Alice Barlow vs Heida Reed
(0-1 vs 1-2, 1 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Alice Barlow's BBU career got off to a bad start when Vicky Pattison knocked her out back in April however the shapely Coronation Street blonde thinks she can perform much better against fellow actress Heida Reed tonight. The Icelandic brunette hasn't set the world on fire either, she first lost a bitter duel against her 'Poldark' co-star Eleanor Tomlinson and only toppled journeywoman Karine Vanasse at the second time of asking. However she dismisses Alice as "another blonde bimbo" and vows to beat her up which bodes well for a potential heated contest between two women who are yet to enter serious BBU contention.

Alice Barlow wears a crimson bikini set and black gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a half-up ponytail. Heida Reed wears a light blue bikini set and red gloves. Medium-lenght dark brown hair straight. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Heida's laid-back demeanour meets a completely opposite reaction from Alice who jumps into a jabbing menace literally aimed at knocking the older actress out inside the opening minute! Several crisp punches land on target before Heida's guard actually begins to resemble one and both women engage in a quick close range exchange where Alice remains on top after blasting her foe across the mouth. The core strenght of her punches is questioned thoigh as she fails to wobble the brunette despite posting superior numbers and her effort doesn't meet the result; in fact Heida cracks a nasty hook right at the bell which finds the blonde's temple and wobbles her back on the spot.

Round 2:
Barlow keeps firing away and remains committed to the aggressive tactics while Reed just blocks them off and reverts into single-striking counter-attack which allows her to stay in the action without actually suffering any significant damage. Most of Alice's punches crash off the visibly improved Icelandic guard and when Heida finally begins to pick her opponent off, the blonde stumbles to her right and gets whooped by a quick hook on the nose that dumps her on the ropes. Reed still lacks the evil edge here but she manages to keep the younger actress in a precarious position and buries her under a steady jabbing onslaught that Barlow survives without any worrying signs.

Rounds 3 & 4:
This is a familiar pattern now; Barlow dominates the opening minute before the action slows down in the second and Reed jumps on the late rally to win the final minute each time. There's no way Alice's debut could have scared the 'Poldark' actress so much hence her defensive approach meets little understanding in the audience and the BBU TV booth. It's not like she's toying with the Corrie girl either however she does land the better punches and smacks Alice's guard aside in confident manner towards the latter stages of each round before driving a promising series on the guts that really seems to weaken Barlow's resistance. The blonde must clinch her foe to halt the midriff chopping and groans in visible discomfort whereas the brunette simply leans on her and still works the single hand to a frustrating degree.

Round 5:
This fight will be probably decided by the sheer amount of punches thrown at one of these two women but early in the fifth Reed moves on the front (left) leg and catches the blonde by surprise. She whacks her between the mitts and finds the jaw before chopping into her guts again... Alice really struggles to embrace the body punishment but this time doesn't apply the clinching respite in time and gets CAUGHT with a nasty uppercut on the jaw. She sinks on her knees just as the brunette doubles up with a quick left/right on the temples... AND DOWN GOES THE BLONDE!!! The injection of power suddenly hands the Icelandic girl an unexpected break-through and Alice only sits down during the count before mounting a late recovery at eight. She doesn't look so aggressive anymore and gets pounded back to the corner where Heida really unloads the juice and pierces the ribcage in full throttle... Ugh! Barlow drops her guard but can't stop moaning her heart out and just lacks any sign of resistance SO THE REF JUMPS IN to stop the contest!!! That looked premature but on the other hand, Alice is still a newcomer to boxing and doesn't warrant the benefit of the doubt like some other veterans. TKO5 Heida Reed!!!

AFTER: The brunette looks as shocked as anyone inside the Cardiff Arena and can't believe her luck she earned the stoppage in such a controversial fashion. Alice doesn't even look all that hurt but still checks up on the ribcage damage and there are vsible pink patches on both sides which indicates that Heida's execution wasn't all that mediocre tonight.

Since Barlow's promise of blowing Reed away failed to materialize, it's no wonder she avoids an eye contact with the victorious brunette during the official post-fight announcement. Heida's cheeky smile suggests she doesn't value her foe above the punchbag level herself but still tells Kate Abdo that "she broke that blonde bimbo mentally and that's all that matters". It's hard to argue that logic even in wake of the somewhat premature stoppage; the fight itself lacked the proper intensity level and tuned out to be a very suitable undercard opener.

Final result: Heida Reed def. Alice Barlow TKO5.