These two actresses met once already during Double A Boxing vs Beever's Babes stable war in September of 2011 where Kara Tointon knocked Gemma Merna out after a back & forth affair that left the crowd on their feet. Since the sparks always fly when members of two different soap operas clash together in the ring the Manchester Arena is presented a classic encounter between a smooth EastEnders brunette and a buxom Hollyoaks blonde.

Of course Merna has switched stables since their last meeting and is yet to lose this year after splitting a couple of hard-fought bouts with Emilia Clarke in the autumn of 2012. She pummelled another EastEnders brunette Jacqueline Jossa right here in Manchester back in April before an equally impressive stoppage of Lara Bingle on the Ashes. The ex-flyweight champ seeks return to the elite and it's Kara's task to stop it every which way possible.

Kara Tointon wearing a red bikini with black stripes and red gloves. Gemma Merna wearing a golden bikini top, black microskirt and golden gloves.

Round 1:
Both girls aware of each other's potential and it's a slow start for a change with single punches being thrown early until Kara shows more aggression and starts to pick off the blonde's body; still no real venom behind those shots as Gemma swings around the head in response and tries to show some crafty footwork to trouble her foe. Kara ups the tempo afterwards though, slams a series around the elbows and seeks an uppercut decider but gets blocked off and clinched as Gemma laces her on the kidneys indicating mean intentions. Tointon responds with a quick hook before the command, tries to upset the blonde herself but eats a left hook on the eye instead and circles back into safety.

Round 2:
Tointon's still more aggressive of the two, Merna all covered up in wake of overhand assault but still gets spiked on the eye as the brunette leans on her and throws a left/right combo that pierces the guard and bounces off the brow ridge. Merna leans forward, bumps her head against Tointon's shoulder and gets nailed on the eye again as Kara switches the turbo on and jabs at the suddenly exposed chest.. oh, how the Manchester crowd enjoys Gemma's jugs rocking... Left overhand sends her on the back foot and Kara finds that uppercut and staggers the blonde, keeps slamming vicious leather between the arms and has Merna moaning in discomfort at the bell.

Round 3:
Kara charges from her stool again but Gemma's done with the waiting game and rips into the brunette herself, whacks her around the elbows and seeks liver area damage, makes the EastEnder girl moan but silences her with an uppercut of her own. Tointon bends to the side and throws low jabbing on the tummy and leaps into the blonde, both girls bump off each other again but it's Kara losing her feet and as she drops her arms a bit, Gemma comes flying with a jabbing series on the cheeks and has Tointon covering up but still getting reeled onto the ropes. Clock expires shortly afterwards though and prevents the blonde from making further progress.

Round 4:
Tointon still keeps her aggressive approach and bumps into the blonde as Gemma whacks her around the elbows again but falls into looping response over the top and moans in wake of her head snapping backwards; more from Kara follows, uppercut on the chin staggers the Hollyoaks' proudest rack before a quick hook on the temple sends her into turtle-like defence, Kara all after the blonde pummelling her to the ropes and shattering the guard in the final minute, another left on the chin and yet another on the temple; Merna on wobbly knees, all butt-in-ropes but somehow manages to stay upright despite the brunette's charge. Tointon starts to pull away on points though and she knows it, shakes her glove in front of the blonde and Gemma just wipes the sweat off her face instead of giving her foe a proper death stare.

Round 5:
Merna's on the back foot, fails to respond to Tointon's aggression in a similar way and the brunette keeps her stance and now even tops the footwork, picks off the Hollyoaks' proudest rack again with a body attack but switches into uppercuting the guard shortly afterwards; Gemma's arms stay in tact but she can only clinch and seek respite, Kara has none of it and pierces the defence half way though the round, bounces off the chest repeatedly and forces a moaning blonde onto the ropes again... ribcage assault follows, oh how Kara loves to pound Gemma here, spikes her midriff pink by the end of the round and signs off with a trademark uppercut that drops Merna's arms but there's no time to bother her again.

Round 6:
Kara hassles Gemma again, keeps splitting her mitts on a repeated basis and that's poor from the blonde who misses her response before bouncing off the forearms; Tointon's after her midriff thereafter but for once fails to reel Merna onto the ropes and a sudden quick hook nails her on the nose as Gemma opens up and mounts a comeback, tags the chin again but Kara clinches her before shoving back; immediate jump follows but the piercing hook bumps off the top of the blonde's mitts and goes nowhere... Merna with a cross hook on the mouth, snaps the brunette's head back and whacks her with an uppercut moments later, Kara circles back thanks to her superior speed and shakes her head upon allowing the blonde to dig herself out of the hole for a moment.

Round 7:
Merna literally needs a KO now or at least a knockdown and pours into the brunette as Tointon was looking to confirm her scorecards advantage, overhand exchange snaps both heads back but Gemma leaps forward first and drills the brunette's chest before finding another uppercut, Kara's on the ropes in a flush as she opens her eyes only to find Gemma's right hand slamming her on the chin... biggest punch of the contest yet SENDS KARA DOWN ON ONE KNEE and nobody saw that coming... Merna finally yells out at her opponent but Tointon's back on her feet at three, indicates she slipped there but the crowd knows better... furious leather exchange follows with both girls dishing out heavy leather and trying to disfigure each other's faces... all upstairs with Gemma nursing a nasty cut under the left eye but giving the brunette an equally troublesome gash on the brow ridge... crowd on their feet again as Merna switches to the body and pins a moaning Tointon onto the ropes, bashes her on the ribs until the bell and claims superiority, shakes her glove while Kara just adjusts her auburn curls and scowls in anger.

Round 8:
Merna on the move, the late comeback is on and Kara wants to protect the scorecards, the knockdown not withstanding. Speed and agility enable her to avoid the blonde's leather for a while but Gemma's so keen to get it done here, starts to slice the brunette's mitts down the stretch and tags her chin a couple of times before making contact with the brow ridge; Kara seeks more facial damage herself but can't land anything over the top, crashes off the forearms and fails to switch low as well, eats a quick hook on the temple instead and falls onto the ropes where Merna cleans out her stomach thereafter, loud moans from the EastEnder girl who can only clinch the blonde for survival but the round goes to Gemma who refuses to let her go off the ropes after the bell and needs to be dragged away by the man in charge.

Round 9:
That somehwat fortunate knockdown has really spurred the Hollyoaks girl into a proper comeback and Kara still wants to see it out rather tha punish Merna in equally aggressive demeanour. Denise van Outen thinks she will regret those tactics as the dark hair flies everywhere early in the ninth with Gemma slicing the guard on a repeated basis now, just laying it into Tointon and no wonder the EastEnder girl falls onto the ropes on the minute mark with Merna slamming her ribcage to a mush. The eyes are glowing and Merna just pours on, batters the struggling brunette pillar-to-post and sags her on her knees down the stretch, clips the cheeks with more jabbing and works on that brow ridge which now develops a significant swelling and perhaps affects Kara's vision. Hooking combo on both temples has Tointon moaning her heart out and Gemma finds one more uppercut on the chin just before the bell to leave the brunette closing her eyes and having trouble with walking in a straight line towards her stool moments later.

Round 10:
We're set to go the distance and it's all about Gemma again but how long can she last physically, close range glove pumping into Tointon's chest reels her onto the ropes early but the brunettes finds some response on the ribs herself. Merna tries to set her up against the turnbuckle and really hammer her to a smoking mess, bumps off the top of her gloves and leans forward, exposes her chest briefly and KARA DRILLS HER ON THE RACK, bounces off the ropes and unloads a sudden flurry of leather right where it hurts the most for such a buxom blonde... Merna covers up high but eats a spiking on the navel and sags back on her knees with Kara screaming at her and slamming a left/right combo on the face; she nails Gemma on the temple and pushes her back towards middle of the ring, finds more jug mauling jabs and whacks a suddenly moaning blonde again and again until she throws her onto the ropes on the opposite side... last minute on the clock and there's more rack drilling as Kara gives it all she's got and she's got something left despite her left eye nursing a huge swelling, works that single hand on cleavage for few seconds with Merna weaving and wincing.. all to no avail as Tointon blasts one hook too many and shoves Gemma's boobs right against her chin... BLONDE GIRL DOWN... Manchester Arena lifts the roof with excitement as the Hollyoaks blonde is battered onto all fours... she beats the count at seven and sports some misty eyes there, leans back onto the ropes but that's all Kara wrote as well... both girls just stare at each other with visible disdain but let the clock expire and it's Tointon lifting her arms after the bell with Merna down on her knees again and just embracing her aching jugs.. what a finish that was!

After ten rounds of boxing we go to the scorecards... judges score the bout 95-94 for Gemma Merna.. 95-95 and 95-94 for Kara Tointon!! The fight has been declared a DRAW!!!

AFTER: That's one decision nobody saw coming, it turns out that last ditch knockdown actually prevented the brunette from losing the fight alltogether. Guess the early round charge wasn't that impressive after all or the judges simply favored Gemma's cleavage assets a little bit more. Tointon's furious, Merna just relieved... immediate stalking about overtime from the brunette but Gemma's rack won't take more punishment and the blonde refuses to go extra rounds. They will have to wait for another day to establish superiority. Even though Merna still can't beat the EastEnders rival for the second time of asking, the surprising verdict leaves a sour taste in few people's mouth, Kara Tointon being the obvious one. But she can't do much about it right now and leaves the ring into some ovation, yet Gemma receives a similar reception. The crowd witnessed a great fight between two equally matched vixens, just the result didn't meet anyone's expectations.

Final result: Kara Tointon vs Gemma Merna - DRAW.