit) prior to the fight. Of course, if someone reneged, then all previous agreements were off. While I don't know for sure, I'd bet that they were encouraged by the Crystal people to throw "open handed" fists (not slaps, mind you) because injury is far less likely to occur than if the fighters were throwing full out closed fists, like those seen in earlier videos.
If you're implying that this stragegy takes away from some of the intensity of the fight, I'd have to agree. But, I'd also admit that there were times when watching some of those old fights that I'd spend more time wincing than just sitting back and enjoying the view.
