BBU International from Cannes, France
Laetitia Casta vs Lily Aldridge
(Tech Unlimited Europe vs Lioness Club)
(FCBA: 66-52-4, 45 KO; BBU: 3-7, 2 KO vs BBU: 2-0, 2 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Several BBU pundits and fans believe that Lily Aldridge's boxing career will take off into stardom now that she has joined the elite Lioness Club organization. One shouldn't look any further than her old Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret buddies Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio to find evidence that age is only a number and Lily is anything but "too old" to make her name on the international boxing scene.

While Keeley Hazell remains Aldridge's primary target in the upcoming weeks, the British model remains involved in the JMDD Title Tournament which has forced the Lioness stable to seek imminient opportunities elsewhere for the time being. The world famous film festival has concluded just few days ago but the picturesque Cannes resort on the French Riviera is a perfect venue for a BBU International meeting especially that it headlines a wiley veteran in Laetitia Casta as Aldridge's opponent. The French model has enjoyed years of fame under the Victoria's Secret banner and made a solid comeback last year allthough pro diva Natalie Eva Marie proved to be a little too much on that ocassion.

Laetitia Casta wears a black bikini set and white gloves. Long dark blonde hair tied in a curly ponytail. Lily Aldridge wears a lacy teal green lingerie set and black gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Casta enjoys the local support and jumps into a high-tempo assault however Aldridge's footwork proves superior during the feisty exchange and most of the blonde's punches cut thin air until Lily finally stumbles backwards after one bendy slide too many and Casta whacks her across the mouth before adding another hook on the temple. Lily gets trapped on her heels and must soak up a nasty jabbing rally upstairs which rolls back some years for the local heroine. The Cannes audience enjoys that display of fury but Laetitia misses the put away hook and bounces off the top of the brunette's head which allows Lily to catch some breathing space as she resumes the dominant footwork and circles back into safety late on.

Round 2:
More promising hooks force Aldridge into evasive action but BBU TV's Anna Woolhouse expected such a counter-punching display from the American. She's full seven years younger than the blonde veteran and could fancy her chances the longer this bout continues. However she needs to avoid the early damage and there's plenty of it on Laetitia's mind as she keeps hassling the fast moving brunette around the ring and quite frankly, only Aldridge's superior footwork allows her to maintain a respectable performance even though that's not nearly enough to boost her chances unless Casta truly runs out of gas tonight.

Round 3:
Laetitia keeps the power assault going and finds the big punches now as she slices Lily's high guard and begins to rock her head back & forth in a hectic display of French wrath. The Cannes audience celebrates whenever the dark brown ponytail goes for a ride and it's a tough ordeal for the Lioness entourage here in the third; no wonder head trainer Mel B. looks anything but pleased when Aldridge gets pummelled back to the ropes and soaks up more French juice. Laetitia is simply glued on target and picks the subdued opponent off until the bell finally halts her rally and Aldridge can resume her breath again. Casta is all over her face thereafter shouting bloody murder and she's basically swept all three rounds to date - even according to the neutrals.

Round 4:
Lily needs to rely on her biggest asset again and does well to keep the action in mid-distance during another high-tempo approach from the French model. Laetitia's execution gets more erratic this time and she bounces off the high guard too often to make an impact while Aldridge loops several counter-strikes to fend off the blonde's heat. Casta is no real mobility goddess so she gets exposed in the center of the ring but the brunette makes the biggest progress when she spikes the fellow model's solar plexus and catches her on the chin with a stingy follow up to jump back into contention. Casta swings wide of the mark in her own response and soaks up a nasty hook on the lips as Lily rallies late to win the duel outright and wobble the older woman on her heels.

Round 5:
Casta is visibly annoyed over losing her momentum but Aldridge's footwork remains supreme and the blonde model struggles for accuracy during the opening minute pursuit before wobbling too far forward... Lily's straight on the mark with another counter-stinger and blasts into the blonde's lips; she sticks a nasty follow up on the solar plexus and bends the hitherto dominant foe into an uppercut frenzy that glues her into aching spasms. That change of fortunes also silences the partisan Cannes audience as Aldridge powers ahead in close range and lands so many clean uppercuts that Casta gets dropped on the ropes amid those painful spasms and fails to recover when the American whacks her upstairs for a good measure and hands her a nasty cut under the left eye. Laetitia's knees develop that familiar jelly touch but she gets saved by the bell and the loudest person at half-distance of this bout is none other than Lioness head coach Mel B. herself.

Round 6:
Lily keeps her emotions in tact but that was a huge round for her which paves the way for a heart-breaking comeback if the French Riviera ever saw one. Indeed, the Santa Monica model is all over her visibly affected rival and beats her for every punch now as she keeps picking Casta off in close range. The local support is not enough to warrant a solid recovery as the blonde's strikes miss the target hand over fist and allow the brunette to punish the body as well when Casta switches to desperate earmuff just to fend off the facial juice. She gets clobbered into the ropes come the final minute and spends it's duration buried underneath a relentless jabbing assault from the American. The bell couldn't have come any sooner for the aching Frenchwoman but she's a mental mess according to Anna Woolhouse and her cutmen still need to address the cut under the left eye that has started to leak blood again.

Round 7:
Laetitia is clearly out of breath as we start the seventh and Lily's quick to pounce on her wounded opponent. She breaks through the otherwise stubborn guard and connects with the cheeks as well as adding a nifty hook on the jaw that drops the blonde's arms for good. Another looping cross meets the nose and the American finishes off the powerful drive with a bullet of a punch on the left temple THAT SENDS THE LOCAL HEROINE DOWN ON HER KNEES!!! Ugh! Casta simply crumbles under all this pressure and takes her time before getting up; she sits down on her heels before a tired-looking recovery beats the count at eight and a half... there's not much fuel left in this tank anymore and Aldridge is the first one to realize the obvious... she powers ahead and splits the blonde's mitts at will during a frantic push that backs the trembling blonde into the ropes where she soaks up another head hunting assault she simply can't embrace anymore... she slumps on jelly knees with a loud yelp coming from her mouth and gets half-spun around the corner post before the ref finally jumps in to salvage whatever's left from the French pride here... TKO7 Lily Aldridge!!!

AFTER: Laetitia's comeback sounds like a very bad idea in wake of another gut-wrenching defeat but Anna Woolhouse is quick to indicate that Lily's boxing upside can well and truly match Alessandra Ambrosio who's actually four years older than the Santa Monica babe. And the very same Ambrosio in in the thick of the FCBA title challenge this coming summer; whatever these Sports lllustrated beach bunny photoshoots do to one's confidence, can't be found anywhere else in the universe! The year of the bunny is truly upon us...

Anna gets a little carried away heaping all sorts of praise on these swimsuit models and well, Laetitia together with the likes of Tyra Banks and Elsa Benitez opened the door for several others to come forward in later years and 2017 is definitely a great time to be one of the new generation of models. Casta knows that herself and because she's no longer aspiring for a bigger role than a top-level gatekeeper, she actually accepts the warm hug she receives from the victorious American. Besides, she answered the replacement bell while Keeley Hazell remains unavailable and one has to praise her courage as well as past glory. Just because she struggles for results these days, it doesn't mean she's lost her place at the very top of the glamour ranks around the boxing universe. Plus, it could have been worse... this could have happened on Bastille Day but Anna Woolhouse understands the Frenchies wouldn't let a foreigner spoil their national party which is reserved for a Tres Colores win/win only. Current odds have Laetitia fighting Berenice Marlohe on the 14th of July up north in Paris.

Meanwhile the Lioness coach Mel B. tells Anna that her next destination is Madrid and that Lily is very much booked on the same plane heading west of France. No details of Aldridge's next opponent are revealed as of tonight but one should expect the Real View crew to figure it out come the weekend! The plot thickens.

Final result: Lily Aldridge def. Laetitia Casta TKO7.