Maura Higgins vs Leni Klum
(Frankie's Foxes vs Italians Boxing Better)
(6-1, 6 KO vs 3-0, 3 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Some pundits claim it's too early for Leni Klum to face someone like Maura Higgins whose only career loss came at the hands of undefeated p4p leader Sophia Thomalla but Leni's mother Heidi believes matching up with the best opponents is the right way to go: "We needed some time to figure out what is the best way forward and with Sophia currently holding a firm grip on the straps there is zero pressure for Leni to make a run at her. Yes, Maura has won all her fights except the title battle and she's notoriously difficult to overpower in the ring but we are aiming for the top so why not see what Leni can do at this stage of her career?"

Maura Higgins wears a purple bikini set & white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. Leni Klum wears a white bikini set & red gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Leni shows no signs of being overly respectful and crashes into the fellow brunette's face with great authority which triggers immediate back & forth action in the center of the ring. Maura matches the model's early jabbing pace and fires back over the top but then gets blasted on the chin with a true power punch and wobbles to her heels where Leni cranks up the volume and pummels the briefly stunned Irish woman back to the ropes. Ugh! Maura has to work hard to limit the damage as the youngster really lays down the law and barges her in the rack amid a frantic push for supremacy. Leni takes no prisoners here and clobbers Higgins into an earmuff cover come the bell which stuns many fans around Cardiff Arena indeed.

Round 2:
The Foxes corner remains calm during the break but Maura is visibly upset over that poor opening round so she tries to find immediate revenge only for Klum to counter her with supreme speed during another back & forth dust-up in the center of the ring. Both women give each other no quarter before Leni smacks a left hook on the chin to wobble the older brunette off her stance again. Woof! Maura tries to swing back from her heels but that's never a good idea and she only grazes the German's flesh while Leni duly picks her off like a seasoned veteran instead. Even Heidi in the IBB corner has no reasons to worry about as her daughter pummels the Irish woman back to the turnbuckle and leaves her buried behind a tight earmuff cover again!

Round 3:
Leni seeks a more destructive way to maintain her advantage but Maura finally finds some slugging success and powers ahead with a quick uppercut double before mauling the teenager's rack in vintage jug muggin' fashion. Ugh! Leni finally has to step away from the heat and bides her time in mid-distance while Higgins tries to clock her with more aerial efforts. She fails in her pursuit but still gives enough aggressive impression to maybe lure the judges into her favor whereas Klum just doesn't look so intimidating as a counter-puncher anymore. Heidi begins to lose her temper as she wants her daughter to stay on the boxing throttle but Maura hangs to scrub on a late series and knock Leni onto her heels with some noticeable power supply.

Round 4:
Maura launches another jabbing blast and catches Leni flush on the nose before looping more shots on each temple that stuns the model into some early spasms. Ugh! Maura drills through the suddenly leaky German guard and knocks Klum's head back & forth before a swift belting submarine change-up slams into Leni's liver area and cripples her into real trouble. Uh-oh! Leni stumbles back onto the ropes and has to cover up for a ferocious leather charge as Higgins pounces on her opportunity and lands more vicious punches on target slumping the teenager into more spasms as time passes by. Leni fails to escape the swarming trap but shows enough to guile to avoid going down here even as Maura tries to chop her in half but simply runs out of time to get it done before the bell. Woof. The Irish woman shouts back at Heidi Klum when the ref pulls her away and suddenly enjoys a clear performance advantage...

Round 5:
...which she uses to slam more vicious leather into Leni's face & jugs early in the fifth. There's a reason why only Sophia Thomalla found a way to dismantle the Irish vixen so far and there is no mercy shown once Higgins found her zone to carve lumps in Klum's otherwise pretty face. The teenager gets blasted into a standstill and even her punching resistance has it's limit. Leni succumbs to the head-hunting assault when Maura lands one drilling hook on the jaw too many and shuts her lights out amid a loud ovation from the Cardiff audience. DOWN GOES KLUM and even Heidi knows it's all over so the count is duly waved off at six with Maura climbing the ropes to celebrate a hard-earned KO5 success!!!

AFTER: There's a clear elite potential to work with in the Klum entourage and Leni got off to a hot start only to falter when Maura was able to hit through her instead. It's no surprise the Love Island heroine won this match-up in 2023 but it's anyone's guess if she can repeat that result once Leni gains more experience. Meanwhile there is no real dejection in the model's corner, Heidi claims they took this loss into account and they won't feel the pressure of "defending the zero" on the record going forward.

Official Result: Maura Higgins def. Leni Klum KO5.