Many BBU pundits and fans have been wondering whatever happened with that Ali Bastian who destroyed Emily Blunt in less than two rounds almost three years ago; their subsequent careers couldn't have been any different, Blunt is now a star overseas whereas Bastian struggles to even get fights back home in UK. Denise van Outen thinks she's been heavily mismatched since that triumph fighting lightweight title contenders and ex-champions in Helena Mattsson and Sayuki Matsumoto instead of slowly building her record against less demanding opposition.

So it almost feels like Ali starts from the scratch in Barnet tonight since all that good work from the Blunt destruction has gone by the wayside long time ago already. That's the approach for Zoe Salmon anyway, the Northern Irish presenter sits near the bottom of the Lioness Club pecking order and would have probably been axed from the roster if she had fallen to Rosie Whiteman last summer. But now she vows to beat Ali up even if the odds are stacked against her and Denise van Outen openly puts her money on the younger blonde to send a messy looking Salmon back to Bangor and never come back again: "Zoe's been so lucky against Whiteman but lightning doesn't strike twice. She's gonna be wiping the gym floor back home in no time once Bastian punches her brains out!"

Zoe Salmon wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit and white gloves. Ali Bastian wearing a red bikini top, black boy-leg trunks and black gloves. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Crowd support helps Salmon early as she whips a jabbing combo straight into Bastian's chest and staggers her in the middle of the ring off the bat, throws more leather on the ribcage and wobbles the fellow blonde but a response over the top tags Zoe's cheeks and tames her aggression briefly as both girls engage in a hefty punching exchange in close distance before Ali slips by the Ulster blonde and whacks her on the liver to claim superiority. Zoe's feet aren't quick enough and she gets plastered on the midriff, has to yield possession and jumps back towards the ropes where she can at least avoid more trouble as Ali's single hand chase goes wayward. Salmon circles back and refuses to step close anymore, Ali's happy to hassle her around but lacks determination to inflict noteworthy damage.

Round 2:
Both girls engage in early trade-off as Salmon gets urged by her corner not to let go of her chances; she gets whacked on the temple though and stumbles to the side with Bastian pounding away at her stomach and reeling her back afterwards. Zoe on the back foot, avoids getting trapped on the ropes though as she circles around her rival and throws response over the top; Ali sets up couple of cross hooks and finds the nose; slices the Ulster girl's mitts aside and bombs away on target with Zoe's head snapping back along the way.. she gets pummelled back to the ropes eventually, covers up for a while but Ali's on a mission and keeps landing facial leather and slices the guard on a repeated basis to make the local girl moan in frustration. Bell saves Salmon from more punishment but that was a poor round for the Lioness faithful.

Round 3:
Ali more aggressive of the two now; outworks Salmon in another early exchange and clobbers the midsection to slow her foe down, works just fine as Zoe can't escape from the striking zone and gets pummelled back & forth on her feet, suffers from the Bastian leather around the elbows and bends forward trying to clinch... ALI WHACKS HER ON THE CHIN... and whips back on soft knees as Salmon's punch resistance was never her strongest suit... Bastian notices a hollow look on the fellow blonde's eyes and rips into the Ulster girl smashing her boobs from both hands and reeling her back onto the ropes. Even the crowd's support can't bail Zoe out and allthough she covers up high, Ali is keen to pierce her navel and sags her butt-in-ropes for remainder of the round, keeps spiking the ribcage as well before another uppercut cleans out the jaw and drops Zoe's head on her shoulders right at the bell.

Round 4:
Zoe doesn't look all that good anymore and Ali's high-tempo assault continues, she catches the older blonde with another hook over the top and finds the left eye, follows up on the chest and traps Salmon in close range where she can uppercut her boobs and bend her sideways again. Zoe tries to respond and whacks her around the elbows herself but can't connect with the rack and falls into another couple of hooks over the top which leave her left eye swelling half way through the round... Bastian's keen to dig her into the ropes again but gets too hot in approach and skims off the forearms, gets nailed on the mouth with a single punch and Zoe suddenly leans on her and pummels back against the cleavage, both girls moan in determination but Zoe locks a clinch around her opponent's waist and the ref isn't very keen to separate them until Ali laces the local favorite on the kidneys and shoves her against the ropes with the action getting much uglier in the final minute for no apparent reason.

Round 5:
Ali's frustrated over that previous round and wants to finally send Zoe down for the count but misses a swinging hook on the head and wobbles forward just as the Ulster blonde buries a thunderclap hook into her mouth... OOOOMPPPHHH.. Ali's head swivels around her neck and she stumbles to the side with her eyes closed, can't withstand Salmon's piercing jabs on the nose and suddenly Zoe POURS LEATHER right into Bastian's face... the arms can't go up in time and the girl gets punched around on her feet with Salmon ripping into that pretty face couple of times more... AND DOWN GOES BASTIAN ON HER SIDE... just collapses in wake of Zoe's shocking flurry of leather... The KO Club errupts and a misty eyed actress gets up at six but just stares at her rival who engages the killswitch and throws immediate leather at the blonde again... head snaps around Ali's neck who gets thrown onto the ropes or more like stumbles backwards onto them, has to wrap her right arm around in order to stay upright but Salmon's there and LORD HAVE MERCY... she clobbers Ali's right eye with a mammoth left hook that escapes all the defence in the world... BASTIAN's SHELL-SHOCKED and almost out on her feet... correction applied by Zoe pounding away at the exposed right breats with Ali's arm still tangled against the ropes... LEFT HOOK ON THE JAW completes the wreckage as Bastian tumbles down onto her knees and is flying to the moon already before collapsing face-first on the canvas... KO5 Zoe Salmon!!!

AFTER: Crowd going nuts and even the proud Irish blonde can't believe what just happened! She just knocked Ali Bastian into a dead weight mess and needs couple of seconds to realize the ammount of her unexpected triumph. Even Denise van Outen lost her voice in the BBU TV booth! A huge far cry from the axing prospects last summer! Coach Gina Wild jumps between the ropes and lifts Zoe up and the whole Barnet just witnessed an epic come-from-behind KO victory of one of their most lacklustre performers to date.

While Ali needs to be revived on her stool and is spared any post-fight antics, Zoe earns herself a standing ovation and the Bangor presenter is truly on the verge of breaking down with sheer joy. It's like she just won a BBU title bout! That takes care of any customary upset predicted for tonight but the questions will be asked how Ali Bastian allowed herself to be send packing after dominating most of the action until that lethal fifth round? She's surely a much better fighter than Salmon but just can't quite find that breakthrough deja vu again; her victory over Emily Blunt is set to become a part of BBU's lore in the next few years the way her career is going since then!

Final result: Zoe Salmon def. Ali Bastian KO5.