Posted by Vassago on 1/5/2012, 3:47 pm

Following the retirements of Sophie Marceau and Laetitia Casta, for a while Elodie Frege was one of only two French boxer within the FCBA and BBU ranks (the other being flyweight Virginie Ledoyen). However her below-par record was not enough to keep the French spirits on a high and resulted in former Miss France Malika Menard entering the frame. The start was impressive. Menard twice defeated the come-out-of-retirement Laetitia Casta before doing likewise with Sarah Harding. On top of that she signed with Foxfire Atlantic Boxing as a guest fighter.

All this success couldn't have gone unnoticed by Frege, who responded to the challenge and is trying to stop the Menard floodgates as quickly as possibe. Frege comes out from a bantamweight division, but is only one pound away from the lightweight limit whereas Menard's just one pound above the minimum lightweight herself. Both girls have agreed to put the vacated French Lightweight title on the stakes of tonight's bout which will be held in the Bercy Hall near Paris. Fight is scheduled for ten rounds.

Elodie Frege enters the ring first, wearing a black one-piece swimsuit and red gloves. Malika Menard follows her, wearing a navy blue bikini she'd made famous during the 2010 pageant and black gloves. She's accompanied by her personal coach, the great former welterweight champion Sophie Marceau while Frege has the support of Gina Wild, her stable's head trainer. Big flags with both girls' regional colours hang in their corners, blue, red & yellow for Frege's Burgundy and red & yellow for Menard's Lower Normandy. The atmosphere inside Bercy is electric with the full house of 16,000 people on hand.

Round 1:
Menard steps up immediately and throws a good combination the Frege's head. Elodie fends it off, but gets laced in the jugs before finally jumping away. Menard closes her down and forces to the ropes, jabbing aggressively to the stomach and making a much better impression inside the opening minute. Frege trapped along the ropes, tries to respond with a couple of jabs to the chest, but gets blocked and nearly receives a nasty blow in the face, but manages to dive under Malika's arm and sidestep into safety. She nails the brunette with a solid hook to the ribs and avoids getting laced in the mouth by another flying hook before she circles away to center of the ring. Menard chases her repeatedly though, jabbing to the chest and body which forces the blonde to cover up and just weather the storm until the bell.

Round 2:
Still it's all about Menard who doesn't waste any time in squaring up to the blonde rival. Couple of hooks to the face are blocked by Frege's guard though before she responds with single jabs to the guts. Malika winces a bit however keeps coming forward. She outmuscles Elodie with another barrage of punches and allthough most of them miss the target, Frege keeps backing up and gets pinned to the ropes again. Malika leans on her, throwing quick, short jabs to the midsection before working on the blonde's jugs. Elodie moans in pain as she tries to get something going and laces the brunette in the ribs a couple of times. Both girls clinch and are separated by the ref soo afterwards and Frege finally lands her best shot to date nailing the brunette in the mouth right after the command. Malika jumps away to safety and Frege can't reach her again with the follow-up. Girls circle around the ring before Menard fakes closing the distance and throws some hooks, but Elodie keeps her focus and dances around the ring until the bell. Malika doesn't bother to chase her around in this round anymore.

Round 3:
First serious instructions from Sophie Marceau to her girl who doesn't seem happy with Menard's performance in the second. Over at the other end, Gina Wild in a furious talk with Elodie who keeps staring at the brunette model from her stool. Off we go into the third and Frege tries to land a combination in the ribs, but she only grazes the brunette with a chaotic charge and up steps Menard with a crunching left hook to the cheek! Big roar in the crowd and Elodie sways on her feet before getting nailed in the nose with a right hook follow-up! Down goes the pride of Burgundy on her knees!!! Sophie Marceau clenches her fist in the corner and Malika bunny hops around the falled blonde! Ref starts the count and Elodie shakes her head before getting up at six! Menard immediately goes after her, but misses another big hook and crashes into her rival as they tangle up with each other and land together on the ropes locked in a clinch. Malika desperate for some blood, laces her rival with top of her glove in the chin. Illegal! Ref drags her away immediately and gives a talking to as Elodie sneaks away to her corner, catching her breath back. Menard furious, looks to close the deal, but can't reach the fast moving Frege again before the bell. Elodie is survival mode, manages to avoid serious trouble with quick footwork, but it's Sophie Marceau clapping her hands as both girls walk back to their corners at the bell.

Round 4:
Menard still in destruction mode, doesn't give the blonde a single break in this bout so far. The onslaught continues in the fourth with Menard closing the distance straight from the bell and she jabs her numerous times in the stomach before nailing her in the chest. Frege tries to respond witha hook to the face, catches Malika in the ear but is unable to follow up and gets thrown to the ropes by another big jab in the jugs. She's having some breathing problems now, Frege, as the brunette keeps backing her to the ropes with solid punches to the body and face. Elodie covers up, but still takes a lot of punishment. Crowd sense another knockdown soon, as Elodie tries to escape, leaps forward but gets pushes to the corner. Malika ruthless in execution, keeps pounding the blonde away. Series of jabs to the stomach make Frege close her eyes and cringe in pain and she gets rocked with a big hook from the left to the cheek! Elodie's head sways one side to the other as Malika peppers her repeatedly, targeting the head. Frege leans forward, tries to clinch, but Menard breaks her guard with a stiff jab to the mouth and jumps on her with a flying right hook. It catches the aching blonde in the nose and down goes the pride of Burgundy for the second time! Malika nearly falls over her as Elodie wraps her arms around the brunette's thighs as she's sitting down on the canvas. Ref has some trouble separating them and the count comes in late. Frege uses the ropes to climb upright at seven but coach Marceau is livid in her corner. Should be all over according to her. But it's not! Ref checks on the blonde fighter and allows her continue but the bell ends the round before Malika could step on her again.

Round 5:
Frege breathing heavily during the interval; her face sour and the nose worked on by the cutmen. Coach Wild not impressed, but still in calm demeanour. Now it's Malika's turn to stare down her opponent from the othe end and coach Marceau was silent before the fifth. It's all going well for the Foxfire Atlantic crew so far. Frege tries to keep the distance at the start but Malika's all over her like a cheap suit again. She peppers the blonde from both sides, rocking her around the ring and the Normandy red & yellow flags are waiving much higher in the crowd! Elodie with a weak response, sees virtually all of her efforts crash against the brunette's gloves and she gets pummelled to the ropes for good halfway through the round. Menard with twice as many shots, underlining her advantage with every second, has the blonde on the ropes and continues to punish her without much resistance. Crowd on their feet again, as Malika triggers another lethal attack in close range. She rocks the aching Elodie in the stomach with series of quick jabs before catching her in the cheek with a nasty hook. Frege wobbly on her legs, covers up, moans in pain but can't escape the rough treatment she's getting. Malika clinical with single punch destruction to the body and face, just keeps working the blonde over. Elodie squeaks in agony, but keeps the guard raised. Menard throws big punches to the gloves, trying to break her opponent down, but can't make it stick. Frege bends down and tries to clinch, Malika throws her back further against the ropes with vicious jabs to the stomach. Elodie keeps getting louder with her moans but gets saved by the bell as Menard almost pulled the plug on her completely in the final minute. She avoided another knockdown but walks very slowly to her stool and looks dead in the water with the title hopes now.

Round 6:
Elodie just can't catch her breath in time for the next round and looks awfully slow off her stool. Malika nearly punched out her entire will with tonight's performance and it gets even more ugly seconds into the sixth as the brunette throws another flying combination to the head. Elodie covers up, but gets still pushed to the ropes easily and Malika jumps up to her immediately with a jabbing sequence to the stomach. It's all clean on target and the blonde bends down in agony and Malika sets her up with a quick hook to the ear. Elodie tries to clinch, but can't find any strenght anymore and gets rocked by another hook from the other side. Menard keeps her pinned to the ropes and pummels her jugs before throwing a stiff jab to the nose. Blonde's guard is crushed and she's got nothing in the tank anyway. Menard unloads an uppercut to the jaw and it's coup de grace Lower-Normandy style!!!. Frege crumbles on her knees before sliding on the backside with her final groan of pain tonight. Ref starts the count but it doesn't make any difference. KO R6 Malika Menard in dominating fashion and the new Unified French Lightweight champion!!!

Post-fight:
Sophie Marceau with a big smile on her face and Malika jumps to hug her before climbing the ropes. Normandian flags wave around the Bercy Hall and the victorious brunette swings her fist at the crowd urging them for a louder cheer! She can't keep her calm and bunny hops around the ring, shadow boxing and looking like she's ready for more action. Who will be her next opponent? Post-fight press conference with the Foxfire Atlantic senior executives including Kate Winslet and Dannielle Harris should provide answers to some intriguing questions after tonight's performance. It's five for five for Ms Menard and the French Lightweight title on top of that!

Meanwhile it's sour looking Elodie Frege in the other corner. She was clearly overwhelmed by her opponent tonight and it has little to do with weight divisions. After all, there are only a couple of pounds of difference between them. Frege couldn't match Menard's strenght and agility, was easily pushed on the back foot and was thumped into the ground, having endured two knockdowns before finally being put away for good. Tough loss for the blonde and she's firmly relinquished her dreams of becoming the French number one at Malika Menard's expense.

Final result: Malika Menard def. Elodie Frege KO6.