Tale of the Tape:
Karen Gillan:
Age: 33
Height: 5'11
15-11 (15KOs)
Vs
Romee Strijd:
Age: 25
Height: 5'11
10-8 (10KOs)

(Fates Boxing vs Lioness Club)

(Written by Girls Friday/Results by Lookout!)

Intro:
Here we are the main event, the final fight in the third set of fights in the Diamond Boxing Tournament sees Karen Gillan try to stay unbeaten in the field, in her way is the impressive Romee Strijd trying to earn her second win here in the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Karen has started off like a house on fire, beating Bo Krsmanovic in five rounds to kick things off this year, then making it two out of two by beating Danielle Herrington in a cracking eight rounds, knocking out the youngster to cement her running as one of the favourites to win this tournament.

Heading into the contest she sat on the hot seat on the FCBA Network set, wearing blue denim jeans, black trainers and a "Guardians of the Galaxy" T-shirt, Karen was smiling warmly as she waved to the camera.

"God I am in La La land right now, to have started off this tournament so well has made me so excited for the rest of the year, beating Bo and Danielle was a testament to how much the Fates boxing stable has really helped me out, so I want to say a big thank you to them" blowing a kiss to the camera to show her thanks.

She then says "now it is Romee in front of me, she has really shown herself off in a good light so far, I am a little nervous as my records in tournaments are not great, someone like Romee with her amazing skills would be the perfect banana skin for me right" laughing as her past tournament performances have been pretty bad.

"But I am two and zero, I have the best stable in the world backing me, time for me to prove I belong in the elite, so sorry Romee but I have to beat you" winking as she finishes up, stepping out the set joking with a stage hand about seeing them next month with more cake.

Romee on the other hand gave a large freight to one tournament favourite in Camille Kostek, going eight rounds with the bookmakers favourite before getting knocked out, she redeemed her record by beating Damaris Lewis in six rounds to show she could take a major scalp.

Taking her turn on the stool wearing a white dress with matching heels, Romee was in a good mood as she told the camera "for those who write me off I hope my last performance has made you realise I am in this tournament, give me any fighter in the world and I will show you I belong in the ring with them" stating it as a matter of fact.

Turning her attention to her opponent, Romee beams as she admits "I can't say I hate Karen because outside the ring she is such a sweetheart, on the opening night of the tournament after I lost to Camille she made sure to check on me as she did all us losers" laughing at that part.

Her demeanor looks more serious as she adds "but this is the fighting business and there are no friends in the ring, I hope I can be the one to come check on you Karen after I beat you, may the best woman win" nodding to the camera before she leaves.

First through the curtain is Karen to her usual loud cheers from her fan base, she waves to them as she heads down the aisle, looking calm as she walks with Ana Beatriz Barros behind her, who is telling her to stamp her authority on this tournament.

The beautiful Scottish actress is wearing red sports bra with gold trim, matching trunks and shoes, gold gloves, as her hair is tied back into a ponytail, she climbs into the ring nodding to the fans as she heads to her corner, once there she taps her cheeks to get into the zone.

Out comes Romee now with former Spicegirl Melanie Brown behind her, she walks the aisle like it's a catwalk, so assured of herself it seems with an aura of confidence surround the stunning Dutch Model.

Who is wearing a white sports bra with pink trim, matching trunks and shoes, pink gloves, her hair is tied into a ponytail too, she steps through the ropes into the ring with a nod over to Karen, though her expression is a cold one as she goes through her warm up routine in her corner.

Brought together by the referee, there's no hint of friendliness here as they stare each other down, the referee goes through their final instructions as the fighters shake their arms to keep themselves loose.

They touch their opponent's gloves as they wish the other good luck to show they have plenty of respect for each other, returning to their corners with coaches telling their fighters to bring home the win, the bell rings to start 10 rounds of welterweight action.

Round 1:
"Ding!" At the bell both nod to their opponent as they step out their corner, then the leather starts flying as they both move around throwing jabs to test each other out, several straights getting mixed in to try to catch their opponent out.

After landing a flush jab it is Romee who lands the first hard hitting combo, adding a right cross then a left hook to the body as Karen tries to step back out the way, Romee pressing her advantage as she swings in another right cross that Karen just leans out the way of.

While the Scottish lass is landing several good clean punches to stop Romee blitzing through her, the greater amount of punches is coming from Strijd, who looks in the mood to make a statement it seems with her range of punching coming into affect as when she can't get through clean up top, she quickly changes to the body.

With less then a minute to go in the round it has been a bad one for Karen, but she does slip a jab to come in closer with two hooks to the body, getting Romee to retreat back for the first time in the round, on comes Karen now as both women let their hands go to give the crowd a grandstand finish to the round.

At the end of the round Mel smiles as Romee returns to her corner, a strong start for the Dutch model, Karen nodding to her coach Ana as she admits that she come out the gates too slow, a great round if you are a Romee supporter.

Round 2:
This time no nod as they get down to business, more punches in groups are being exchanged, with some great footwork being shown by both as they look almost locked in a dance, moving around the middle as they strike and parry.

This time Karen dips a right cross to land in two left hooks to the body, missing with an overhand right as Romee leans out the way just in time to watch it sail passed before landing a jab into the face of the redhead to stop her driving forwards.

As they are exchanging Karen seems to be getting the better of most of them, Romee maybe a little more tense as she isn't moving her upper body as much, Karen dodging more punches then striking some hard counters, especially around the body of Strijd to try to take some of her energy away.

Heading into that final minute, Karen lands the best combo of the round, landing a double jab under the chin of Romee to push her onto her heels, Karen steps inside to bang in a left/right hook to the ribs that make the model hiss as she is driven onto the ropes to the delight of Ana.

Who gets to watch Karen get in some good body drilling punches, Romee pushing her opponent off her so she can get off the ropes, a little more defensive to her posture as they enter the final seconds, at the bell Romee nods to Mel as if to admit she screwed up, Mel telling her to take a deep breath to keep relaxed, knowing how important a win for her career is.

Round 3:
Again both look so fluid to start off the round, at times landing their strikes at the same time as they look in perfect rhythm with their opponent, similar styles on show here as they work around the ring.

Karen is the one to find the opening first, blocking a straight; she steps in with an uppercut to the abs of Romee, then a left smacks the blonde to the side of her head as she tries to press her backwards to the ropes, Romee needing to nudge back Gillan to stop that hammering.

As the round are going on Karen seems to be finding the answers first, her experience on show as she is timing better when to strike, forcing Romee to move around with the ropes near her back, causing the Dutch fighter even more problems, which Ana seems to be loving to see.

But Romee is a tough cookie as shown throughout the tournament so far, she ducks under a left cross to get in closer, hammering two borderline looking punches to the body, an overhand left then hits Karen on her jaw to make her back off.

Romee now the aggressor in the home stretch, Karen covering up more as those punches seemed to have spooked her into her shell more, the crowds chants switching between them when one gets on top, both fighters have a laser focus on their opponent.

When the round ends it is close, most agreeing Romee did great at the end but she may have given Karen too much time on the front foot to have won the round, the main thing is both look up for this as they sit on their stools with a grin, wanting more of each other.

Round 4:
Banging her gloves together as she steps out, Romee looks almost to be trying to knock away any nerves she has, landing some pinpoint punches in the early exchanges to knock back the head of Karen to cheers from her corner team.

Those cheers rise when Karen misses with a sweeping right hook, getting caught with a left to the side of her head, an uppercut follows to knock back the redhead to her heels with sweat flying off to show the force behind it.

Covering up more as she is driven around the outside of the ring, Karen definitely looked a little buzzed there, when several punches find their way between her mitts clean to her face, Karen clinches up as some blood trickles from her nostrils, the Strijd supporters yelling for their girl to smash Gillan down.

Back they come but Karen definitely looks a little gun shy, getting clipped as she tries to box off the back foot, this is by far the best round for the model, getting better by the second as she lands a crisp one-two combo to knock back the head of the Fates fighter again.

At the bell it is a clear one sided beating in most peoples eyes, Karen shaking her head in disbelief as she returns to her corner, wincing when her cut is being tended too, Romee nods to Mel as she listens closely to what she is expected to do next to win this bout.

Round 5:
Romee seems to want to prove plenty of people wrong that says she doesn't belong on the elite table, well she kicks off this round as strong as she left the last one, catching Karen early with a hard one-two punches straight up the middle up to her face.

Moving around the outside of the ring to look for a way to strike back, Karen misses with a right cross as Romee steps back, COUNTERING QUICKLY WITH A LEFT HOOK THAT SMACKS GILLAN TO THE SIDE OF HER HEAD, DOWN TO ALL FOURS GOES KAREN!

The Lioness corner is all yelling their joy at that knockdown, Romee nodding with a smile to them, 1...2...3... Shaking her head as she stares at the canvas, Karen is trying to clear the fog away, 4...5...6.. Pushing up to her haunches as she blinks while looking at the referee, 7...8.. Getting to her feet to cheers from her fans, Karen lifts her fists up to show she is OK.

Back comes Romee as she tries to end this, wisely Karen is quick to hold, it becomes a scruffy grappling affair as Gillan shows she will do anything to win, they nearly fall into the ropes as legs get tangled due to the amount of fight Romee has to get out the clinch.

They resume with Karen moving around the ring throwing single punches to try to keep Romee at arms length, when she can't she is holding to some boos from the crowd, Mel looks close to pulling her hair out as she can't believe it isn't over yet.

When the bell rings it is almost anticlimactic for the Lioness Club corner, Romee fist bumps Mel as she sits on her stool for another amazing round, though they discuss how she can keep Karen off clinching her up.

Across the ring Ana throws some water in Karen's face, making her fighter splutter as she certainly is awake now, Karen curses herself as she has some swelling under her right eye, smelling that she is possibly losing another chance to win a tournament early on.

Round 6:
Romee steps out her corner looking in a fierce mood, planting her feet more to try to catch out Karen, the Fates corner should be applauded though as she looks to be somewhat back to herself, she is dodging again these harder punches as Romee doesn't set them up as well as she was before.

Digging a double jab into Karen's stomach does allow Romee to land a hard right over the top, back to the ropes goes the redhead as Romee puts her punches together well again, sending sweat with groans from Karen into the air, Mel clenching her fists as she senses the victory is coming.

But it is still waiting to come as Karen drags Romee into a clinch, there's some trash talk as Romee tries to break free, telling Karen she can feel her getting weaker as the referee steps in to break them apart, allowing the action to resume.

With half the round still to go Romee tries to step inside with an uppercut that Karen sidesteps, a right hook instead lands on the temple of the blonde, who cries out as her eyes shut, a left crashes into her lips to rock her back.

Suddenly the script has been flipped as Karen is making a statement of her own, bashing back Romee into a corner, unloading hard punches one after the other into the breadbasket of her opponent as Romee is groaning out louder with each hit that lands flush.

Needing to clinch up herself in the final moments, both women desperate to win as they smack each other in the kidneys, taunting the other to hit harder as their glisten bodies grind together up until the bell rings where they push apart with a colder look for their opponent then they've had all night.

Round 7:
Both women look to get the upper hand quickly, Romee looks a little sloppy as she is trying too hard to land that big blow that alluded her the last round, opening her up to several hard counters in reply to her beautiful face.

A double jab smacks Romee on the chin to knock her back a step, she tries to swing a right hook that Karen steps back out the way of, LANDING A LEFT TO THE TEMPLE OF ROMEE, DOWN GOES STRIJD TO HER FRONT!

The crowd can't believe their eyes, neither can Mel it seems as she covers her, while Ana jumps for joy on her side, 1...2...3...4... Crawling to the ropes on her belly, Romee blinks to try to clear her head, 5...6...7.. Grabbing the ropes to get herself up, she manages to get to her knees, 8... But she left foot slips as her equilibrium is gone, 9... Down to her right side she falls as 10 it is all over for Romee tonight!

Winner Karen Gillan KO Round 7

After:
What a comeback! Karen looked dead to rights there but her toughness should never be doubted, Ana rushes into the ring to hug her as the crowd stand to chant that they love Karen, she looks lost what to do as a raft of emotions hit her.

Rolling to her back defeated though is Romee, looking to the heavens before she covers her eyes with her right glove, apart from her world swirling around right now, she must be wondering where it all went wrong tonight, Mel kneels beside her to check on her as she tries to give her fighter some praise to take the sting of defeat away.

Once Romee is able to stand with help, Karen jogs over to her to give her an embrace, telling her "god you almost had me there, you are one hell of a fighter" Romee fighting back tears as she says "thank you" hugging Karen back as they down hate each other.

Still as Romee is helped to her stool she can't help but be bitterly disappointed, a win would have put her in the race for the title, now she is fighting to get out of mid table in the rankings, eyes a little hollow as Mel works on patching her up.

In the Fates corner Karen admits that she needs to do better, slapping the top turnbuckle in frustration herself at being put down, she knows that if she hadn't grabbed and held on that this story would be ending a different way, the magazines would be asking once again if she is ready for the big time, Ana assures her that she proved how much this all means to her, that she should be proud of what she did tonight, not many can kiss the canvas and come back like that.

The referee gets both fighters to the center of the ring, Romee still a little shaky but able to stand, nodding as she claps Karen getting her right hand raised in victory, showing her own class Karen then lifts up Romee's left hand as she tells the world "watch out for her! She is going to the top!" Making Romee look lost for words before she gives Karen a tight hug as a thank you for those kind words.

"You know I will want a rematch right?" Says Strijd with a big smile, Karen smiles back as she replies "let me win this tournament first, then maybe we rumble again" winking as she shakes the head of the model to agree that she wants to do this again someday.

Heading out the ring with Melanie's help, Romee has to wonder what to improve on next, she is so close it seems to being a complete fighter, it only seems to be her confidence that let her down, she seemed too nervous that the loss for coming and as fate would strike it did, only because she became too erratic.

In the ring the spotlight is on Karen, three out of three now in the tournament, she poses for the cameras with a big smile, fists raised for the cameras as Ana puts her right arm around the shoulders of her winning fighter.

Leaving the ring herself, can Karen keep toughing it out to win this tournament, her and Camille Kostek are the frontrunners to win this, question is when they meet can she survive the power of Camille to step over her towards tournament success?