Christine Bleakley vs Federica Nargi
(Lioness Club vs BBU Independent)
(13-9, 12 KO vs 3-4, 3 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Italy has been hit hard by the COVID disease so it's perhaps no wonder the Lioness Club hosts have invited TV showgirl and model Federica Nargi to display her boxing talents on the Relief card tonight. Add the WAG factor to the mix and there's every chance Christine Bleakley dislikes the fellow black-haired stunner already! BBU TV's Denise van Outen has been a long-time critic of the Irish fellow TV presenter so she wouldn't mind Federica knocking her out and the Italian babe enters this contest off back-to-back wins over Chloe Khan and Ann-Kathrin Brommel so very much poised to provide a tough test for one of the Lioness founding members!

Christine Bleakley wears a red crop top with white trim, black hotpants & red gloves. Long black hair tied in a curled ponytail. Federica Nargi wears a light blue bikini set & white gloves. Long black hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Christine rides the early jabbing wave and sticks her mitts into Federica's face knocking her back upon repeated impact. The Irish woman settles down in mid-distance and picks the somewhat lethargic opponent off smacking Nargi back to the neutral corner in a hurry and driving a nasty harpoon up her gut. Ugh! Federica finally wakes up after that punch and responds over the top but she skims off the top of Bleakley's forehead and fails to escape more jabbing menace that follows in due course. Christine barks in delight when she delivers a cross-hooking double and keeps firing upstairs until she bends Nagri to the side and whacks her in the boobs with a not-so-stray half-uppercut. The Italian babe rifles back from behind her guard but misses her target and has to soak up more body shots as Christine lays it into the toned abs and secures a proper whitewash much to Mel B.'s delight in the Lioness corner.

Round 2:
Bleakley looks to resume the pouncing drill on the seemingly subdued Italian but Fede dramatically improves her footwork and leaves the Irish stunner hanging in mid-range before she loops a very accurate response over the top herself. She nails Christine on the nose a couple of times and beats her for a right-on-right double; she bumps the older brunette off in jug-to-jug contact and smokes her with a chin-checking uppercut shortly afterwards. Ugh! Christine trips back onto the ropes and just doesn't deke away fast enough which allows Nargi to blast her with a nasty piercing double on the boobs before another uppercut on the chin forces a deep earmuff cover. Fede yells out in her native tongue and lays it into the Irish midriff herself paying back the favor from the opening round; she keeps Bleakley pinned butt-in-ropes and runs away with more gut-wrenching menace in the closing stretch only for the bell to halt the one-sided beating!

Round 3:
Christine needs to engage the slugging mode here but Federica is too quick on her feet in the early stages again and slips by the initial attack. She loops her response over the top and finds the older brunette's face easy to punish as she dominates the mid-distance dispute in the opening minute. Christine becomes visibly frustrated by losing her mojo but when she tries to burst into Nargi's face with a similar attack both women clash heads and somehow the Irish brunette gets lectured by the ref with Fede not looking pleased at all. Chaotic exchange ensues once the fight is resumed and suddenly both women miss their shots all over the place with Nargi finally breaking the deadlock when she drills the exposed ribcage and wobbles Bleakley off her stance. However she fails to follow through on her efforts and gets clinched into safety instead.

Round 4:
Federica keeps the overhand slugging mode on but Christine tries her chances downstairs and manages to stick a couple of nasty punches into the area before Nargi turns her away with a brutal hook on the temple. Both women settle down in mid-distance but the power supply just isn't there to make a difference and the half-hearted efforts descend this round into a rather cagey affair. Christine seems to be satisfied with this tactics though - she's some years older than her opponent after all - but Fede finally realizes she's on guest duty here in Barnet and rallies late to punish the Irish midriff before dropping a heavy bomb on the chest to stun Christine into a loud shriek right at the bell.

Round 5:
Christine is slow to react to the Italian's midsection bounce and eats a vicious uppercut on the chin on top of that so wobbles back to her heels and has to weave around on her toes in avoidance thereafter. She fails in her mission though and has to slug it out from behind her guard while Nargi finds her range and gradually pushes the older brunette onto the ropes where she lands more crisp body shots to keep the pressure on. Christine becomes too hectic in her response even when she clinches the Italian come the final minute. Another head-butt separates the two hellcats and it's Fede who gets lectured this time but she simply lays it into Bleakley's breadbasket afterwards and drains the Irishwoman's energy in the process before belting her on the rack a split second after the bell.

Round 6:
The Irishwoman catches the second wind in her jabbing sails and delivers a promising head-hunting attack only for Federica to withstand it amid some quiet yelps and respond over the top to stun the fellow brunette with a nasty cross hook on the nose. Ugh! Christine refuses to back off and follows through upstairs herself alas Nargi lets her by and drills the exposed liver area on the turn bumping the briefly unstable woman onto the ropes. Christine fires a left hook on the chin but eats a crippling hook moments later.. both women appear to be hurt here but it's Bleakley who hugs the ropes and has to slump underneath Federica's body who then works her right hand on the stomach and makes sure the Irish veteran remains trapped for good. Federica clips Christine's left breast as well and shoves her to the side before blasting a left hook on the nose and romping into a head-hunting attack in the closing stages as the Irishwoman is unable to break free and bellows out on top of the ropes in subdued fashion. Bell spares her more misery but she looks a little rattled here and Lioness coach Mel B. knows it.

Round 7:
Federica jumps into another head-hunting attack and keeps Christine dancing on her toes until the Irishwoman simply runs out of gas and gets tackled straight up the middle. Both women duke out more slugging punishment but Bleakley loses more energy bouncing off the Italian's forearms and gets clobbered back to the ropes where Nargi takes over the command for good. Even Denise van Outen has to praise Christine's resistance though as the TV showgirl just can't drop her for the count amid a wild jabbing frenzy. Federica punches more Irish midriff and secures the artistic impression value so when Christine clinches her into a lenghty stalemate in the final minute it almost makes no difference on the scorecards. Federica is clearly frustrated she can't blow the durable Irishwoman away while Christine only gives Mel B. a long staredown and shakes her head in response to the ex-Spice Girl's advice.

Round 8:
Something's gotta give here and Federica keeps plugging away at the older brunette's midsection while digging her elbow in her chest in less-than-fair play fashion. But the older brunette is too focused on sending uppercuts in the Italian's rack to argue her case until Nargi shoves her forearm in her face with both women wrestling along the ropes. Mind over matter stuff after a brief break. Fede escapes a point deduction and keeps Bleakley wobbly on the back foot before she drives another hook in the nose and shuts the Ulsterwoman down again. Bleakley battles fatigue by clinching her foe however still gets pinned onto the turnbuckle and soaks up a late flurry of gut shots that leaves her gasping for air at the bell.

Round 9:
Nargi grinds her way onto another body assault damage despite getting punched in the lips as Christine tries to smoke her with a proper haymaker. More clinching and shoving follows once both women tangle along the ropes and it's clear both are tired now as they can barely deliver a single shot in the open and try to gain the upperhand in the phone booth instead. Federica breaks free showing slightly superior strenght and mops Christine's face with a jabbing flurry but she doesn't carry enough strenght anymore and slumps into loud spasms while the Irish lass punks her in the belly button late before she lands one shot below the waist to trigger the referee's reaction. No point deduction for that one either and we're heading off into the tenth!

Round 10:
Christine keeps swinging upstairs but doesn't connect with a single punch anymore as Federica bides her time and pounces with her last injection of energy to whack the ailing Irishwoman on the nose with a nasty double. She drives one into her guts as well and Bleakley simply folds under pressure... she trips back on her heels and is too slow to lift her mitts just as Nargi scythes her across the mouth again... Uh-oh! Christine wobbles forward to eat a crushing uppercut on the jaw and spins back to the ropes where her knees simply give way and DOWN SHE GOES!!! She kneels face-first into the ropes and almost collapses down on the canvas but catches a grip on the ropes and somehow makes it back to her feet at seven. Federica is totally spend herself as well and doesn't even attack her once the fight is resumed. Both women are out of oxygen and simply wait for the final bell so there's not a single punch landed in the final thirty odd seconds and Nargi thinks she's won it with that late knockdown regardless! Christine collapses on her knees once the bell goes off for the final time and needs to be lifted by both Mel B. since she's totally exhausted. Comes back 97-94 for your winner through unanimous decision Federica Nargi!!!

AFTER: Both women are seated in their corners when the official verdict is announced and nod to each other in approval of this otherwise rare occurance when a BBU fight goes the distance these days. Federica scored her third victory in a row but she had to work ever so hard to get it. That lenghty lay-off period since May of last year probably didn't help her cause but she still grinded her way to a valuable success on the road. Meanwhile Christine must be praised for her endurance; she might not be a true contender anymore but she can still give anyone a proper test and even Denise van Outen refuses to flush her tonight's efforts down the toilet in her post-fight comments: "The old slapper still has some juice! Nicely done but maybe a blonde TV showgirl would have knocked her out!" (giggles).

Official Result: Federica Nargi def. Christine Bleakley UD10.