Yanet Garcia vs Minka Kelly
(Latina Knockouts vs Lioness Club of America)
(1-0, 1 KO vs 69-30-1, 65 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: One might argue this is an extreme mismatch on paper but Minka Kelly claims she's free to challenge anyone regardless of the rankings now that she's a member of Tractorpull's Hall of Fame: "If Charlize Theron can do it, so can I. Moreover I expect these younger prospect to be fuelled a little more when fighting me. I've worked very hard to be where I am so I appreciate the effort! Yanet should be a marketing dream for anyone involved in FCBA so let's see if she's as good as I've heard!"

What can be said about Yanet Garcia then? She won on her debut back in March knocking out Daniela Lopez Osorio in five but that truly doesn't mean anything when compared to Kelly's resume. However she vows to make the most of tonight's opportunity and showcase she's on course to outshine Eiza Gonzalez as the biggest Mexican prospect in FCBA going forward!

Yanet Garcia wears a red bikini with green trim set & white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a custom ponytail. Minka Kelly wears a leopard print crop top, black hotpants & silver gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a half-up ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Hard slugging from the opening bell as Yanet indicates she means business and crashes into the American's face with supreme confidence. Minka is well known for taking it easy at the start but she's pressed into action due to the Mexican's aggressive approach. She works the southpaw overhand to smack several clean punches into Yanet's face but the newcomer refuses to blink and pays back the favor blowing right through the Lioness defense. Minka gets caught on the chin and wobbles to her heels as Garcia pummels her around the elbow and backs onto the ropes come the final minute. The Mexican rout is on when Kelly takes a shot on the boobs and folds into quiet spasms while the younger brunette cleans out her pocket thereafter and claims the round on points wide!

Rounds 2 & 3:
Minka mounts an early recovery as she slips by the fellow brunette's furious attacks and showcases a veteran mobility to avoid another slugging test. Yanet gets carried away too much and leaks a solid dose of counter-punching menace but she tries to follow through on that promising start only for Minka to cool her down with several hard licks up the middle. Garcia finally thinks better off it late in the second but quickly establishes the jabbing supremacy in the third when she catches the Hall of Famer with a gut-checking drive and digs her elbow in the southpaw's chest as well. The slugging drill resumes after that and knocks Kelly back to the ropes with Garcia raining punches like she's anything but a newcomer to the game. She traps Minka in the hole and tries to knock her head off with a hectic effort but the Lioness veteran manages to clinch her into safety at the last moment.

Rounds 4 & 5:
The Lioness camp realizes they will not outslug the aggressive Latina here and that was never Minka's natural style to begin with so the next six minutes is all about managing the supply as Yanet chases a famous victory without actually hurting the American in the process. In fact the counter-punching response grinds the Mexican into visible frustration and allows the judges to give Minka the benefit of the doubt instead. She picks the younger brunette with methodical close range guile while weaving away from the slugging heat as Yanet just keeps missing with the big shots more often as the time goes by. Another clash of heads throws her into a lenghty tirade in Spanish but Kelly shuts her down with a harpoon series around the elbows and shoves her on the turnbuckle at the bell.

Round 6:
Yanet resumes the head-hunting pounce and scores several single shots on target but she doesn't quite hurt the former champion here and begins to lose her precision down the stretch. Minka dances around on her toes and maintains the low-risk high-reward stance before blasting the Mexican foe downstairs and sliding away from her response. Garcia tries to press ahead with another high-octane blast but she struggles to find her range and runs out of breath while trying to chase the older brunette down come the final minute. Minka packs more body shots to indicate she's still here and Yanet cuts an angry figure at the bell arguing with the ref over unspecified issue.

Round 7:
Garcia needs to reload her battery but Minka notices the change in her tactics and hits the turbo boost herself thumping multiple harpoons into her body and blowing a right/left combo on the chin. Yanet steps on the southpaw's front (right) leg and while she tries to pivot away from danger and opens a hole which Minka blows through moments later. She NAILS the Latina on the jaw with a brutal hook and wobbles her into immediate spasms on impact... Yanet leans forward with a whimper and meets another vicious uppercut on the jaw THAT FOLDS HER FACE-DOWN on the canvas moments later... Uh-oh!! That was a heavy shot and poor Yanet just couldn't do anything about it. She remains face-planted during the otherwise quick count and the upset has to be called off after all. KO7 Minka Kelly!!!

AFTER: A huge round of applause for Yanet once she gets back onto her feet but she just fell short of a famous result. Minka gives her a warm hug and winks back to the camera knowing she had to go extra mile to secure this victory. It remains to be seen if she targets some of these unheralded prospects going forward or settles for the usual suspects instead. Meanwhile the Latina Knockouts can take many positives from Garcia pushing a Hall of Fame member into seven rounds of action in only her second official FCBA contest.

Official Result: Minka Kelly def. Yanet Garcia KO7.