Erin Heatherton vs. Antje Utgaard
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Battle of two tall, leggy welterweight models, both making their FCBA debuts. Heatherton the more well-known of the two, a Victoria's Secret Angel and supermodel with loads of credits, the six-foot blonde isn't exactly dismissive of her initial opponent on the big stage, but isn't exactly complimentary, either. "She has a following, I guess," the blonde says with a shrug. "Would I rather be in here against someone with a REAL name, like Agdal, Shayk, or Davis? Sure. But, Antje will do."

The brunette not at all pleased by the blonde's dig. "I guess I'm not famous enough for a big star like Erin," says Antje with eyes full of fire. "And, you know what's really going to suck? When this 'nobody' leaves the famous supermodel sucking canvas!"

ROUND ONE:
 
FCBA debut for both fighters, so, as you might expect, the first round is a little ragged, with both fighters doing a lot of recon and "feeling out". Neither taking many chances, with both blonde and brunette mostly sticking with the jab to do some range finding. Everything is at distance, as neither of the rangy models seems to have any desire, or, in fact, need to close. Instead, they remain at arm's length, popping jabs, moving the feet, keeping the hands high and getting the gloves back quickly after each punch. Not a lot of action for the fans to look at, but, with what ELSE they have to look at, Erin Heatherton and Antje Utgaard bouncing around in bikinis, there aren't exactly a lot of complaints. In the final seconds, Erin bangs a jab into Antje's rack, but, if she were looking for some kind of sloppy retaliation, the blonde is disappointed. Utgaard remains in control and keeps jabbing to the bell. It's a close first, won by Antje.

ROUND TWO:

More of the same. Neither fighter seems to want to be the first to go on the offensive, so the tactical stuff at range continues. And, range may actually be an issue here. Obviously, even though this is the FCBA debut for both fighters, both have fought before at other levels, and, being as tall and rangy as they are, both are used to having the reach advantage...but, tonight, neither does. Erin's a bit taller than Antje, but Utgaard's arms are just as long as her rival's, and the lack of reach advantage seems to discombobulate both fighters a bit, making the geometry a little too difficult to figure out, at least at this point. So, again, punches are not put together, very little is risked, and very little gets done. Instead, it's almost all left-hand work, and the punches are of single shot variety. And, again, this is nothing you might not expect from a pair of tyros. At the bell, it's another close one, this time to Erin, who has evened things at 19.


ROUND THREE:

Fighters settling in now. Jitters slipping away as we enter the third round, fighters looking more comfortable and the pace picking up a bit. It's still ranged stuff, no surprise with girls this tall and long. It's all about the long left hands, but, now there are some rights coming on the heels of those lefts. Combinations are still few, mind, as geometry continues to be a problem for fighters who are used to having reach and also punching down. Slowly, those issues are being overcome, and girls are getting to spots and getting off with both hands, but, again, progress is slow. There's a lot of movement, a lot of feinting, a lot of jabs followed by nothing because the jab doesn't get on target. But, here and there, punches are put together, and there's altogether more action taking place than in the first two rounds. But, like the first two rounds, it's close at the bell. Antje's claimed the points, though, and goes back on top 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Utgaard beginning to take advantage of greater weight of shot. The difference this makes is not a major one, because she's still struggling to put flurries together in the face of a determined left jab from the blonde, but, when she manages to do so, she's able to force Erin back a step or force her to cover up. Utgaard's left is solid, not a popping jab but a bludgeoning one, similar to the one so many of the Front Street bigs have. But, it's the right that's the difference maker. It's a sledgehammer, which is no surprise with a solid 150 pounds behind it and a big hand delivering it. It's far from a perfect punch at that point, and that's fairly scary, because it generates plenty of power now, and will be even more dangerous when it's refined. But, for now, it's enough to give the brunette the edge, enough to get the blonde out of her stance in spots, throw her onto the defensive, and allow Antje to claim her second straight close round and increase her lead to 39-37.

ROUND FIVE: 

The blonde, having heard it in no uncertain terms from her handlers between rounds, gets busy. She's getting off first now with the left hand and then letting the right go. She's missing more than she's hitting, but she's been told not to worry so much about that. It's volume that her corner wants, and it's volume that the lovely Erin Heatherton gives them. And, as so often happens when an athlete listens to an experienced coach or manager, it works. Now, it's Utgaard on the defensive, unable to get off and get her offense going. She's not being backed up, but she's spending too much time covering up or trying to duck or slip leather being launched by the blonde. Utgaard is being forced into the counter, and isn't up to the challenge. Openings are there, but the still-inexperienced brunette isn't taking advantage of them. Instead, she's waiting and waiting for a lull in the shelling, a lull that doesn't come. At the bell, Heatherton, who's dominated from the opening second, claims the round wide and cuts the lead to 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Heatherton settling into a nice rhythm now and she's got Utgaard on the defensive in a big way. Erin very, very busy, just getting the hands out and back, maintaining a work rate not often seen at a weight this high, and it's working to perfection. She's preempting Antje with the left jab and forcing her to cover up again and again. Utgaard unable to get off, and clearly both frustrated and flustered at her inability to mount any sort of offense. The blonde, meanwhile, gaining confidence with every second, with every left hand that lands, even in a glancing way, with every right that forces Antje to raise her guard. The brunette still not giving ground, but she's fighting off her back foot and still unable to take advantage of the openings being created by all the leather Heatherton is throwing. The blonde not exactly picking the brunette apart, because, again, she's still missing more than she's hitting, but she's dominating the younger woman, grabbing her second straight round wide and evening the fight at 57.

ROUND SEVEN:

Now it's Utgaard who reacts to having heard an earful in the corner between rounds. More aggression is what's requested, and, that's exactly what the big brunette provides. For the first time tonight, Antje begins working forward behind the big left. She's determined to grab canvas and willing to eat punches from the blonde to do it. Erin able to score as the brunette moves in, but unable to hold ground against her. Heatherton forced back, and now it's the blonde who's fighting off her back foot. But, she's doing it pretty effectively, managing to score points in a fighting retreat. Utgaard, meanwhile, is finally able to get some offense going, and even gets the big right hand on target a couple of times, snapping back the blonde's head and sending sweat flying. By the time we reach the bell, it's, once again, close, and, this time, too close to call. The judges score the round even, and we're still knotted up on the cards, now at 67.

ROUND EIGHT: 

More aggression from the beautiful Antje. The brunette forward behind the left, not slowing or covering despite taking fire from a retreating blonde. Heatherton hanging on to each inch of canvas as long as she can and exacting as big a price as possible, but, despite her best efforts, she can't hold it. Utgaard is simply bigger and more physical, and she's using that to her advantage. Heatherton showing excellent presence for a fighter in her first FCBA fight, though. She's not staying square and she's not allowing herself to get pinned to the ropes. She's making this as hard for the brunette as she can, and that's plenty hard. Down the stretch, Heatherton lands a hard right hand to the rack. This time, Antje retaliates with a nasty left-right to the head that backs Erin up and forces her to cover. At the bell, it's been yet another near-run thing. Antje claims the points and is back on the lead, but this is anyone's fight at 77-76 with two to go.

ROUND NINE: 

Utgaard looking to get big on Erin now, knows the path to victory is physicality, and so she brings it, in a major way. She's stepping into everything, backing the blonde up and willing to take heavy counter fire to do so. Heatherton again countering well, scoring points with both hands and holding her own in the exchanges, but, what she still can't hold is canvas. The brunette just has a little too much power. And, then, she has a LOT too much. It happens a little over two minutes into yet another very close round. And, it happens like a bolt of lightning. A straight left from the brunette lands solidly, and an overhand right follows behind, and lands clean. Heatherton's head does a sickening swivel and the blonde beauty ragdolls to her back, out before she even hits the canvas. The brunette tyro stands looking down for a second, perhaps surprised by what's just happened. The referee has to order her to a neutral corner three times before she turns and goes. It doesn't matter. The blonde is out and the count is a formality. It's over. And your winner by KO9 in thunderclap fashion is "The Scandinavian Stunner", Antje Utgaard!

AFTER:

Heatherton brought around slowly on her stool. Antje, meanwhile, can't contain the exuberance after the first FCBA win. "I GOT her," the lovely brunette says with a broad smile. "I knew I would. Sooner or later, I knew I'd catch her with something and take her out of there. She can't stand up to my punch. And there are a lot of other girls in the welterweight division that can't stand up to it, either. Watch and see! Watch and see!"