BEFORE: Jessica Marais stopped Roxanne McKee back in November and now wants to derail Abi Phillips' comeback journey - not that the English actress needs any further setbacks after going down to Kimberley Walsh and Lacey Turner earlier this year already. Kate Abdo thinks this fight will be a real coin-flipper as both girls are eyeing a power move up the bantamweight rankings to finally break into serious gatekeeping status. Jessica's BBU stock has nose-dived ever since Jessica Schwarz broke her jaw almost five years ago and Phillips just isn't a blockbuster name to begin with.

Jessica Marais wears a navy blue bikini set and golden gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Abi Phillips wears a red bikini top, black hotpants & red gloves. Long blonde hair in loose waves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Neither girl wants to make the first aggressive step and they bide their time in the center of the ring throwing single punches without significant meaning until Abi becomes more agile on her feet and ups the tempo of her efforts; she delivers a series of jabs up the alley but bounces off the Aussie guard and Jessica's happy to clinch the younger blonde before pushing her into the ropes where the stalemate continues and requires the ref to take some action. However Abi leaps back to center of the ring instead of trying to shut the Aussie off along the ropes and denies the Birmingham crowd further meaningful action.

Rounds 2 & 3:
There's a clear lack of confidence in execution according to Kate Abdo and both women are happy to slow play this fight instead; it's especially puzzling given Jessica's previous victory over McKee but Phillips has found it tough going twice this year already so even the local British support doesn't make her drop the cautious approach. However things must improve soon because Marais swings a couple of nasty hooks in the third and catches the younger blonde on the temples before a clinching stalemate enables Abi to prevent the Aussie attack making further progress. The NEC audience finally loses it's patience with the two women deep in the final minute and demands more action; Naomie Harris' epic performance has raised the bar very high for everyone around and let's be honest, this is a lukewarm journeywoman snoozer so far but neither girl is apparently ready to think better of it.

Round 4:
Hold on, Abi's up for some proper jabbing after all and nails Jessica on the breasts before driving a nasty hook on the liver area to stack the older blonde up in the center of the ring. The sleeper shot in the pack cashes in wholesale as she slams immediate uppercut on the jaw to drop the Aussie guard and thump her across the lips thereafter. Marais goes all shimmy shake but tries to swing back from the wobbly feet only to realize her mistake when it's too late already... PHILLIPS WRECKS HER ON THE NOSE and sends crashing down on her backside in a blink of an eye to silence the NEC audience on the spot... the crowd simply never saw this firecracker coming after such a woeful start to this fight... Kate Abdo is equally stunned and Jessica Marais gurgles in pain as she scampers back on her feet at seven.. she's avoided a bloody nose scenario but Abi rips into her body after the command and pummels her back to the ropes where she cleans out the Aussie gut to pull ahead with a monster round. Now we have a real fight on our hands but Marais remains shell-shocked during the interval which doesn't bode well for her confidence.

Round 5:
Phillips storms into another jabbing attack and outworks the older blonde in the center of the ring before picking her off repeatedly and driving her back towards the ropes again. Jessica throws her share of evil leather but lacks precision big time and quickly disappears behind a high earmuff with Abi blasting her on the exposed tummy to maintain the upper-hand. The English leather rush results in Marais' ribcage suffering badly and sinking the ACB stalwart on her knees; the comeback never hits the top gear and if only Abi had more core strenght in her, she'd knock the hapless opponent down for the second time already. Jessica survives the otherwise dismal round by applying another lenghty clinch in the final minute but Phillips still cleans out her ribcage and takes the breath out of her lungs with a vicious hook on the navel right at the bell.

Round 6:
Jessica looked really good stopping Roxanne McKee last year but she's having real trouble embracing Abi's youth tonight, the defensive start to this fight has backfired into her face even though the English lass targets more midsection damage in the sixth again. Marais fends off the Abi charge in the opening minute but after missing a hooking approach over the top, she gets countered to the rack and wobbles on her heels allowing Phillips to cash in with more clean strikes from close range. Marais drops back but fails to stay off the ropes and has to seek another clinching recovery; Abi's so pumped right now she actually headbutts the Aussie in the chin but the ref ignores the ACB pleans and lets Phillips blast more ribcage punishing strikes inside the final seconds of the round; both girls are upset at the bell - Jessica over the headbutt no-call and Abi because she hasn't finished the fellow blonde off yet.

Round 7:
Jessica stings Abi on the liver area in a close range tangle as both girls hold back no more; she moves up to clip the rack as well and wobbles Phillips on the back foot before scything her across the mouth and sinking her on jelly knees on the spot. Ali tries to regain control but allows the older blonde to smash more piercing jabs on the liver area and slumps against her shoulder while Marais finally shows supreme confidence and execution which allows her to pound the English lass back to the ropes amid increasing yelping volume. The crowd roars in support but it's all Marais her in the seventh as she thumps the exposed midsection and splits the high earmuff to knock some bruises into Abi's pretty face... the younger blonde remains slumped on the ropes for remainder of the round and suddenly the fight lives up to the coin-flipper promise after all.

Round 8:
Hammer & tongs jabbing blitz from Marais shatters Abi's high guard and dumps her on her heels; while she misses her counterpunching approach, she also fails to stay away from the Aussie striking range and gets clobbered up the middle to slump on the ropes one more time. The Marais pressure is on and the Aussie actress barks in her efforts to rough Phillips up, the repeated head hunting assault breaks down the English resilience in the second minute and even the clinching efforts are shut down as Jessica pierces the left brow ridge into a swollen mess and whacks the wilting opponent on the breasts repeatedly thereafter. Not much coming back from Phillips anymore, she's a yelping wreck come the bell and sports a massive swelling around the left eye with Jessica seething down on her and looking in much better shape to win the fight despite the knockdown disadvantage.

Round 9:
Abi tries to bide more time and literally nurse this one into a decision but Jessica quickly traps her with another jabbing rush over the top and works around the wounded brow ridge to the point the English girl chokes on her own tears as she concedes her sight is heavily impaired by the golf ball sized swelling. She leans on the ropes but still can't keep her arms high enough and Marais just lets it rip one punch after another... Abi's head snaps back & forth and she screams out in pain with her left eye gone and locked away behind the monster swelling... Ugh! That's downright ugly come the final minute as Jessica keeps wrecking the youngster and effectively forces a medical time out... my oh my, Abi's a mental wreck aside from her eye being clobbered shut... the poor girl admits she can't see a thing and is craddled away to safety as she fails to stop the tears running down her cheeks... TKO9 Jessica Marais in mind-blowing gruesome fashion!!!

AFTER: Ugh! Abi won't be looking in the mirror for days to come but that's a shocking end to a fight that started so slowly it defied any professional odds. Kate Abdo hasn't seen such a slow burner in a while but once the girls decided to actually duke it out, Abi quickly emerged as the favorite thanks to the knockdown in the fourth. But she just couldn't finish the rattled Australian off and paid a heavy prize for it... let's make no mistake, Jessica Marais is very easy on the eye but ranked well below the usual gatekeeping suspects... she upset Roxanne McKee last time out and somehow pulled the comeback of the month by shutting Phillips' eye and literally sending the girl for medical evaluation... where did it all come from? Marais is one of the least effective punchers in the division and never writes her opponents off with a single round assault. The way she wrecked Phillips plus her full potential is the true mystery tonight - unlike Naomi Harris' comeback prospects - and still a perfect way to conclude the Brimingham event!

Final result: Jessica Marais def. Abi Phillips TKO9.