Robin Holzken vs Sophie Howard
(BBU Independent vs Lioness Club)
(1-1, 1 KO vs 5-13, 5 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: The Welterweight Contenders' tournament might have concluded last month but there's still plenty of elite talent available north side of 130 lbs! Sports Illustrated's pin-up Robin Holzken and former Page Three girl Sophie Howard are more than qualified to turn some heads and arrive at the KO Club venue brewing with confidence!

Holzken is widely regarded by numerous BBU scouts as the classic power-hitter while Howard returns to UK following another useful stint overseas where she blew the doors off Hannah Davis & Abigail Ratchford among others. However she still has a bitter taste in her mouth because Alice Goodwin simply tore her apart back in December 2017 and Holzken vows to repeat that score as both girls get very loud during the pre-fight introductions.

BBU TV's Denise van Outen claims Holzken hopes to join compatriots Romee Strijd & Yasmin Verheijen on the Lioness Club roster and beating current member Sophie might speed up the decision to axe the buxom Mersey glamour model. Lioness director of communications Kate Garraway shoots down those rumours but Robin carries too much media buzz to simply put them to bed right now...

Robin Holzken wears a black bikini set & orange gloves. Long brown hair in loose waves. Sophie Howard wears a navy blue bikini set & silver gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Sophie powers ahead with a steady head-hunting blast but Robin applies a solid high-guard to weather the older model's early attack that eventually loses it's steam and allows the Dutchwoman to respond with a looping cross double that stings Howard right up the middle. Sophie barks in her efforts to land more punches upstairs but gets gradually outworked by the younger foe who flicks a nasty belter on the belly button which bends the Mersey model sideways. A quick hook nails Howard on the nose as well and sends her reeling onto the ropes when Holzken ups the tempo and threatens to slam another power bomb over the top. Sophie doesn't really display great footwork here but Holzken almost refuses to smoke her outright and applies the fear factor while the fellow brunette scrambles along the ropes for safety in the closing seconds.

Round 2:
More early attacks from Howard but she bounces off the Dutch high guard too often to make a real impact and once Holzken begins to rally back with a proper body assault, the dark-haired Scouser slumps on her knees and just enables her foe to bully her around the ring. Robin shows a nice variety of shots as she works the fellow brunette over to the body and traps her on the turnbuckle where she digs more leather into her ribcage. Sophie scowls in her efforts to break free but can only clinch the younger model and eats a vicious uppercut on the jaw late that makes the Barnet audience cringe in disapproval.

Round 3:
More problems for the local favorite now as Robin blitzes the slow moving Sophie up the middle and connects with her jugs that sends outright jeers through the audience. The Dutch model uses Sophie's bumpers as target practice and clobbers her to the body while rendering the aerial response useless. Howard tries to land a proper haymaker amid that body assault but loses her range and can only backpedal in hectic retreat as Robin shouts somehting in her native tongue before wrecking more havoc downstairs. Ugh! Sophie claims she's been hit in the groin but then gets silenced by a left/right combo on the temples and fades back behind a desperate earmuff as Holzken runs out of time to really punish her in the closing stages of an otherwise one-sided round.

Round 4:
Sophie doesn't have the speed to avoid another Dutch leather rush and sinks underneath the left/right onslaught that pierces her high guard and leaves Robin well on top of the action during the opening minute. The younger model ups the rush and glues the Scouser to the spot while banging crisp shots into her face and Howard wilts under the barrage as she's unable to respond; she gets whacked on the jaw and can't keep her mitts in tact anymore as Holzken FLOORS HER with a big right hand on the eye moments later! Ugh! The KO Club goes almost silent whereas the decked brunette tries to beat the count almost too fast for her own good. She eventually delays it enough to warrant a full eight count but Robin lays it into her moments later and reels her onto the ropes where Sophie has nowhere to go anymore. She gets thumped with more vicious hooks as the younger brunette crashes into her face on speed dial and tears a bloody patch across her nasal ridge just before HOWARD GOES DOWN AGAIN unable to withstand the power assault. Ugh! She tries to make another recovery but the woozy feeling takes over and she wobbles down on her knees and gets counted OUT while on all fours moments later! KO4 Robin Holzken!!!

AFTER: That's a very rough comeback for the Mersey veteran right there but she had no answer once Robin began to lay down some power on her. Denise van Outen claims the Dutch stunner can be even a better prospect than compatriot Yasmin Verheijen now but it's questionable whether she joins her on the Lioness roster as Kate Garraway denies Sophie Howard is living on borrowed time with the Barnet-based stable. Still, the buxom Scouser storms out of the arena shoving some fans along the way which leaves Robin to soak up all the reaction from the audience. And she earns herself some applause in the end as the North Londoners begin to realize she might be actually something special after all.

Final result: Robin Holzken def. Sophie Howard KO4.