BBU International Boxing on the Beach
Karolina Kurkova vs Raica Oliveira
(Czech Republic vs Brazil)
(15-13, 12 KO vs 2-3, 2 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: The beach boxing season continues on the famous Copacabana where local favorite Raica Oliveira hopes to follow up on her compatriot Izabel Goulart's punchout of Karolina Kurkova from two months ago. The Czech model is no stranger to Brazilian opposition over the years and she's enjoyed mixed enough results to give Oliveira plenty of confidence ahead of tonight's contest but there's always a question of actual ring practice since Raica comes off a lenghty spell on the sidelines which could affect her performance. Kurkova has enough experience to exploit that hole and we could see a slugging war of attrition if Raica doesn't trust her durability too much.

Karolina Kurkova wears a light blue bikini set & silver gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Raica Oliveira wears a yellow bikini set & blue gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Both women are barefoot. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Raica makes a promising start thumping several clean hooks into the blonde's face but she struggles to throw the tourist off the zone and has to soak up a quick overhand response that triggers a hectic back & forth exchange in the center of the ring. The crowd roars in support when Raica manages to bend Karolina sideways following a nasty hook on the temple but she just can't punish the fellow model hard enough in the early stage if that is even possible here. Kurkova is by no means your resident punchbag and she came here to win after all; Raica still edges her to take the round after another back & forth head-hunting tussle but there's nothing the Lioness entourage should worry about for the time being according to Kate Abdo in the BBU TV booth.

Round 2:
Karolina still doesn't fully engage in the slugging drill and gives the local model a favorable platform to chase that home run performance. Raica does her best to land as many punches on target as possible but the execution isn't really there if only the Czech blonde didn't look so casual instead. Oliveira can run the action from the front until she gets clinched into safety before Karolina tries to hip toss her onto the sand that delays the proceedings. Both models lock each other against the ropes where Raica wins the battle of strenght and piles on with a rare body attack to secure the dominant position again. She ups the work rate in the closing seconds to sink the European tourist into noticeable spasms that are eventually subsided by the crowd noise as Raica takes two rounds in a row!

Round 3:
Karolina finally gets moving in more urgent fashion and prevents the Brazilian foe from getting into another comfortable start. Both women still work the head-hunting assault but Raica eventually finds the body charge diversity and appears to land the better punches during a lenghty back & forth stretch in the center of the ring. Kurkova gets vocal when she gets pancaked on the abs one time too many and finds a real high heater that nails Oliveira on the lips and wobbles her on the heels. The local favorite digs deep in the sand to hold ground at first but Karolina muscles her on the breasts with a powerful uppercut charge before drilling a left hook on the jaw takes the steam out of the brunette for remainder of the round.

Round 4:
Raica tries to regain the superior slugging position but gets clobbered to the body instead and has to adjust her stance as the Czech model switches downstairs with her attacks going forward. Things get more physical out there as Karolina has weathered the early charge from the local opponent and tries to soften her up as we settle in the middle rounds. Raica still has the juice to fend off the war of attrition but she gets bounced around the sand a lot in the fourth, takes a couple of nasty harpoons before Kurkova mauls her to the breasts outright. Ugh! Oliveira ends up hugging the ropes and has to clinch the European tourist to limit the unexpected damage.

Round 5:
More free swinging from the two models but Karolina earns the better value dropping her punches straight into the Brazilian's face. Raica was set up to hold off the body assault but gets caught out upstairs and leaks too many strikes for comfort before she can find a response. Kurkova shakes that off and moves in to land more shots up the middle driving the brunette onto the ropes in the process. Raica swings from behind the guard and makes a solid contact but the the Czech tourist laces her with the hardest punch of the lot that shatters the chin and drops Oliveira into immediate spasms. Ugh! Raica gets trapped on the turnbuckle and can only soak up a slugging pounce that has Karolina firmly on top until the referee pulls her away at the bell.

Round 6:
Raica wants to make up for that poor previous round and simply won't back off from a slugging dispute which is a risky idea even if both models are ready to follow that path. More back & forth action, mostly up and in the zone to knock the ponytails around when Karolina draws first blood leaving a visible gash across the brunette's nose. Raica barks in anger and tries to land the better hooking combo but wobbles just that inch too far forward to catch a vicious uppercut on the jaw instead. Ugh! She sinks on her knees right away so Karolina doesn't need to think this over and laces immediate one-two on each temple to drop Oliveira's mitts for good. Another wild hook clips the chin to SEND THE BRAZILIAN DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE amid a stunned roar from the Copacabana patrons. Ugh! Raica didn't see that series coming and takes her time before getting up at seven. Still a full minute left and the Czech charge is on thereafter... Oliveira has to seek cover but can't escape more vicious hooks that crash into her face and open more cuts on the face in the process. Earmuff cover to run out the clock but Raica still looks hurt at the bell and needs a miracle to turn it around...

Round 7:
Oliveira is slow to get up for the next round, all these facial marks seems to have taken the steam out of her and she leaks more hard punches straight up the middle unable to even bide her time in mid-distance. Karolina steps up to haul in one combo after another until she pounds the ailing brunette back to the ropes and simply keeps belting the suddenly cumbersome rival. Ugh! Raica takes this as far as she can but then breaks down into loud spasms and the REF STEPS IN to prevent an ugly beating if we didn't have one going on already! TKO7 Karolina Kurkova!!!

BEFORE: A hard-earned victory for the Czech model who stops a three-fight losing streak but she might still be targeted by some of these younger models going forward. She checks up on the battered Raica who shakes her head in frustration but doesn't argue with the stoppage as she was on the verge of getting knocked out of her senses according to Kate Abdo in the booth. A promising start and early lead on the cards all but disappeared come half-distance and Oliveira probably doesn't have the durability to find two performance spikes during a single bout anymore - even when facing another ring veteran like Kurkova.

Official Result: Karolina Kurkova def. Raica Oliveira TKO7.