2. Karolina Kurkova versus Barbara Palvin

(Words: Vassago, Results: Lookout!)

Karolina:
(6:3, 6 KO FCBA, Lioness Club)

Barbara:
(7:2, 7 KO FCBA, Alpha Boxing Club)

BEFORE:
The Victoria's Secret brand is no stranger to signing exciting talent from Central and Eastern Europe and this match-up features a classic Czech Republic vs Hungary local derby. It's also a vintage battle of the generations as Karolina Kurkova must be regarded as a wiley veteran compared to the brunette stunner Barbara Palvin. However the Czech blonde prefers to be praised for reaching her career prime lately that was almost crowned with the BBU Lightweight Title last month. Fellow late-bloomer Alessandra Ambrosio denied Karolina that honor and several fans and pundits alike gathered around Key West wonder whether that result actually hampers the blonde's chances of progressing to the War In Heaven quarter-finals tonight. The Alpha Boxing Club entourage would like to think it does!

Karolina Kurkova wears a light blue bikini set with leopard print trim and black gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Barbara Palvin wears a black bikini set with pink trim and white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

ROUND 1:
Nobody can accuse these girls of taking it easy during the early stages of this bout, it's a classic derby atmosphere in the ring as the punches fly thick and fast from both sides. Karolina's rarely been this aggressive this early but she got clearly upset by the pre-fight cougar comments from the ABC entourage and she wants to prove that she can still dispatch a younger opponent. She beats Barbara for the initial tangle and outlasts the Hungarian in a close range exchange before driving her mitts into the brunette's breadbasket. Palvin fancies her chances upstairs but lacks the footwork necessary to avoid the blonde's spirited efforts and she's not the most durable girl out there either. Kurkova stacks her up in the corner late and signs off a really promising round with a belting hook across the liver area that makes the Hungarian wince in pain at the bell.

ROUNDS 2&3: 
Barbara's recovery is fueled by the superior injection of pace that allows her to deliver the head hunting juice just as Karolina was warming up for more body assault. Palvin has learned her lessons from the sluggish opener and throws punches on speed dial which is enough to keep the Czech blonde on her toes. In fact, Kurkova's accuracy goes south quickly, she gets blocked off with the initial drive and fails to stretch her elbows in the close range enforced by the younger model. Barbara leans on her foe repeatedly and delivers the odd shot to the body but soon finds the uppercut route to completely shut Kurkova down along the ropes. The Lioness fighter needs to find a plan 'B' soon because it doesn't look like she can keep up with the younger model's improved movements on the long haul.

ROUND 4:
Karolina lands a somewhat lucky punch straight up the middle to open the fourth and follows up with a nasty hook across the nasal ridge which wobbles the Hungarian babe on her heels. Another attempt at speed dial boxing fails on take off for Palvin and she's forced to soak up a hectic body assault during the opening minute which keeps her folded behind a tight guard. The lack of a proper response only fuels Kurkova's efforts and she pummels the lethargic brunette back to the ropes where Palvin can only clinch her to provide the stalemate respite. That's not what the Key West crowd hoped to see but the blonde's drilling punches make too much progress in the brunette's midsection and clearly take the sting out of the Hungarian vixen who prefers to weather the storm in a disappointing clinch rather than punch herself into contention via the slugging route.

ROUND 5:
We're basically tied on points after four and some of the fans believe this round will be equally difficult to watch but Karolina wants to keep her momentum alive and outsmarts the somewhat confused Hungarian who falls for the pivot approach and gets NAILED with a vicious left hook on the eye! Ugh! That's Kurkova's best opening shot of the bout and she piles on more pressure upstairs which Palvin just isn't ready to embrace. She gets stacked on her heels and the dark ponytail goes for a wild ride as the Czech babe delivers the close range juice! The crowd roars in delight when Barbara's knees buckle under the head hunting pressure and she trips back towards the ropes where the older model pancakes her with another brutally effective left/right combo across the nose... AND PALVIN GOES DOWN!!! The brunette gets lifted off her feet for a moment and collapses in a heap in the neutral corner... Some fans and pundits truly didn't see that coming! It's a slow count but Barbara still manages to avoid the disaster at eight and a quarter... However Karolina is set to resume the destruction plan as she leaps to finish the fellow model off... Palvin ducks away at the very last moment and runs back scared across the canvas with the blonde only getting a piece of her shoulder with that initial shot... one can probably deduct Palvin a point for not engaging enough in the final twenty odd seconds but she manages to keep the charging blonde at bay and looks relieved more than anything at the bell.

ROUND 6:
The Lioness entourage is clearly upset that the brunette escaped their wrath in the fifth but no prisoners will be taken in the sixth either... Karolina commits to blowing the wounded Hungarian away but Barbara finds the guts to hang in there in the close range dispute and blocks off most of the blonde's punches upstairs.... all hell breaks loose instead of the Czech plain sailing though... Barbara hits the desperation button and smacks the blonde's lips into jelly with a feisty connection and then pierces her liver area with a swift change of targets... meanwhile Kurkova just airs it out and drops the previously so effective body assault... she gets bend in half when another bruising strike finds the ribcage and wobbles into a nasty uppercut that wrenches her on the jaw and sends into a tank-slapper mode... Oh boy, the blonde rolls down the windows with both arms and can only shriek when Palvin SLAMS a left cross on the nose TO DROP HER DOWN ON THE BACKSIDE inside the final twenty seconds! How about that! Barbara somehow pulls one back on the Czech woman and she's denied another crack at the cherry only due to LCA coach Claudia Schiffer trying to interfere with the count! The ref loses his focus briefly but that's still a really slow one and the bell saves the stunned blonde from instant demise!!! Barbara feels robbed here and thinks that the bell actually can't stop the count but apparently that's only the case in championship bouts and this Central European derby will enter round number seven after all.

ROUND 7:
Kurkova got badly rocked by that late knockdown in the sixth and with the Alessandra Ambrosio fight still casting a shadow on her physical shape, it's perhaps no wonder that Palvin dominates the opening minute of round seven. In fact, she powers ahead like Karolina's had enough already and all the steam is gone from the Lioness camp; Claudia Schiffer is unable to prevent the Czech babe getting pummeled into a standstill and it's like someone pulled the plug on the blonde here. Barbara's jabbing series splits the mitts at will and a nasty hook opens a cut under the left eye which sends Kurkova into check-out mode. The older of the two models gets pounded back to the ropes where she succumbs under the pressure and Palvin sticks all her juice right into the bruised face shutting down Karolina's eyes in the process. The beating is relentless and the ref could have stopped it several seconds before the battered blonde COLLAPSES FACE-DOWN at the Hungarian's feet. The count is meaningless and promptly abandoned when coach Schiffer throws in the towel which actually doesn't make any difference either. KO7 Barbara Palvin!!!


Official Decision: Barbara Palvin defeats Karolina Kurkova via KO7!


AFTER:
That's the second very painful defeat for Karolina in less than three weeks and one can truly wonder if she's reached the high-water mark of her career already? Perhaps she'll never make the true elite grade and has to settle for an otherwise not too shabby gatekeeping duty on both sides of the Atlantic. Meanwhile the future looks much better for Barbara who almost tramples the fallen Czech when she leaps over her towards the Lioness corner and tries to rub extra insult into coach Schiffer's face as the two women get involved in a shouting match that is eventually interrupted by ABC's head trainer Alyssa Milano: "We ain't got time for these losers anymore!" Indeed they don't but they still dwell on the Key West support and have to be literally shoved from the ring to make room for the Nina Agdal vs Taylor Hill already delayed contest next