Ivet Lalova vs Alize Cornet
(Track & Field vs Tennis)
(0-1 vs 1-0, 1 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: The Paris-Bercy Arena hosts tonight's pro athletes battle where local favorite Alize Cornet takes on Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova. BBU TV's Georgie Thompson wonders why Alize doesn't stick to fighting fellow racket experts following her debut victory over Heather Watson last year but apparently the Frenchwoman's desired opponent Elina Svitolina was too busy shooting erotic photo sessions back in her native Ukraine.

"I'll get that s### sooner rather than later, that's a promise but well, we're in the tennis off-season anyway so most of the girls are busy with kitesurfing or suing the USTA (hi, Genie). However I hope to make some noise during the Australian Open so blasting out this cheap Bulgarian whore will do just fine instead!"

Meanwhile Lalova has her own ideas and plans to blow the doors off the loud-mouthed French girl: "Alize always talks too much. She can't calm down on the court and I bet she's gonna lose her mind in the ring too. This is where I come in! I have the patience and the skill to knock her teeth out! Just watch and enjoy the experience!"

Ivet Lalova wears a red bikini top, black knickers and white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a custom ponytail. Alize Cornet wears a blue sports bra, red knickers and white gloves. Long brown hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Ivet channels her exotic spirit - even if Bulgaria isn't really an exotic country - and tries to upstage the local heroine with vicious jabbing up the middle. The partisan French audience is known for bad behaviour when supporting their tennis stars but that makes little difference to Alize soaking up tremendous heat during the opening minute. Ivet shows quick feet and ravages the younger brunette's defense which drops Alize on her heels. Ivet takes over the offensive command and dictates the pace of this fight from the front; she gets a little vocal down the stretch when she notices Cornet's struggle. One of the Bulgarian's cross-hooking routes bursts the French girl's lips into an early swelling before a well-measured strike to the body pierces the liver area and folds Cornet behind a tight earmuff on the ropes. Lalova pounces on the hapless opponent and sends more strikes up the middle to leave the Paris audience completely stunned at the bell.

Round 2:
Lalova roars into another offensive display and nails the tennis star up the middle with more vicious jabs. Cornet's face begins to swell very early here in the contest as she gets picked apart and struggles to match the sprinter's footwork - despite being known for her above par movements on the tennis court. However she simply can't handle the older brunette's intensity and aggression which leads into an extended period of Lalova just laying into the sluggish Frenchwoman. Alize tries to swing back from behind the guard but only bounces off the top of Ivet's forehead before getting whacked by a brutal cross hook that folds the guard on the spot. Another wild swing from Lalova finds the right brow ridge and sends Alize into a derriere-shaking slump which is then upgraded to a full-time knockdown when a piercing left hook nails the aching tennis starlet on the chin... DOWN GOES CORNET and the Paris-Bercy Arena crowd simply can't believe it! Alize looks stunned in her own right and blinks frantically before getting up at eight. She gets a little longer respite than perhaps neccessary but Ivet is all over her in a flash when she pounces on the mediocre high guard and seemingly intends to knock Cornet's head off! The rushing close range pursuit ends in a clinch though as Alize is wary enough of the looming disaster and the referee does little to break the hold which earns him a fuming response from the sprinter. The clock eventually saves the French bride but Alize looks outclassed here thus far with the Bulgarian's aggression reaching the next level.

Round 3:
Ivet believes she has the tennis girl on the brink of elimination and she pours with more punches to increase the swelling around the right brow ridge in particular. However Alize responds with a seemingly suicidal drive on her own and manages to camps inside Lalova's face during the opening minute which leads into a classic slugging war of attrition. This could end ugly very quickly here and the Paris-Bercy crowd holds it's breath since literally a single punch can derail Alize's quest for glory but she somehow manages to sneak in a couple of feisty uppercuts on the chin to halt Lalova's charge. Cornet enjoys slightly superior reach and when she matches the sprinter for pace, she makes her efforts count. Ivet gets outworked in close range and disappears in a constant retreat thereafter. She looks very common while trying to loop some crosses from mid-distance and the audience gets behind the tennis girl one more time to boost Alize's otherwise shattered confidence.

Round 4:
The French recovery continues as Alize flicks several promising crosses from mid-range which keep the older brunette at bay. Ivet desperately tries to keep her anger down but eventually loses the plot and jumps into another gung-ho attack. She's floored Cornet once already so there's no reason to doubt her superior punching power for now. However Alize remains too quick for her and dominates the counter-punching route while Lalova's delivery fails to match her aggression. A slugging display from the Bulgarian is uppended by a supreme agility and defense during the second minute and come the third the Bulgarian tourist looks a little worn out already. Running in lanes for 10 or 20 odd seconds at best is something completely different than battling it out on the court for over three hours and Alize's durability leaves the fellow brunette chasing shadows in the closing stages of the round. Both women glare at each other with disdain at the bell but that's still a very promising sight for the French audience.

Round 5:
Ivet tries to clock her opponent with another feisty approach however Alize's guard weathers the jabbing storm and prevents further damage to the swollen brow ridge. Moreover the 27 year-old counters to the body which Lalova fails to account for and gets drilled through her otherwise eye-catching tribal sun tattoo around the navel. Ugh! The body-busting drive bends the Bulgarian babe and she bumps her chin against Alize's shoulder but then drifts back onto her heels when the French heat intensifies. And Alize can deliver a lot of heat if neccessary! She keeps thumping Lalova to the body before half-turning and letting it fly from the left side. She nails the sprinter on the nose and makes her scream out but the worst is yet to come... A flying uppercut smacks Ivet on the jaw AND SENDS HER CRASHING ONTO HER BACK!!! The response from the Paris-Bercy audience is easily the loudest of the night however Lalova refuses to give up the ghost. She scampers back onto her feet at six and tries to launch immediate counter-attack... she misses Alize's head by an inch but that's enough for the tennis babe to knock her stupid with a right cross on the nose again... and the blood starts pouring from Ivet's nostrils on the spot which also forces her to back off... she's not fast enough for Alize raising the stakes though and another left/right combo dismantles the high guard alltogether before a cross hook effectively threatens to fracture the already vulnerable nasal ridge... the Bulgarian yells out in pain and trips back to the ropes but her legs suddenly turn into jelly AND SHE SLIDES DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE before rolling down on her left side... AND SHE'S COUNTED OUT SOON THEREAFTER!!! Wild come-from-behind KO5 Alize Cornet!!!

AFTER: The blood spillage probably finished Lalova off even though she failed the endurance test as well. She absolutely dominated the opening couple of rounds before crashing down in a spectacular fashion. Meanwhile Alize prefers to enjoy the crowd's reactions than add further insult to the Bulgarian's injury. "This was never in doubt!", she tells Georgie Thompson, "I know it looked bad out there early on but Ivet can throw a punch or two! She can't take one though and I ripped right through her when she lost her momentum. It's like winning 1-6, 6-3 6-0 on the tennis court!" (laughs) (...) "Yeah, I hope Elina Svitolina puts some clothes on so we can fight soon... OK, she might be wearing a tiny sports bra or whatever but Laura Robson would call her a s### any day of the week! Btw, what's little Laura doing these days anyway?" (winks).

Final result: Alize Cornet def. Ivet Lalova KO5.