Diana:
(21, 5’5, 10:4 BBU, SIRENs)

Jade:
(25, 5’3, 6:4 BBU, Frankie’s Foxes)

BEFORE:
Jade Thirlwall coming off a four-fight losing streak, and is looking as eager to break her bad luck with a possible win over another newcomer to the Flyweight division, Diana Korkunova. She’s shooting the Siren some icy looks as she enters the press conference hall, with Diana looking perplexed at the table at her opponent’s behaviour and general demeanour.

“I’m looking forward to facing a top competitor in the division,” Diana begins, an innocent smile on her face, but is cut down again from the condescending look from across the table. “I heard that Jade can certainly fight in there, and I’m eager to test myself against her tonight.”

Jade however replying with a scoff and roll of her eyes. “I can’t believe my management’s making me fight some newbie. Yes, I’ve said it. Diana’s nothing but a newbie who doesn’t belong in the ring with me. That being said, she’s gonna be the perfect stepping stone for me to get back in contention for the title.”

Thirlwall refusing to shake Diana’s extended hand when the two girls meet at the center of the podium. Audible gasps from the audience on behalf of Diana’s disappointed look, before the Siren shrugs and thinks to herself, ‘Fine, if that’s how you want to to play things…’

Diana in a dark maroon bra and panties set, tying her hair up in a ponytail before strapping on a pair of black gloves. Jade by contrast in a white swimsuit bikini, her blonde hair in a tight bun behind and wearing red mittens. The referee does his final check and both girls nod their approval to get this fight started. HERE we go with ten rounds of Flyweight action!

ROUNDS 1-2:
Diana’s in for a rude awakening for the first two rounds when Jade makes good on her promise and flies forward to hound the bigger girl relentlessly. Diana slightly taller and bulkier, and can’t quite pin down the smaller girl, with her own jabs missing or hitting the guard. Jade’s speed put on full display as she has the advantage in  these first two rounds, succeeding in pushing Diana about the ring with jabs to the head and body. The Geordie singer doing well in the eyes of pundits, playing with Diana’s slow and lumbering movements by comparison. By the end of the second round, Diana seen to be panting hard whilst racking her brain at how to break the singer’s quick stride, but still coming up short. Jade pulling ahead with points from these two rounds of control and domination.

ROUND 3:
Third round sees a slight slowdown as Thirlwall catches her breath for a brief moment. Cue Diana Korkunova’s chance to strike back: the Siren launches herself into full-on attack mode, jabbing at Thirlwall’s direction, but again the singer managing to weave her upper torso in many directions at once, still evading the punches which run inches from her nose. Diana’s eyes bulging as she receives hard shots into the tummy in reply, with Jade circling to the side and burying fists on her abs repeatedly. Korkunova getting rocked here and there, and we’re not just talking about her body alone taking a beating. Her spirit perhaps the worse off after losing three rounds now consecutively. Diana stops her advance in the last minute, again breathing hard behind her gloves, but equally tired of chasing her prey all about the ring without much purchase. Jade happily coming onto her in the final seconds, eager to hit a stationary target. Diana defends her head quite well, but her tummy pounded on a few more times before the bell saves her from a clean wipeout.

ROUND 4:
Diana keeping her balance and centre of gravity low here, circling left and right and barely approaching Jade in the fourth. This forces Thirlwall to come to her instead if she wishes to fight, and the cocky singer, already three rounds under her belt, happily obliges. She lands a few jabs into the forearms, but suddenly cries out loud when Diana unleashes a straight hand out of nowhere, which catches the singer clean on the mouth with a painful gasp! OUCH. Diana was biding her time behind her raised arms, before powering that right cross from behind. Sneaky little devil, she is! Jade immediately retreating on instinct, but Diana following after this time, continuing to hound the head with long jabs before paying the singer back with swipes at her undefended tummy. Jade evading the worse of the punishment, however when she refuses to get backed into the ropes or her corner, still using her faster feet to get out of danger repeatedly. Diana finally snags a round for herself, and the relief is clear on her beaming face as she heads back to corner.

ROUND 5:
Round 5 and both small girls are dodging and weaving around each other’s jabs in close quarters, taking turns advancing and retreating,  and showing off plenty of skill. If not for the physical differences, these two ladies would be kinda even in terms of ability. Diana letting out a shout of triumph when she lands another quick two punch-combo on Jade’s face, drawing a sharp gasp lips. But if she was expecting Thirlwall to retreat at the risk of more punishment, she doesn’t know how she really thinks. Thirlwall staying in place and swinging back a nasty hook that catches Diana clean on the body, folding her over with a HOUUFFF. Another shot lands the other way, and then more straight punches to the abs push Diana backwards, with Jade showing some bloodlust by going after her foe’s body. Finally, Diana’s back hits the ropes, where she eats another one-two to the ribs, Jade putting some power behind those very shots and FOLDING her over and down onto her knees! It’s a brutal KNOCKDOWN for Miss Thirlwall as she tests her opponent’s abdominal defenses!

Thirlwall already smirking like she’s won this, with Diana left blubbering on her knees and clutching at her body. Referee counting the Siren out, and there's a mixture of pain and disbelief in her eyes as she struggles to straighten back up. Thankfully, she makes it up by the count of 8, though the recovery doesn't seem to faze Jade too much - she’s as confident as ever of her ability to put Korkunova away for good in the long run. Last thirty seconds and Thirlwall blazes inwards, looking to finish, but only manages to snag Diana on the forearms, with Diana diligently putting up her guard and taking it as a woman should. A big round for Jade, no matter how you slice it, but I’d bet she was also hoping deep down inside to have finished this fight before we passed the middle mark.

ROUND 6:
Fans on both sides of the aisle howling their support for either girl in between the rounds, and the shouts get even louder once the bell begins the sixth. It’s another fast blitz from Jade’s corner, with the Brit seeking to succeed here where she failed in the previous. But Diana miraculously recovering as fast as well, using her feet to evade the smaller girl in a cruel reversal of fortunes. It just goes to show how much Thirlwall has tired since the beginning of this fight, with her movements slowing to a crawl so much so that Diana’s able to keep herself at range for a good majority, before the Siren BLASTS a right hand back into her forearms when she was least expecting it! Ughh. Jade rattled as her guard absorbs the brunt force of the blow, which still sends her shrieking backwards, her attack having failed miserably! Rest of the round sees Jade trying to mirror her foe’s movements around the ring, but she just doesn't have the same amount of stamina she had before! Diana getting in some choice shots to the cheek and chin, sending Jade spiraling into the ropes at the last moment before being saved unceremoniously by the bell! Diana steals this round and starts looking dangerous by comparison!

ROUND 7:
Bad news for Ms Thirlwall as she’s breathing heavily as she looks to turn things back around. By contrast, Diana still chugging forward strong. Looks like slow and steady might just as well win this race after all. Diana crowding out the space, especially in the middle of the ring, constantly pounding rights and lefts into Jade’s guard and not giving her any room to move forward. Jade’s becoming more predictable as she tries to push her legs into overdrive, but can’t quite get around Diana’s swings without eating a hard one to the face or body. Last minute and Thirlwall left almost in shambles, staying in her corner with her chest positively heaving, as Diana moves in for the kill. Well, you can’t blame the Brit for trying. But she’s getting out-classed by a better, all-rounded fighter here, first being shoved backwards by another right cross, before Korkunova staying at mid-range and just whack whack whapping fists into her body. Jade with nowhere else to go all of a sudden, but at least she’s still defending that petite head with her arms. All she has to do is hang in there for another twenty seconds or so… DING! And the bell saves her for the second time so far. Diana crestfallen, really thought she would have scored a knockdown right here for herself. Still, the Siren can walk around with a dominant showing, and with her best round to date in this contest.

ROUND 8:
In between rounds and the cameras constantly pan over to Jade’s corner as she nurses some damage behind a glove over her face. Zoomed in footage shows that one of Diana’s fists must have cut her cheek in the fast-exchange last round. She’s leaking blood more and more by the minute, but her defiant attitude still willing herself forward to brawl. That cut getting nastier after Diana almost solely targets it from afar, knowing that every jab landed on the open wound is gonna sting 100% more. Third such punch and Jade positively squeals, then steams backwards, opting to keep her distance and overwhelmingly protect the head. It’s cue for Diana to RUSH in again, trapping the blonde once more on the ropes before she has any say in the matter. Jade trying to bend over and hide, but Diana putting all her remaining strength behind savage hooks that BLASTS her arms out of the way. With nowhere else to go, Jade taking a quick one-two side-swipe to her undefended face, banging that torso clear to the left and right, and DOWN SHE F*CKING GOES!! It’s a KNOCKDOWN for Diana Korkunova!

Lest we forget, it’s already round 8, and these two girls still willing themselves forward to fight! Jade notably still alive, pushing herself up on her arms and knees, her mouth open and rasping badly. Diana no better, exhaustion starting to kick in now that we’ve entered the last leg of this contest. She slowly stumbles to her corner, receiving pats on the back from trainer Henry Carvill. Alas, if Diana was hoping for some sort of respite, well Jade just adamant about not giving it to her. The smaller girl slowly rises up by the count of 9, steadying herself and then looking set to tumble once more.

Referee shrugs after she growls at his question about whether she wants to continue or not. Bell rings and HERE we go again! Diana coming forward with as much energy as she can spare, slapping more jabs in from afar at a speed that the beaten Thirlwall can’t seem to match any longer! Her arms barely waving in front of her face, trying to swat away Diana’s incoming punches but failing most of the time! Another one-two gut punch sends her body lurching forward, bent over in pain, and THE REF JUMPS IN TO SAVE THE POOR WOMAN! IT’S OVER!!

Official Decision: Diana Korkunova defeats Jade Thirlwall via TKO8 in come-from-behind fashion!!!

AFTER:
What a turnabout performance from Diana Korkunova, who started this dance off slow and struggling to swim, but her patience paying off by the end! She puts away another top contender for the Flyweight crown, beaming weakly as she leaps into Carvill’s arms, with trainer and trainee sharing a celebratory embrace in the corner.

Jade still blubbering as the weight of the defeat that finally takes a toll on her. She was still standing, yes, when the referee called this match off, but once the bell rang for good, she can’t stop herself from sliding down the back of the ropes, pooling onto her side, completely spent from the grueling eight rounds.

Ultimately, it’s been a test for both women, and if we really had our say, both women put in a tremendous performance from their respective corners. But there can be only one winner, and Diana already looking forward to the next big challenge over her horizon!