Karolina Kurkova vs Irina Shayk
(Lioness Club vs #KHAOS)
(4-3, 4 KO vs 1-3, 1 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: You'll find plenty of sun in Russia these days - and even more in the Czech Republic but one simply doesn't refuse a free trip to Hawaii when Lioness Club of America covers the expenses... The Waimea Bay beach boxing card has to kick off one way or another and Karolina Kurkova is the original member of the stable when it was limited to BBU action only... one can say Irina Shayk has outmuscled her in the glamour department lately but apparently there's no Eastern European animosity between the two of them as they enter the provisional ring here on the white sands of the Hawaiian landscape.. well, no animosity, right... so whey they refuse to touch gloves? It must be the Russian thing... or the Czech thing... or the lack of vodka... or the beer is lousy? Do they even sell beer in Hawaii? Who cares? Let's go down ringside...

Karolina Kurkova wears a bronze cobblestone-themed bikini and white gloves. Long blonde hair straight, tucked behind the ears. Irina Shayk wears a navy blue bikini with a fancy strip along the hips. Long dark brown hair in loose waves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Kurkova's confidence is really high these days following an important win over Sophie Turner lately and she dominates the Russian in a hectic close range assault during a largely one-sided opener. It looks like Irina needs time to settle in but the blonde simply doesn't give her any chance while blasting through her high guard and reeling her backwards very easily. Confidence is truly a huge factor in some of these fights and due to Shayk's uncertain management status, some fans think of her as a mere tomato can thrown at the Lioness Club hosts. Kurkova works well from the front (left) leg and pounds the brunette into the ropes come the final minute where she bounces off her ab muscles and keeps her trapped behind a tight earmuff.

Round 2:
Irina simply can't be any more lethargic than in the first round and finally shows some fancy moves as she blocks off the blonde's initial approach before smacking Kurkova across the lips with a quick hooking slant. Both women work from the inside but Shayk matches the older model's intensity and lands her shots upstairs which snaps Karolina's head back repeatedly come the second minute. Meanwhile the Czech blonde digs her mitts into the body - the vulnerable area for most of these models - but lacks the evil juice she displayed in the opener and gets stuffed in the corner thereafter as Shayk's aerial attacks become a little too hot to handle anymore.

Round 3:
Irina's settled in for good now and keeps firing over the top with Karolina unable to stay clear of the repeated onslaught. She gets caught with a nasty combo on the lips and as her gloves drop by her boobs, the brunette slams another huge hook straight on the nose AND DECKS KURKOVA in highly impressive fashion!!! That really caught the fans around Waimea Bay by surprise and no less the Czech model! She quickly gets up at five and indicates she got stuck in some hole in the sand but Irina just laughs this excuse off and jumps into another jabbing frenzy instead. Kurkova hangs in there for a while but when Shayk bursts through her lips again, there's no recovery possible anymore and the Russian pounds her into the corner where she keeps slicing her way through the high guard and prevents any sort of a comeback from behind the guard. Huge round for Irina who shakes her glove in delight while Karolina only shrugs her shoulders and tries to keep the battle face on. It's not really working though.

Round 4:
One can accuse Shayk of being a little one-dimensional in her attacks but they worked well enough to floor the Czech blonde in the third! And Kurkova refuses to battle through adversity here and hangs back while Irina hassles her across the sand with more cruel ideas on her mind. She doesn't look so imposing in the mid-distance slicing and dicing but Karolina's overly defensive stance doesn't win her any favors among the judges either! It's a cagey round where Shayk holds back the artillery instead of perhaps gassing out in a fruitless pursuit and while she wins the round with little fireworks involved, she might yet regret not pushing for the ultimate (T)KO success here! However Karolina still looks very tense during the break and it's obvious she didn't anticipate having to work from behind at any stage of this bout.

Round 5:
BIG PUNCH SHAYK!!! As if the previous knockdown wasn't enough, now she adds a deep cut on the blonde's face. She slams a left/right cross immediately off the bell and beats the older model for the all important connection. Karolina sinks in the sand and wobbles forward with a whimper... there's some blood sprinkling from the wound under the left eye and Irina hauls in more uppercuts on the jugs as the aching Czech tries to clinch herself to safety. It doesn't really work and the brunette works the uppercut charge so well she stuffs the hapless foe in the center of the ring before another left cross dumps Kurkova sideways against the ropes. Shayk scampers across the sand to deliver the potential KO haymaker... and SHE MISSES IT!!! More luck than is deserved for the Lioness entourage as the Russian bounces off Karolina's shoulder and gets wrestled into a lenghty clinching stalemate instead. Kurkova's running on fumes but finds the grit to hold off the looming disaster as the referee does little to help Shayk from breaking free. Some words are exchanged between the two models and Irina's the one losing her temper but once she finally breaks the clinch, the clock expires and she only manages to land a single punch on the lips that is nowhere near enough to send the Czech blonde packing.

Round 6:
Despite a huge lead on the cards, Irina is clearly upset! She thinks she should have knocked Karolina out in the fifth and the referee decided to turn a blind eye on some of the questionable tactics from the Lioness Club model which worked against her. Emotions run high now and that's never the best idea to be influenced by them, Shayk throws more punches as she seeks working from the inside again but gets blocked off and the blonde mounts a recovery while blasting her foe to the body. She leans a little bit too much and catches the brunette with a headbutt but again, the ref urges them to continue. A right-on-right then sinks Irina on her heels and Karolina adds a brutal uppercut straight up the alley! She romps into a jabbing galore thereafter and backs the hitherto dominant opponent into the ropes; Shayk tries to swing back from the back foot but misses the target and Kurkova squashes her lips with a heavy left/right combo before sticking her left glove in the solar plexus. Ugh! That folds the Russian behind a tight earmuff and Karolina cleans out shop pounding away at the younger model's body to basically win her first round since the opener! Maybe there is some hope left for the Lioness crew?

Round 7:
Irina keeps charging at the blonde and clearly targets a knockout success rather than sitting on her points lead; however she could really use adding a punch to the body as Karolina's high guard blocks her off during a frantic opening minute before a quick harpoon to the guts leaves the Russian exposed. It's a swarming attitude from the brunette but Karolina really finds her rhythm in pounding away at the body and she cracks Irina's liver area while chopping in full force come the second minute. Shayk tries to circle back but slips on the sand and wobbles into a left hook that nails her on the ear... another quick follow up from the other side bursts through the lips and makes the younger model scowl however there's no stopping the blonde's charge anymore as she delivers another uppercut on the jaw TO SEND IRINA SPAWLING DOWN ON THE SAND!!! What a recovery from the Lioness girl! Now it's Irina's turn to act like nothing happened, she jumps back to her feet at five but gets immediately tackled to the body with a harpoon series and she just can't find a way to block these shots... she bends awkwardly while trying to throw some punches from her heels but Karolina peppers her liver with more stinging strikes and finally finds the one that does her opponent in... SHAYK BURTS INTO SPASMS and shrieks out in disarray while hugging her liver!!! Ugh! She turns her back to the blonde and bends against the ropes SO THE REF WAVES THE FIGHT OFF on the spot... it happened so fast some of the fans didn't even notice the shot that introduced Irina into the world of pain... And she just can't believe it herself cursing in her native language before finally sliding down on her bums and resting her head against the knees. TKO7 Karolina Kurkova!!!

AFTER: Karolina's epic rally warrants the praise she receives from the Hawaiian audience but she rode her luck earlier when Irina pretty much should have knocked her out before half-distance. The questionable decisions - or lack thereof - by the referee helped the Czech model to survive a very difficult period however Irina's lack of body punishment really raises all the important questions. She inflicted a deep gash on Karolina's face but allowed the emotions to get the better of her and paid a heavy price when Kurkova landed one of these stingers to the liver you simply don't recover from anymore.

There are rumours linking both Karolina and Irina to more beach boxing fights soon but the Lioness Club front office declines to comment as their focus switches onto guiding Nicole Scherzinger into a successful homecoming return within the next few minutes. And some other things as well but more on that later...

Final result: Karolina Kurkova def. Irina Shayk TKO7.