BEFORE: Both these girls have quietly build an impressive BBU record to date allthough Ellie Goulding was upset into her first career loss by Nicola Roberts back in June. Now she vows to bounce back into contention against the Beevers' American import Azealia Banks who's flirted with lightweight scale and ventured across the Atlantic to face one of the most talented fighters in the world, Jennifer Lawrence. She's back in the UK to contest the Ryder Cup blockbuster tonight and even Erin Andrews can't confirm whether Banks eyes a run at the Una Healy-owned BBU straps or becomes a full-time FCBA performer in the foreseeable future. A lot depends on the outcome of the Goulding fight and Denise van Outen hopes the fellow blonde puts up a good fight against an always tough Beevers-backed opponent.

Ellie Goulding wears a red basque top with silver trim, white knickers and silver gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a custom ponytail. Azealia Banks wears a Stars & Stripes themed one-piece swimsuit, red gloves and blue boots. Black hair tied in a braid, wrapped into a bun at the back of her head. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Banks is the taller and slightly heavier of the two singers plus she allegedly owns the bigger punch. Before going down to Lawrence back in America, she's rolled over some of the most talented BBU bantams like former champion Jessica Schwarz and former title challenger Reon Kadena as well as another lightweight tweener Sarah Harding. That's as good as it gets and it's no wonder Ellie remains subdued in the early stages of the fight, clearly not trying to launch an immediate slugging attack that would threaten a vicious response from the New Yorker. Banks was out of action since January and perhaps that's why she keeps it cool in the operner as well. Both girls spend a lot of time circling and faking their moves which doesn't win them much applause from the Wembley audience but we're not dealing here with two flyweight boneheads but genuine bantam title contenders who know what's at stake tonight.

Round 2:
Still no visible change of pace but Banks is really trying to step up into a proper close range slugging down the stretch. She ups the tempo of the fake routes and finally lands the first meaningful strike when she splits the blonde's mitts upstairs and blasts a right cross on the nose to force Goulding's hand. However the blonde's response crashes off the high guard and leaves her exposed into a belting hook from the left that bends her to the side and enables Azealia to clean out her midsection thereafter. Banks doesn't waste much time in hooking up with the blonde's flash downstairs and when Ellie drops her cover a quick uppercuts nails her on the chin and wobbles back to the corner. Banks follows suit and stays on top of the midsection clubbing until Goulding yelps in pain but the relentless power drive doesn't end until the bell and leaves the Brit with a sore gut already, the core strenght of the American is really that impressive!

Round 3:
Speaking of impressive, Azealia can dance her way around the ring too. Most of the power hitters lack the agile touch across the canvas but Banks defies those odds and squares up to the lacklustre blonde with another clubbing drive that nails her on the midsection and reels back towards the corner almost immediately after the initial connection. It's all about the fear factor according to Erin Andrews while Denise van Outen remains ominously silent in the booth in wake of the New Yorker's jabbing rush that leaves Ellie with no answers whatsoever. While the Brit bravely tries to swing back at the American, she skims off the forearms and fails to stop Azealia's aggressive demeanour. This results in a couple of nasty cuts under each eye which just dents Ellie's confidence and drops her into a tight high earmuff come the final minute. Banks just ignores that and punches to the tummy with gusto which renders the aching blonde breathless at the bell.

Round 4:
Goulding's a gritty operator in her own right and she tries to prevent a whitewash by going in HARD on Banks to start the fourth, plenty of free agency "do or die" attitude in there and for once Banks looks a little lost in the ring when the seemingly checked-out blonde heaves an aerial rush that finds the temples and rocks the American's head. Ellie keeps the pressure on and loops a stinging series on the body thereafter that neutralizes Banks' offense for good and dumps her into a hectic cover in the center of the ring. However the Brit tries to stash her foe back towards the corner and unloads more leather cannons that pierce the otherwise leaky low guard and eventually back the New Yorker into the cornerpost. Now that gets Denise van Outen excited as she takes over the play-by-play calling from Andrews and narrates the blonde's charge that crushes Azealia's invincible demeanour on the night and leaves her clinching to salvage some pride late but it's irrelevant as Ellie finally gets on the scoring board and shakes her glove in delight right into the stunned American's face.

Round 5:
We're lights years away from the snoozefest opener but the slugging duel triggered by Ellie's improved performance in the previous round blows straight into her face in the fifth - and quite literally - since Azealia connects with the big uppercut drive on the chin and ducks a looping attempt from the Brit to cash in with more facial strikes down the stretch. She wraps the blonde up in a vicious clubbing galore that knocks Ellie onto her heels and rewinds the tape back to the third. Plenty of juice from the New Yorker who adds lumps to the blonde's otherwise pretty face in space of seconds before wrenching her on the gut one more time. Ellie aches out in pain and slumps against the fellow singer's shoulder but Azealia's jabbing assault keeps on going and when she nails the cumbersome rival on the solar plexus, Ellie spins into the ropes in panic mode... she tries to duck away from the incoming follow up but doesn't have the speed to escape the heat... BANKS CRUSHES HER WITH A BRUTAL HOOK on the nose and sends tumbling down on the canvas within a blink of an eye!!! Talk about that devastating power punch from the American! Azealia yells out at the fallen blonde and points to the sky before struting back to her corner. Goulding takes the eight count before getting up but she remains woozy at best and only responds to the referee's call at the second time of asking. Banks literally runs across the ring to finish her off and unfortunately for all ye European fans, we have one rattled blonde defending the crown... Azealia slices the vulnerable high guard and makes sure Ellie doesn't recover from the knockdown daze as she cranks up the work rate and sways the blonde's head back & forth while keeping her trapped in the corner... the clock can't save the Brit's pride and she's turned into a smoking hot mess while Banks screams with every punch landing on her bruised opponent's face... just no way for Goulding to escape the relentless drubbing she's handed here AND THE REF IS FORCED INTO ACTION... he hauls the rampant Beevers' girl from her damaged prey and prevents the action from turning downright ugly. TKO5 Azealia Banks!!!

AFTER: USA strikes first blood on the Ryder Cup and that's well deserved. Azealia Banks remains one of the hottest bantam prospects around and if she focuses on earning that BBU title shot, she might well make Una Healy's current reign look second-rate. Beating the crap out of Ellie Goulding is a tremendous achievement and even Denise van Outen doesn't call upon the Nicola Roberts upset loss as a genuine excuse. Ellie's really a Top 10 talent but she was hammered down into a vicious stoppage that fully underlined Azealia's elite punching strenght in terms of the division. This is Jessica Schwarz-like heyday performance and one must wonder if Beevers' veterans Lisa Maffia and Alesha Dixon are prepared to finally yield the leadership of the stable's bantamweight corps?

Una Healy, Reon Kadena and Dorota Rabczewska made all the 120 lbs category news this year but Azealia's Ryder Cup performance sends a true spoiler into the pack. Can she keep her momentum going for the rest of 2016 and beyond? Or does the Madison Square Garden Main Event future loom even larger for the Big Apple-born power hitter? Erin Andrews reckons Healy & co. would love to see Banks going back to her home country but the Beevers haven't enjoyed much title fight success lately and perhaps they will take that route to upset the current BBU order. Andrea McLean and Denise Lewis were unavailable for comment as the Ryder Cup duty still has top priority tonight!

Final result: Azealia Banks def. Ellie Goulding TKO5.
Ryder Cup: Europe 0 USA 1.