Dua Lipa VS Odette Yustman

 
Tale of the Tape:
Dua Lipa:
Age: 25
Height: 5'8
15-7 (15KOs)
Vs
Odette Yustman:
Age: 35
Height: 5'8 ½
43-25-1 (36KOs)
Former FCBA lightweight champion.
Former Queen of the Ice Hotel.

(Girls Friday vs Lioness Club of America)

(Written by Girls Friday/Results by Lookout!)

Intro:
A battle of brunettes now, newly signed Girls Friday fighter Dua Lipa takes on the tough veteran Odette Yustman, can Dua prove her worth out the gates to her new stable or will Odette end the honeymoon period quickly?

On form it is hard to say whose coming in stronger, both have had mixed results, with them fighting Kendall Jenner (both lost) and Hayley Atwell (both beat) so it isn't simple to pick off that.

Going into the fight, both women were interviewed by FCBA Network's Alicia Atout about this contest, first up she spoke to Dua the night that the singer was announced as signing with her new stable, sitting in an office together sharing a glass of champagne to mark the moment.

Dua admits to Alicia "the past few months have been hard, we kinda knew that things were starting to go south at the Holloway stable concerning money we assumed, some missed checks here and there, I don't want to make excuses for my form but I was worried and stressed"

Smiling though as she adds "but now I have a future, I don't have to worry about being back on the free agent lot, fighting my friends for time in the ring, now I can train regularly, get in the ring with some of the best and train with the best, I am blessed this happened" taking a sip of her drink as she looks giddy with excitement.

The subject then turns to this bout, Dua getting more serious as she replies "Odette is the real deal, a former champion that I know has it in her to claim more gold, all it takes I guess is one big win and suddenly she can be a top contender again, I can't let that be me she takes down, the people here need me to prove their faith in me is warranted, so while Odette has my respect, I will be giving her everything I have to beat her" Alicia nodding as they go back to drinking and chatting about life as the cameras leave them.

Alicia then heads into the Lioness Club of America gym, after interviewing Cheryl Cole in the ring and nearly getting a free sparring session with the cheeky Geordie, she seems relieved to find Odette working on the weight bench.

Finishing her reps, Odette sits up and wipes her hands and brow with a towel, Alicia getting a friendly wave from the actress to show it is OK to come talk with her, making Alicia smile back warmly.

"Hey Alicia, so I can guess you are here to ask me a few questions, shoot away" says Odette as she gets a quick drink of water and places her towel across her shoulders after dampening it.

Asked about how she feels things have been going for her, Odette answers "well not the best I'll admit, I know I am still a contender but damn did the lightweight division get crowded, I mean look at Yvonne (Strahovski) and Mary (Elizabeth Winstead) both have been around that title for years, the past few months though they've both struggled to be in the top ten, so I am not sweating it too much"

Changing the subject herself to her opponent, Yustman adds "I mean take Dua here, she was flying up the rankings and has hit a speed bump, I know all round I am a better boxer then her, a better fighter then she'll ever be, this should be a good marker for me as I find my way back through the women in front of me back to the title, I know I can do it" an assured look on her face as Alicia smiles and nods.

"Now I better get back to training, I don't want to give Dua any chances when we fight so thanks for stopping by" Odette tells Alicia, with the interviewer nodding as she leaves, hoping not to bump into Cheryl Cole again.

Fight night, out first comes Dua with Gisele Bundchen and Eva Carneiro behind her, the singer struts to the ring wearing a long red robe with black trim, looking to be enjoying the crowds cheers as she is beaming.

When they reach the ring steps, Dua gets the robe taken off by Gisele, revealing she is wearing a red sports bra with black trim, matching trunks and shoes, black gloves on with her hair braided.

Climbing into the ring, Dua jogs around the ring waving to her fans, before settling into her corner, Gisele telling her "don't be nervous, you have this" as she fist bumps her, Eva doing the same as the corner looked excited to see what she can do.

Out now comes Odette with Claudia Schiffer behind her, she looks more serious of the two as she steps down the aisle wearing a black hoodie, tapping her cheeks with her gloves as she looks in the zone.

Claudia helps her remove the hoodie once they are at the ring steps, revealing a black sports bra with silver trim, matching trunks and shoes, black gloves with silver thumbs, her hair is also braided.

Stepping through the ropes into her corner, Odette bangs her gloves together before she begins her warm up, Claudia telling her "just focus on doing you, don't get bogged down worrying what Dua is doing, you are stronger then her, a better fighter then her" a rallying speech to fire up her fighter.

Coming together at the center of the ring, there's an intense stare down between the fighters, both knowing a win is very important for their careers as a loss will shove them right out of contenders status for now.

They are told to touch gloves, which they do respectfully before turning back to their corners, jogging back to them, where they get their gumshields in and final instructions, the bell rings to start 10 rounds of lightweight action.

Round 1:
Both women have a similar stance as they come out their corners, up on their toes as they move their upper bodies, firing out testing punches in the opening thirty seconds to see how good the other is defensively.

Odette pulls the trigger a little too quickly, missing with a right cross as Dua steps back out the way, a double jab smacking the veteran on her mouth as a warning not to rush things against the Brit.

Who looks to be out boxing Odette in the opening half of the round, dodging more punches before landing her quick fire punches to the cheeks or body of Yustman, moving around the outside of the ring as she does so.

Showing off her experience though, Odette closes off the space Dua has to work in, forcing more heated exchanges by the two fighters, heads get knocked back by hard straight punches.

Less then forty seconds to go, Odette gets caught with an uppercut as she misses with a left cross, Dua pounds another two punches square into the face of Odette to fight her way from the ropes.

The round comes to an end with Dua getting a smile and a nod from Gisele, a strong opening round for the new signing, Odette getting told to relax as she sits on her stool, Claudia rubbing her shoulders as she looks tense.

Round 2:
Coming out more on the aggressive side, Odette slips a straight to land an overhand left to the side of Dua's head, landing two body shots as she comes inside to work back the singer to the outside of the ring.

Keeping her herded near them through the opening minute, Odette is stopping Dua being able to dodge as easily, landing more cleanly with her own punches now as she looks to be relaxing more with her success.

Not to say Dua isn't landing some good punches out her guard herself, leaning out the way of a right cross to bang in a jab/straight to the face of the Lioness, she doesn't make much more headway though as Odette uses her left forearm to open up Lipa to an uppercut that knocks her backwards.

Just missing with a left hook, Odette finds herself pulled into a clinch, neither throws punches in the clinch but can be seen trying to muscle each other back, looking a stalemate for those watching from ringside.

Separated by the referee, Dua makes Odette pay for a missed straight with a left under her ribs, an overhand right doesn't land flush, it gives Dua some momentum though, leading to both opening up more as the seconds tick away.

At the end of the round both nod knowing they have a stern test in front of them, returning to their corners, both women listen to their coaches as they know things are even again.

Round 3:
Both step out their corners with more determined looks, going up a gear as they circle, throwing more combinations as they step inside, leather smacking echoes along with grunts and barks.

A double jab smacks Dua now on her forehead, Odette stepping in with a right cross as she backs up her younger opponent again to the outside, Dua going more into her shell as Yustman is throwing more punches in combinations.

Keeping Dua aimed towards the ropes, Odette is showing off the class that made her a champion, drilling in some sweet body shots to open up Dua to overhand punches across her cheeks as she presses forwards.

Driving Dua to the ropes, Odette finds herself being held again, Dua not wanting to let the American tee off on her, referee needed to step in as Odette grinds her forehead into Lipa's till they are broken up.

Back in space with less then a minute to go, Dua comes back stronger after slipping a straight, banging in two rights to the body, a left cross up top now has Odette a little more on edge as they circle around the ring again.

Dua showing off her speed with a feint with her left, sidestepping an attempted left cross to the right before pounding a left hook to the jaw of Odette, followed by an uppercut to knock her onto her heels.

The bell rings with Dua knowing she has lost another round, Gisele telling her "it's not the end of the world yet, you can out box her if you use this (points at Dua's forehead) you are a smart fighter" Dua smiling proudly till Gisele tells her she can smile after the fight.

Round 4:
Again both move around the ring, up on their toes as they lash in combos, not all the punches landing as both rely on their technique along with speed to catch their opponent's with their bigger punches.

Sweat comes off both fighters as they get hit with some more meatier punches, Dua slips a straight to pound in three body shots, taking a left to the side of her head to ward her off as the Lioness comes stalking after her.

Odette too quick on the trigger this time, missing with a left cross as Dua slips under it before hammering an overhand right into the jaw, the veteran finding herself being knocked back by Dua as the singer opens up on her.

Backed onto the ropes, Odette shows her fighting spirit to come back at Dua, feet planted as both stunning women go toe to toe, heads getting turned as the crowd is on it's feet yelling at them to knock the other out.

Dua takes a step back though to dodge a right hook, then quickly steps in with a straight square into the mouth of Odette, two left crosses then slam across Yustman's face as Lipa knocks her firmly onto the ropes.

Where Odette sticks to as she covers up, the final twenty seconds sees Dua switching up her targets to make it hard for the older fighter to block all her punches, the bell rings to end the round.

Dua pumps her right fist into the air as she returns to her corner, this time Odette has Claudia telling her to box more smartly, being told she is rushing too much as Odette nods at the assessment.

Round 5:
Fighting more in closer then they have before, Odette is trying to force the issue more it seems, Dua trying to box still on the outside as they fight around the ring, finding herself being shocked by Odette using her left shoulder to bump her onto the ropes.

Where Odette works the body as she has her head down, crowding Dua to the ropes as the Lioness corner are grinning, watching their girl making Dua groan with each clean hit.

Pulling Odette down into a front headlock, Dua gets the referee to step in so she can escape the ropes, though it earns her a warning, apologizing to Odette as she puts out a glove that the older fighter taps to show she accepts.

After the sportsmanship moment, Dua is the one to take control of things, slipping a straight to bang in a left hook to the ribs, followed by an overhand right to the cheek of Odette to knock her backwards.

Taking the ring center for herself, Dua is wanting to either keep things to the outside or draw in Odette, keeping her right primed it seems as she catches Odette dipping down to try to move to the inside with a right to the temple.

Final moments sees Odette get in closer, leading to both desperately trying to win the round, going hammer and tongs as both bark in effort, sweat flies off them up till the round comes to an end with both having an argument to have won it.

Sitting on their stools with cheeks reddening up nicely, both take on water as their coaches talk them through what they need to focus on, the fighters turn to look at each other with narrowed eyes, seeing someone they need to get through to get the bigger paydays.

Round 6:
Drilling in more punches straight to faces, they box around the center of the ring, Dua looks to be slipping the more punches successfully of the two, jamming her right nicely into the face of Odette.

Who does manage to close the distance between them to land two hooks to the body, Dua though uses her left forearm to the chest of Odette to open up a gap again, a right hook catches Yustman on her temple to make her step back with her eyes shut.

Seeing a chance to strike, Dua lands a jab/straight square into the face of Odette, driving her back towards a corner, ANOTHER CLUBBING RIGHT TO THE TEMPLE SENDS ODETTE DOWN AS HER LEGS GIVE WAY!

"Yes" Dua says as she shakes her right fist in front of herself, heading to the neutral corner, 1...2...3...4.. Odette shakes her head as she tries to clear it, grabbing for the ropes, 5...6...7.. But when she tries to pull herself up, her legs are jelly, 8... Falling back to her backside, 9...10 all Odette can do is nod as she is counted out!

Winner Dua Lipa KO Round 6

After:
Another marquee win for Dua as she is building her career nicely, maybe more important tonight though as she looks over to her corner with a big beaming smile, Gisele giving her the thumbs up as she heads into the ring with Eva.

While Odette shakes her head disappointed, she gave a good account of herself but those two temple shots took her legs out from under her, Claudia needs to help with the referee to get Odette onto her stool.

Over comes Dua once her gloves are off, asking if Odette is feeling OK, Odette looks up with a grin as she replies "I'll be OK and coming for you again before you know it" holding out her right fist to give Dua a fist bump to show Dua has earned her respect.

Both women get cleaned up in their corners, Dua understandably beaming as she talks to Gisele, who tells her "we have some work to do but that was impressive tonight, Odette I know very well isn't a push over, you fought her evenly for the most part, next we train you to be much better then her" Dua looking excited by that promise.

In the Lioness corner, Claudia chalks tonight up to bad luck as she talks to Odette, who admits "the kid has some class in the ring, I know I can beat her though" making Claudia smile as she sees the determination in her fighter to improve, not be left behind by the new generation of fighters coming through.

The referee brings the fighters to the ring center, Odette is still a little shaky but she won't show weakness if she can help it, standing as Dua gets her hand raised by the referee, clearly a proud moment for Dua as she wipes some tears of joy away.

Odette nods to Dua before she leaves the ring, Claudia standing beside her with the rest of the Lioness coaching staff behind them, Odette chatting to Claudia on what she needs to focus on in training.

In the ring Dua poses with Gisele and Eva either side of her putting arms around each others shoulders, Dua has the biggest smile, the youngster has a bright future ahead it seems, with her new stable if she can win more tough fights like this.

Stepping out the ring together, Dua high fives some of the front row as she heads to the back, Gisele and Eva talking positively about Dua, whose next for the singer though?