Minka Kelly versus Kira Kosarin (Bantamweight Title)

Unified Bantamweight Title
Ch Minka Kelly vs Kira Kosarin
(Lioness Club of America vs Bonzo's Gym)
(74-31-1, 70 KO vs 45-17, 44 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: One might argue Kira Kosarin is the next Minka Kelly if you add a couple of inches and there's every chance the former Nickelodeon starlet becomes the true poster girl of the bantamweight division. Still only 25 years old she's been a fixture in the championship picture since 2018 and could well become one of the most accomplished fighters in the history of FCBA when it's all said and done.

Over to Minka who admits everything she achieved on the wrong side of forty is a bonus: "I had to earn it the hard way. I treat any of these title fights like my last. Let's be honest, 42 is only a number but it is a number. Frickin' Miley Cyrus could get more bites at the cherry than me at this stage. I have no regrets. Kira is doing everything the right way. As does Liz Olsen. Count me as their fan. But I won't make it easy for them, Kira in particular tonight. You have to bring your A game, kiddo! Ready for this?" (winks).

Minka Kelly wears a red crop top, black hip-huggers & red gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a half-up ponytail. Kira Kosarin wears a navy blue crop top, white hip-huggers & blue gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Minka catches everyone by surprise when she works the high-octane pounce and swamps Kira into a back & forth exchange that doesn't exactly reflect her trademark approach so early into the contest. She rips the southpaw bounce from the inside and forces the New Jersey kid to stamp on the throttle if she wants to keep up with the groove. A quick uppercut blast neutralizes the danger and flushes Kosarin back to the post where she swings menacing response but Kelly has seen it all before and just gets on with the jabbing work. She keeps the challenger at bay and methodically outworks her to secure the round on points despite limited damage value.

Rounds 2 & 3:
Kira uses those younger legs to make Minka look slightly sluggish and it doesn't take much guile to slice thin air as a result. Minka presses on to beat the bush around but the challenger's guard remains supreme before a well-measured counter allows Kosarin to dominate fighting Kelly's style above & beyond. A quick deke here and there and Minka fails to match the tempo which leaves her exposed when Kira cranks up the juice down the stretch. She glues her mitts into the champion's face and knocks her around for best part of six minutes making some aspiring wannabees angry on social media. More of the same in the third, Kira dances around the veteran and grinds down the heat from both flanks before stepping up to pummel Minka to the body. Perfect execution leaves the California brunette shaking her head at the bell but it's not like she expected anything different from the Bonzo fighter.

Round 4:
Kira gets vicious and hammers in the spicy bits around the champion's midriff before working the uppercut blast to stun Minka outright. The Nickelodeon starlet cranks up the heat and traps the veteran in the proverbial phone booth where she can test out some of that elite defense but she's got all the tools to make Minka look overpowered and worse... the champion's head snaps back repeatedly as Kosarin works the supreme combos and drops the Cali woman back to the ropes where she adds more leather on target. Minka all covered up and struggling to respond. Faces hammer time... delays hammer time through desperate clinch that doesn't make Kira blink. Young blood on top... crowd roars when Kira shoves Minka on the turnbuckle and whacks her on the jaw with the Palicki's finest. Bell.... Kira leads on the cards... buzzing!

Rounds 5 & 6:
Minka eyes a comeback after a dreadful round... Kira lets her drain out... takes a couple of nasty licks in the process but nothing to be worried about. Back & forth from afar until Kelly runs out of gas... carries enough recoil to punish the challenger to the body but is forced to chase her around anyway. Eva Mendes told to shut up before the sixth... more recovery ordered but Kira almost drags Minka out of respect not to make the old champion suffer beyond the limits. This "Liz (Olsen) and Kira" comment served its purpose but who knows if the desired one? Kira picks off through the middle, walks into a rare chin shot and wobbles out of the zone... Minka unable to pounce... does her best... maybe gets off with a favorable score but requires more raw power to climb on top of the challenger.

Round 7:
Kira packs a mean series and drives low to bounce off the ribcage but Minka has the last laugh with another chin shot from the inside. She stays in the slugging lane and punishes the New Jersey girl with more of these aerial heaters. Kosarin getting a little careless, relies on the otherwise superior footowrk too much, gets on with a late bounce to carve more lumps around the midsection. Cougars can take it... Minka clips the jugs and follows through with a body assault of her own... pushes Kira against the ropes but the right/left combo misses and allows Kosarin to clinch her into safety come the closing seconds of the round.

Round 8:
Minka still here but finally takes one rough uppercut combo on the chin too many... wobbles to her heels and takes a right hook on the eye that tears the skin into a bloody flesh. Ugh! This one looks bad and briefly freezes the Cali champion on the spot which allows Kosarin to SMOKE her with another hooking double on the ear. Minka stumbles forward with a whimper and meets an uppercut clean up punch. Lights out!!! The Lioness southpaw goes all numb upon impact and HEADS FOR THE EXIT DOOR.... she slumps on her back with eyes closed and makes no genuine effort to beat the merciless count! KO8 for the NEW unified bantamweight champion Kira Kosarin!!!

AFTER: Bonzo's Gym adds to their collection. They hold both the bantam & welterweight crowns while having three active fighters on the roster. Not a bad batting average whatsoever!!! Kira gracious in victory, acknowledges Minka's pre-fight praise and hopes to hang onto the straps for a little longer than she did at the first time of asking during the 2020 summer.

No regrets in the departing champion's corner. Holding any belts at age 42 is still a massive achievement. No retirement talk in sight: "Still got some fuel left in the tank, we'll be here to scrub off the wannabees!" (laughs).

Official Result: Kira Kosarin def. Ch Minka Kelly KO8.