Julianne Hough vs Asians: II

JULIANNE HOUGH VS GRACE PARK

Julianne in green high neck sport top, yellow bikini bottoms, small black gloves

Grace in yellow bikini; slick low ponytail; small black gloves

KO2 Park

Heartbreak for Hough. Grace is a lean, no-nonsense Antonio Margarito style fighter who is very difficult to finesse, and she was in no mood to dance with Julianne in this one.

Hough had been able to negotiate range, circle and vex Kiana at will. In the first round against Park, it looked as though she might be able to outclass Grace in the same way. We saw the same stitching jab from an extended-arm posture, the same deft footwork and range-measuring - but where Kiana had followed Julianne and walked into a lot of shots, Grace actually pressed the pace. Park was effectively shutout in the first, but she didn't care: all she wanted was to get Julianne running. Hough may have been nickle and diming Park for points, but it was Grace who was subtly imposing her will with pressure.

In the second, Grace was able to establish to Julianne's slender torso with cruel, batting strokes - hounding the blonde to ropes. From there, Park squared away and strapped-home - lashing and clobbering at a stunned, overwhelmed dancer. A series of left uppercuts clawed and scraped at Julianne's forward guard, brushing her upright to ropes, and a follow-on crashing right to chin ended her night. Park stalked away smouldering, halting the so-called Asian-assassin in her tracks and dropping Juli to 1-1 on her quest