Rhiannon Fish vs Ariel Kaplan
(Lioness Club vs ACB Free Agent)
(9-7, 6 KO vs 2-1, 2 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Former 'Home & Away' actress Rhiannon Fish has become a largely forgotten member of the Lioness Club but she's ready to wreck havoc on home soil tonight at the expense of former 'Neighbours' cast member Ariel Kaplan. These Australian soap operas stick together like flypaper and there's mutual disdain between the two girls with Ariel mocking Rhiannon's Hollywood foray as "complete garbage" but let's be honest, Kaplan also seeks cheap exposure tonight with her acting career stalling over the past couple of years.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Melbourne has seen more impressive boxing cards before but the crowd is promised a classic grudge duel between two old TV sparring partners and that always sells extra tickets even without genuine silverware on the line.

Rhiannon Fish wears a black crop top bikini set and orange gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. Ariel Kaplan wears a green crop top bikini set and black gloves. Long dark brown hair straight. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the flyweight division.

Round 1:
Ariel jumps into a frantic jabbing assault and catches the older brunette by surprise with a well-timed drive upstairs that splits the mitts and rocks Rhiannon's head back. The Lioness girl struggles to find her balance thereafter and gets wobbles back to the ropes with Ariel spitting venom from both flanks and connecting with more head shots that raise immediate response from the Crowne Plaza audience! Such an aggressive push wasn't exactly in the script so early in this fight but Kaplan cashes in on her advantage and renders Fish immobile along the ropes allthough her one-dimensional attack eventually stalls as she's unable to send her foe down for the count. Before she tries to punish Rhiannon to the body, she gets clinched and wrestled back to the turnbuckle but it's hardly an inspiring move from Fish who struggles to land any punches during the opening round and looks very rusty here against a lively opponent.

Round 2:
Kaplan channels more jabbing assault early in the second but she bounces off the high guard more often this time and allows Fish to settle in with several punches from behind the guard instead. Both women still target the head-hunting tactics and while Ariel must be praised for her aggressive spirit, her execution lets her down so that Rhiannon begins to outwork her in close range down the stretch. The Lioness brunette lands some crisp single shots during a steady exchange but there's not enough raw power involved to shake either girl off their stance and the action slows down in the final minute when Ariel becomes visibly upset over the lack of progress herself. Rhiannon seems relieved she avoided another full-scale attack from her opponent and even Sarah Cumming from 'Green & Gold' Magazine doesn't understand why Ariel backed out of her offensive drive so quickly.

Round 3:
Both girls engage in a slugging exchange in the opening minute as Rhiannon finally steps it up to connect with the overhand approach but Ariel remains committed to taking her head off and swings dangerously close with that intended haymaker. However the former 'Home & Away' actress does a better job in landing her punches up the middle and stuns Kaplan with a nasty hook on the nose that makes the younger brunette wince in pain. Another sharp hook bursts into Ariel's gut and sinks her on the spot before Fish finds one over the top and spins her foe back to the ropes. Ugh! Kaplan fails to avoid the incoming heat and gets pinned to the turnbuckle when Rhiannon hauls in a left/right combo and begins to rock her head around come the final stretch. Uh-oh! Ariel groans in her efforts to shake the older brunette off but she only sinks even deeper on her knees when Rhiannon blasts her with a wild cross on the left brow ridge right at the bell! That was a HUGE round for the Lioness fighter and she shakes her glove in delight while Ariel looks a bit teary in the eyes during a slow walk back to her corner.

Round 4:
Rhiannon tries to double up on that impressive previous round but Ariel has recovered quickly enough to pursue another slugging route and the Crowne Plaza audience is handed a proper flyweight bash here next! Both girls trade vicious punches and while Fish snaps Kaplan's head more frequently, it's a big right cross on the nose that rattles the other girl and allows the younger brunette to take the bragging rights just past the one minute mark. Rhiannon stumbles to her heels with a loud yelp and fails to cover when Ariel BLASTS her with another brutal hook on the nose.. uh-oh.. Fish goes limp and trips back to the ropes with no control of her movements which is what the fellow brunette waited for so she rips into the exposed target upstairs. Two... make that three punches are enough TO SEND FISH DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE but she never really recovered from that initial blast in the center of the ring. Ariel screams at the fallen rival and Rhiannon isn't selling this at all. She labours back onto her feet at nine but remains a little dazed according to Sarah Cumming and Kaplan duly clobbers her into a standstill with another spirited drive upstairs that rolls back time to her first round dominance. She wraps Rhiannon in a hooking maze but the clock rescues the embattled Lioness girl who stumbles back to her corner still trying to catch her breath back.

Round 5:
Ariel moves into high-tempo swarming mode and picks Rhiannon off on the fly; the older brunette still hasn't shaken that knockdown off and it only gets worse as the fellow brunette scythes her from both flanks and snaps her head back during a one-sided display of ACB wrath. Ugh! Rhiannon's hugh guard collapses well inside the opening minute here and Ariel simply clobbers her back to the ropes where she keeps raining punches upstairs to the point the former 'Home & Away' actress simply checks out and assumes the punchbag role. Ugh! Ariel whips one left hook on the lips too many and FISH GOES DOWN IN A HEAP with her eyes closed to rise no more! KO5 Ariel Kaplan!!!

AFTER: That was a swift boxing execution in the end but poor Rhiannon was wrecked beyond repair ever since that initial knockdown. Ariel gloats over the fallen brunette and gets granted a Walk of Shame to please the Crowne Plaza audience with Fish still looking semi-conscious during the ordeal. The victorious girl eventually shoves her down onto her knees and can't stop laughing her heart out when Rhiannon literally crawls into her corner.

Sarah Cumming wants to know whether Ariel's ready for the big money fights over in Europe and the ACB free agent confirms she's ready to answer the call: "I'm not your everyday tomato can so that could scare some girls off. Bonnie Sveen has done a great job but she finds it tough to break through in the UK so I can't really complain but... I will! I really wish one of these Europeans notices me and who knows, I punched the crap out of Rhiannon tonight so maybe one of her stablemates wants to take revenge on me? (laughs). I've browsed their roster and Jeanette Biedermann looks like someone I could TOTALLY dominate on my UK debut!"

Kate Garraway on twitter: We've noticed AK talkin' nonsense. No details to follow. #toughluck

Final result: Ariel Kaplan def. Rhiannon Fish KO5.