BEFORE: Belen Rodriguez stopped Jennifer Lamiraqui on her debut last month and now she hopes to repeat that performance against former lightweight champion Manuela Arcuri who got sensationally knocked out by Peta Todd in her last outing. Both women seem to dislike each other and refuse to touch gloves during the introductions which leads BBU TV's Georgie Thompson to think this fight will provide plenty of vicious hits and won't last the distance.

Manuela Arcuri wears a black bikini set with white trim and red gloves. Long dark brown hair straight. Belen Rodriguez wears a light blue bikini set and white gloves. Light brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division,

Round 1:

High tempo assault from the opening bell as Belen rips a hooking cross over the top and snaps Manuela's head backwards before blasting her across the mouth for a good measure. The older woman responds by looping similar hooking route but she fails to make it count and soon gets tangled up in a flurry of Belen punches that repeatedly dissect her high guard and stagger her on the heels in the center of the ring. Rodriguez then reverts into punching the brunette on the guts and bends Arcuri amid the first significant yelps of the fight before a drilling uppercut finds the jaw and spins Manuela back to the ropes. Belen tries to keep her opponent trapped over there but misses her approach for once and allows Arcuri to clinch her to see out the clock in desperate fashion.

Round 2:

Arcuri tries to stay on top of her opponent from the opening bell and make amends for the mediocre start but Belen's jabbing is too accurate and bruising to make it happen; the younger woman slams a nasty hook on the liver area to further enhance her chances and loops a sizzling follow up on the temple that bends Manuela sideways on the spot. Rodriguez drills the exposed breadbasket thereafter and shakes off the clinching efforts by simply ripping more clean strikes to the body which Arcuri struggles to embrace and gets bullied back to the ropes where Belen picks her off with a head hunting galore and completely dominates the action for remainder of the round. Manuela gets reduced into a classic training dummy and can only cover up in a tight earmuff with Rodriguez raining punches all over her until the ref has to break them free at the bell.

Round 3:

Belen swings plenty of hooks over the top but the older brunette storms back at her in order to prevent the rout; she catches the Argentine showgirl on the nose and then adds a quick uppercut on the jaw which makes Rodriguez scream out in Spanish but then a follow up on the rack bends her forward and Arcuri blasts her across the chin with more close range heat. Belen has to seek respite and clinches her rival only to find Manuela thumping her on the ribcage instead and reeling her back towards the ropes. Both women wrestle for supremacy but Arcuri secures more midsection punishment and keeps Belen scowling in discomfort with her back firmly pinned on the ropes for the remainder of the round.

Round 4:

The Arcuri comeback gains more steam when the older brunette lands another hooking combo up the middle and exposes Belen's high guard. The Argentine showgirl kept her foot on the gas pedal against Jennifer Lamiraqui but struggles to build on her early advantage here tonight as Manuela digs deep into experience and pounds the younger woman repeatedly to make her think better of it. Rodriguez applies another clinch but loses the midriff tussle as Arcuri shows some strenght and bumps her off on the heels before a piercing harpoon finds the liver area and bends the showgirl into a yelping dismay. Manuela's follow up fails to break the guard this time and Belen manages to wrap her in another shoving struggle as both women bounce off the ropes in a desperate effort to gain the crucial upper hand in the closing seconds of the round.

Round 5:

Both women try to nail each other with a sharp hooking route but the production level drops for once and Belen realizes she's in for a real fight now and Manuela hasn't been rattled as badly as Jennifer Lamiraqui before. She bounces off the older brunette's high guard far too often to dominate the action and actually allows Arcuri to explore a couple of holes over the top instead. Manuela catches the showgirl's temples and leans forward with more aggressive jabs but gets clinched before a lenghty struggle for supremacy marks the second minute of the round. Rodriguez finally gains separation and loops a quick hook on the mouth but gets staggered with a left/right combo on the mouth as Arcuri unloads more power and buries the Argentine under a steady leather assault thereafter. She whips her on the heels but fails to bully her onto the ropes and looks annoyed at the bell as Belen gives her a proper death stare in her own regard.

Round 6:

A sudden influx of punches to the body catches Arcuri off guard early in the sixth and Rodriguez leans on her and almost headbutts her in the nose which makes the older woman lose her balance in desperate effort to avoid a potential injury. However she leaves herself exposed up the middle and the Argentine rocks her with a drilling uppercut on the jaw before another belting hook pierces the liver area and sends Manuela spinning into the ropes. She tries to charge straight at her opponent but Belen beats her for another punch and slams her across the mouth to boot; she buries the ex-champ under a proper leather barrage and reverts into head hunting the cumbersome woman which leads into repeated gasps from Arcuri who slowly wilts under the pressure and caves in behind a tight earmuff in the dying seconds. Rodriguez has none of it and still whoops her with a quick combo to the liver area which firmly leaves Arcuri hurting at the bell.

Round 7:

Belen keeps powering ahead to the body and Manuela tries to quickly apply the clinching respite before it all goes south for her however she gets caught by another piercing uppercut on the jaw that shatters her high guard and allows the younger woman to slam immediate facial assault and just render Arcuri numb on the spot... a flurry of shots leaves the older brunette's face swollen and the eyes bawl out to the back of her head as Belen riffles one hook on the temple too many AND SENDS ARCURI DOWN ONTO THE CANVAS just past the minute mark... the Rome crowd errupts in joy as Manuela hits the deck on her back hard and mumbles out in clear pain... she tries to get up but her knees remain jelly and she sits down on her heels as the count passes her by before rolling onto her side again in obvious knockout daze! KO7 Belen Rodriguez!!!

AFTER: That's a very important victory for the Argentine showgirl but she really had to work hard for that as Manuela threatened to make a comeback and derail Belen's high-flying start to her BBU career. Georgie Thompson remains coy whether Belen is as good of a lightweight prospect as Elisabetta Gregoraci and Melissa Satta but one can't really complain about the division receiving a dose of new talent under any circumstances!

Rodriguez dwells on the rampant crowd support and wishes Maria Grazia Cucinotta the best of luck against Berenice Marlohe next before hauling the still dazed Arcuri off the floor and parading her around the ring in a classic Walk of Shame scenario. She slaps her on the butt a couple of times and once she lets go of the defeated brunette's wrist, Manuela's knees give way again and she collapses on the canvas and does well to actually avoid bursting into tears. Not the finest moment in her BBU career and Georgie thinks that Arcuri's best days are behind her and one should expect plenty of lightweight or even welter newcomers to stack up her schedule in months to come. Elize du Toit made a comeback last weekend and Georgie thinks she should try her chances and book a fight versus Manuela next as both women seek a solution to cure their losing streak.

Final result: Belen Rodriguez def. Manuela Arcuri KO7.