6. Romee Strijd vs Maia Cotton

Victoria's Secret "War In Heaven" Tournament - Round 1
Romee Strijd (Seed: #14) vs Maia Cotton (Seed: #19)
(The Netherlands vs New Zealand)
(13-10, 13 KO vs FCBA Debut)
Results: Lookout!: Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Romee Strijd's extremely busy season continues as she hopes to achieve another great run in the War In Heaven tournament. She reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural edition losing to Adriana Lima but vows to go all the way on the rebound! The Dutch model posted a 4-3 record on the Diamond Boxing tournament earlier this year and is tipped to be one of the dark horses for the overall victory in the Victoria's Secret exclusive showdown event.

Not much can be said about Romee's opponent - dark-haired New Zealander Maia Cotton makes her FCBA debut tonight and it's anyone's guess if she proves to be a boom or bust character. The odds are stacked against her but she enters the ring full of confidence and blows kisses to the crowd trying to win them over before the lanky blonde has a chance to steal the attention instead.

Romee Stijd wears a white bikini set & orange gloves. Long blonde hair in loose waves. Maia Cotton wears a blue bikini set & silver gloves. Long dark brown hair in loose waves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Maia strikes a more athletic pose and shows early signs of being a power-punching slugger as she stuns the blonde with some quick hits up the middle before blasting a right cross on the mouth that makes Romee shriek out in pain! Maia cranks up the heads up asault and outworks the blonde in a close range pounce; Romee tries to stretch her elbows but the newcomer stays on top of her and lands a head-ringing double on each temple to send the Dutch model reeling! Ugh! Cotton just piles on more pressure thereafter like she has nothing to lose on her international debut and traps the older girl on the ropes where she plugs her on the mouth to drop the blonde into a desperate earmuff come the bell. Romee's coach Claudia Schiffer is visibly upset as the rookie appears to be no pushover here after all.

Round 2:
Romee fires back over the top and accepts the slugging ordeal which leads into a bombs away showpiece for the audience! Ugh! Maia shoots over the blonde's shoulder and gets busted on the chin which stops her promising charge while Strijd drives in more shots on the follow up to set up a looping series that drops the brunette into a hectic retreat. Maia displays first signs of feeling the heat as she runs out of real estate and ends up hugging the ropes for the remainder of the round as Romee lights up the high-octane charge and beats the youngster by the numbers. She carves a small lump under Maia's right eye but the rookie withstands the attack and belts the blonde in the navel at the bell. Too little too late to salvage the round on points though.

Rounds 3 & 4:
Romee gets the early jump on the brunette through sheer high-octane delivery but Maia eventually gets even with the older model and shows more of that slugging power that stops the Dutch woman in her tracks when she gets busted in the clear. Maia works the upstairs pounce and rocks Strijd's head back & forth in the second minute before a proper body assault stuffs the Lioness fighter into a standstill. Cotton duly thumps her onto the turnbuckle where she rallies to steal each of the next two rounds in confident and effective fashion. Romee struggles to use the superior reach as she has to fight on the New Zealander's terms and that lack of tape on Cotton's previous boxing endeavours might prove to be very costly indeed. Romee shouts back at coach Schiffer during the interval and the two blondes get so animated they almost fail to acknowledge the opening bell of the next round!

Round 5:
Maia comes out hot and appears to embrace the upset success as she hits it straight through the blonde's high guard until she gets whacked on the boobs when Strijd delivers a hectic response to kick-start her comeback! She finally settles in with some aerial bombs that gradually dissect the brunette's stubborn defense down the stretch and keep her in check when Romee flicks more shots in the torso that frustrate Cotton into a verbal response. Romee's superior range allows her to control the action wholesale and Maia abandons the plan to steal the round late as she circles back into mid-distance where she stands no chance of causing the taller model any problems whatsoever.

Round 6:
Maia ignites a burst of speed into her slugging efforts and manages to stay in the close range where she punks a couple of shots downstairs to catch the Dutch model off guard. The newcomer didn't exactly channel that route before but she wants to pay back the favor and drigs deep to bounce off the blonde's abs before a looping hook on the chin makes Strijd think better off it. The taller model tries to switch back into mid-range but gets throttled to the body and falls back to the ropes where Cotton applies the slugging juice and beats the exposed midriff into swollen patches before Romee can limit the damage and clinch the charging foe. Maia belts her in the groin regardless and has to be pulled away by the ref at the bell as she got carried away wholesale there in the end. Romee gives her a proper bytch stare but it's another round for the rookie who leads 58-56 on the cards.

Round 7:
Romee avoids the Kiwi charge early on and slips by some overly chaotic attacks that only deprive Maia from pouring more trouble on the struggling opponent. Maia really wants to cause the upset of the night but she endures a rude awakening when Strijd catches her across the nose with a looping hook and drives a chin-checking follow up moments later. Maia never looked comfortable away from her slugging stance and she gets bumped onto the ropes when the blonde lays it from the sky to snap the brunette's head back & forth. Romee gets vocal as she powers ahead into Cotton's face and shuts her down on the turnbuckle before a brutal shot on the liver area almost drops the rookie for the count right at the bell. Ugh! That was a close one!

Round 8:
Maia rolls out with more slugging juice and whacks the Dutch model up the chimney but just gets caught from the inside when Romee refuses to back off and follows through with her own response. Maia wobbles to her heels and lacks the range to find the superior punch while Strijd cleans her up from both flanks and tags each temple to neutralize the younger girl in the center of the ring. Big right hand slams Cotton on the ear and leaves her vulnerable as she drops her mitts just low enough for Romee to SMOKE her with a vicious uppercut on the chin. Uh-oh!!! Maia goes all sideways and loses her footing CRASHING DOWN ON HER KNEES a split second later!!! Boom!!! She drops on all fours half-way through the count and just can't escape the boxing hell in time!!! Stunning KO8 Romee Strijd in come-from-behind fashion!!!

AFTER: Even BLONDE! Magazine reporters wonder how powerful was that last uppercut from Romee who seemingly pulled the brunette's plug out in a blink of an eye! Maia pounds the canvas in frustration as she was *this* close to secure the upset result of the night but just came up short in the end. Her slugging display should turn some heads in the model industry though and don't count the Kiwi out from getting several calls within the next few weeks. She could be in serious demand one way or another!

Meanwhile the Lioness Club entourage tones down the celebrations as Romee realizes she was outperformed by the rookie for large parts of this R1 contest. The lack of tape on Cotton can only be partially responsible for such a hard-earned victory since the Dutch model is way too experienced to be pounded around the ring like that. She dodged a huge bullet though and that's the most important thing in the end. Hup Holland Hup!

Official Result: Romee Strijd def. Maia Cotton KO8.