Brooklyn Decker vs Maria Sharapova
(Lioness Club of America vs FCBA Independent)
(53-18, 40 KO vs 9-5, 7 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: When you're a former unified welterweight champion and still in the very prime of your career it's hard to find exciting match-ups all the time. But don't look past Brooklyn Decker's current challenger as Maria Sharapova channels true middleweight power to go with the imposing 6'2" frame. The former five-time Grand Slam champion enjoys her tennis retirement down in Florida - regardless of how rocky the farewell turned out to be - but she's ready to test her skills versus one of the very best in the celebrity boxing universe.

This is not a simple stay busy affair for Brooklyn, she's got a high-profile fight booked for mid-December and picking Sharapova as the immediate dress rehearsal has more to do with a certain fellow power-punching blonde than LCA manager's tennis addiction!

Brooklyn Decker wears a teal bikini set & yellow gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a curled ponytail. Maria Sharapova wears a white one-piece swimsuit & red gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Maria has the superior range but lacks the evil edge to impress the former champion who spends most of the opening round feeling out her presence. For all her aggressive tennis performances it's slightly different in the boxing ring as Maria packs a couple of quick jabs here and there but doesn't bother Brooklyn all that much and must consider herself lucky she's not getting punished on the speed dial. Decker thumps several crisp punches but prefers to stick around in mid-range as Sharapova gets more aggressive down the stretch but fails to drive a meaningful series and still gives Decker too much respect according to the viewers.

Round 2:
Maria dumps immediate heat on the lanky model and takes full advantage of her superior reach to wobble Decker upon impact. The steady attack upstairs does the trick and it's Brooklyn who shows utmost respect to her counterpart as she tries to stay clear in mid-distance until the Russian hopefully runs out of gas. But a former pro athlete won't lose her steam so quickly and Brooklyn learns about it the hard way, she gets repeatedly picked off over the top and if there's one person who can deliver the proverbial one-punch destruction it's Sharapova alright. She leaves Brooklyn dancing around in avoidance for remainder of the round and it's not exactly like the Ohio native is trying to set up a trap here!

Round 3:
More of the same in the third, Brooklyn hangs back and seemingly tries to lure Maria into an ill-advised burst but the superior range keeps scoring the Russian easy points as she outboxes the model from afar. Brooklyn stays true to her back & forth tilt that surprises most of the fans in the arena, it's one thing to fear Sharapova's power but it's something else to default the slugging drills that simply disappear amid the Russian's aggressive swings. Decker gets caught on the temple a couple of times but she misfires on the response and gets clubbed more juice up the middle. Maria doesn't even flirt with changing her targets, she has Decker waltzing around in avoidance and that's more than enough to secure the judges' approval at this stage.

Round 4:
Brooklyn dives in low and cashes in with a mighty harpoon on the liver area that finally exposes Maria's sluggish agility. The Sports Illustrated icon is no speed demon but still beats the Russian for shear pace and drives more nasty harpoons into the exposed midsection that throws Maria off her stance. A couple of uppercuts on the boobs dump Sharapova into more trouble while Decker takes command from there and drills more midriff backing the taller blonde onto the ropes. Maria struggles to stretch her elbows and has to clinch the American but Brooklyn shoves her off and bends to the side when she lands a looping cross on the temple. Another checkdown in the guts bellows Sharapova onto the ropes and she remains trapped there as Decker duly cleans out her stomach for a good measure.

Round 5:
Sharapova gets more aggressive and threatens to land the aerial bomb however Decker has truly moved off the survival mode and beats the Russian for a nasty left hook on the brow ridge that immediately slumps the taller blonde into a desperate earmuff. Now it's time for the former champion to impose her presence and she rattles the Grand Slam winner around the ring until she buries her on the turnbuckle where she piles more pressure to bruise the ribcage. Maria lands a couple of hooks in response but bounces off the top of Brooklyn's forehead and slumps into more spasms when the model simply carves holes in her midsection to secure a commanding position. It's becoming clear Sharapova struggles to embrace that body assault and it's no wonder she gives the fellow blonde one of her trademark death stares at the bell.

Round 6:
Maria claims early success as she beats the Brooklyn blitz but she can only fend off the body assault for so long until the American sticks her foot in the door and keeps pounding. Sharapova lands more spitfire response over the top but that alleged devastating power is nowhere to be found or simply the Russian can't carry enough of it as she gets outworked in close range down the stretch. She's unable to enforce the commanding mid-distance stance and has to soak up more jabbing menace as Decker flicks the aerial juice to keep Maria dancing around on her toes for a change... Maria goes for a late hook and misses... Brooklyn promptly hammers a double on the lips and that's a good reason for another lenghty death stare from the former tennis pro.

Round 7:
Sharapova realizes this bout is getting out of hand but another aggressive push leaves her shooting above the model's head while Brooklyn ducks low to smash another harpoon drive on the exposed ribcage. Maria leans too far foward and gets nailed by a left hook on the liver that cripples her on the spot... she bends forward while Decker drops the uppercut bomb on the boobs and this is where Maria's resilience deserts her as she stumbles back onto the ropes with a loud whimper and gets promptly SMOKED by a left hook on the ear... Uh-oh!!! DOWN GOES SHARAPOVA!!!! All that 6'2" crashes down in a heap and quite frankly Brooklyn punched all the fighting spirit out of her Russian foe. Maria sits down on her heels and simply refuses to beat the count which passes her shortly afterwards. KO7 Brooklyn Decker!!!

AFTER: More evil staredowns between the two blonde vixens before Maria finally gets up and turns away to her corner. She probably could have beaten the count but she was losing this fight all the way regardless and even Brooklyn knows it: "I was punching the sh*t out of her and it was getting totally one-sided. Sure, I didn't press hard early but I'm too smart for that. It's welterweight, anyone can collapse after a single punch and Maria has thrown her weight around before. I've seen her Sports Illustrated backstage sessions when she absolutely trashed Rachel Hunter and Daniela Pestova. But that was then and this is now. And I'm ready for another blockbuster fight next month. It's not Kate Upton but the next best blonde after her. Go and figure!" (winks).

Official Result: Brooklyn Decker def. Maria Sharapova KO7.