(Results: Lookout!, Words: Caspian)

1. Germaine Tan vs XinLin Khaw

Germaine:
(30, 5’7, FCBA Debut, Free Agent)

XinLin:
(27, 5’7, FCBA Debut, Free Agent)

BEFORE:
First up is a battle of social media influencers, with Germaine Tan and XinLin Khaw both budding Instagram celebrities in their own right, collectively coming in with a follower count of close to 200,000.

Both ladies are making their debuts in the ring today, but of course, it’s all for charity and a good cause, to hear them say it themselves:

“It’s a wonderful idea to take our minds off the pandemic. Although it’s just an exhibition fight, XinLin is someone I’ve admired from afar. She’s a fashion and beauty icon in Singapore, so I’m happy to have been chosen as her opponent,” Germaine says to reporters by ring-side, looking smashing in a blue-green bikini.

On the other side of the arena, XinLin is signing autographs by the metal railing for her fans, that iconic smile brightening up the scene immediately. “Germaine’s an up-and-comer, for sure. She’s also a fitness buff, from what I’ve seen of her social media. Yes, we’re gonna keep it clean and professional, but I’m still aiming to win,” she says with a wink.

Ladies meet in the center of the ring and they’re of the same height, though Germaine’s packing more muscle in her frame. Tan’s dressed in that colourful bikini as she bumps white gloves with XinLin’s red, the leaner woman striding confidently back to her corner in a plain black bikini, her auburn-dyed hair tied up into a neat bun on the top of her head.

Referee’s all set to kick off these ten rounds of Bantamweight action - there’s the bell and HERE WE GO!

ROUND 1:
Slow start for a pair of newbies, as expected, as Germaine and XinLin circle from a distance, hands up and covering their faces, just like they’d been practising back home. It’s clear both girls have some prior fight training, probably at the local gym or classes, but it’s a totally different feeling when you’re opposite someone who’s trying to knock you the f*ck out. XinLin comes in first, testing her fellow influencer’s defences as she pops a jab or two towards her head. Germaine’s blocking, but haphazardly, allowing XinLin to slam a hard right into her body, which knocks her back. XinLin getting a feel of this boxing thing, that’s for sure, but her confidence is short-lived as Tan plants her own jab clean into her face, then another and another landing in succession as the girls take turns driving each other backwards. Round ends and it’s an effective draw, as both local ladies get their first taster of leather to the lips.

ROUND 2:
Germaine’s still testing her comfort level out there as she comes in hot, hoping to surprise XinLin and possibly take the lead in this fight. It works, with the other girl not knowing what the hell to do if someone begins charging straight at you and hounding you with punches to the face- she scrambles backwards to try and create some distance but is unable to keep Tan off her forever. Germaine scores some nasty biffs and baffs to the side of her head, another straight hand catching Khaw on the nose as XinLin retreats and tries to intercept her with her guard. A wide hook narrowly misses her chin and finally, Khaw strikes up the courage to fire her own cross hand back, which lands hard on Germaine’s chin! Ouch! Tan looks like she just got smacked by a concrete pillar as she stands still, shaking her head and cradling her chin to check for permanent damage. Round ends soon after, as Tan does what she’s set out to do: take the fight to her opponent and win the round wide.

ROUND 3:
But XinLin is adapting well, avoiding the errors from the last round and moving quickly at the opening bell, avoiding Germaine’s repeated charges towards her with more ease. Germaine thinks lightning might strike twice as she closes the distance early, firing jab combos towards the smaller girl’s head, but they land on XinLin’s arms and mostly lack venom. XinLin comfortably parries a couple of jabs to one side before taking her own swings at Tan’s head, some of them hitting the head or side of Germain’s tummy, further dissuading the influencer from coming straight at her at full speed. Close round swings back to Khaw, who seems to be growing more confident in her role as a defensive fighter.

ROUND 4:
This fight may have started off as friendly competition but Tan’s quickly growing more aggressive by the minute, charging at her foe at a moment’s notice and taking powerful swings at XinLin’s head, hoping to knock her down easily. She’s probably been advised by her own corner to play to her strengths: in this case, her bigger bulk and stopping power… IF she manages to land a shot, of course. XinLin’s still agile and dodging left and right, taking opportune moments to rock Germaine back to the face with a slippery right hand to her cheek or another punt to the nose. Tan growling by the third minute, but not willing to give up her chase, fires a feint left and then bashes a right overhand into the arms, which sends XinLin crashing into the ropes with a startled yelp! Last few seconds, Tan redeems her honour, crowding in and smacking leather into the leaner girl’s tummy, across her arms, battering XinLin all along the ropes until the bell rings and the referee has to pull her off.

ROUND 5:
Classic rookie mistake of going all-out and early as Tan is visibly tiring despite all her claims to fitness. Chests are heaving now as she again plays the aggressor, whilst XinLin looks cool as a cucumber at the other side, moving gingerly on her long legs as she dances back and forth, left and right. Tan’s taking wild lunges at the other girl, missing mostly or just grazing the arms, whereas XinLin is comfortably taking pot-shots at her head, landing one, two, three direct shots to Germain’s face when she wasn’t looking. Suddenly, Tan’s looking groggy, her arms wavering as a fourth straight hand bashes her clean on the nose! Can XinLin capitalise here?? Tan is forced backwards all of a sudden, trying to stave off disaster as XinLin presses in, continues to hound her to the head, bash another hook to her body to try and get her to lower her guard… it’s Germaine’s turn to hit the ropes, when a sudden uppercut to the stomach stuns her hard, knocking the wind out of her lungs as the big girl goes DOWN to both knees! KNOCKDOWN for XinLin Khaw, and what a textbook display of her boxing prowess and potential here! Crowds are of course loving every moment of this as they cheer their preferred social media influencer on, but Germaine not giving up yet, rising slowly up to her feet by the count of 8. Lots of fighting spirit on both sides of the aisle as this fight continues!

ROUND 6:
The massacre continues as Tan struggles to keep herself awake and alive, suddenly forced on the defensive as XinLin comes in hot this time, jabbing relentlessly at the face and then ending her combos with deliberate swings at the head. She’s clearly been prepping for this fight, which might end in potential embarrassment for ONE lady if they were to end up drooling all over the canvas or lying spreadeagled all over Instagram. Tan, for the most part, needs to pay more attention to her defenses, and that’s what she does for the entirety of this round, locking her arms over her head and body, and absorbing jabs from Khaw, which land without much power. XinLin probably thinks her opponent is ready to go down for the count, but her punches are not doing as much damage as she’d like them to, driving Tan backwards but never able to corner her like last time. Germaine lets out a sigh of relief at the sound of the bell - she’s given up the round completely but at the same time, managed to catch her breath and stave off a second knockdown, for now.

ROUND 7:
Here we go into the last quarter, and what an opening fight this is to kickstart our fifth scouting mission: these two ladies clearly want to impress as they fly forward at the bell! Ordinary girls would be tired out and begging for sweet release at this point of the seventh, but not Germaine Tan, who rushes to meet XinLin head-on, surprising the leaner girl with a sudden flurry of punches to her head. Khaw not expecting a counter-offensive so soon, scrambles to fire back, and for a good thirty seconds, both ladies light each other up with dull smacks of leather to cheeks, an uppercut testing the middle of the arms as they take turns grunting, sweat flying off bodies as Tan lands a lucky strike across XinLin’s face, which seems to seal the deal for Khaw! XinLin lets out a groan as she’s driven a few steps to the right from the impact, and the rest of the round is all downhill for her... Tan raises a hand high to the crowds when the bell rings, confident once more about a comeback!

ROUND 8:
XinLin does her best to adapt but it’s a tough feat indeed in the final quarter, with both ladies quickly losing steam from the many rounds of exertion. Slow first minute sees Khaw trying to keep Germaine off of her with multiple jabs pawed at her head, but soon enough, Tan isn’t to be denied, blocking most of the attacks with her arms before lunging with bigger crosses of her own, one of which taking XInLin straight to the tummy, another slammed into her face to send her reeling back. Possible ending right here as Tan rushes in to finish this fight, hook after hook simply crammed into her arms and around the guard, finally overpowering Khaw and KNOCKING her down to one side! This time, it’s Khaw who looks absolutely KO’ed on the canvas, turning over onto her back with a drawn-out groan, as the referee counts her out to 10!! This fight’s OVER!

Official Decision: Germaine Tan defeats XinLin Khaw via KO8!

AFTER:
Germaine Tan with an absolute upset in this opening fight, which just proves that your number of followers on social media ain’t gonna do a damn thing once the punches start flying! Khaw in tatters as she covers her face down by the ropes, can’t prevent the many camera flashes from going off, and the many more posts and photographs that will be sure to go up on social media the following day, memorialising her defeat for years to come.

Tan of course being gracious, quickly offering XinLin a hand up and pulling her back up to her feet, which she accepts, and the two women share a hug and bittersweet congratulations by the ropes, before lifting each other's hands into the air in a sign of mutual respect.

What a fight indeed, but would it be enough to woo a potential agent to sign on the dotted line, we ask, and should these two influencers quit their day jobs?