Minka Kelly vs Kira Kosarin
(Lioness Club of America vs Bonzo's Gym)
(43-19-1, 39 KO vs 4-2, 4 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: While Minka Kelly is known for her durability in the ring, she's never fought a girl born in the 90s during her entire FCBA career. Nina Dobrev is the youngest opponent the Irish-American has faced thus far and the Bulgarian beauty is full eight years Kosarin's senior. Does this fight mark a change in Kelly's match-making procedure? According to LCA head trainer Claudia Schiffer it actually doesn't!

However age is the last thing the Lioness entourage should be worried about. Kira has defeated a lightweight-trained Blake Lively earlier this season and offers an unique skill set boosted by the profilic Bonzo's Gym management. While the stable formely known as Floydian has excelled in the welterweight category, the Lively success suggests they know a thing or two about scouting bantams as well. And Kosarin upside might be the sole reason why former divisional leader Evangeline Lilly has drifted away from elite contention in recent months.

Minka Kelly wears a leopard print bikini top, black knickers and matching black gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Kira Kosarin wears a red bikini set and white gloves. Black hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Kira bursts out of the gate and jumps on the road to victory called youth! That was always the great concern for a veteran like Minka and the former champion simply struggles to match the youngster's intensity during a close range dust-up where Kira just lays down the law and punishes the older brunette with brutal strikes to the body. Even the elite bendy defense must take a seat as Minka gets picked off so repeatedly, she backs off from the slugging nightmare and seeks an early escape any which way possible. Kira has knocked out 'Supergirl' Melissa Benoist in her last stand and could well become the new fan favorite on the PPVs if the results hold up! Minka learns the *new* truth very much the hard way during the opener!

Round 2:
More of the same in the second - at least during the opening minute - but Kira eventually loses the near perfect striking rate and finds the Irish brunette's high guard more often than not as time goes by. This fuels Minka's recovery and both women trade meaningful punches in the center of the ring while the youngster shows impressive poise which is required against a former champion like Kelly. Still, the breakthrough never really materializes but the close range tussle hands Minka the valuable working space to try out Kosarin's true approach tonight. Surely, she just can't slug it out like there's no tomorrow during the entire fight?

Round 3:
Or maybe she can? Another high-tempo assault from the youngster enables her to dominate the phone booth-like action and Minka simply gets dumped on her heels and struggles to work from behind the guard on a regular basis. This leads into an extended period of Kosarin blowing past the high guard and weaving around on her feet like she's watched hundreds of Kelly fights along the way. Minka gets a little vocal as she tries to jump on the recovery route but 17 years difference is 17 years difference and it shows dramatically when Kira dances around the truly cumbersome brunette and literally plays on her mind like a seasoned pro! Catch me if you can stuff from Kira inside the last few seconds and Minka just isn't up for the fun & games tonight as she makes several gestures over at the crowd and the Bonzo entourage during the interval.

Round 4:
It's a rare sight to witness Kelly lose her temper like that during the break and she blasts out of her stool to finally give the kid a proper lesson. Gone are the elusive defense and counter-punching rhtythm, welcome to the proper Irish swarming! Kosarin notices the immediate change and stays clear of the close range action this time but still gets clipped by single-handed punches from the older woman. She's told to see the recovery out and obeys to the plan and despite all the effort, Minka is just unable to fully press ahead with the heavy stuff. She literally wins the round by default given Kira's deke and escape stuff but the amount of damage inflicted on the New Jersey girl is almost non-existent.

Round 5:
Ever Minka's left-handed stance doesn't bring her any of the usual joy given how few of these punches she lands on the speedy opponent. Kosarin only turned 20 earlier this month and she makes the older woman look... oh. well.. old! And that's the worst kind of message that can be send if you're a Minka fan! The Lioness veteran is forced to grind it out in mid-range but while she adds the numbers, she lacks the juice behind her strikes and fails to whoop Kosarin with a single combo. She digs her mitts into the body but gets wrapped into a tight clinch and gets lectured when she picks off the youngster's kidneys in a pure sign of frustration. The action gets even uglier come the final minute and Kira is happy to further derail this fight on the heels of the very promising opening period. Minka lands some solid punches to the body during the last second exchange but again, the lack of overall damage inflicted on the Bonzo brunette remains LCA's biggest problem.

Round 6:
Minka's durability hits uncharted territory when the Bonzo youngster recovers to trigger another high-octane attack; she picks off the former champion with supreme precision and eventually wears her out during an extended leather stalking proccess. Kira just might well BE the future of the 120 lbs division and she keeps hustling the slow-moving Irish brunette around the ring until she slams a left hook on the ear that drops Kelly butt-in-ropes. The Lioness veteran simply looks tired out there and can barely move away from another attack. Kosarin thumps her up the middle and finds a new groove pounding away at the chest which only makes Minka gurgle her pains out... Ugh! Even the clinch doesn't work and the Bonzo crew is unfortunate the ref doesn't ponder a count here... the clock expires to save the Los Angeles brunettes from instant disaster but the veteran looks well and truly spend here having to fight on Kosarin's terms since the word go!

Round 7:
Maybe Kira wants to double up on the epic VanCamp/Bennet fight that lasted almost 17 rounds? She looks like she's in shape to pound away at Minka Kelly for 20 plus rounds while the Irish veteran obviously isn't! It's a terrible sight for all ye Minka fans as the former champion gets crippled with another body assault and her feet are glued to the canvas which makes Kira's job oh-so easier now! The repeated drilling shots wreck havoc in Kelly's guts before a move upstairs sends her spinning back to the ropes where she endures more rough treatment from the new starlet of the division. Kira settles into chopping Minka in half and she has the girl yelping her heart out at the one minute mark before a swift uppercut on the jaw shuts the LCA's top bantam off. Minka stumbles against the turnbuckle with eyes closed and doesn't even notice the right hook on the nose THAT WRENCHES HER DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE!!! Call it the icing on the cake since Minka slumps into KO daze not to rise again tonight! KO7 Kira Kosarin!!!

AFTER: That's as good as it gets from the youngster who still finds the PPV atmosphere a little too loud to handle as she smiles back at the wrong camera before being turned into the spotlight for the full standing ovation from the crowd. But she has just SMOKED one of the best bantamweights around this league and proved that her recent run of success is anyhting but a fluke. On the other hand, the Lioness crew got badly exposed as Minka couldn't do anything against a girl 17 years her junior. This was the great concern since the moment the Bradenton front office accepted Kosarin's call but it doesn't mean Kelly's elite career has come to an end. One bad day at the office doesn't neglect an otherwise stellar run under the LCA banner! But there was no stopping Miss Kosarin tonight and the vanquished entourage is the first one to admit that brutally honest truth.

Final result: Kira Kosarin def. Minka Kelly KO7.