Despite losing all her three BBU fights to date Lily Collins is confident she can kick start her career against the former Spice Girl and knock Emma Bunton out in front of her home Barnet crowd. Collins never lacked the proper talk even though she was exposed as pretty hittable last summer but tells Denise van Outen all the months off in the gym should bring her that maiden victory tonight.

It hasn't been a smooth few months for Emma Bunton either, she managed to knock out Shania Twain in highlight fashion last December but with Heidi Range and Cheryl Cole being the focus of Lioness' flyweight division in recent time, an authority stamping performance against Lily is almost required to indicate the 38 year old blonde still has what it takes to remain relevant in the division.

Emma Bunton wearing a black basque top, matching boy-leg trunks and red gloves. Lily Collins wearing a silver bikini top, blue boy-leg trunks and blue gloves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the flyweight division.

Round 1:
Quick start from the blonde who swings around Lily's head in high-tempo manner, forces the younger singer to weave around on her feet in avoidance but only until a clubbing hook nails her on the eye and allows Emma to follow through and snap the brunette's head back repeatedly. It reminds of all the Lily's struggles last summer but instead of caving in, she opens up and tries to engage a furious all or nothing response already, skims off Bunton's shoulders though and gets whacked on the eye again, stumbles back and jumps away in chaotic mode as Emma moves on her and leaps back & forth striking single leather but fails to trap the younger girl on the ropes and Lily's footwork keeps her from further misery.

Round 2:
That was a poor opener for Collins but she launches herself forward with a piercing combo on the chest, outworks Bunton in the middle of the ring whereas the blonde refuses to yield ground and swings around the head again but gets staggered on the spot when Lily cracks an uppercut on the chin and continues from there, snaps the blonde's head back forcing her against the ropes and gut-cheks her to the point Emma has to clinch the rampant youngster. Lily barks in anger but keeps Bunton pinned in the corner, the punches bounce off the guard on a repeated basis though and Emma works the single overhand to stay in the exchange, avoids another big punch from Collins and settles into another clinch late on when the brunette drops her aggression.

Round 3:
Lily really wants to announce her arrival at the higher level and keeps walking Emma down but loses the opening exchange after getting nailed on the eye again and Bunton rips through her guard thereafter, snaps the head back again and it's a war of attrition afterwards with both girls lashing out at each other and earning the first noteworthy lumps on their faces; still early in the fight and nobody's willing to escape the punishment but as Collins' head starts to snap back more often, the younger of the two vixens breaks down first and leaps away to the ropes; Emma wants to chase her down again but can't match the footwork and only grazes the flesh thereafter as the Barnet crowd expresses their displeasure over Lily's defensive tactics.

Round 4:
Still no meaningless breakthrough as Lily settles into mid-distance and annoys Emma with her duck & weave demanour, takes full advantage of the superior footwork but launches forward when an angry looking blonde drops her arms and basically starts walking around the ring. Whether it was just a strategic tease or not, Emma's too slow to raise her arms in time and gets whacked across the mouth as Collins bumps into her and wobbles back to the ropes, huge left hand on the nose bends Bunton to the side and allows the brunette to follow up on the ribcage, Lily in furious mode just bashing her mitts against the midriff and makes the local favorite moan, jabbing combo slices the mitts again in the final minute and Emma's all butt-in-ropes until Lily throws her against the turnbuckle after another slick combo; head-snapping galore in the dying seconds with Bunton almost screaming in the ring and she really got caught with that reckless approach; an improved Lily couldn't waste such a great opportunity to score a huge round.

Round 5:
Lioness coach Gina Wild urges Emma to stop fooling around and "attack the jobber". But Collins has a cheeky smile on her face and it looks like she's finally convinced of upstaging the Spice Girl in front of her own crowd. Another war of attrition ensues but Emma just can't land that big punch anymore as Collins' speed dominates the action and the piercing hooks on the midsection slow the blonde down before a jabbing combo bothers the mouth again. Bunton's gloves fail to provide cover and she gets pummelled around in the middle of the ring before having to step back; Lily reaches out after her though and wants to inflict serious damage, swings around the head but can't make it stick and has Emma dancing around her instead; switch back to the liver area closes the two girls again but Emma manages to connect with the brunette's chin to stop the assault; Lily barks in anger again and wants to dig deep into the blonde's tummy but gets whacked on the temple and finally gives up on the round however Emma still looks more relieved than happy at the bell.

Round 6:
It's been a struggle for the Barnet favorite as Lily's speed and agility haven't been tamed by raw punching power, perhaps a sign of things to come for Bunton against the younger rivals. In fact it's Collins throwing most of the leather early in the sixth and the blonde looks like she needs to catch her breath and only settles for single overhand attempts but doesn't get punished often enough on the counter as Lily's too careful about anothger tease and even the crowd's support doesn't change the nature of the round with both girls settling for a respite, perhaps one of them will rue that later but Lily still gets the better of her foe when she tags Emma's temple and reels her back with both arms dropped to the side, jumps around back & forth and seeks more ribcage assault but Bunton's aware of that tactics already and shrugs off the attack; enforces a clinch to run the clock down.

Round 7:
Collins on the move thumping jabs against the ribcage but Emma fires back over the top and both girls engage in a vicious punchfest looking to finally break the other down; Lily almost headbutts the blonde as she leans forward but gets shoved to the side as Emma goes physical and finds the temple herself, snaps the brunette's head back and tags the eye to regain control. She whips immediate follow up on the nose before Collins' response and reels the youngster to the ropes where she switches low and peppers the ribcage on her own, traps Lily for good and cleans out her navel amid painful yelps from the punished actress. Crowd ups the support and Emma does likewise with her efforts, pounds away at the guts to sink Lily on her knees, signs off the round with another series on the temples, leaves the brunette trembling at the bell and not looking all that confident anymore.

Round 8:
Lily tries to respond via another leather trade-off but Emma matches her speed for once and slips by a spirited jabbing series on the tummy, whacks Collins over the top and finds the temple, buries a right hand between the arms and bounces off the jugs, skims off the chin in the proccess and goes all in to stagger the brunette for good. Heavy slaps on the chest make Lily moan before a shot on the liver results in a painful shriek but another hook on the eye silences the actress and sends her spinning back to the ropes. Emma jumps after her foe and as Lily bounces forward off the ropes, she gets hammered by a right hook on the eye and bellows out against them again. Lily half-turned to the side and exposed on the ribcage; Bunton needs no second opportunity and just pours leather in that hole, renders the brunette into a moaning mess before a right hook on the jaw pins Lily against the turnbuckle and allows the blonde to pound away to glory thereafter. Body assault does the trick as Lily barely hangs on for remainder of the round and eats another hook on the eye right at the bell and Emma shakes her glove in delight as she suddenly finds a second life after a difficult night thus far.

Round 9:
The fight is slipping through Collins' fingers but she refuses to buckle and jumps at the blonde singer but has no speed advantage anymore and wastes more energy in fruitless pursuit before Emma's response sags her on the knees when another overhand hook finds the left eye. There's a nasty swelling starting to develop in that spot and it hampers Lily's confidence as well as vision, she turns to the side and tries to protect the wounded area but Bunton's all for the facial assault now and just hassles the brunette across the ring until she switches on the rack and splits the arms aside, throws an aching Collins onto the ropes again where she thumps the guts to the point Lily can't even force a clinch and just sags on her knees and allows the Barnet lass to work her over and underline her dominance with another crisp hook on the jaw right at the death.

Round 10:
It's all Bunton now and the crowd demands a KO to add the proverbial icing on the cake but the rushed approach enables Lily to escape trouble for first time in a while, the brunette running spooked in avoidance and even Emma's fitness comes under scrutiny as she can only graze the flesh and fails to punish Lily 'til the bitter end. No guard from the younger vixen anymore but she manages to mount a last-ditch effort and closes on the blonde before throwing leather on her ribcage, a subsequent hook to the liver bends Emma to the side and that's a late upset on the cards with the Spice Girl having some breathing issues in the final round and Lily comes all in herself, digs her mitts into the blonde's stomach and tries to trap her on the ropes but drives too aggressively and headbutts her on the chin which earns her a swift response from the referee. Lily gets dragged away to the neutral corner and now she's got hair in her eyes too, she shoves the guy away and wants to have one last go at the blonde but she really should have removed that hair from her eyes as she walks straight into a right hook on the eye which bursts the swelling open and throws her back on the turnbuckle... Emma with a late flurry on the head, batters the brunette around but Lily just won't hit the deck tonight even though Bunton punches the mouthpiece out of her with the last punch of the fight... Collins needs to wrap her arms around the ropes in order to stay upright but she avoids the knockdown; leaves Bunton furious and making obscene gestures towards her after the bell.

After ten rounds of boxing we go to the scorecards... Judges score the bout 98-96, 97-95 and 98-93 all for your winner through unanimous decision... EMMA BUNTON!!!


AFTER: Despite the hard-fought victory Emma is furious over the missed chances to score the knockout and whether it's the sign of Collins making inroads or just the blonde struggling against the much younger opponent remains to be seen. The Barnet crowd wanted a 100% KO record on the night and the odds were very favorable for them but perhaps Lily isn't that hittable creampuff many people thought of her anymore? Either this of Emma should forget about dominating girls born in the late 80s and beyond.

The blonde Spice Girl still can't come to terms with the decision victory and engages in a heated conversation with coach Gina Wild in the middle of the ring and quite frankly the entire BBU hasn't seen a winner looking so upset in a long while! Meanwhile Lily just checks up on the swollen eye which took a severe beating but the smile is all there for the interview and the proud actress vows to finally score that maiden victory in her next fight already. However even Denise van Outen can't find any confirmation who's the preferred target for Collins until a friendly call from Kate Abdo indicates a suspicious twitter activity from the Little Mix members.

Final result: Emma Bunton def. Lily Collins UD10.