BEFORE: The lack of frequent opportunities has deprived former Lightweight Of The Year Taylor Cole from threatening the title picture in the last couple of seasons however her welterweight foray didn't bring the expected success either leaving the otherwise fearsome raven-haired brunette coy over her imminient prospects. Entering the BBU crossover path didn't sound like a viable option not that long ago but now serves as the blessing in disguise especially after the painful defeat to Yvonne Strahovski that was supposed to turn the division on it's head. However the Polish-Australian blonde is back on top of her game and Cole has to deal with the Italian model Elisabetta Canalis just to stay active. 

It's been a rough experience for Canalis in America thus far; George Clooney's ex-girlfriend still seeks her first victory on this side of the pond after losing three straight to Torv, Lively & Carpenter and the predictions of her being "the next Monica Bellucci" have taken a serious U-turn in the last several weeks. Now that Bellucci threatens to steal all the Italian spotlight away through her "Spectre" billing, time is running out for Elisabetta to make an impression. She still vows to beat Taylor up but she's no Yvonne Strahovski and that might be pure wishful thinking according to most of the Caesars Palace audience. 

Taylor Cole wears a navy blue bikini set, black gloves and matching boots. Black hair tied in a high ponytail. Elisabetta Canalis wears a green bikini set, red gloves and white boots. Brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division. 

Round 1: 

Cole likes her big punch and tries to enforce it on her opponent as early as possible but the Italian's done her homework and avoids closing in which results in a hassled approach from the American who's keen to score an emphatic victory tonight to make up for the Strahovski fiasco. She outworks Canalis in mid range and the defensive mindset proves ineffecfive for the model down the stretch as Cole peppers her high guard and dominates the footwork duell sticking more leather into the Italian flesh as round goes by. Taylor drops the haymaker ideas in the final minute and wants to tease Elisabetta into open play but fails in her targets and is forced to chase her around the ropes without much meaningful action to speak of. 

Round 2: 

Taylor's prepared for another duck & weave display from the Italian but gets caught napping with a lurid hook that crashes into her nose and sends reeling back on the heels early in the second round. Suddenly Canalis steps right into her path and drills the midsection while looping crisp overhands and silencing the Las Vegas audience who never expected such a charge from the otherwise struggling model. Cole herself is as much surprised as anyone and clinches her foe to catch a break but then has Elisabetta pumping leather into her guts and keeping up the high tempo assault. Taylor leans on the model and belives she'll shut her off with one big punch but wobbles off the gloves and falls into a heavy uppercut on the nose that makes her moan and sends into defensive circles while Canalis stalks her around the ropes for remainder of the round very much against the odds. 

Round 3: 

More of the same in the third; Taylor just can't find her way through the model's guard and eats surprisingly many punches in reply as Canalis works the overhand drill and rocks the black ponytail back & forth slowing the American's response in the proccess. It's a methodical but very effective approach from the Italian who finds her stride in mid distance and keeps thumping punches into Taylor's face; a brief clinch halts the rout but then Cole misses the immediate counter and endures a proper rack assault which staggers her in the middle of the ring and allows Elisabetta to find another uppercut on the jaw. Taylor sags on her knees and while it's not getting desperate yet, she just can't find her punches and the experts believe she wanted to dismantle the Italian without putting too much effort which is never the way to go especially when the BBU pride is on the line. Another clinch sees out the round but the crowd begins to whistle over Cole's mediocre display and that brings a huge smile on Canalis' face during the interval. 

Round 4: 

Taylor's had enough of this half-hearted approach and finally begins to realize she needs to treat Elisabetta the same way as Yvonne and blasts out of her stool to bury the Italian under the first meaningful barrage of the fight. This only brings a similar reply as Canalis has no plans to earmuff herself in deep cover and both women trade vicious punches in the opening minute that leave cuts on each face and a huge roar from the crowd. Allthough Taylor's ponytail smacks around her cheeks she doesn't yield an inch and at the end of the duell it's the Italian seeking a clinching respite that the actress duly accepts having gassed herself out as well. The punching war resumes in the final minute when Taylor ducks under a high hooking approach and crashes into the Italian's boobs before sticking her shoulder into the solar plexus and shoving Elisabetta butt-in-ropes. The flying follow up misses the target though and Canalis jumps to the side just in time before wading a low punch on the kidneys. Taylor barks in anger but she avoids more trouble with the model prefering to circle back to middle of the ring instead of trapping her on the ropes. 

Round 5: 

It's not the best of days for Taylor Cole who still somehow believes she can chop Canalis down through sheer war of attrition and doesn't accept the prospects of a lucky punch derailing her plans. The Italian has rarely gone this far without serious damage and looks as aggressive as ever against someone so highly rated like Cole so another ding-dong battle ensues much to the delight of the Las Vegas crowd. The ammount of cuts and lumps begins to stack up especially on Elisabetta's side who remains on the front foot until Taylor slams a vicious uppercut on the nose that breaks her resilience wobbles her into a series of looping hooks on the temples and sends her trembling back to the ropes with a loud moan. Cole's eyes just got bigger when she was able to punch her foe back to the ropes and this time the flying attack is spot on and snaps Elisabetta's head back & forth rendering her guard useless in the proccess. It's all Cole in the last twenty seconds as she tries to put the model down for the count before the bell however she only succeeds in giving her a bloody nose and another set of lumps on the right side of her face. The bell sounds and the ref has to pull a rampant actress away while Canalis slides down on her butt and looks in all sorts of bother despite such a gallant effort up to the final minute of the fifth round! 

Round 6: 

Just like Lisa Maffia before, Elisabetta can't quite shake off the vicious pounding and enters the round a wounded species which plays into Cole's hands in more ways than one. She resumes the immediate punishment of the brave model and destroys her guard with repeated piercing jabs in the opening minute before reaching out for the jaw. Canalis' duck & weave tactics is gone as well and the entire American assault roots her to the spot in the center of the ring so when Taylor slams a left/right cross on the nose that bursts the nostrils into a bloody flood again, Elisabetta has enough space to crash flat on her back and remain unresponsive all the way through the count.... KO6 Taylor Cole!!! 

AFTER: Despite putting her best performance on the US market to date, Elisabetta has to swallow another bitter pill of defeat and one has to perhaps question the mismatch she was served here tonight. Instead of focusing on the model camp, she was handed another elite fighter just like Torv and Lively before and came up short of victory regardless of the aggressive approach and visible improvement in punching resistance. She's attractive enough to gain more exposure but if she ever wants to be mentioned in the same sentence with Monica Bellucci, she'll need to score those much needed victories soon! 

Meanwhile Taylor Cole looks upset it took her almost six rounds to knock the Italian out and that was indeed a very strange performance from the otherwise highly touted fighter. One still has to put the effort behind the punches to score the big 'W' and for almost three rounds Taylor was never at the races and allowed Canalis to run her own game instead. Some pundits indicate the brunette actress only has herself to blame and other than improving her record, she hasn't really set the division on notice with this unneccessary hard-fought victory. Shades of lack of respect towards the model that almost blew straight into Cole's face. She'll need to be more careful in her next outings if she wants to enter the divisional title picture anytime soon again. 

Final result: Taylor Cole def. Elisabetta Canalis KO6.