Fight Night, Really Smokin'

Fight Night, the annual boys'-night-out benefit, got a touch of savoir-faire last night from French chef Eric Ripert, who raced from opening his Westend Bistro to the Washington Hilton . . . to auction himself off.

Ripert, executive chef at N.Y.C.'s three-star Le Bernardin, expected to launch his D.C. restaurant last week, but delays pushed it back -- which meant he finished cooking just in time to attend Fight Night's live auction of a Ripert-prepared home dinner for 10. The winning dinner was bought for $25,000 by an anonymous self-described "short, fat guy" from Texas.

The $3 million charity event, which combines cigars, boxing and a live auction, brought in 2,000 business types and a sprinkling of founder Joe Robert's celeb pals: Quincy Jones and Chris Tucker (spotted Wednesday at Lima Restaurant and Lounge with Dave Chappelle and Jerry Rice) and Jermaine Dupri. BET founder Bob Johnson was supposed to switch over to the companion Knock-Out Abuse gala at the Ritz-Carlton, no doubt because CEO/close pal Debra Lee chaired the girls-only party, but joined the boys instead. ( Lenny Kravitz was the super-secret surprise after-hours act at the after-party for both the boys and girls.)

And yes, the smoker lived up to its name. Despite D.C.'s strict ban, the Department of Health gave Fight Night a waiver to light up -- but the ladies at Knock-Out had to puff in the cold.

The Biggest Wigs in Town

Think you've finally made it past the velvet ropes? There's always a more elite party going on behind your back, a V-V-VIP room you'll never get into. So it was for the D.C. bigwigs who snagged invitations to the exclusive show-your-pass-at-the-door after-party for the Wednesday premiere of "Lions for Lambs": Director/star Robert Redford spent most of the night huddled with Nancy Pelosi and Madeleine Albright.

Oh, and star Tom Cruise ? Blew off the Ritz-Carlton soiree altogether to jet back to L.A. with Katie Holmes. (In fairness, they spent nearly an hour pre-screening schmoozing with everyone from Lynda Carter and Dan Snyder to the Uptown Theatre's popcorn servers.)

Redford and Pelosi had their tete-a-tete in the Foggy Bottom hotel's lounge before making brief cameos at the reception. Then suddenly Bob was gone -- only to reappear in the bar at the Four Seasons, with Albright (fun fact: At 70, she's nine months Bob's junior!) and three others, chatting on a secluded sofa.

So that was the place to be. At the far end of the bar: Kiefer Sutherland, making merry with some "24" colleagues (or maybe bemoaning their threatened writers'-strike hiatus). Kief looked thin in dark gray jeans, a dark sweater, scuffed shoes; he drank a Scotch, smoked a Camel Light, drew a steady crowd of fans to the bar -- but never mixed with Redford, alas.

A New Suspect in the Bag Watch Case?

For months we sought the D.C. mystery woman who bought this year's wacky status symbol -- the rare $52,500 Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork, a Frankenpurse made from pieces of 14 other LV bags. The trail went cold . . . until this week. Well, hello, Harriette Walters! Seems the D.C. bureaucrat, charged with scamming $16 million in false tax refunds, had a taste for designer shoes and bags, dropping $26K on one fancy tote. A likely suspect? A staffer at the Vuitton boutique in Chevy Chase says, "That information is strictly private."

LOVE, ETC.

* Expecting: Jennifer Lopez, 38, and Marc Anthony, 39, who confirmed her long-suspected pregnancy to a Miami concert audience Wednesday, ending a long national nightmare of coy non-denials that forced gossip scribes to pry confirmations out of ex-husbands, stylists, etc.

THIS JUST IN . . .

* A Boston priest who allegedly stalked Conan O'Brien was arrested last week trying to enter a taping of O'Brien's late-night talk show, N.Y.C. prosecutors said yesterday. Court documents cited by the Associated Press claim the Rev. David Ajemian harassed O'Brien and his parents with threatening letters demanding "a public confession" and calling himself "your priest stalker." The Boston Archdiocese has placed him on leave. Unclear if the men knew each other, but they appear to have attended Harvard around the same time.