Unofficial Baltic Bantamweight Trophy
Dorota Rabczewska vs Vera Brezhneva
(Lioness Club vs BBU Independent)
(10-2, 10 KO vs 4-0, 4 KO)
Results & Story: Vassago

BEFORE: This is the Main Event of Lioness Club's New Year's Eve Boxing Special and also an unofficial Baltic Bantamweight Trophy contest between two of the most promising BBU fighters coming from Eastern Europe. Dorota Rabczewska has stormed into the BBU limelight with a 10-2 record however the arrival of Vera Brezhneva earlier this season has put the Pole's Eastern market dominance under intense pressure. Brezhneva has cleared out the challenge from Dorota's stablemates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh over the summer and wants to crown her impressive rookie campaign by taking down one of the elite bantamweight performers tonight.

Rabczewska's upcoming schedule includes a fight against the winner of Nadia Forde vs Rachel Riley bantamweight tourney and then finally taking the scalp of the only woman who's defeated her in BBU, former champion Una Healy. However she simply couldn't postpone this clash any longer not to be accused of outright cowardice. She's full of confidence as usual but Charlie Webster reckons this fight might indeed be her toughest test since the Healy lineal championship battle from July 2016. The KO Club audience supports the Lioness challenge as usual but Brezhneva offers enough upside to make this contest a genuine coin-toss for the ages!

Dorota Rabczewska wears a white bikini top, black hotpants and red gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Vera Brezhneva wears a light blue bikini set and black gloves. Long blonde hair in loose waves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
The Lioness HQ support fuels Dorota's early charge but Vera has that covered as both singers engage in a furious flyweight-like leather bash. Doda snaps her foe's head back with a quick hook but eats a couple in response and wobbles back to her heels. Vera scythes her across the nose with a follow up and thumps back to the ropes amid another wild scramble. The Ukrainian tourist surely found her aggressive mojo very early on here and she outworks the fellow blonde in another close range tussle along the ropes which forces Rabczewska to seek a clinching respite come the final minute. Still, Vera blasts her across the ribcage during the wrestling struggle and the Barnet crowd seems shocked to see such a hot start from the otherwise unheralded singer.

Round 2:
Doda knows she got stymied during the opener but that doesn't mean she's gonna change her approach. She jumps into another high-tempo jabbing route which forces Brezhneva into a quick dancing circle. However the older singer is well prepared for the Baltic showdown tonight and remains lithe enough to escape the full strenght of Rabczewska's pursuit. The Polish babe can only graze her flesh and she actually becomes visibly upset over Brezhneva's defensive stand; she wobbles too far forward at one point and gets clubbed over the top. Vera triggers a late counter-punching flurry and staggers the fellow blonde in the center of the ring before a low hook drills the liver area and leaves Rabczewska scowling in anger at the bell.

Round 3:
Another quick tangle in the center of the ring allows Doda to deliver some juice but Vera simply refuses to back off and stays committed to the punishing route up the middle. She rattles the younger singer with a swift hook on the ear before driving up her gut for a good measure. Dorota aches as she gets picked off in point-blank range but she still throws a couple of aerial bombs to keep the Ukrainian wary of the threat. This is a really bruising war of attrition now but neither woman wants to yield an inch; the accuracy eventually suffers due to the sheer determination inside the ropes that affects the cool heads but nobody around North London expected anything different and this bout can still be decided by a mere lucky punch!

Round 4:
Both women go at each other in high-tempo fashion again but Vera is just that little quicker to the punch and snaps Doda's head back with a double combo that is quickly followed with a nasty shot to the chin. The Polish knees buckle a bit yet the local favorite lets one rip straight across her rival's nasal ridge before Brezhneva responds with a cruel blow to the navel. Rabczewska bends forward and bumps her chin against the shoulder while the older blonde shoves her back and strikes across the lips with a jabbing flurry. Dorota gets outworked once again here and has to seek a circling escape but her feet get tangled up and she fails to avoid a nasty left/right combo that smacks her on the nose and drops the mitts for good. Uh-oh! Vera turns from the hip and SMASHES a left cross on the jaw THAT RAGDOLLS THE POLISH SINGER onto the canvas! That punch really takes the air out of the building and Rabczewska needs the whole eight count to scamper back onto her feet. She looks animated enough to resume the contest but she's developed a visible swelling around her lips with so many Brezhneva punches finding success. Thankfully for the Lioness entourage, the clock expires shortly afterwards and the struggling Pole is able to catch her breath.

Round 5:
Doda's agility and sharpness isn't so impressive anymore as she tries to weather the knockdown stinger but this only allows Vera to really crank up the pressure and dominate another close range struggle. The KO Club crowd fuels the Polish blonde's recovery but she eats more punches over the top and gets stuck on her heels when a switch downstairs drills her breadbasket. Brezhneva just digs deep into the soft tissue thereafter and hammers through the midsection to the point Rabczewska has to blatantly clinch her. Both women drag each other onto the ropes where Doda finds the competitive edge and pierces the fellow blonde's midriff herself but she's fallen way back on the cards now and it doesn't look like the Ukrainian tourist will ease off anytime soon.

Round 6:
One cay say Doda has been given a taste of her own medicine here tonight but the evil spark still shines in her eyes. She manages to beat Vera for the opening punch in the sixth before securing a good connection with the chin. Brezhneva feels very confident in a phone booth-like stance so she drives it up the gut however she jars her left hand against Dorota's hip and gets spun to the side when the Pole wraps her arm around hers and jinks her away. A quick left hook then catches the older blonde on the brow ridge which triggers a steady jabbing rush and Brezhneva has to yield real estate for the first time tonight. She knows well that Rabczewska has to rally around in numbers from here on so she doesn't engage in another bruising exchange before the bell anymore.

Round 7:
Doda keeps on coming but Vera prefers to see out the storm which is a curious tactics given her swarming attitude before. She lets the Polish singer to slip in with a couple of nasty jabs before unloading over the top however she misses the target and Rabczewska SLAMS her with a vicious hook on the solar plexus. Another quick strike finds the jaw and wobbles the older blonde on her heels. A feisty close range tangles ensues where Doda is able to knock some juice into Vera's face and reel her onto the ropes. Another switch downstairs pierces the navel and leaves Brezhneva in a clinching pursuit however Doda connects with the jaw on a late rally and ends the round on a really high note!

Round 8:
Brezhneva moves onto the front (left) leg and fires over the top as Rabczewska ducks underneath and the initial punch skims off the top of her forehead which doesn't halt the Pole's drive and she SLAMS a left hook onto her opponent's jaw before a follow up pierces the solar plexus and slumps the older blonde on her knees. She still tries to swing one from the back foot but Doda shows some nifty footwork which allows her to duck away from the strike and pounce on the suddenly vulnerable foe. A left/right combo sinks into Vera's cheeks before a nasty hook slams the subdued woman on the ear. Brezhneva really rolls down the windows following that punch and Dorota's all over her within a blink of an eye. She riffles another facial series to reel the fellow singer back to the ropes where she hauls in a speedy rush to the body that leaves Vera visibly out of breath at the bell.

Round 9:
Vera doesn't seem so quick on her feet and she might well regret not pushing for more aggressive success as Doda rattles her high guard with a pouncing drive and begins to chalk up the numbers in a classic close range heat. She snaps the older blonde's head back and outworks her during the hectic exchange, she's clearly in a better physical shape here but needs to find the big punches and allthough she traps Brezhneva on the ropes come the final stretch, that might not be enough to salvage the scorecards - even with her stable hosting tonight's event. Vera's badly gassed out now but still manages to clinch her foe in a desperate survival attempt as we head onto the final round.

Round 10:
Doda jumps onto one last flurry and allthough Vera fends off the initial heat, she eventually wilts under the pressure when the Pole smacks her on the nose and adds a belter against the navel. Another low hook drills the liver area and has the older blonde reeling onto the ropes, her physical condition now in serious peril. There's no real strenght behind her punches and she gets nailed on the chin with a wild hook as Doda drives forward and traps her foe on the turnbuckle. She sinks the fellow singer with another shot on the navel and then just hammers into the breasts which makes Brezhneva gurgle in pain... and the Ukrainian tourist simply can't take it anymore AND SLIDES DOWN ONTO HER BACKSIDE just short of the two minute mark. The classic JMD assault breaks down her resistance and even though she gets up at seven, she looks utterly spend so Rabczewska just blasts into her again. And there's nothing coming back now so Vera's head snaps sideways back & forth as the entire KO club cheers on the Polish rally! Dorota herself gets vocal in this frantic effort; she shuts down the fellow singer and renders her into dummy mode, another quick hook on the chin bellows Vera's eyes to the back of her head before one last hook on the temple DROPS HER TO THE CANVAS - not to rise again. KO10 Dorota Rabczewska in wild come-from-behind fashion!!!

AFTER: That's as close as it gets for Dorota who collapses next to the vanquished foe and looks as exhausted as anyone who pushed it all the way within the final thirty seconds of a fight to secure the victory. The scorecards favored Vera before the tenth and Doda somehow saved enough energy to secure the Baltic Trophy at the expense of her toughest BBU opponent not named Una Healy. And quite frankly she doesn't even have the strenght to brag about this success while admitting that Vera was one nasty freak out there in the ring. While the Lioness brass doesn't think a proposed rematch will happen anytime soon, they realize that Brezhneva will not go away as a genuine elite talent either. Thankfully the upcoming New Year celebrations allow the Polish/Ukrainian contingent to cherish it with something more than a mere bottle of champaigne.

Final result: Dorota Rabczewska def. Vera Brezhneva KO10.