BEFORE: "It's pretty straight-forward, Elize simply wasn't good enough to keep up with our high standards!", a very confident Natasha Barnard tells the media about the reasons behind her highly-anticipated debut bout against the French beauty pageant Laury Thilleman. The woman in question is of course Elize du Toit who couldn't make it past the third round versus both Sophie Howard and Leah Francis last fall which prompted her removal from future Duel In The Sun events here in Rustenburg - at least for the time being.

The standards are indeed very high for the South Africans. Jenna Pietersen has emerged as a leading contender since making her debut last September and barring some kind of a disaster, she's as good as signed into the Double A Boxing stable. Elize du Toit made that opportunity happen but this is hard business first and foremost so Barnard was drafted in for tonight's undercard instead of the popular but otherwise lacklustre blonde veteran.

Laury Thilleman wears a salmon bandeau bikini (pictured) and white gloves. Long light brown hair tied in a curly ponytail. Natasha Barnard wears a turquoise bikini with violet trim (pictured) and black gloves. Long dark brown hair in loose waves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Laury's a true BBU veteran but she returns to action after thirteen months away while Natasha has the home crowd support which enables her to get rid of the early butterflies and she jabs very confidently for a rookie handing the French pageant plenty of juice during a frantic opener. Laury throws several overhand shots however she struggles to match the model's intensity and gets pushed back into the ropes much quicker than anyone anticipated; Natasha camps inside Laury's midriff thereafter and ignores the high guard but the effects of her strikes become visible as Thilleman fails to fight back and slides on the ropes for good while Barnard is so determined to impress the BBU fanbase that she needs to be hauled off by the ref at the bell.

Round 2:
Laury tries to find her rhythm in mid-distance but several promising loops bounce off the high guard and enables Natasha to ride the counter-punching wave to the extreme. The model's execution is simply superior at this stage and the word is that Jenna Pietersen personally helped her compatriot to prepare for the tough BBU reality. Of course Thilleman enjoys Malika Menard's presence at the Foxfire Atlantic gym but Georgie Thompson thinks their sparring bouts have long been abandoned due to major difference in performance. Whatever the case, Barnard is all over the taller brunette and rips through her guts so ferociously that Thilleman whimpers down on the ropes come the final minute again and drops her guard which enables Natasha to smack her with vicious left/right series all the way through the bell.

Round 3:
Thilleman finds no answers to Barnard's uptempo demanour and gets caught with another jabbing rally that drops her guard and allows the South African rookie to dominate a feisty close range exchange. Natasha's glued on target and seemingly tries to chop her opponent in half - Laury yelps in pain but gets stranded in the center of the ring and misses a counter shot over the top so Barnard NAILS her with a brutal right hook on the jaw and sends spinning into the ropes. Ugh! Laury almost slides down on her bum but somehow avoids it yet Natasha pounces on the vulnerable pageant and BLASTS a left/right cross on the exposed nose TO SEND THE FRENCH GIRL CRASHING DOWN ON HER SIDE anyway! The Sun City audience roars in delight and Laury's in all sorts of bother as she tries to embrace the knockdown reality. She gets up with the help of the ropes but looks shaken and very much stirred here; still she's given all clear to continue and Barnard is denied a whirlwind BBU introdcution - for now. She gets clinched as she desperately tries to finish the European tourist off and Laury manages to survive an extremely vicious ordeal but Georgie Thompson reckons the writing's on the wall already.

Round 4:
Barnard gets even more aggressive and takes full advantage of Thilleman's cumbersome presence; she beats the pageant for a quick overhand double and further exposes her below-par footwork. Laury tries to brawl herself out of trouble but gets plastered punch by punch in the center of the ring and soon develops a nasty swelling around the lips. She just can't stay clear of the South African juice that only fuels Natasha's desire to knock her out! Come the one minute mark Thilleman's defence is rendered non-existent and she only drops her gloves lower and lower which allows the rookie to swivel her head back & forth to the point the French pageant even stops aching her troubles out... she wobbles back on her heels and can barely stay upright before Barnard finally relieves her from the misery - she blasts a left/right cross on the nose and THILLEMAN DROPS DEADWOOD ON THE CANVAS!!! And there's no coming back from that as the pageant breaks down in tears as she's counted out flat on her back!!! KO4 Natasha Barnard!!!

AFTER: This is a serious upgrade over Elize du Toit for the partisan Rustenburg audience and even Georgie Thompson admits she's impressed by the imposing debut of an otherwise highly-touted model. Let's make no mistake, Laury Thilleman is a valuable journywoman veteran who doesn't quite tick the jobber box yet and should find easy work around the BBU market. However she was bulldozed into a vicious collapse tonight and even her lenghty lay-off period doesn't justify this kind of a result unless Natasha is actually someone who can join the contenders pool soon. Of course Jenna Pietersen remains Sun City's top-selling name but it looks like the Springboks have found themselves a proper lady-in-waiting now.

Final result: Natasha Barnard def. Laury Thilleman KO4.