BBU St. Patrick's Day Showdown
Laura Whitmore vs Una Healy
(4-4, 4 KO vs 25-13, 19 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Laura Whitmore made significant improvements over the past 18 months but is she ready to face the two-time bantamweight champion Una Healy on St. Patrick's boxing night? BBU TV's Denise van Outen reckons the blonde presenter is maybe a little over her head but if she beats the singer then she could emerge as a true sleeper in the 120 lbs division! Stranger things have happened the the Irish Pride night is the best moment to score that huge upset!

Meanwhile Una returns to the ring for the first time since going down to FCBA legend Minka Kelly on Ryder Cup duty back in November. She vows to silence the Whitmore hype and restore some respect for The Saturdays' band which took a nasty hit when Mollie King fell to Cher Lloyd last week.

Both girls are really pumped for this showdown held in the Aviva Stadium and Laura openly tells Una "her glory days are over" which earns an angry scowl from the proud redhead (make her a blonde tonight though). Una refuses to touch gloves with Laura and is seen rolling her eyes when she talks to bandmate Rochelle Humes seconds before the opening bell. "Just whoop her ass, hun! U got this sooo covered!", Rochelle pads her friend on the back and here we go!

Laura Whitmore wears a green crop top, white hotpants & yellow gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a high ponytail. Una Healy wears a violet bikini set & silver gloves. Long dyed blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Laura thrives on some early jabbing routes and picks Una off through the middle but lacks genuine power and the singer soon responds in ruthless fashion; she nails the presenter with a big overhand before camping inside her midsection to reel Whitmore back onto her heels. Laura gets trapped in a phone booth stance and struggles to match Una's intensity which leads into a hectic exchange in the center of the ring that eventually drives the younger blonde onto the ropes where Una doubles up with a cruel series on the chest. Ugh! Laura begins to scowl in pain as Una leans on her and keeps her pinned butt-in-ropes for remainder of the round.

Round 2:
That's a very big smile on Una's face right there and she tries to follow through on the seemingly sluggish opponent but Laura shows some quick feet and escapes the close range pressure before blasting her singer across the nose. She adds a belting hook on the tummy that folds Healy forward but another quick strike only bounces off the top of Una's forehead and allows her to avoid a true disaster. Laura settles down into punching the older blonde's guts thereafter and somewhat shockingly neutralizes her in mid-distance but she can't find that haymaker to take advantage of the circumstances in full. Una dances around her efforts alas looks rattled by that big punch on the nose and tries to counter-punching the younger woman instead which slows the pace of the fight down come the final minute.

Round 3:
Una storms out of her stool to connect with more midriff flesh but Laura nails her with a big overhand on the nose and survives the initial onslaught before pushing the singer back with a quick series on each temple. Una loses her temper and barks in anger alas she misses the hooking approach and gets whacked on the boobs while Laura quickly adds a nasty uppercut on the jaw that sends the dyed blonde tank-slapping onto the ropes. She tries to push off and catch the incoming Whitmore on the fly but the younger woman gets there first and SMACKS a left hook on the nose that DROPS HEALY ONTO HER BUTT on the spot! Huh! Rochelle Humes can barely hide her frustration in the corner and Laura seems surprised she managed to knock the two-time champ down here as well! Una spits her gumshield out but is up on her feet at five - still gets lectured not to delay the action - and she's right after the fellow blonde here with a scything combo that tags Whitmore on the jaw. Alas Laura is not to be denied following the knockdown and rips a left/right cross on each temple before bursting into Una's chest to cripple her into spasms right at the bell!

Round 4:
Una & Rochelle have lost their joyful mood and argue about their case while Laura watches them with a cheeky smile on her face from the opposite corner. She tries to add more misery into Una's face and bangs through the high guard to glue the older blonde to the spot while rocking her head back & forth in the process! Ugh! Healy just can't stay out of her range and the response is half-hearted at best as Laura ups the tempo and clobbers the singer into the turnbuckle down the stretch which earns her more ovation from the Dublin audience! She gets vocal as she powers ahead with more head strikes and has Healy trembling in spasms behind the desperate earmuff only for the bell to interrupt the pillar-to-post beating! Damn, even Denise van Outen is shocked now!

Round 5:
Can Una really recover from the mounting pressure up her chimney? She looks a little spooked early in the fifth as she dances around in mid-range almost forcing Whitmore into action; the blonde free agent accepts the challenge as she whips more aerial strikes to send Una reeling alas the killer punch is not there yet and Laura grows frustrated over time... she taunts the singer to show some IRISH PRIDE but fails to lure her into a slugging drill and has to track her down with single punches down the stretch before Una finally runs out of space and has to beat the younger blonde punch-for-punch. Laura tears a small patch across her left eye as she prefers to knock her head off outright but then gets caught on the jaw herself and wobbles forward into a nasty uppercut on the jaw that almost lifts her off the boards right at the bell...

Round 6:
Una goes for a rampant jabbing route early in the sixth and nails the presenter on the nose before beating her for a quick overhand that finds the lips and sends the natural blonde reeling onto her heels.Laura tries to respond immediately but can't follow through from the back foot at all and gets BLASTED on the jaw with a wicked piledriver that sets Una up for a brutal hook on the temple which HALF-SPINS WHITMORE FACE DOWN ON THE CANVAS!!! The two-time champ rolls back some years and is ready to celebrate here with a BANG!! Laura's still uncertain what exactly happened but avoids the disaster and makes a sound recovery at eight. She almost shoves the referee away and the crowd is treated with a full scale close range blast with both women now tearing it up! Una takes it all out on the natural blonde's face and cuts her up in a couple of places but Laura just won't go down and finds a belter of a hook on the liver area that drops the singer away to tame her charge. Laura might be leaking some blood here but she's recovered from the knockdown faster than anyone in the stadium anticipated but even she needs a small break now so both Irish girls are happy to hear the bell soon afterwards.

Round 7:
Una refuses to bail out on another slugging route in wake of the cuts she inflicted on Laura's face but her precision goes away during the initial tangle and she gets nailed with a vicious cross on the nose before Whitmore whacks her on each temple to set up a phone booth route that overwhelms the two-time champion. Healy's forced on the back foot and struggles to swing back while Laura drills her face with pesky jabs before going low again and piercing the liver area outright. Ugh! Una tries to escape along the ropes but trips over her own feet and reacts too late when the fellow blonde RIPS a huge hook on the jugs to cripple her into spasms... she wobbles forward with eyes closed and Laura unloads the uppercut blast that LIFTS UNA OFF THE CANVAS and sends her crashing down in a heap moments later!!! And this one is serious! Una goes into loud yelping mode and remains floored on her left side while the merciless count passes her by.... it reaches seven before the ref accepts the singer's fate as she simply won't recover from this one anymore! Huge KO7 Laura Whitmore in mild upset fashion!!!

AFTER: Laura simply can't believe her luck as she needs extra seconds to realize what she's done here but the Irish joy soon takes over as she almost jumps over the ropes in excitement! She almost runs over Rochelle Humes who makes her way onto the ring to check on her bandmate but Laura's fans in the stands make Denise van Outen realize she does have some loyal followers after all. Who would have thought radio stations are doing any good in this day & age. Meanwhile it's a bitter pill to swallow for the fallen blonde - maybe she should return to her original hair color now - who requires a couple of facial slaps from Humes in order to regain her senses. And she will require more than a bottle of whiskey to go around this humiliation on St. Paddy's Day no less going forward. It's been a bad enough week for the The Saturdays while Laura Whitmore continues to enjoy her upset victory before turning back to the fallen victim: "Better luck next time! Like I've said, your glory days are OVER! Deal with it!"

Even Denise van Outen remains puzzled whether this is a one-hit elite wonder from Whitmore or have we just witnessed a true change of the guard in the Irish bantamweight county? Watch this space!

Final result: Laura Whitmore def. Una Healy KO7.